Anuj Shrivatri becomes India’s 100th Grandmaster

• Anuj Shrivatri became India’s 100th Grandmaster after winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in Philippines on November 8.

• The 22-year-old from Katni in Madhya Pradesh scored seven out of the possible eight points after losing the first game at the tournament which was held at the Asenso Global Youth Leadership and Sports Complex in Misamis Occidental.

• He is also the first player from Madhya Pradesh to earn the title.

• The legendary Vishwanathan Anand is India’s first-ever Grandmaster as he won the title in 1988 after earning his third norm in 1987.

• India got its last five Grandmasters — from 96th to 100th between July, 2026 to November 2026 in a space of just five months.

• Ethan Vaz, Harshvardhan G.B., S. Ashwath and V. Rathnavel were awarded GM titles just before Anuj.

FIDE

• The International Chess Federation (Federation Internationale des Echecs) is the governing body of the sport of chess, and it regulates all international chess competitions. 

• It was founded in 1924 in Paris. 

• In 1999, FIDE was recognised by the International Olympic Committee as a global sporting organisation.

• FIDE awards several performance-based titles to chess players.

• They are Grandmaster (GM), International Master (IM), FIDE Master (FM), Candidate Master (CM), Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM), Woman FIDE Master (WFM), Woman Candidate Master (WCM).