Ludhiana lad dominates Sharjah Masters Cup, clinches Category C title

Indian chess talent Arena Grandmaster (AGM) Shubham Shukla delivered a commanding performance at the Sharjah Masters Cup 2025, clinching the Category C title with an impressive score of 8.5 out of 9. With this victory, he has officially qualified for Category B in the next edition of the prestigious tournament.

Shubham took an early lead in the event and maintained complete control throughout. After winning the first eight consecutive games, he had already secured a full-point lead going into the final round. This meant that even a loss in the last game would not have affected his championship title. Nonetheless, he opted for a solid and strategic draw in the final round, finishing the tournament unbeaten.

For his outstanding performance, AGM Shubham Shukla was awarded a cash prize of $1,500. His dominance in the tournament has not only brought pride to the Indian chess community but also marked him as a player to watch for as he steps into tougher competition.

Shukla runs the Indira Chess Academy here, where he has been imparting training to budding chess players for the past three years.

“I started playing chess in Class VI at the age of 11. I was the captain of the Green Land Senior Secondary Public School chess team from classes X to XII. We won the CBSE nationals in 2013. Then, I captained the Panjab University contingent thrice in 2014, 2015 and 2017, respectively,” said Shukla.

He also revealed that he had won the Abu Dhabi Masters below 1800, National Amateur below 2300 (bronze), and North Zone University (silver medallist in 2014 and 2015). He also represented the state in various nationals, including the U-15, U-17, U-19, national seniors, amateur, CBSE nationals and SGFI games.