16-year-old M Pranesh is India's 79th Grandmaster

16-year-old M Pranesh is India's 79th Grandmaster

It was the 79th Grandmaster that India produced when 16-year-old Pranesh M from Tamil Nadu clinched the title. 

Pranesh achieved the required 2500 ELO rating and clichéd the title in the Rilton Cup, the first tournament of the FIDE Circuit in 2023. The tournament attracted 136 players representing 29 national federations. Pranesh came first, while his compatriot and fellow Grandmaster, R Raja Rithvik, finished in eighth place. 

In order to become a GM, a player has to secure three GM norms and cross the live rating of 2,500 Elo points.

Pranesh’s Jouney to Grandmaster Status
Pranesh earned his first norm at the 18th Delhi GM Open in January 2020 and got his second norm at the Sunway Sitges International Chess Festival in Spain in December 2021. In November 2022, he won his third norm at the Asian Continental Chess Championship in Stockholm, Sweden, finally achieving the required ELO rating to become a Grandmaster.

19-year-old Koustav Chatterjee had recently become the country's 78th Grandmaster during the National Senior Chess Championship. He is also the tenth GM from West Bengal. 

FIDE Circuit Leader
Currently the leader of the FIDE Circuit is Pranesh with 6.8 circuit points. The accumulator of the most points by the end of 2023 will qualify for the 2024 FIDE Candidates.

About Grandmaster (GM)
Grandmaster is the highest title apart from World Champion. It is awarded to chess players by International Chess Federation FIDE. India’s 1st Chess Grandmaster was won by Viswanathan Anand in 1988. 


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