Anuj Shrivatri Becomes India's 100th Grandmaster After Scoring 7 Points at ASEAN Championship

India has its century.

Anuj Shrivatri sealed the country’s 100th chess Grandmaster title on Sunday, mounting a fierce comeback to conquer the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship. Born in 2004, the Madhya Pradesh youngster entered the event under intense scrutiny as the frontrunner for the landmark tag—and he delivered on Diwali day with icy nerves over the 64 squares.

It began with disaster. Shrivatri dropped his opening round, an early stumble that wiped out any margin for error across the grueling nine-round tournament. Yet he refused to fold. He ground down the field through the middle rounds, clawing back into contention before staring down a high-stakes finale where only back-to-back victories would secure the championship. Under crushing pressure, he swept his final two games, closing out the contest on 7 points to take gold.

That late surge left him half a point clear of Vietnam’s Nguyen Duc Hoa, while Nouri Alekhine of the Philippines claimed third spot on 6 points.

Breaking Fresh Ground for Madhya Pradesh

The victory shatters an old barrier for central India. While established hubs like Tamil Nadu have long dominated the national pipeline, Madhya Pradesh had never produced a single Grandmaster until Shrivatri's final move on Sunday. He had already set a regional benchmark in 2020 by earning his International Master badge as the youngest player from the state to do so. Four years later, he took the ultimate step.

The breakthrough marks the climax of a journey that kicked off 36 years ago, when Viswanathan Anand became India’s first Grandmaster in 1988. The pace of production has accelerated dramatically in recent months. S Aswath secured the 98th title in July, and VS Rathanvel followed soon after as the 99th. With Shrivatri locking down number 100, Indian chess enters a new era—with Madhya Pradesh finally on the global board.