Julio Ernesto Granda Zúñiga is a Peruvian chess player who was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE, the international chess federation, in 1986. Born in Camaná on February 25, 1967, Granda is considered one of the strongest chess players ever from South America. He has won the Peruvian Championship six times: in 1984, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2002 and 2004.
From an early age, Granda showed a high skills in chess, winning national tournaments in his native country. His international career started in 1986 when he participated in his first Chess Olympiad. Since then, he has represented Peru in twelve Chess Olympiads to date. Granda has won various other international tournaments including the Mar del Plata tournament in Argentina in 1993 and the Benasque Open in Spain three times.
Outside of chess, Granda served as a town councilman in the municipality of Anco-Huallo, his place of residence, between 2007 and 2010. He announced his retirement from competitive chess in March 2008, but has since returned to the game. Granda was also a professor and promoter of local tourism in Anco-Huallo.