India is at the heart of an unprecedented revolution in the world of chess. The story of Indian chess has been a whirl of acceleration, unmatched talent and structural brilliance — from a lone pioneer in 1988 to a superpower in October 2026. There are already 99 official Grandmasters (GMs) in India, and the country is poised to reach a historic milestone: Who will be the 100th GM?
In this article, we trace this awesome progress of Indian chess, complete the chrono-order roll call of all our GMs and analyse the top international masters who could secure the legendary 100th rank.
The Ultimate Milestone: Who Will Be India’s 100th Grandmaster?
The Indian player, V.S. Rathanvel, has officially improved his rating to 2500, putting India in 99th place among the world's grandmasters. By the time he was 10 years old, he had become a grandmaster, a distinction that had only been achieved by two countries in the history of chess: the USA and Russia. India is on the verge of becoming one of them in days or weeks.
Though when the milestone will occur is unknown, several of the top International Masters (IMs) are in a fascinating race to get to the top of the historic list:
1. The Rating Hunters (Need Elo Points)
· IM Neelash Saha (Current Rating: ~2476): Holding all 3 required GM norms, Neelash is just 24 Elo points away from the 2500 benchmark. A single strong open circuit performance could seal his place in history.
· IM Ayush Sharma (Current Rating: ~2428): Just like Saha, Ayush has already accomplished the arduous journey of achieving all 3 GM norms. At this point he only has one goal: to push his rating envelope over 2500.
2. The Norm Hunters (Need Final Norms)
· IM Nitish Belurkar & IM Mohammad Imran: Both these strong players have already broken the 2500 Elo mark. They are now on a mission to find their last GM norm in international formats to complete the title.
· IM Ajay Santosh Parvathareddy: A very consistent player who is on a hunt to secure his last GM norm for completing his title application.
3. The Dark Horse Prodigies
Excellent talent is aplenty in the domestic circuit. There are several players with promising names, like IM Kushagra Mohan, IM Harsh Suresh, IM Ameya Audi, and IM Akshay Borgaonkar, who are very active in the open tournament circuits, can deliver a historic string of games to beat the field.
From Anand to Rathanvel: The Evolution of a Chess Superpower
India's rise was not a sudden one, but the pace of its rise is amazing. It took 12 years for India to grow from 1 grandmaster to 4. In today's day and age, India regularly delivers 3 GMs in one month. Initiatives such as ChessCoffee Connect are also helping strengthen the country's growing chess community and bring players and enthusiasts closer to the game.
The evolution of the structure can be divided into three periods:
1. The Vanguard Era (1988–2010): Indian players faced the elite Soviet chess schools and did their best with the help of new icons like Dibyendu Barua, Praveen Thipsayand, and Pentala Harikrishna. It also saw a first in Indian football history when Koneru Humpy became the first female GM.
2. The Prodigy Boom (2011–2020): A structural explosion in which the training infrastructure grew. It saw hyper-prodigies such as Dommaraju Gukesh, who became the youngest to win the title at the historic age of 12 years and 7 months, and Vidit Gujrathi and Arjun Erigaisi as world-class mainstays.
3. The Modern Blitz (2021–2026): Extensive domestic circuit, a coaching boom, and technology. The talent line has been transformed into a conveyor belt, and now young guns such as Ethan Vaz, Harshavardhan G.B., Aswath S., and V.S. Rathanvel are being put through the mill.
