Rohith Krishna S has joined the elite ranks of Indian chess by becoming the country’s 89th Grandmaster (GM) after clinching his third and final GM norm at the Almaty Masters Qonaev Cup in Kazakhstan on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old sealed the achievement with a final-round win over Armenian International Master Artur Davtyan, finishing the tournament with six points out of nine. His performance also pushed his Elo rating past the 2500 mark, meeting all criteria for the GM title.
Coached by K. Visweswaran, Rohith’s GM journey began earlier this year. He earned his first norm by winning the Hotel Stockholm North GM Round-Robin in March, followed by a second norm at the Dubai Open in June. Rohith has held the International Master (IM) title since 2022.
His success follows closely on the heels of 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh’s historic win last month at the FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia, where she became India’s 88th GM by defeating World Rapid champion Koneru Humpy in the rapid tiebreaks of the final.
With Rohith’s milestone, India’s chess legacy continues to grow, reinforcing the nation’s status as a powerhouse in the sport