Indian chess reached a milestone on Sunday as IM Anuj Shrivatri became the country's 100th grandmaster by winning the 7th ASEAN+ Open Chess Championship in the Philippines. The 22-year-old recovered from an opening-round defeat to finish alone in first place with 7/9.

His achievement comes 38 years after GM Viswanathan Anand earned his title to become India's first grandmaster in 1988, before going on to win five world championship titles and cement a place as India's greatest player ever.

FIDE's November list currently includes 97 Indian grandmasters, but IM Ethan Vaz, IM Rathanvel V S, in addition to Anuj, are awaiting formal confirmation of their GM titles.

India ranks fourth among federations by total grandmasters, behind Russia, the United States, and Germany. It could overtake Germany in 2027 if its recent pace of producing new GMs continues. Among active grandmasters, India already shares the lead with Russia and Germany on 74.

Numbers from the November 2026 FIDE rating list. Pending GM titles are excluded.

Here are some statistics about India's grandmasters:

Mean age for all GMs: 31.3. Median age for all GMs: 29.4.

Mean age for active GMs: 29.4. Median age for active GMs: 26.7.

Youngest: GM-elect Ethan Vaz (15.2 years). Oldest: GM Praveen Thipsay (67).

Eight GMs are under 20, 30 are under 25, 29 are 30 or older; 12 are 40+.

36 of the 74 were born in 2000 or later, versus 17 born before 1990.

For Anuj, the victory in the Philippines brings a rewarding end to his title chase as he entered the tournament with just one GM norm from Budapest last November, hoping to score the second one. However, the ASEAN+ championship is one of the few events where the winner is awarded a GM title directly, regardless of having enough norms or meeting the 2500 rating requirement.

"It feels very good to become a GM and that too being (India’s) 100th is also special," he told The Hindu.

"Also I feel relieved now since I was trying for GM title since last one year, and it’s really great to see hard work pay off," he added.

Few people know Indian chess better than IM Sagar Shah, the co-founder of ChessBase India, who has documented the journeys of an incredible generation of rising stars, such as GMs Gukesh Dommaraju, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin, and many more.

In the nearly 11 years since he launched ChessBase India with his wife, WIM Amruta Mokal, India has added around 60 grandmasters. "I think it's an amazing moment for Indian chess! I am very thrilled to see the growth and us reaching 100 GMs,” he told Chess.com.

I think it's an amazing moment for Indian chess!

—Sagar Shah

"The most amazing thing about this entire feat is that every single GM of India is alive, which just goes to show how young this achievement is," he added.

India's greatest player ever also celebrated the achievement, which coincided with Diwali.

India's prime minister Narendra Modi shared the excitement with his 107 million followers.

For Shah, the next generation is another reason for excitement. "What I am really excited for is the next wave of talents that are coming out from Indian chess," he said.

The ChessBase India co-founder pointed to the recent 1st Chola Chess Open International Grandmasters that concluded in Chennai on Saturday, where nine players earned title norms, including seven IM norms. Among them was 10-year-old FM Sarbartho Mani, who became the sixth youngest player to ever achieve an IM norm.

Shah believes India could double its grandmaster tally within the next decade. "I think it might not be an overstatement that India could reach the 200 GMs mark by 2035," he said.

Shortly after, Shah corrected himself and said: "2035 might be a bit too long. 200 GMs in 2032!"

For Anuj, meanwhile, the milestone followed a comeback in the Philippines. He was seeded fourth in the event with 2450, behind Vietnamese IM Nguyen Quoc Hy (2474). After his opening loss, he went undefeated to score six wins and two draws.

Victories in the final two rounds secured first place, half a point ahead of GM Duc Hoa Nguyen from Vietnam. Filipino FM Alekhine Nouri finished third on tiebreak with 6/9.

Anuj's final-round win against IM James Morris from Australia clinched him the tournament and the GM title.

The title comes six years after earning the IM title as a 15-year-old in 2020. In an interview with ChessBase India that year, Anuj said he had learned chess at seven and was working mostly on his own, having previously trained with several coaches.

Speaking to The Indian Express after earning the GM title, Anuj, who had been a software engineer with a German firm, said he quit the job in order to pursue chess full time. His parents, both teachers, said they committed much of their savings to supporting his chess development.

"You need to focus at least eight to nine hours on your chess if you want to chase success in the sport. Juggling that and a software engineering job was not possible," his father, Ashok, told the newspaper.