Meet the Legends: Surya Sekhar Ganguly

Regarded very highly by none other than Vishwanathan Anand, Surya Sekhar Ganguly was born in Kolkata in 1983 and was taught the game of Chess at the age of just 5 by his late grandfather. He became very popular in Chess circles in Kolkata, as he was the youngest player in most tournaments that took place at the time. 

At the age of 8, Surya won the Indian National Under-10 and Under-12 championships, a feat he repeated in 1992 and 1995. He also went on to win the Bronze Medal in his first foreign trip in the World Under-10 Championship in Warsaw. In 1995, Ganguly went on to win the Silver medal at the Under-12 World Championship held in St. Lorenzo. To top it off, at the age of just 11, Surya was able to defeat a Grandmaster, the youngest to do so at that time. 

Surya went on to become an International Master at the age of just 16 and a Grandmaster at the age of 19. Overall, Ganguly has won 40 Individual Gold Medals, 21 Individual Silver medals, and 6 Individual Bronze Medals, which include National as well as International tournaments. Ganguly was also the captain of the Indian team in the Asian Nations Online Cup 2020, which came second. To go along with his Individual achievements, Gangluly has won 12 Gold, four Silver, and 3 Bronze Medals.

Surya continued his excellent performance by winning the Individual Gold medal in the Hunan International Open and the World Team Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan. He also won the Gold Medal in the National Team Championship in Kolkata. He also won the Sydney International Open in 2008 and finished second in the Canberra International Open.

For his achievements, the Government of India awarded him the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2005. He is also widely recognized in West Bengal as their government awarded him with Bangabhusan, the second-highest civilian award of West Bengal. The government of West Bengal also awarded him the Khel Samman Award in 2013 and the Shera Bangali award as the best sportsperson of Bengal. 

Surya was a member of the team of seconds that helped Vishwanathan Anand win his World Title matches against Kramnik, Topalov, and Gelfand in 2008, 2010, and 2012. Ganguly’s performances have earned praise from Anand. Anand considers him a very good analyst as well. 

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