How did India achieve 100 chess GMs since Vishy Anand started it all?

The emergence of new grandmasters has become so commonplace in India that the media has also grown somewhat blasé about it. However, when 22-year-old Anuj Shrivatri became the country's 100th Grandmaster on Saturday, it served as a remarkable testament to the enormous pipeline of chess talent in reserve.

It took 38 years after Vishy Anand, the pied piper of Indian chess, made history by becoming the country's first-ever Grandmaster in 1988. The growth was initially slow and painstaking, but the floodgates opened from 2011 onwards, with 25 players achieving the coveted GM title in the last four years.

With 20-year-old world champion D. Gukesh set to defend his crown later this month, and India's men's and women's teams having emerged victorious in consecutive Chess Olympiads, the country is now firmly established among the world's chess superpowers. 

Commenting on reaching the three-figure mark, Anand said on social media: ‘’A cracker of a 100. Congrats to Anuj Shrivatri on getting India to this milestone. Funnily, only today I was thinking December 2027 will be the 40th anniversary of my GM title, and literally this manifested.’’

Back in August, the five-time FIDE world champion said in an interview that the sport's progress was evident from his remarks in 2022, on the sidelines of the FIDE Olympiad in Chennai. At the time, he had expressed hope that India would produce its 75th Grandmaster in the country's 75th year of independence. Now, just four years later, another 25 Grandmasters have joined the ranks.

The final stretch towards the century mark was remarkably swift, with India adding its 96th to 100th Grandmasters between July and November this year alone. Ethan Vaz became the country's 96th GM, followed by Harshvardhan GB, S Ashwath and V Rathnavel (the 99th), paving the way for Anuj Shrivatri's historic milestone as India's 100th Grandmaster.

"It feels great to see the hard work paying off," said Anuj, who became the first player from Madhya Pradesh to earn the GM title after winning the seventh ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in the Philippines.

Where does India stand in the global pecking order in terms of producing Grandmasters? The country ranks fourth, behind Russia (184), the United States (115) and Germany (103). However, India shares the top spot with Russia and Germany in terms of active Grandmasters, with all three countries having 74 each.

Conversations with some of the most respected figures in Indian chess inevitably lead to the name of Viswanathan Anand as a key force behind the sport's growth. Dibyendu Barua, the country's second Grandmaster, who earned the title in 1991, readily acknowledges his influence.

Speaking to National Herald, Barua said, "As I keep repeating, none of this would have been possible without Anand's influence. When someone like me started out from a middle-class Bengali household in Kolkata, it was truly uncharted territory. I owe it all to the sacrifices made by my father, the late Binoy Barua." 

‘’However, things picked up in the new millennium and Anand’s own The Westbridge-Anand Chess Academy was hugely instrumental in grooming the likes of Gukesh, Pragg, Vaishali or Arjun Erigaisi.’’

 Timeline: A century of GMs

1988:  Viswanathan Anand becomes the first GM from India

1991–1997: Dibyendu Barua is second GM, followed by Praveen Thipsay. It takes nine years for India to get it’s second and third GM, respectively, as players had to struggle for self-funding to travel to Europe for norms.

2011-end: India produce 25 GMs in 14 years. The initial ripple effect of The Anand Wave starts creating regional pockets of talent.

2022-end: 50 GMs in 11 years. The most productive phase when India reached 75 GMs during India’s 75th year of independence.

2026-Nov: 25 GMs in four years. India adds 25 GMs in just four years, including five in the last few months alone to make it a 100.