Three Indian chess players achieved the Grandmaster title at the end of June and beginning of July. The total number of GMs in India increased to 98.

14-year-old Ethan Vaz completed his final GM norm on June 27 by winning the Chess Summer in Sarajevo. 22-year-old Harshavardhan G. B. earned his third norm on June 28 at the 2nd Chola Chess International. 17-year-old Aswath S reached the GM title on July 8 at the Pune International GM Round Robin 2026.

India ranks 4th in the total number of Grandmasters by country. According to FIDE, India ranks behind Russia (184+), the USA (113), and Germany (103). 15th World Champion Viswanathan Anand became India’s first Grandmaster in 1988 at the age of 18.

Credit: ChessBase India YouTube / Devansh Singh / Vivek Sohani