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It costs a high price to become a chess grandmaster (GM) in India. Based on recent disclosures made by the father of young GM Aronyak Ghosh, families ought to be willing to pay at least 70 lakh rupees starting from the inception of a child up to reaching the title in chess. His family itself had an expenditure of approximately 46 lakh in 15 years.

The key expenses are high-level coaching (1500-15000 per session), national and international tournament and entry fees (1200-12000 per event), extensive travelling and accommodation costs (3-5 lakh per foreign normal tournament), software/books, and living costs. The largest financial stumbling block is to win three GM norms (performance rating 2600+) over powerful international fields.

Although the government incentives have become less, top players tend to require sponsors or family backing. Today chess in India is no longer an inexpensive pastime of serious title contenders.