Harshavardhan G.B. Becomes India’s 97th Grandmaster

by Devansh Singh - 28/06/2026

Harshavardhan G.B. is India's 97th Grandmaster. He has scored his final Grandmaster norm at the 2nd Chola Chess GM Norm Round Robin Tournament, officially securing his GM title. He remained completely unbeaten throughout the tournament, scoring the required 6.5/9 points, and crossing 2500 rating too!! His path to the final norm was an absolute masterclass in clutch performance. After sitting on 3 points from the first 5 rounds, he needed an intense 3.5 points from his final 4 games to cross the finish line. Check out what happened next. Photos: Devansh Singh

Can he score 3.5 in 4 Rounds?

He did exactly that by defeating IM Kushagra Mohan in the sixth round, taking down the tournament leader GM Michal Krasenkow in the seventh round, and winning a highly complex rook endgame against Alexei Fedorov in the eighth round. Needing just a draw in the final round, he comfortably split the point with the white pieces against Mihail Nikitenko.

Focused!!

Round 6

It was an important encounter as Harshavardhan had to score 3.5/4. It was a classical Sicilian game where Kushagra sacrificed a piece but could not manage to hold the position, and Harshavardhan scored a win

Kushagra Mohan vs. Harshavardhan G.B. (0-1)

Round 7

The most important clash of the tournament. Krasenkow was leading the field with 5.5/6. Harshavardhan got the white pieces and managed to get an early opening advantage. Eventually, in the rook endgame, he managed to convert the game after a long fight to score 2nd consecutive win.

Harshavardhan G B vs. Michal Krasenkow (1-0)

Check out the game

Round 8

In round 8, Harshavardhan played a beautiful rook endgame to outplay GM Alexei Fedorov. It was a long battle, but winning this game helped him most in securing his final GM Norm and becoming the 97th Grandmaster of India.

Alexei Fedorov vs. Harshavardhan G B (0-1)

Round 9

Harshavardhan just needed a draw, and with the white pieces, it was an easy task for a player like him, and both players decided to make a quick draw after repeating the moves.

Harshavardhan G B vs. Mihail Nikitenko

Check out the performance

And with this, draw Harshavardhan is India's Latest Grandmaster

Harshavardhan with his mom

Proud Mother!!

Harshavardhan earned his first GM norm by winning the Asian Juniors in 2022

He scored his second Norm at the Asian Continental in 2025, from which he also qualified for the FIDE World Cup.

In an interview with ChessBase India, Harshavardhan shared how he started playing chess at the tender age of 4 because of his dad, FT Gopalakrishnan K. He is currently working with Grandmaster Deepan Chakkravarthy, having previously trained under the renowned Visweswaran Kameswaran.