Raahul VS becomes India’s 91st Grandmaster

Raahul VS became India's 91st Grandmaster after he won the 6th ASEAN Individual Championship with a round to spare.

Raahul VS became India's 91st Grandmaster after he won the 6th ASEAN Individual Championship with a round to spare. (X/Chess.com India)

Raahul VS on Friday became India’s 91st Grandmaster after he won the 6th ASEAN Individual Championship with a round to spare. The 21-year-old, who is also an Asian junior champion, had attained the title of International Master in 2021, when he secured his fourth and fifth IM norms before crossing the 2400 mark in live ratings.

“Heartiest congratulations to Raahul V S for clinching the ASEAN Individual Championship with a round to spare and, in the process, becoming the 91st Grandmaster of the nation! Wishing you many more milestones ahead and continued success in making Bharat proud,” All India Chess Federation (AICF) President Nitin Narang posted on X.

A week ago, Illamparthi AR from Chennai had become India’s 90th Grandmaster. The 21-year-old player, who is the 35th GM from Tamil Nadu achieved his final norm at the Bijeljina Open 2025 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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Before him, S Rohith Krishna had become India’s 89th Grandmaster in August after he made his final GM norm at the Almaty Masters Qonaev Cup in Kazakhstan where he scored 6/9 and also surpassed 2500 Elo ratings mark. To grab the honour, he defeated International Master Artur Davtyan in the final round.

Who is a Grandmaster?

Grandmaster is the highest title or ranking that a chess player can achieve. It is awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE, from its French acronym Fédération Internationale des Échecs), the global governing body headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Among the hierarchy of chess titles that include International Master (IM), FIDE Master (FM), Candidate Master (CM), and their female-specific counterparts (WGM, WIM, WFM, WCM), the Grandmaster title stands as the most prestigious and challenging to obtain.

What is a GM norm and how to earn it?

Earning a GM norm in chess is a challenging process governed by strict FIDE regulations. Typically, a player must compete in a tournament of at least nine games, though exceptions exist for shorter events, such as seven-game norms in World or Continental Team Championships and eight-game norms in the World Cup or Women’s World Championship.

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To achieve a GM norm, a player must perform at a high level, achieving a tournament performance rating (TPR) of at least 2600. The competition must also include a strong field where at least 33% of the opponents must hold the GM title, and players from at least three different federations must participate. Some tournaments are specifically organised to help players secure norms by ensuring these conditions are met.

Ultimately, earning the full GM title requires three such norms across a minimum of 27 games, along with achieving a FIDE rating of 2500 at some point.