{{short description|Indian chess grandmaster (born 2006)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}} {{Use Indian English|date=January 2021}} {{Infobox chess player |name = Leon Luke Mendonca |image = Leon Luke Mendonca in 2025 (cropped).jpg |caption = Mendonca in 2025 |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2006|3|13|df=y}} |birth_place = Goa, India |country = India |title =Grandmaster (2021) |peakrating = 2643 (March 2025) |peakranking = No. 85 (April 2025) |FideID = 35028561 }}
'''Leon Luke Mendonca''' (born 13 March 2006) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He is the sixty-seventh Indian to qualify for the title of Grandmaster, which FIDE awarded him in January 2021.
==Chess career== Mendonca became an International Master (IM) in 2019 at the age of 12 years, 11 months and 3 days.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pinto |first1=Basil Sylvester |title=I want to be a GM as soon as possible: Leon Luke Mendonca |url=https://www.chessbase.in/news/I-want-to-be-a-GM-as-soon-as-possible-Leon-Luke-Mendonca |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=ChessBase India |date=2 July 2019}}</ref> He was stranded in Eastern Europe due to COVID lockdowns 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Leon Mendonca wins in Hungary, earns second GM norm in space of 21 days |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/chess/young-indian-player-leon-mendonca-wins-in-hungary-earns-second-gm-norm-7056331/ |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=The Indian Express |agency=Press Trust of India |date=18 November 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Goa's 14-year-old Leon Mendonca becomes India's 67th Grandmaster |url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/chess/indian-chess-news-goas-14-year-old-leon-mendonca-becomes-indias-67th-grandmaster/article33461829.ece |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=Sportstar |agency=Press Trust of India |date=31 December 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Prasad |first1=RS |title=Leon becomes India's 67th Grandmaster |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/chess/leon-becomes-indias-67th-grandmaster/articleshow/80041148.cms |access-date=28 January 2021 |work=The Times of India |date=31 December 2020}}</ref> He was officially awarded the title of grandmaster (GM) in January 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Title Application |url=https://ratings.fide.com/crt/main228910.pdf |website=fide.com |publisher=FIDE |access-date=27 January 2021}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=December 2024}}
In January 2024, Mendonca won the Challengers' section of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, qualifying him for the Masters section in 2025.
==See also== * List of Indian chess players § Grandmasters * Chess in India
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{fide|35028561|Leon Luke Mendonca}} * {{Chessgames player|156237|Leon Mendonca}} * {{365Chess.com player|Leon_Luke_Mendonca}}
{{Indian grandmasters}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendonca, Leon Luke}} Category:2006 births Category:Living people Category:Chess Grandmasters Category:Sportspeople from Goa Category:21st-century Indian chess players