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Karthikeyan Murali

Karthikeyan Murali
Photo: Wolfgang Jekel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
World rank
No. 69 (October 2026)
Rating
2647
Peak rating
2669 (September 2025)
Title
Grandmaster (2015)
Federation
India
Born
January 5, 1999, Thanjavur, India (age 27)
FIDE ID
5074452

An Indian grandmaster and two-time national champion. In 2023 he became only the third Indian ever to beat Magnus Carlsen in classical chess.

He finished second at the 2019 Gibraltar Masters, in a field of over 250, and at that year’s Asian Championship, where he beat Alireza Firouzja with a queen sacrifice on move nine.

In July 2025 he won the Biel Masters Open with 8/10.

Career highlights

  • Won the 2025 Biel Masters Open
  • Two-time Indian Champion
  • Beat Magnus Carlsen in classical chess in 2023
  • Second at the 2019 Gibraltar Masters and Asian Championship

Karthikeyan Murali in The Chess Herald

FIDE profile · Wikipedia
Profile last reviewed September 29, 2026. Ratings update monthly from FIDE.