G. B. Harshavardhan remained unbeaten in the 2nd Chola Chess GM norm round-robin chess tournament. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

G. B. Harshavardhan became India’s 97th Grandmaster, by remaining unbeaten in the 2nd Chola Chess GM norm round-robin chess tournament held in Chennai on Saturday.

The 22-year-old from Chennai finished with four wins and five draws to earn a maximum 6.5 points out of nine rounds.

Speaking to Sportstar, Harshavardhan said: “It’s a huge relief and am so happy. “I got my IM title in Chennai in 2020 and my GM crown was in Chennai now. That’s a great coincidence.”

He further said the win over Michal Krasenkow of Poland in the seventh round was crucial as the Polish GM was leading till then. “Krasenkow was unbeaten and the win was very important for me. My Elo rating is 2507 and I want to take it to 2600 by the end of the year,” he said.

Harshavardhan earned his first GM norm by winning the Asian Juniors in 2022, and his second came at the Asian Continental in 2025, through which he qualified for the FIDE World Cup in Goa.

FIDE trainer K. Gopalakrishnan, Harshavardhan’s father said, “he is a very hardworking and sincere player. Also, he is very ambitious and want to reach the top 10 in the world. We want him to focus on playing chess in the next 3-4 years and see where it goes.”

Published on Jun 28, 2026