India reached a landmark century in chess on Diwali Sunday as Madhya Pradesh's Anuj Shrivatri became the country's 100th Grandmaster, winning the 7th ASEAN Plus Individual Open Chess Championship in Ozamiz City, Philippines, according to ChessBase India.

Source: ChessBase India

Shrivatri, 22, lost his opening game but stormed back to score seven points from nine rounds, winning his final two rounds on demand to finish clear first ahead of Vietnam's Grandmaster Nguyen Duc Hoa (6.5 points) and the Philippines' FIDE Master Nouri Alekhine (6 points). Winning the championship secured him the direct Grandmaster title.

He is the first Grandmaster from Madhya Pradesh and the ninth Indian to earn the title in 2026, following V. S. Rathnavel, whose elevation as the 99th Grandmaster was confirmed earlier this month. Shrivatri had earned his International Master title in 2020.

Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, who became India's first Grandmaster in 1988, led the tributes on X: "Happy Diwali. 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."

Source: ANI via New Kerala

All India Chess Federation President Nitin Narang called it a historic milestone and a proud moment for Indian chess. "GRANDMASTER No. 100 FOR BHARAT! India achieves a historic milestone as Anuj Shrivatri becomes the country's 100th Grandmaster by winning the 7th ASEAN+ Individual Chess Championships 2026 in Ozamiz City, Philippines, securing the direct GM title! Onwards to 200 Grandmasters," Narang posted on X, according to ANI.

The milestone caps a remarkable rise for Indian chess, which has produced world champion D. Gukesh, R. Praggnanandhaa, Koneru Humpy and Divya Deshmukh among its 100 Grandmasters. From Anand's lone breakthrough in 1988 to a full century in 2026, India is now one of the deepest chess nations in the world.