India just crossed a milestone that would have seemed audacious even a decade ago — a triple-digit count of Grandmasters, the highest title in chess. On Monday, 9 November 2026, Union Minister of Labour, Employment, Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya took to X to celebrate Anuj Shrivatri as India's 100th Chess Grandmaster, calling it 'a historic century on the 64 squares.' The minister's post declared the achievement a symbol of 'intellectual dominance of New India shining brighter than ever,' and directly credited the Modi Government with building the foundation for this generation of champions. The closing line set an ambitious new target: 'Onwards to 200 Grandmasters!'

From one legend to a hundred: India's chess ascent

When Viswanathan Anand became India's first Grandmaster in 1988, the number sat at one for years. The acceleration that followed — especially through the 2010s and beyond — reflects a structural shift in how India produces chess talent. Private academies, online training platforms, and a culture shift away from treating chess as a niche hobby all drove the pipeline. Each new GM in the list made the next one slightly more likely, as coaching networks deepened and domestic competition sharpened. The numbers tell the story simply: going from 0 to 50 Grandmasters took India roughly three decades; the journey from 50 to 100 was dramatically faster, compressed by infrastructure, technology, and institutional momentum.

Khelo India and the 2022 Chess Olympiad's lasting ripple

Government policy did play a measurable role. The Khelo India programme, launched in 2017, embedded chess into talent identification alongside more conventional sports. The bigger inflection point came when India hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai in 2022 — a government-backed mega-event that placed the sport in prime time, generated a surge of grassroots interest, and visibly demonstrated state commitment to the game. Ministers and officials have pointed to that event as a catalyst ever since. Mandaviya, as the minister responsible for both youth affairs and sports, has consistently framed chess achievements within a wider narrative of building elite pathways for young Indians beyond cricket and traditional Olympic disciplines.

Who is Anuj Shrivatri?

Anuj Shrivatri is the Indian chess player who, by crossing the final Grandmaster norm and the requisite 2500 Elo rating threshold set by FIDE, the world chess federation, earned the title that placed him at the symbolic '100' mark in India's GM count. The title of Grandmaster is awarded for life and remains the sport's highest honour, held by fewer than 1,800 players worldwide. Joining that list while simultaneously completing a national landmark makes Shrivatri's achievement doubly significant. For every young player grinding through district tournaments and state championships across Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Telangana — the states that have historically produced the bulk of India's chess talent — this milestone is both validation and invitation. The goal is set, the scoreboard reads 100, and Indian chess is very much still mid-game.