Vidit Gujrathi has packed a lot into his career — youth records, a super-tournament title, two famous scalps of a world-beater, an Olympiad gold, and a thriving second life as a chess creator. Here’s a collection of the best facts — every one checked against reliable sources, with the volatile “current” numbers left out in favor of stable, dated facts.
The essentials
- Full name: Vidit Santosh Gujrathi.
- Born: 24 October 1994, in Nashik, Maharashtra, India.
- Title: Grandmaster (GM), earned in January 2013 — the 30th GM from India.
- Peak classical rating: 2747 (February 2024), with a peak world ranking of No. 14 (January 2024).
- Family: his father is an Ayurveda practitioner and his mother a cosmetologist; he married Nidhi Kataria in 2025.
The record-breaking milestones
- First Indian to win the World Youth U14: he took the Open Under-14 title at the 2008 World Youth Chess Championship.
- 30th grandmaster from India: he joined chess’s most exclusive club in January 2013.
- Fourth Indian to cross 2700: one of only a handful of Indians in history to reach that elite rating threshold.
- Third Indian to qualify for the Candidates: he earned his spot by winning the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss.
The Nakamura files
Few results defined Vidit’s peak like his 2024 Candidates games against Hikaru Nakamura:
- In Round 2 of the 2024 Candidates, Vidit beat Nakamura with the black pieces — ending Nakamura’s 47-game classical unbeaten streak in just 29 moves.
- In Round 9, he beat Nakamura again, becoming the first player to beat the same opponent twice at that Candidates event.
- The wins were built on a prepared novelty and a cascade of sacrifices — proof that a “positional” player can attack with the best of them.
Team and tournament honors
- 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss winner (8½/11) — his biggest individual title, and a Candidates qualifier.
- 2024 Chess Olympiad (45th): won team gold in the open section with India, going unbeaten on board four (7½/10).
- 2022 Asian Games: won team silver with India (the event was held in 2023).
- 2013 World Junior (U20): won a bronze medal in Turkey.
- 2008 World Youth (Open U14): champion — the first Indian to win that section.
A chess creator, too
Vidit isn’t only a competitor — he’s one of the more prominent content creators among elite grandmasters. He runs a busy chess YouTube channel and streams regularly, mixing serious game analysis with light, personable vlogs that pull back the curtain on the life of a touring pro. He’s also shown a genuine tech streak, building “Kibitz,” a tool that predicts human chess moves for broadcasts — a neat blend of his two worlds, chess and computing.
That creator side matters more than it might sound. Elite chess has never had a bigger online audience than it does now, and players who can both compete at the top and explain the game to fans are helping fuel the boom — especially in India, where the sport’s popularity has exploded. Vidit’s vlogs from events like the Candidates gave millions of fans a front-row seat to the pressure and the personalities behind the results, turning tournament chess into genuinely watchable content.
Part of India’s golden generation
Vidit is one of the standard-bearers of an extraordinary wave of Indian talent that also includes Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa, and Arjun Erigaisi, all of whom grew up in the shadow of India’s original chess superstar, five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand. As a slightly older, established elite player, Vidit has been both a peer and a steadying presence in this group — and his team gold at the 2024 Olympiad came shoulder-to-shoulder with those very stars.
Career timeline at a glance
A quick, dated rundown of the milestones above, in order:
- 1994: born in Nashik, Maharashtra, India (24 October).
- 2008: wins the World Youth Under-14 title — the first Indian to do so.
- 2013: earns the grandmaster title (30th Indian GM) and takes World Junior bronze.
- 2023: wins the FIDE Grand Swiss (8½/11), qualifying for the Candidates as the third Indian to do so.
- 2024: plays the Candidates (sixth place), beating Nakamura twice; peaks at 2747; wins Olympiad team gold with India.
It’s a remarkable list — and with a growing creator career alongside the competitive one, Vidit’s story is far from finished. For the numbers behind it, see his rating history.
FAQ
What records does Vidit Gujrathi hold? Among others, he was the first Indian to win the World Youth Under-14 (2008), the 30th grandmaster from India (2013), the fourth Indian to cross 2700, and the first player to beat the same opponent (Nakamura) twice at a single Candidates Tournament (2024).
Does Vidit Gujrathi have a YouTube channel? Yes — he’s an active chess streamer and content creator, mixing analysis and vlogs on his channel, and he even built a move-prediction tool called “Kibitz.”
What is Vidit Gujrathi’s biggest achievement? His 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss title (which qualified him for the Candidates) and his two wins over Hikaru Nakamura at the 2024 Candidates are the standouts, alongside team gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.
Has Vidit Gujrathi won a World Championship? No. His biggest title is the 2023 Grand Swiss, and he has played in the Candidates Tournament — the pathway to challenging for the World Championship.
Where is Vidit Gujrathi from? He was born and raised in Nashik, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Keep exploring
Back to the Vidit Gujrathi profile · his best games · his rating history · his playing style · or browse all chess players.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team · Facts verified against Wikipedia, his FIDE profile, and Chess.com, as of July 2026 · Last verified 2026-07-10 · How we verify content.