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News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Anuj Shrivatri on becoming India’s 100th Chess Grandmaster, marking a major milestone in Indian chess.
About Chess Grandmaster
- Grandmaster (GM) is the highest official title in chess, awarded to players for achieving exceptional performance in the game.
- Governing Body: Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) is the global governing body of chess.
- It is responsible for awarding the Grandmaster title and regulating chess competitions.
- Criteria for Becoming a Grandmaster
- Minimum Rating: A player must achieve a FIDE classical rating of at least 2500 at some point in their career.
- Grandmaster Norms: A player must earn qualifying GM norms by demonstrating Grandmaster-level performance in recognised international tournaments.
- These norms must cover at least 27 games under the normal qualification route.
- Tournament Performance: To earn a GM norm, a player must achieve a performance rating of at least 2600 and score at least 35% of the available points.
- Strength of Opponents: The average rating of opponents must be at least 2380 after the prescribed adjustment.
- At least one-third of the opponents, with a minimum of three, must be Grandmasters.
- Titled Opponents: At least half of the opponents must hold FIDE-recognized titles, excluding Candidate Master (CM) and Woman Candidate Master (WCM).
- Validation: The GM title remains valid for lifetime unless it is revoked for a proven offence.
- Revocation of Title: FIDE may revoke the Grandmaster title if a player violates ethical principles, including cheating in tournaments used to qualify for the title.
- Other Titles: FIDE also awards International Master (IM), FIDE Master (FM), Candidate Master (CM), Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM), Woman FIDE Master (WFM) and Woman Candidate Master (WCM).
India’s Performance
- 100 Grandmasters: India has reached the milestone of 100 Grandmasters, 38 years after Viswanathan Anand became its first Grandmaster.
- Super Grandmasters: India has five players with an Elo rating above 2,700.
- Leading Players: They include R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, D. Gukesh, Nihal Sarin and Viswanathan Anand.
- Growing Popularity: The achievement reflects the growing popularity of chess and the rising talent among Indian youth.
