Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh

Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh (born 1 January 1998) is an Indian chess player who holds the title of International Master (IM) awarded by FIDE in 2016. held in Bangladesh and successfully defended the title in 2023. from the Government of Maharashtra, the highest state-level honor for sports personality in the state.

Early life and education Nubairshah Shaikh was born in Beed, Maharashtra, India and completed his graduation in civil engineering from Mumbai University in 2019.

Shaikh showed outstanding promise as a chess prodigy from a young age. In January 2011, he gained national attention at the 3rd Chennai International Open, where, at the age of 13, he earned his first International Master norm, becoming the youngest player from Maharashtra at the time to achieve an IM norm, remaining unbeaten against five Grandmasters and defeating GM S.P. Sethuraman during the event. This early achievement laid the foundation for his progress toward the International Master title, which he was officially awarded by FIDE in 2016. one of World's strongest open events, and secured his third and final IM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters 2016, following which the title was officially approved by FIDE.

After becoming International Master, In 2017 Shaikh claimed the title of Commonwealth Junior Champion. In 2018 Shaikh won the Gold Medal in the Western Asia Junior Blitz Championship in Uzbekistan.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Shaikh achieved two grandmaster norms. Nubairshah earned his first norm at the Delhi GM Open 2018, where his performance rating was 2647, and a second norm the Capelle La Grande 2020 tournament in France.

The pandemic paused his tournament play in 2021.

In 2022, he won the Silver Lake Open ''' in Serbia, narrowly missing his final Grandmaster norm. Shaikh achieved his final Grandmaster norm & Elect GM Title at the Bangladesh Premier League 2024, where he played for Titas Club, winning the Board Prize with a score of 8/10.

In 2023, Shaikh successfully defended his title at the South Asian Chess Championship (SACC) held in Lalitpur, Nepal, becoming the first player to win the SAARC Championship multiple times. Shaikh won the Jaffna International Chess Championship 2024 in Sri Lanka with a score of 9/10.

Shaikh won the 16th Vaujany International Festival 2025 with an unbeaten 7/9 score, defeating defending champion IM Thibault Dudognon in the final round. Shaikh also won the 29th Creon IM Round-Robin Closed 2025 in France with an unbeaten 6.5/9 score, finishing half a point ahead of IM Simon Lamaze and FM Ewen Pichon. Shaikh scored 9/10 to win the Silver Jubilee Queenstar Rating Open 2025.

Recent successes at speed chess In late 2025, Shaikh recorded successes on the Indian rapid circuit, winning both The Grandeur 8.0 Rapid Rating Open and the Satish Anna Rapid Rating Open 2025. He scored 8/9 in each event, securing first place with 7 wins and 2 draws and reaffirming his status as one of the most consistent rapid performers in the country.

In January 2026, Shaikh continued his strong form by winning the 4th KTBS Rapid Rating Open with a score of 8.5/9, defeating three International Masters during the tournament.

Recognition and titles

Shaikh was awarded the title of International Master (IM) in 2016, and in 2018 received the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports State Award by the Government of Maharashtra for his significant contributions to chess in India. In 2025, he was awarded the FIDE Trainer (FT) title

Notable tournament results

Personal life Outside of chess, Shaikh works as a civil engineer with the Maharashtra government's Public Works Department. He has balanced his professional engineering career with chess, a combination that has drawn attention in chess circles.

Notable games Nubairshah Shaikh vs Gukesh D, Qatar Masters 2023. Shaikh drew against Gukesh D. the India No. 1, who would go on to become the 18th World Chess Champion in 2024. Nubairshah Shaikh vs Hikaru Nakamura – Titled Tuesday, January 2020. Shaikh defeated Hikaru Nakamura, the World No. 3 Nubairshah Shaikh vs Arjun Erigaisi, ChessKid Cup 2023. Shaikh won against Erigaisi, another rising star in Indian chess.