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Srihari LR confirms GM title: India assured of getting its 86th grandmaster, 368 days after its 85th

Srihari is coached by grandmaster Shyamsundar at an academy called Chess Thulir. Shyam Sundar has also coached the likes of Pranav V, who recently became world junior champion.

Srihari LR became India's 86th grandmaster after a decent outing at the Asian Individual Men's Chess Championship going on right now at Al-Ain. (PHOTO: Shyam Sundar via Instagram)

Just over a year after getting its 85th grandmaster, India was assured of one more when s 19-year-old Srihari LR from Chennai secured his third norm needed to earn the coveted title when he played against GM Iniyan Paneerselvam at the Asian Individual Men’s Chess Championship, which ended at Al-Ain in the UAE on Thursday.

Before Srihari, India’s last grandmaster was Shyaamnikhil P, who earned the top title in the sport on May 12, 2024.

Srihari is coached by grandmaster Shyamsundar at an academy called Chess Thulir. Shyam Sundar has also coached the likes of Pranav V, who recently became world junior champion.

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“I’m someone who never loses hope, and maintains confidence in my abilities no matter what happens,” Srihari had told ChessBase India in an interview in 2019 when he had yet to earn even a single IM norm.

“Even if I am playing against much higher-rated opponents, I never think that they’re higher rated (so I won’t win). I always think I can beat them,” he had said, explaining his mindset.

It’s been six years since that interview, but at the Danat Resort in Al Ain, Srihari’s never-say-die quality was again on full display. He only lost his final game of the event against Iniyan Paneerselvam, which is understandable because all he needed on the day was to play the game to secure his third norm that confirms his ascendency to the GM title.

Coming into the Asian Individual Men’s Chess Championship, Srihari had earned his two grandmaster norms – the first coming at the Qatar Masters in 2023, with the second at the Chennai GM Open in 2024. He had crossed the 2500 rating threshold in the published ratings in August 2024.

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At Al-Ain, before the last round defeat, Srihari had been unbeaten in eight games. Remarkably, eight of his games at the event were against grandmasters. He has beaten Indian grandmasters like Abhijeet Gupta and Pranav V, while holding other GMs like AR Saleh Salem (UAE), China’s Xu Xiangyu, Pranav Anand, Aleksey Grebnev (representing FIDE) and Pranesh M to draws. A total of 154 players from 33 countries participated in the open section at the event.

“It took nearly a year to get the final norm. Glad it happened now and time to focus on the next bigger goal! 2nd IM to GM from my academy!” Srihari’s coach Shyamsundar posted on Instagram.

While the 368-day gap between India’s last two GMs might seem a tad long, it must be noted that in the 25 years between Viswanathan Anand becoming India’s first GM in 1988 and 2013, India managed to have just 35 grandmasters. But between Anand vacating the world champion’s throne in 2013 and Gukesh becoming the 18th world champion last year, India has produced 50 grandmasters.