India got its 98th GM! Both Parents Chess Trainers 10th Board Exam Forced Pause: The Making of Aswath S | Exclusive | Chess news

NEW DELHI: Do you remember the feeling of taking class 10 exams? There are few who do not feel butterflies in their stomach before that. For India’s 98th Grandmaster (GM) Aswath Sa, the board exam meant putting aside the chessboard, his lifelong companion, for four months, from the start of the year to April, for what many call the first “big challenge” of academic life. With two GM norms already in his pocket, what the teenager from Chennai needed was just one more GM norm to become a grandmaster. That moment happened on Wednesday, in his first Classic tournament of the year.Aswath achieved his third and final GM norm at Pune International GM Round Robin Robin Robin 2026. Defeating FM Kannan Vaidyanathan with black pieces in the final round, he finished the tournament with 7/9 points, secured the final GM norm and earned the coveted title in the process.“It’s very amazing to feel like I’m a grandmaster right now,” Aswath told TimesofIndia.com during an exclusive interaction from Pune. “It eluded me for almost the last two years. I passed 2,500 in December, so after that I only had to reach the standards, but it took me that long.”Aswath secured his first norm by winning the strong Grenke Open A ahead of several seasoned grandmasters.The second was in the first Saturday GM Round Robin in Budapest in December 2025, where he also scored 7/9 and passed the 2500 FIDE rating mark.

From a family of chess trainers

Aswath’s chess roots run deep in Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu, where his father, AC Siva, runs a chess academy as a full-time professional coach.I started playing chess when I was three years old and my father was a coach, Aswath recalled. “At that age, I was wandering around the academy saying the names of chess pieces. Then I started playing and entered a tournament at the age of four.”

Aswath S with his family (special arrangements)

The decisive moment came early. “When I was seven years old, I played in the Tamil Nadu Under-7 National Championship, I won the tournament with a score of 9 out of 9. “That was one of the biggest motivations for me to take up chess as a profession,” he admitted.With his mother, Sheela, who teaches beginners at the academy and his older sister who once competed in the sport, chess was already woven into the fabric of the family.

The road to the grandmaster

Despite his early promise, the road to the GM title was riddled with many obstacles. Aswath found that gaming locally is a double-edged sword.“Mostly, the exposure of the tournament has been a challenge as we generally don’t play such big events in India in the earlier days,” explained Aswath. “And in India, the lower ratings are very underrated because they are so strong, stronger than their ratings. If we go abroad, we can increase the rating points quite easily, but of course, money is a big thing. We need sponsors.”Aswath’s development shifted gears when he started working with IM Senthil Maran after the pandemic and later with his current coach, GM Shyam Sundar, in late 2023.“He is a very hardworking kid, a very responsible guy, passionate, determined and has no distractions on social media,” Sundar told this website.“When it comes to chess, he listens to everything I say. There are many things he likes to do, like deep work on certain openings. But when I say it’s not necessary for his level, he asks for an explanation and accepts it. Listening to the point is very important.”With the teenage GM title marking a milestone for the coach as Aswath became the sixth of his students to achieve the feat, Shyam reveals the mantra.“I’ve created a culture where guys at similar levels actually share materials. Aswath is in it,” he added. “It’s a very healthy relationship. He also focuses well on his fitness. He does gym at home and is open to playing any sport.”

Outside 64 square meters

Despite his monumental achievement, Aswath remains incredibly grounded, in part due to his academic commitments. A student of Velammal School, Chennai, he is currently pursuing commerce in his 11th grade.“This was my first classic tournament this year because I had to study for the tenth exam,” he pointed out. – For four months, from January to April, I did not see chess.

Aswath S at Pune International GM Round Robin Robin 2026 (Special Arrangements)

Now that the slates are cleared and the GM title secured, Aswath’s eyes are firmly on the future. 98. The Grand Master of India knows that the claimed title is nothing more than a checkpoint.“GM is really just the beginning of the real chess world, to be honest,” Aswath concluded. “There’s a lot more to go, like 2600, 2700, world number one. My short-term goal would be 2600.”