Leon Luke Mendonca (born 13 March 2006) is an Indian
chess grandmaster
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it h ...
. He is the sixty-seventh Indian to qualify for the title of Grandmaster, which
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
awarded him in January 2021.
Chess career
Mendonca became an
International Master
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...
(IM) in 2019 at the age of 12 years, 11 months and 3 days. He got stuck in Eastern Europe due to
COVID lockdowns
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions colloquially known as lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions) have been implemented in numerous countrie ...
in March 2020. He attained his first
Grandmaster norm at the Rigochess Grandmaster tournament in
Hungary in October 2020. Within a span of 21 days, he won another Grandmaster tournament at
Budapest earning him the second Grandmaster norm. Mendonca achieved his third and final norm in December 2020 by finishing second at the Vergani Cup in
Bassano del Grappa, Italy. He became the second grandmaster from the state of Goa after
Anurag Mhamal achieving the feat at 14 years, 9 months and 17 days. He was officially awarded the title of grandmaster (GM) in January 2021.
In January 2024, Mendonca won the Challengers' section of the
Tata Steel Chess Tournament.
See also
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List of Indian chess players § Grandmasters
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Chess in India
Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to chess Grandmaster and former 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand.
It is believed that chess originated from Chaturanga of ancient India. The All India Chess Fed ...
References
External links
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Leon Luke Mendoncachess games at 365Chess.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendonca, Leon Luke
2006 births
Living people
Chess Grandmasters
Indian chess players
Sportspeople from Goa