Anuj Shrivatri becomes India's 100th chess Grandmaster and Madhya Pradesh's first GM
The 22-year-old won the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in the Philippines to secure the title.
Anuj Shrivatri became India's 100th chess Grandmaster on Sunday after winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in the Philippines, according to The Times of India and The Hindu. The 22-year-old from Katni also became the first Grandmaster from Madhya Pradesh.
Shrivatri finished the tournament with seven points from nine rounds, despite losing his opening game. He secured the title by finishing half a point ahead of the second-placed Vietnamese Grandmaster Nguyen Duc Hoa.
The player told The Times of India that he felt relief after trying for the title for a long time, noting that his GM norms had been missed four or five times previously. He had previously completed a BTech degree in Computer Science at Lovely Professional University before deciding to pursue chess full-time after rejecting a corporate job offer.
Shrivatri mentioned that finances were a significant struggle as he had no sponsorship and had to fund his international trips using earnings from coaching and rapid tournaments. He noted that a single tournament in locations like Kazakhstan or Qatar could cost around Rs 1 lakh.
The achievement follows a period where India saw several new Grandmasters, with the 96th to 100th titles being awarded between July 2026 and November 2026. Recent Grandmasters include S. Aswath and V.S.
Rathanvel.