Aarav Dengla becomes India’s 93rd Grandmaster (Special Arrangement) NEW DELHI: “Chess is a war for the board.” The line, often attributed to former world champion Bobby Fischer, has long defined the brutality of the 64 squares. For some, the game is a battlefield. For others, it’s an escape from reality.However, for India’s 93rd Grandmaster (GM), Aarav Dengle, chess has a much more personal meaning.“It’s like a friend for life. You know when you have a record with you, you don’t need anyone else,” said Aarav’s mother Shipra Dengla during an exclusive interaction with TimesofIndia.com.
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This ‘friend’ has now brought the Mumbai teenager to the top of his game.
Not just a mother, but an architect of a champion
As they say, success requires sacrifice. Aarav’s mother knows this better than most.“When he (Aarav) was six and just started playing ranked tournaments, he got almost 800 rating points in four months, from 1000 to almost 1800. That was huge. I’ve never seen anything like that,” Shipra said.The then 16-year-old Aarav won the national championship and qualified for the world championship in Brazil. Going to Brazil for the baby should have been a direct next step. But this time it wasn’t like that. Neither of his parents could travel with him due to work commitments.“I was working with Mahindra’s in marketing. I couldn’t go with him. Neither could his father because of our commitments. So Aarav couldn’t play the event and I decided to quit in the same month. I knew this issue would keep cropping up,” added Shipra.
Aarav Dengla and world number one GM Magnus Carlsen (special arrangement)
From then on, Aarav’s mother became his traveling companion and the architect who built the champion. Yet ask Shipra about the title of Grandmaster and she refuses to take ownership.“Honestly, it’s Aarav’s personal achievement more than anything else. Chess is such a rigorous sport that only when a kid really enjoys it, is super passionate and focused, can he multitask and still get such a high title,” she added in a voice resonating with pride.“We just supported him the best we could, got him the best coaches and kept him in a state of mind where it was just him, his board and his coach.Years later, this approach paid off.Aarav Dengla is now India’s 93rd GM and only the third GM from Mumbai. He sealed his final norm in February 2026 at the GM & IM Round Robin Festival Saha Bijeljina 2026, finishing first with 7/9.
Foundations laid at home
The story begins in Bandra’s Pali Hill, where chess was more of a household language. Aarav’s grandfather, Bhavani Sharan Saxena, and maternal uncle, Ashish Saxena, were accomplished players.“My father is an extremely good chess player. I learned from him,” Shipra recalled. When Aarav was five, he was introduced to the basic moves by his grandfather.
Aarav Dengla with his grandfather (Special Arrangement)
A year later, curiosity took over.“His friend was going to a chess tournament. He was older, about nine years old, and Aarav was just having fun with him. I never thought much of it. He asked, ‘Can I participate?’ He was just excited to be allowed to play. And then he won it,” giggled his mother.His father, Manoj Dengla, a CA and graduate of Harvard Business School, sought the best advice available in Mumbai. And that search led them to veteran Grandmaster Pravin Thipsay.The academics remained non-negotiable. Aarav started at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School based on the IB curriculum, where the 90% attendance rule required discipline. He completed the Primary Years (PYP) and Middle Years (MYP), with competitive chess often restricted to school holidays.“He always played only during holidays from the age of six,” recalls Shipra.In the ninth grade, he transferred to Phillips Academy Andover in the United States.
The influence of the first master
As mentioned earlier, Aarav’s first formal coach was Pravin Thipsay, one of India’s most respected chess players.“He lived just one block away from us. Imagine a six-year-old training with a grandmaster,” Shipra said. “Mr. Thipsay always said that schooling is really important to a child’s build and it helps in chess. He encouraged him to write a lot.”
Aarav Dengla (Special Arrangement)
“I was his first trainer and only one for 3-4 years. He was only five when we started training,” Thipsay told this website.“Sir went for a walk every evening and spent an hour with Aarav. Mr. Thipsey loves the sport so much that it is impossible for anyone not to fall in love with the sport when he is there,” added Aarav’s mother, revealing how lessons from the veteran GM brought the budding chess enthusiast closer to the game.
Instinct, Fraternity and Chennai Chapter
Before long, Aarav’s family decided to regularly shift base to Chennai, the mecca of Indian chess, for advanced work.“During the holidays, when he wasn’t playing, he would train with Vishnu Prasanna. And Vishnu Prasanna is very selective with the students he takes,” Shipra recalled.“I remember Vishnu Prasanna’s statement in the first meeting when he met Aarav, he said that there are some things in chess that cannot be learned. I see that in Aarav. I am responsible for the rest.”
Aarav Dengla with coach Vishnu Prasanna (special arrangement)
It was under Vishnu Prasanna that Aarav’s game deepened. Going into detail about the work they were preparing, she revealed: “When training with 9-10 year olds, I would see him working 12-14 hours; he would just be obsessed with chess on the board.”Among those who shared the grind was D Gukesh. “During the times of COVID, only Gukesh and Aarav were there. Gukesh is his very good friend,” added Shipra.Another enduring bond is with Arjun Erigaisi. “He’s almost like Aarav’s brother,” Shipra said. In terms of coaches, Aarav is currently training under Vishnu Prasanna and Zaven Andriasian.
Structural realities
Mumbai, for all its size, offers limited chess infrastructure compared to southern centres. And this is what led Aarav to spend a good amount of time in Chennai.“The most challenging part in Mumbai is the training ecosystem. There are very few academies and the distances are quite large. Weekend tournaments are much less compared to Chennai and Hyderabad.”However, with the milestone achieved, Aarav, who is polyglot and very outgoing, only wants to push the boundaries further.“He goes to the gym, does strength training, runs for 45 minutes every day. At least two hours of physical activity is mandatory. Fitness has a huge impact on mental sports. He has always been into taekwondo, swimming, various things and still does. At least 2 hours a day, it’s mandatory for him,” added Shipra.READ ALSO: India gets first WIM from Northeast: How 15-year-old Arshiya Das rewrites chess geographyAt 6’2”, the 16-year-old cuts the figure of a modern professional athlete as well as a chess prodigy.However, even during the summit, there is no predetermined scenario in the Dengla household, as Shipra concluded: “Would he want to aspire to become a world champion? Or prioritize academics? No one can predict.”
