G.N. Gopal (born 29 March 1989) is an Indian Chess grandmaster from Cochin, Kerala. Gopal became Kerala's first grandmaster in 2007 at the age of 18 and India's sixteenth grandmaster. He won the bronze medal in the prestigious 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in November 2010. He also won the bronze medal in the World Team Championship held in Bursa, Turkey in January 2010. Gopal was born in a Nair family in Muvattupuzha as the second son of Prof B. Narayana Pillai and Prof Geetha Prakasini. He has an elder brother Gokul who is a Computer Engineer. Gopal started chess at the age of 10. He was initiated to chess by his father. He won his first national championship in Chandigarh in 2001. He became the National Junior champion (U-20) at the age of 15 in 2004. He won his first international championship in his first international exposure in 2003 in Dubai Juniors, Dubai.
