Anuj Shrivatri becomes India's 100th Grandmaster after winning 7th ASEAN individual open chess championship

Indian chess has reached a major milestone as Anuj Shrivatri became the country's 100th Grandmaster after winning the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Open Chess Championship 2026 in Ozamiz City, Philippines.

The achievement also made Shrivatri the first-ever Grandmaster from Madhya Pradesh. He secured the prestigious title after finishing on seven points from nine rounds at the tournament, having bounced back from a defeat in the opening round.

The All-India Chess Federation (AICF) confirmed the milestone, with President Nitin Narang congratulating the young chess player on social media.

"GRANDMASTER No. 100 FOR BHARAT! India achieves a historic milestone as Anuj Shrivatri becomes the country's 100th Grandmaster by winning the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Chess Championships 2026 in Ozamiz City, Philippines, securing the direct GM title! Congratulations, Anuj! A proud moment for Indian chess. Onwards to 200 Grandmasters!" Narang wrote on X.

From @vishy64theking sir to @AnujShrivatri. From one Grandmaster to a hundred. What a journey, what a moment for Indian Chess! And somewhere across India, the next 100 are already dreaming, training and making their moves! 100 is a milestone. Not a finish line. And when the Prime Minister himself cheers for chess, a million more dreams find their opening move! Thank you, @narendramodi ji, for always championing Indian Chess! 🇮🇳 @mansukhmandviya @Media_SAI @TurlovforChess @FIDE_chess @aicfchess

— Nitin Narang (@narangnitin) November 10, 2026

Anuj Shrivatri follows Viswanathan Anand's footsteps

India's journey to 100 Grandmasters began with chess legend Viswanathan Anand, who became the country's first Grandmaster in 1988. Anand had achieved his third GM norm in 1987, marking the beginning of a remarkable era for Indian chess.

Since then, India has steadily produced Grandmasters, with Shrivatri becoming the latest name to join the list. In July 2026, VS Rathanvel became India's 99th Grandmaster after crossing the 2500 Elo rating mark at the Guwahati Smart City International Open.

Anand also congratulated Shrivatri on the achievement, taking to X to write: "Happy Diwali. A cracker of a 100. Congrats to @AnujShrivatri on getting India to this milestone."

He added, "Funnily only today I was thinking December 2027 will be the 40th anniversary of my GM title and literally this manifested."

Who is Anuj Shrivatri?

Shrivatri started playing chess at the age of seven in 2011. He initially trained under coach VK Tiwari before working with Nilkesh Jain, who later became his mentor. Alongside chess, Shrivatri also pursued academics. He completed a BTech degree from Lovely Professional University and specialised in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

He subsequently worked as a software engineer for a Germany-based company, reportedly with an opportunity to move to Germany. However, he chose to focus on his chess career.

How does a chess player become a Grandmaster?

The Grandmaster title is the highest standard title awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). It is considered one of the most difficult achievements in competitive chess.

A player generally needs to earn three Grandmaster norms across at least 27 games and reach a FIDE rating of 2500 at some point to secure the title. A GM norm requires a strong tournament performance, including a performance rating of at least 2600 and a sufficiently strong field featuring Grandmasters and players from multiple federations.