Safal Bora is an American chess grandmaster who earned his first Grandmaster norm remarkably early, winning his last three games at a Charlotte Chess Center norm tournament in March 2016. He combined chess with study at the University of Michigan, taking degrees in business administration and engineering while playing for the university's team at the Ivy Chess Challenge.

In December 2023 he tied for second at the SPICE Cup with grandmasters Aram Hakobyan and Yasser Quesada, and in July 2024 he sealed his final norm at the NYC Chess Norms invitational by beating grandmaster Oliver Barbosa in the last round. Crossing the 2500 rating mark in December 2024 completed the title.