Vidit Gujrathi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Vidit Gujrathi |
|
|---|---|
Vidit in 2024
|
|
| Full name | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi |
| Country |  India |
| Born | 24 October 1994 Nashik, Maharashtra, India |
| Title | Grandmaster (2013) |
| FIDE rating | 2726 (August 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2747 (February 2024) |
| Peak ranking | No. 14 (January 2024) |
| Spouse(s) | Nidhi Kataria |
Vidit Gujrathi, born on October 24, 1994, is a famous chess grandmaster from India. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can earn. Vidit became India's 30th grandmaster in January 2013.
He is also the fourth Indian player to reach an Elo rating of over 2700 points. This is a very high score in chess! Vidit has won two gold medals at the Chess Olympiad, which is like the Olympics for chess. He also won a silver medal at the Asian Games. In 2023, Vidit won the Grand Swiss tournament. This win helped him become the third Indian to qualify for the Candidates Tournament.
Contents
Early life
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi was born in Nashik, India. His father, Santosh Gujrathi, is an Ayurveda doctor. His mother, Nikita Gujrathi, is a cosmetologist. Vidit went to Fravashi Academy for his early schooling. He started learning and playing chess from a young age.
Career
Becoming a Chess Star
Vidit started showing his chess talent early. In 2006, he came in second place at the Asian Youth Championships in the Under 12 age group. This earned him the title of FIDE Master.
In 2008, Vidit won the World Youth Chess Championship in the Under 14 section. He was the first Indian player to win this title. He scored 9 points out of 11 games. This win also helped him become an International Master.
He continued to do well in youth championships. In 2009, he finished second in the Under 16 category of the World Youth Chess Championship. In January 2010, he reached a rating of 2500 points. This was an important step towards becoming a grandmaster.
Earning the Grandmaster Title
In 2011, Vidit played in the World Junior Chess Championship in Chennai. This tournament was for players under 20 years old. He scored 8 points out of 11, which earned him his first "GM norm." A GM norm is a high-level performance needed to become a grandmaster.
Later in 2011, at the Nagpur International Open, Vidit earned his second GM norm. He finally achieved his third and last GM norm in 2012. He was just 18 years old when he earned this title at the Rose Valley Kolkata Open Grandmasters' chess tournament.
In 2013, Vidit won a bronze medal at the World Junior Chess Championship in Turkey. He also finished third in the Hyderabad International Grandmasters chess tournament. By January 2014, his rating passed 2600 points.
In 2015, Vidit's good performance at the Asian Chess Championship allowed him to play in the Chess World Cup 2015. In 2017, he tied for the best score at the Dubai Open.
Recent Achievements
In 2018, Vidit won the Challenger event at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. He did not lose any games and scored 9 out of 13 points. This win meant he could play in the main Masters event in 2019. There, he played well and even beat former world champion Vladimir Kramnik.
In 2019, he also played in the Tata Steel Rapid and Blitz events. In 2020, Vidit was the captain of the Indian team that won a historic gold medal in the Online Chess Olympiad.
In 2022, Vidit played in the FIDE Grand Prix 2022. He performed well in both parts of the tournament.
Vidit qualified for the Chess World Cup 2023. He made it to the round of 16, where he beat Ian Nepomniachtchi. He then reached the quarterfinals for the second time in a row. However, he lost to Nijat Abasov in the quarterfinals.
In October and November 2023, Vidit played in the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023. After losing his first game, he won 7 of his next 10 games to win the whole tournament! This amazing win qualified him for the Candidates Tournament 2024. The All India Chess Federation announced that they would help Vidit, R Praggnanandhaa, and R Vaishali financially to prepare for the Candidates tournament.
In the Candidates Tournament 2024, Vidit finished sixth. He famously defeated Hikaru Nakamura in both of their games. In March 2025, Vidit won the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Play-In. This win qualified him for the Paris Freestyle Chess Grand Slam.
Notable results
- Individual silver and team gold medals at the European Chess Club Cup 2024.
- Part of the gold-medal winning Indian team at the 45th Chess Olympiad.
- Winner of Gashimov Memorial 2023.
- Winner of the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2023.
- Individual silver and team gold medals at the World Rapid Team Championship 2023.
- Quarter-finalist at the Chess World Cup 2023.
- Individual silver and team gold medals at the European Chess Club Cup 2022.
- Quarter-finalist at the Chess World Cup 2021.
- Captain of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the Online Chess Olympiad 2020.
- Runner-up at the 2020 Prague Chess Festival Masters.
- Winner of the 2019 Biel Chess Festival.
- Quarter-finalist at the World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019.
- Scored 7/11 at the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament 2019.
- Winner of the 2018 Tata Steel Challengers.
Personal life
In April 2025, Vidit married Nidhi Kataria, who is a homeopath.
See also
In Spanish: Vidit Gujrathi para niños
