Early life and education
Nubairshah Shaikh was born in Beed, Maharashtra, India [7] and completed his graduation in civil engineering from Mumbai University in 2019. [8]
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, [9] where, at the age of 13, he earned his first International Master norm, [10] becoming the youngest player from Maharashtra [11] at the time to achieve an IM norm, remaining unbeaten against five Grandmasters and defeating GM S.P. Sethuraman during the event. [12] This early achievement laid the foundation for his progress toward the International Master title, which he was officially awarded by FIDE in 2016. [2]
Chess career
He later completed his second IM norm at the Qatar Masters Open 2015, [13] one of World's strongest open events, and secured his third and final IM norm at the Abu Dhabi Masters 2016, [14] following which the title was officially approved by FIDE.
After becoming International Master, In 2017 Shaikh claimed the title of Commonwealth Junior Champion. [15] In 2018 Shaikh won the Gold Medal in the Western Asia Junior Blitz Championship in Uzbekistan. [16]
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, [17] and a second norm the Capelle La Grande 2020 tournament in France. [18]
The pandemic paused his tournament play in 2021.
In 2022, he won the Silver Lake Open [19] 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, [20] winning the Board Prize with a score of 8/10. [21]
In 2023, Shaikh successfully defended his title at the South Asian Chess Championship (SACC) held in Lalitpur, Nepal, [5] [22] 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. [23]
Shaikh won the 16th Vaujany International Festival 2025 with an unbeaten 7/9 score, defeating defending champion IM Thibault Dudognon in the final round. [24] 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. [25] Shaikh scored 9/10 to win the Silver Jubilee Queenstar Rating Open 2025. [26]
In late 2025, Shaikh recorded successes on the Indian rapid circuit, winning both The Grandeur 8.0 Rapid Rating Open [27] and the Satish Anna Rapid Rating Open 2025. [28] He scored 8/9 in each event, securing first place with 7 wins & 2 draws and reaffirming his status as one of the most consistent rapid performers in the country.
Recognition and titles
Shaikh was awarded the title of International Master (IM) in 2016, [3] and in 2018 received the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports State Award by the Government of Maharashtra for his significant contributions to chess in India. [29] In 2025, he was awarded the FIDE Trainer (FT) title [3] by the International Chess Federation for his contributions to chess coaching and training. [30]
Notable tournament results
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|
| 2007 | Asian School Championship 2007 (Boys U-9) | Gold Medal [31] [32] |
| 2008 | 4th World Schools Chess Championships 2008 (Open U-11) | Silver Medal [33] |
| 2010 | FIDE World Amateur Chess Championship 2010 | Bronze Medal [34] [35] |
| 2014 | Asian Youth Chess Championship 2014 (Open U-16 Rapid) | Gold Medal [36] [37] |
| 2017 | Commonwealth Junior Championship 2017 | Gold Medal [38] |
| 2018 | Western Asia Junior Blitz Championship 2018 | Gold Medal [16] |
| 2019 | 1st SAARC Open Chess Championship 2019 | Gold Medal [39] |
| 2022 | Silver Lake Open 2022 | 1st place [40] |
| 2023 | South Asian Chess Championship 2023 (SACC) | Gold Medal [41] |
| 2024 | 2nd Jaffna International Chess Championship | 1st place [42] |
| 2025 | 16th Vaujany International Festival | 1st place [43] |
| 2025 | 29th Creon IM Round-Robin Closed | 1st place [44] |
| 2025 | Silver Jubilee Queenstar Rating Open | 1st place [45] |
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