Madhya Pradesh's Anuj Shrivatri became India's 100th Chess Grandmaster, 38 years after Viswanathan Anand had become India's first.
Shrivatri is also the first grandmaster from Madhya Pradesh, achieving the title after winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in the Philippines.
GRANDMASTER No. 100 FOR BHARAT! India achieves a historic milestone as Anuj Shrivatri becomes the country's 100th Grandmaster by winning the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Chess Championships 2026 in Ozamiz City, Philippines, securing the direct GM title! Congratulations, Anuj! A proud moment for Indian chess. Onwards to 200 Grandmasters! @narendramodi @mansukhmandviya @FIDE_chess @PMOIndia @IndiaSports @Media_SAI @aicfchess
- Nitin Narang (@narangnitin) November 8, 2026
It's a remarkable achievement for Indian chess, and a reflection of the remarkable rise of the sport in the country.
Anand had told ESPN back in August that it was a sign of the speed of the progress of the sport that in 2022 (on the sidelines of the FIDE Olympiad in Chennai) he had said he hoped India would get its 75th grandmaster in the country's 75th year of independence back then. Now, just four years later, 25 more grandmasters have been added to the fold.
Shrivatri became the 100th after VS Rathnavel became India's 99th grandmaster back in July. Anand had told ESPN then that even if he didn't see much of a difference between 99 and 100, the century would be a nice milestone to celebrate when it happened.
Picture this - it took nine years for India to move from one grandmaster to three - Praveen Thipsay had become one in 1997.
"I think we were at 30 grandmasters 15 years ago," Anand had said. It was actually 25 at the end of 2011.
Especially in the recent past, Anand's role as the godfather of Indian chess has been pronounced. He's hands on with a lot of the country's best talents. His Westbridge-Anand Chess Academy has been influential in the rise of some of those players' careers. Since making his mark on a sport that was then dominated by the erstwhile Soviet Union, Anand has played a big role in making India a nerve centre for the sport as it stands today.
Now, after celebrating the century, Indian chess moves on to looking forward to another milestone - watching another Indian defend his world championship title, as Gukesh Dommaraju fights against Javokhir Sindarov in Geneva later this month.