Rathanvel VS becomes India's 99th Grandmaster

Tamil Nadu's Rathanvel VS has become India's 99th Grandmaster after crossing the 2500 Elo rating mark during the 3rd Guwahati Smart City International Open 2026, completing the final requirement for the coveted title.

The Coimbatore-born player had already secured the required three Grandmaster norms in 2022, but spent nearly four years trying to breach the 2500 rating barrier. His achievement in Guwahati finally brought an end to a long wait and moved India one step closer to producing its 100th Grandmaster.

India has witnessed a rapid rise in elite chess players over the past decade, with reigning world champion D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Nihal Sarin and R Vaishali among the latest generation of Grandmasters to emerge on the global stage.

The Coimbatore native also adds to Tamil Nadu's rich chess legacy, joining a long list of Grandmasters from the state that includes Viswanathan Anand, Krishnan Sasikiran, R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, Aravindh Chithambaram and Arjun Kalyan.

Rathanvel entered the tournament with a live rating of 2492 and gained the eight points needed to reach the milestone after a string of victories in Assam.

Long wait ends with Grandmaster title

The 25-year-old earned his first two Grandmaster norms at First Saturday and Vezerkepzo tournaments in Hungary in September 2021 before completing his third norm at another First Saturday event in Budapest in March 2022.

Despite fulfilling the norm requirement, the elusive 2500 rating remained out of reach for several seasons. Rathanvel continued to compete across international tournaments, consistently proving his strength against elite opposition before finally achieving the required rating.

A former bronze medallist at the 2011 World Youth Under-10 Championships, Rathanvel has built an impressive résumé over the years. He completed his International Master title requirements in 2019, defeated Vietnamese Super Grandmaster Le Quang Liem in a classical game at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Masters, and has also held classical draws against top players including Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Vladislav Artemiev, Javokhir Sindarov and reigning world champion Gukesh Dommaraju.