India gets its 100th Grandmaster! Anuj Shrivatri becomes first GM from MP

NEW DELHI: Anuj Shrivatri of Madhya Pradesh became India’s 100th chess Grandmaster on Sunday, completing the title requirements by winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship. The result also made him the first Grandmaster from his state.

Shrivatri, born in 2004, began the tournament with a loss. He lost his opening game, then recovered to finish on seven points after nine rounds. That was half a point clear of Vietnam’s Nguyen Duc Hoa, with Nouri Alekhine of the Philippines third on six.

The title was still in the balance in the closing rounds, and he won the last two with everything at stake. The result came on Diwali, the festival of light. The milestone ends a wait that began in 1988, when Viswanathan Anand became India’s first Grandmaster. The country has added several in recent months, with S Aswath becoming the 98th in July and VS Rathanvel the 99th more recently. Shrivatri had been among the names touted as the likely 100th. He has long been seen as a prospect. Shrivatri earned the IM title in 2020 and was then reported to be the youngest International Master from Madhya Pradesh. Six years on, the next step is complete.

For Indian chess, the number carries symbolic weight. India has had the 100th Grandmaster title in sight for some time, and the speed at which new Grandmasters have arrived shows how strong the country’s talent pipeline has become. For Madhya Pradesh, which had not produced one until now, Shrivatri’s name opens a new chapter.