OZAMIZ CITY (Philippines) 11 November — India now has 100 chess Grandmasters. The century fell on 8 November, when International Master Anuj Shrivatri, 22, won the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in the Philippines and with it a direct Grandmaster title.
DATA CARD
1988 — Viswanathan Anand becomes India’s first GM
38 years — from GM No. 1 to GM No. 100
5 months — time taken for the last five titles (July–November 2026)
2,500 — the FIDE rating every GM must reach
27 — minimum games across which three GM norms must be earned
Source: AICF; PTI, 8 November 2026
The milestone has a long tail. Viswanathan Anand became India’s first Grandmaster in 1988. For years afterwards a new title was an event. Now the titles arrive in clusters: Ethan Vaz, Harshavardhan G B, S Aswath and V S Rathanvel all crossed the line in the five months before Shrivatri did. Rathanvel, the 99th, got there in July by crossing a 2,500 rating at the Guwahati Smart City International Open.
Five-time world champion Anand marked the moment on X with a Diwali pun: “A cracker of a 100.” He noted that December 2027 will be the 40th anniversary of his own title.
What India gains
A country with 100 Grandmasters can field strong teams at every age, host norm tournaments that foreign players want to enter, and keep its best juniors playing at home for longer. Russia, by one count, has more than 250 Grandmasters. All India Chess Federation President Nitin Narang has already set the next mark: “Onwards to 200 Grandmasters!”
Ladakh returns to ballot after eight years
LEH, 11 November Ladakh holds its first panchayat elections since 2018 on 21 November, alongside municipal polls in Leh and Kargil.
The administration has notified 100 elected constituencies for the new district hill councils, part of a plan to give every district in the Union Territory its own Autonomous Hill Development Council. For villages in a cold desert where winter cuts roads for months, an elected local body is the first office a resident can reach.
Delhi declares November 16 a Chhath holiday
NEW DELHI, 11 November — The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi has declared 16 November a public holiday in all Delhi Government offices, autonomous bodies and PSUs for Chhath Puja. Indian Railways will run 31 special trains from the Delhi area for the festival rush.