The Complete Chronological List of All 99 Indian Grandmasters
Here is the definitive list of all Indian chess players who have earned the coveted FIDE Grandmaster title till August 2026:
| 1 | Viswanathan Anand | 1988 | | 51 | Saptarshi Roy | 2018 |
| 2 | Dibyendu Barua | 1991 | | 52 | Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa | 2018 |
| 3 | Praveen Thipsay| 1997 | | 53 | Nihal Sarin| 2018 |
| 4 | Abhijit Kunte | 2000 | | 54 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2018 |
| 5 | Krishnan Sasikiran | 2000 | | 55 | Karthik Venkataraman | 2018 |
| 6 | Pentala Harikrishna | 2001 | | 56 | Harsha Bharathakoti | 2019 |
| 7 | Koneru Humpy | 2002 | | 57 | P. Karthikeyan | 2019 |
| 8 | Surya Shekhar Ganguly | 2003 | | 58 | Stany G.A | 2019 |
| 9 | Sandipan Chanda | 2003 | | 59 | N.R. Visakh | 2019 |
| 10 | Ramachandran Ramesh | 2004 | | 60 | Dommaraju Gukesh | 2019 |
| 11 | Tejas Bakre | 2004 | | 61 | P. Iniyan | 2019
| 12 | Magesh Chandran P. | 2006 | | 62 | Swayams Mishra | 2019 |
| 13 | J. Deepan Chakkravarthy | 2006 | | 63 | Girish A. Koushik | 2019 |
| 14 | Neelotpal Das | 2006 | | 64 | Prithu Gupta | 2019 |
| 15 | Parimarjan Negi | 2006 | | 65 | Raunak Sadhwani | 2019 |
| 16 | G.N. Gopal | 2007 | | 66 | G. Akash | 2020 |
| 17 | Abhijeet Gupta | 2008 | | 67 | Leon Luke Mendonca | 2020 |
| 18 | S. Arun Prasad | 2008 | | 68 | Arjun Kalyan | 2021 |
| 19 | Sundararajan Kidambi | 2009 | | 69 | Harshit Raja | 2021 |
| 20 | R.R. Laxman | 2009 | | 70 | Raja Rithvik R. | 2021 |
| 21 | Sriram Jha | 2010 | | 71 | Mitrabha Guha | 2021 |
| 22 | Deep Sengupta | 2010 | | 72 | Sankalp Gupta | 2021 |
| 23 | Baskaran Adhiban | 2010 | | 73 | Bharath Subramaniyam | 2022 |
| 24 | S.P. Sethuraman | 2011 | | 74 | Rahul Srivatshav P. | 2022 |
| 25 | Dronavalli Harika | 2011 | | 75 | V. Pranav | 2022 |
| 26 | M.R. Lalith Babu | 2012 | | 76 | Pranav Anand | 2022 |
| 27 | Vaibhav Suri | 2012 | | 77 | Aditya Mittal | 2022 |
| 28 | M.R. Venkatesh | 2012 | | 78 | Koustav Chatterjee | 2023 |
| 29 | Sahaj Grover | 2012 | | 79 | Pranesh M. | 2023 |
| 30 | Vidit Gujrathi | 2013 | | 80 | Vignesh N.R. | 2023 |
| 31 | M. Shyam Sundar | 2013 | | 81 | Sayantan Das | 2023 |
| 32 | Akshayraj Kore | 2013 | | 82 | Prraneeth Vuppala | 2023 |
| 33 | V. Vishnu Prasanna | 2013 | | 83 | Aditya Samant | 2023 |
| 34 | Debashis Das | 2013 | | 84 | Rameshbabu Vaishali | 2023 |
| 35 | Saptarshi Roy Chowdhury | 2013 | | 85 | Shyaam Nikhil P. | 2024 |
| 36 | Ankit Rajpara | 2014 | | 86 | Srihari L.R. | 2025 |
| 37 | Aravindh Chithambaram | 2015 | | 87 | Harikrishnan A Ra | 2025 |
| 38 | Karthikeyan Murali | 2015 | | 88 | Divya Deshmukh | 2025 |
| 39 | Ashwin Jayaram | 2015 | | 89 | Rohith Krishna S. | 2025 |
| 40 | Swapnil Dhopade | 2016 | | 90 | Ilamparthi A.R. | 2025 |
| 41 | S.L. Narayanan | 2016 | | 91 | V.S. Raahul | 2025 |
| 42 | Shardul Gagare | 2016 | | 92 | Aaryan Varshney | 2026 |
| 43 | Diptayan Ghosh | 2016 | | 93 | Aarav Dengla | 2026 |
| 44 | Priyadharshan Kannappan | 2016 | | 94 | Mayank Chakraborty | 2026 |
| 45 | Aryan Chopra | 2017 | | 95 | Aronyak Ghosh | 2026 |
| 46 | Srinath Narayanan | 2017 | | 96 | Ethan Vaz | 2026 |
| 47 | Himanshu Sharma | 2017 | | 97 | Harshavardhan G.B. | 2026 |
| 48 | Anurag Mhamal | 2017 | | 98 | Aswath S. | 2026 |
| 49 | Abhimanyu Puranik | 2017 | | 99 | V.S. Rathanvel | 2026 |
| 50 | M.S. Thejkumar | 2017 |
Why the Race to the 100th GM Matters
India has won the accolade of 100 Grandmasters, a cultural, economic and sports achievement. It is an indicator that chess has moved beyond niche club settings and become a viable and competitive business, with top academies and corporate sponsorships and unprecedented engagement by young people. As the competition heats up, everyone in the chess world is watching the scoreboard.
Conclusion
India's journey from its first grandmaster in 1988 to 99 GMs today reflects the country's remarkable rise in world chess. The race for the 100th Grandmaster is not just about a number—it represents the growth of India's chess ecosystem and the depth of talent emerging across the country.
As Indian chess enters this exciting new chapter, stay connected with us for the latest updates, insights, and stories from the world of chess. Have questions or want to know more? Contact us today.
