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Anuj Shrivatri Becomes India's 100th Chess Grandmaster

The 22-year-old from Madhya Pradesh won the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship to reach the milestone.

By , Sports writer

· 1 min read

Chess, general photo
Chess (general photo, not from this event) Photo: jarmoluk / Pixabay, Pixabay Content License

Anuj Shrivatri became India's 100th Grandmaster on Sunday after winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in Ozamiz City, Philippines. He is the first player from Madhya Pradesh to earn the title.

Key takeaways

  • Anuj Shrivatri won the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in Ozamiz City, Philippines.
  • He became India's 100th Grandmaster and the first from Madhya Pradesh.
  • He scored seven points from nine rounds after losing his opening game.
  • Viswanathan Anand became India's first Grandmaster in 1988.
  • AICF President Nitin Narang congratulated him on X and hoped India would reach 200 Grandmasters.

International Master Anuj Shrivatri of Madhya Pradesh won the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in Ozamiz City, the Philippines, to become India's 100th Grandmaster on Sunday, November 8, 2026. The Hindu reported that the 22-year-old also became the first Grandmaster from his state.

Anuj secured the title after scoring seven points from nine rounds following a defeat in the opening round. NDTV Sports reported that this performance helped him win the tournament and achieve the Grandmaster title. The win marked a milestone for Indian chess and Madhya Pradesh, according to ChessBase India.

Viswanathan Anand became the country's first Grandmaster in 1988, The Hindu reported. The wait for the 100th GM was watched intently after S. Aswath and V.S. Rathanvel recently became the 98th and 99th GMs respectively.

Why it matters

The achievement makes Shrivatri India's 100th Grandmaster and Madhya Pradesh's first. Sportstar reported that Anuj is a B.Tech graduate in Computer Science from Lovely Professional University in Punjab.

Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain apart from World Champion and is held for life. Earning it requires three GM norms and a 2500 rating. Norms require a 2600+ tournament rating over a FIDE-approved event of at least nine rounds, with opponents from at least three federations where at least 50% hold international titles and at least one-third are already GMs.

{\"quote\":\"GRANDMASTER No. 100 FOR BHARAT!\",\"cite\":\"Nitin Narang\"}

What happens next

The All India Chess Federation hopes the country will reach 200 Grandmasters next. Nitin Narang expressed this hope in a post on X after congratulating Shrivatri.

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