Arjuna Award 2025 conferred on Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Arjuna Award 2025 on Indian chess grandmaster Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, recognising his outstanding achievements in chess and his performances at major international tournaments. The award was presented alongside honours for chess grandmaster Divya Jitendra Deshmukh and a lifetime honour for Isaiah.

The Arjuna Award honours consistent outstanding performance over the previous four years, along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and discipline, and the National Sports Awards are presented annually to recognise excellence and outstanding contributions to sport.

Vidit Santosh Gujrathi was born on October 24, 1994, and earned the Grandmaster title in 2013, subsequently entering the elite group of players with a classical chess rating above 2,700.

He began attracting international attention at a young age by winning the World Under-14 Championship in 2008. He continued to build his reputation through performances in major international tournaments, winning the Tata Steel Challengers tournament in 2018 and the Biel tournament in 2019.

His biggest individual breakthrough came in 2023, when he won the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament. The victory secured his qualification for the 2024 Candidates Tournament, which determines the challenger for the world chess championship. At the 2024 Candidates Tournament, Gujrathi finished sixth. One of his notable performances was defeating American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura in both their classical encounters during the competition.

Another significant milestone came at the 2024 Chess Olympiad held in Budapest, Hungary. He represented India on board four in the open section and scored an unbeaten 7.5 points from 10 games. His contribution helped India secure its first outright gold medal in the open section of the Chess Olympiad, marking a historic achievement for Indian chess. Gujrathi has also represented India at the Asian Games.

Gujrathi achieved his highest published classical chess rating of 2,747 in February 2024, placing him among the world's leading players. According to the November 2026 rating list, he has a classical rating of 2,693 and is ranked 35th globally and sixth among Indian players.

He has continued competing at the international level, including appearances at the 2026 Chess Olympiad. The sources do not provide a date for the next match or event involving Gujrathi.

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Sources

• Mint

• thenewsmill.com