Indian Chess Prodigy Apaar Saxena Earns International Master Title After Five-Week Surge
NEW DELHI — Fourteen-year-old Indian chess prodigy Apaar Saxena has earned the International Master title after a rapid series of strong performances across Europe, securing all three required norms in just five weeks.
Saxena, a Bengaluru-based player born in 2012, began the run at the IM Renome 2 tournament in Bosnia on March 30, where he scored 7/9, won the event and earned his first IM norm.
He followed that performance at the San Vicente Open in Spain on April 6, again scoring 7/9 in a field of more than 500 players from 54 countries. Saxena secured his second norm with two rounds to spare, underscoring his consistency under pressure.
Later in April, he competed at the Menorca Open, where he recorded a 2404 performance rating and gained significant rating points. He narrowly missed a third consecutive norm but remained in contention throughout the event.
Saxena completed the title requirements at the IM Putnik 114 tournament in Serbia on May 3, delivering another 7/9 performance to earn his final norm. During the event, he also crossed a live rating of 2450, continuing a sharp climb from his previous rating of 2185 to an official rating of 2362 as of May 1.
Earning all three norms and meeting the rating requirement in such a short period marks a major breakthrough for Saxena and places him among India’s most promising young chess players.
“His development has been strongly supported by his school Silicon City Academy of Secondary Education, Bangalore, with encouragement from Principal Sumalini Mam and School Coordinator Shenoy Mam. Apaar did not have any personal coach in the last two years. Prior to that, his coach was Jayaram Ramana. He was taking some courses assistance from different academies like Killer Chess Training and Yuri Vovk courses,” Apaar’s father, Prashant, told ChessBase India.
Saxena’s father has helped oversee his training, preparation and tournament planning, while his mother, Ruchi Saxena, has been a steady source of support throughout his chess journey.
The achievement adds to India’s growing reputation as a major force in global chess, while Saxena’s rapid rise points to the possibility of larger milestones ahead. (Source: IANS)
