India’s march towards its 100th Grandmaster gathered momentum yesterday, with 17-year-old Aswath S from Kanyakumari becoming the country’s 98th Grandmaster after clinching his final GM norm at the 2026 Pune International Grandmaster Round Robin.

 

Needing a win in the final round, Aswath defeated USA’s FM Kannan Vaidyanathan with the black pieces to complete the Grandmaster title requirements. He finished the tournament with 7 points from 9 rounds, recording six wins, two draws, and one loss to secure second place.

 

Aswath had earned his first GM norm at the Grenke Open last year and his second at the First Saturday GM Round Robin in Budapest in December, where he also crossed the 2500 rating mark.

 

After a slow start in Pune, including a loss to GM Abhijeet Gupta, Aswath bounced back with a strong finish to achieve the biggest milestone of his chess career. He is the latest Indian to achieve the Grandmaster title, continuing the country’s impressive rise in world chess.