The making of India’s 91st Grandmaster

WHILE Indians in the chess scene are taking strides in the ongoing FIDE chess World Cup in Goa, Raahul VS of Chennai achieved a feat that he had been trying for years — a Grandmaster title in the ASEAN Championship in the Philippines with a round to spare. As a result, he became India’s 91st Grandmaster.

- ASHOK VENUGOPAL

RAAHUL VS bagged the Grandmaster title in the ASEAN Championship in the Philippines

To become a Grandmaster is no mean feat. One needs three GM norms, a FIDE rating of 2500, and to play a plethora of tournaments. However, there are select international tournaments recognised by FIDE that would award the GM title, if won. That way, Raahul was crowned the GM in this event.

The 21-year-old has been playing the game of 64 squares since the age of six. “I think in the past five years, I would mostly be working on an average of 5-6 hours per day in chess. Recently, I have also allocated separate time for my mental health and training, which has been very helpful in the past year. All this has borne fruit with the title,” he said.