Mayank Chakravarty Becomes India’s 94th Chess Grandmaster

A new chapter has been added to India's chess history. Young Assamese player Mayank Chakravarty has achieved his final Grandmaster norm at an international tournament held in Sweden.

With this achievement, Mayank Chakravarty became India's 94th chess Grandmaster and the first from Northeast India.

16-year-old International Master Mayank Chakravarty achieved his final Grandmaster norm after a stellar performance at the 8th GM Chess Tournament held at Hotel Stockholm North in Sweden.

He won the tournament with a rating performance of 2670. He secured first place with 7.0 points out of 9, one point ahead of all other players; increasing his live rating to 2508.

Jona Willows of England finished second, and Axel Bu Kvaløy of Norway finished third in the tournament.

 

Required Criteria to Become a Grandmaster

To become a Grandmaster (GM) in chess, a player must fulfill certain key requirements:

1. Achieving three GM norms

2. Achieving a FIDE rating of at least 2500

3. Consistently performing well in international competitions

Mayank Chakravarty achieved this historic feat by fulfilling all these criteria.

Mayank Chakravarty's Key Achievements

Mayank Chakravarty, a resident of Guwahati, Assam, who will become an International Master in 2024, has achieved many significant accomplishments at a very young age. Some of his key achievements are:

Became an International Master (IM) in 2024

India's and Asia's No. 1 player in the Under-11 category

Under-9 National Silver Medalist

Under-11 National Gold Medalist

Silver Medalist in the Under-10 category at the Asian Youth Chess Championship held in Sri Lanka

 

India's Leading Chess Grandmaster

The chess tradition in India continues to grow stronger.

First 05 Indian Grandmasters-

1. Viswanathan Anand – Tamil Nadu (1987) – India's first Grandmaster

2. Dibyendu Barua – West Bengal (1991)

3. Praveen Thipsay – Maharashtra (1997)

4. Abhijit Kunte – Maharashtra (2000)

5. Krishnan Sasikiran – Tamil Nadu (2000)

 

Indian Grandmasters in recent years:

88 Divya Deshmukh, Maharashtra, 2025

89 Rohit Krishna S., Tamil Nadu, 2025

90 Ilamparthi A.R., Tamil Nadu, 2025

91 V.S. Rahul, Tamil Nadu, 2025

92 Aryan Varshney, Delhi, 2026

93 Aarav Dengla, Maharashtra, 2026

 

India's leading female Grandmasters

Many female players from India have also achieved international success in chess. The leading women Grandmasters are Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, R. Vaishali, and Divya Deshmukh.

 

What is FIDE?

FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) is the International Chess Federation. FIDE organizes and regulates international chess competitions worldwide.

FIDE is currently headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, but was originally founded in Paris in 1924 under the motto "Gens una Sumus" (Latin for "We are one family").