Kunte Kaka would be smiling from heaven!

Aswath S. becomes India's 98th GM, Advik Agarwal scores 2nd IM norm

Some tournaments are remembered for their winners. Some are remembered for their norms. And a rare few are remembered for something much bigger - for what they meant. The Pune International Grandmaster Round Robin, held at The Fern Habitat in Mundhwa from 30th June to 8th July 2026, will forever belong to that third category.

On 8th July 2026, in the ninth and final round of the tournament, 18-year-old IM Aswath S sat down with the black pieces against FM Kannan Vaidyanathan of the USA, knowing that only a win would give him his third and final GM norm. Winning on demand, in the last round, with black - this is the kind of situation that has broken many strong players. Aswath delivered. He converted his game into a full point, finished the event on 7.0/9, and with it, India got its 98th Grandmaster!

Kannan Vaidyanathan vs Aswath S.

If White played a5 in this position, it would have ended the game in a draw. But Kannan blundered here with Kb6 and after Kc8 a5 the knight was back just in time with Ne5 a6 Nd7+ Kb5 b6! and Black was winning!

Winning when it mattered most

Aswath's road to the title has been one of remarkable consistency. His first GM norm came at the Grenke Open in 2025, where he stayed undefeated, scored 8/9 ahead of a field full of seasoned Grandmasters, and posted a stunning performance rating of 2779. His second norm followed at the First Saturday GM Round Robin in Budapest in December 2025, an event he won with 7/9 while also crossing the mandatory 2500 Elo mark. All that remained was the final norm - and it came on home soil, in Pune.

His coach, GM Shyam Sundar M, has often spoken about what sets Aswath apart: an incredibly hardworking and dedicated player, completely focused on his chess, far away from the distractions of social media, and blessed with exceptional determination. In the final round in Pune, all of those qualities were on display.

Aswath becomes India's 98th Grandmaster, continuing a golden period for Indian chess - his title comes in 12 days after Goa's Ethan Vaz and Tamil Nadu's Harshavardhan G became GMs. The century is now well and truly in sight.

An IM norm for Pune's own Advik Agrawal

The celebrations did not end there. Pune's young FM Advik Agrawal, the lowest seed in the ten-player field, played the tournament of his life to secure an IM norm. Playing against three Grandmasters and a host of strong IMs in a gruelling closed round robin format, Advik showed maturity well beyond his years.

This is precisely what closed round robin tournaments are meant to do - give young talents the chance to test themselves against titled opposition and earn their norms. Advik grabbed his opportunity with both hands.

The dream that Kunte Kaka didn't get to see

To understand why this tournament means so much more than the norms it produced, you have to know the story of the man behind it all. Prakash Kunte - lovingly known to the entire chess community as Kunte Kaka - passed away at the age of 80 on 7th July 2026 in Pune, while the eighth round of this very tournament was being played. Before the round began, players and officials stood in a minute's silence in his memory. The next day, India's 98th Grandmaster was crowned at his event.

Born on 3rd October 1946 in the small village of Pali in the Konkan region, Prakash Kunte worked as an Assistant Registrar at Pune University until his retirement. He was not a chess player himself. Yet he raised two wonderful chess talents for the country - GM Abhijit Kunte and WIM Mrunalini Kunte. For most fathers, that alone would have been a life's work complete. Kunte Kaka was just getting started.

In 1998, after Abhijit became an IM at the Goodricke International Open, Kunte Kaka felt his duty as a father was done and turned to serving others. He founded the Buddhibal Kreeda Trust with an initial corpus of just ₹30,000 - ₹10,000 each from himself, Abhijit and Mrunalini. Over two decades, that grew into a corpus of over ₹50 lakhs, along with 125 chess clocks, boards, a computer and a printer. He organized more than 150 tournaments in Pune - local events, district and state selections, rating opens, knockouts - distributing nearly ₹1.5 to 2 crores in prize money over 30 years.

And he was always thoughtful about how he gave. Sometimes the first prize would be a flight ticket to a top tournament abroad. Sometimes the top prize would be the entry fees to another event. He never saw his tournaments as an end in themselves - always as a stepping stone for players to become great champions. For Kunte Kaka, organizing chess was never about money. It was social work.

One dream, however, remained unfulfilled through all those years: a GM norm round robin tournament in Pune, where young talents from the city and the country could chase their IM and GM titles in a strong closed environment. He always advocated such tournaments over big-money rapids, drawing inspiration from the legendary Sangli organizer Bhausaheb Padsalgikar, who created Nutan Buddhibal Mandir and served chess selflessly despite having no children in the game.

That dream finally took shape this year, organized by his son Abhijit through the Buddhibal Kreeda Trust. The heartbreaking part of the story is that as the first-ever Pune GM Round Robin unfolded, Kunte Kaka lay in the ICU, unable to witness it. He passed away with one round still to play.

And then, on the final day, his tournament gave India its 98th Grandmaster. If that is not destiny, what is? Kunte Kaka would be smiling from heaven!

"The perfect tribute to our beloved Kunte Kaka"

IM Abhishek Kelkar of Kunte's Chess Academy, one of the key members of the organizing team, shared his emotions after the event on behalf of the Buddhibal Kreeda Trust, Kunte's Chess Academy and the entire organizing team:

"Today, I feel an immense sense of relief and pride as we celebrate the achievement of one GM norm and one IM norm. Heartiest congratulations to both of them on this remarkable accomplishment! This is the perfect tribute to our beloved Kunte Kaka.

I still remember the evening of 5th June, when Abhijit Dada, Mrunalini Tai and I were discussing whether to organize this tournament. Once we decided to go ahead with the event, we never imagined that it would become such a grand success - or that Kaka would no longer be with us to witness it.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Fern Habitat for hosting this wonderful event. A special thanks to Deepti, Atharva and Vivek for their tireless efforts throughout the tournament. Thank you to Gaurav and Amrish for the excellent commentary that kept everyone engaged. Our heartfelt thanks to ChessBase India and IM Soumya Swaminathan for their outstanding coverage of the final day's livestream, during which India celebrated its 98th Grandmaster.

I also extend my sincere thanks to all the players for participating and making this tournament such a memorable and successful event. This tournament has truly been a fitting tribute to Shri Kunte Kaka. We remain committed to carrying forward his passion, legacy, discipline and vision for the promotion and growth of chess."

A legacy that lives on

Kunte Kaka is survived by his wife Meena, his children Abhijit, Mrunalini and Vibhavari, and three grandchildren. But in a very real sense, he is also survived by every player who won a norm, a prize, a flight ticket or simply a chance at one of his 150+ tournaments over three decades.

His legacy will be carried forward by Abhijit and Mrunalini, who have already given so much to Indian chess and will continue to do so in the memory of their loving father. If the first edition of the Pune GM Round Robin is anything to go by - a new Grandmaster and an IM norm in year one - that legacy is in very safe hands.

Congratulations to GM Aswath S, India's 98th Grandmaster. Congratulations to FM Advik Agrawal on his second IM norm. And thank you, Kunte Kaka, for everything.