Tamil Nadu’s Aswath Becomes India’s 98th Grandmaster

S. Aswath, a 17-year-old chess player from Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu, became India’s 98th Grandmaster on 8 July 2026. He earned his third and final Grandmaster norm at the Pune International GM tournament in July 2026.

Grandmaster title in chess

The Grandmaster title is awarded by the International Chess Federation, also known as FIDE. A player must secure three Grandmaster norms and cross a FIDE rating of 2500 to receive the title.

Pune International Grandmaster Round Robin Tournament

Aswath finished second in the Pune International Grandmaster Round Robin Tournament with 7 points from 9 rounds. He defeated USA’s FM Kannan Vaidyanathan with the black pieces in the final round to complete his final norm.

Norms and rating milestones

Aswath earned his first Grandmaster norm at the Grenke Open in 2025. He secured his second norm at the First Saturday GM Round Robin in Budapest in December 2025, where he also crossed the 2500 FIDE rating mark.

Important Facts for Exams

• India’s chess Grandmaster count reached 98 after Aswath’s title achievement.
• Aswath became Tamil Nadu’s 38th Grandmaster.
• He took a break from classical chess for six months to prepare for Class X board examinations.
• He learned chess at Cape Chess Academy, which is run by his father and coach, A.C. Siva.

India’s Grandmaster tally

India was two Grandmasters short of 100 after Aswath’s title achievement. Three players achieved the Grandmaster title in the 12 days before his result in Pune.