Aarav Dengla ’28 contemplates a move in the Groningen December 2023 Comeptition
Aarav Dengla ’28 became a Chess Grandmaster (GM) on February 28, the highest lifetime distinction in chess. Dengla is the first recorded Andover student to attain this title, becoming the 93rd GM of India and 3rd of Mumbai. Other members of Andover’s community in the chess world include Carissa Yip ’22, the #1 female chess player in the U.S., and Dana Nance Mackenzie ’75, a chess writer and National Master.
Dengla is currently on a leave of absence and will return to campus in the fall. During his year off, he attended multiple tournaments, most recently winning two in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dengla also won the Championnat du Grand Paris Masters in 2024, the youngest player to do so. Dengla discussed the challenges of balancing school and competitive chess.
“[Andover] only allows about five Dean’s excuses, so it was pretty hard to go to most tournaments, especially the top ones. I had to skip World Youth and the World Junior basically every year. But outside of that, it was worth [being here] to some degree. It was an experience,” said Dengla.
Dengla originally entered Andover in 2023 as a member of the class of 2027. Yoll Feng ’27, a dormmate who first met Dengla at New International Student Orientation, shared his memories of Dengla.
“There were a lot of conversations we had from very late at night… [They] never revolved much around chess, because I don’t play chess. But, aside from all that, he would be updating us about his recent progress in games, ratings, and whatnot. Not that I knew very much about the details or how the chess system works,” said Feng.
During his time at Andover, Dengla resided in Stearns. Jason Lu ’27, fellow Stearns resident, often spent time with him.
“He made a lot of funny jokes. He taught [me and my roommate] how to be better at chess. I actually improved by 100 Elo because of his advice. He was actually the reason why I was inspired to play chess again… He’s a very dedicated person when it comes to something he wants. I admire that about him,” said Lu.
Dengla attended Andover from 2023 to 2025, and reclassed from the class of 2027 to 2028 following his leave. Looking ahead, he plans to continue competing in chess while balancing academics.
“I will try to structure my classes and stuff in a way that if there is a tournament that is very prestigious, I will try to play it. There’s maybe a hundred people or fewer who have been able to [become GMs] at my age and almost all of them had to drop out of school for it, whereas I took one gap year. It feels really good to get it at a young age,” said Dengla.
He continued, “I don’t really plan on doing it at the collegiate level… There isn’t anything like D1 chess or something. You can’t get recruited for it. I’m hoping to get at least a world junior title soon. After that, I’ll decide whether I want to take a step back from chess or try to become a world champion. But I don’t plan to pursue it professionally or full-time.”
Apart from chess, Dengla is a polyglot and enjoys watching TV shows, introducing friends to shows such as Suits and Lupin. Feng highlighted his pride in Dengla.
“Ever since [joining the school as an International Master], [he has been] constantly talking about the day that he becomes a Grandmaster. He’s certainly put a lot of work into it. So when I heard the news that the thing that happened is the thing that he’s been dreaming about for the past however many years, I was very proud of my boy,” said Feng.
