14-year old Leon Mendonca from Goa became India’s 67th Chess Grandmaster (GM) after winning his third & Final norm at the Vergani Cup, Italy. Mendonca is only the 2nd GM from Goa.
i.He became the 29th Youngest GM in the world. Sergey Karjakin of Russia holds the record for the World’s Youngest ever GM having qualified for the title at the age of 12 years and 7 months (achieved the title in 2003).
ii.The 1st GM from Goa is Ivana Maria Furtado, she achieved it in 2011.
iii.GM is a title awarded by FIDE (International Chess Federation). It is the highest title a chess player can obtain apart from World Champion.
Key Points:
i.In order to qualify for the title of GM, a player must achieve 3 Grandmaster norms in events covering a minimum of 27 games.
ii.Leon Mendonca achieved his first norm at the Rigo Chess GM Round Robin (October, 2020), Second at the 1st Saturday Budapest (November, 2020) & Final one at Vergani Cup, Italy on December 30, 2020.
iii.He finished 2nd at the Vergani Cup in Bassano del Grappa with 6.5 points behind Ukraine’s Vitaliy Bernadskiy (7 pts).
Indian GMs:
i.Gukesh D is India’s Youngest GM & 2nd Youngest GM in the world. He achieved the feat in 2019 at the age of 12 years, 7 months & 17 days .
ii.The 1st GM from India is Vishwanathan Anand, who achieved it in 1988.
Recent Related News:
i.July 6, 2020, 23 year-old G. Akash from Chennai, Tamil Nadu became India’s 66th Grandmaster with a rating of 2495.
About International Chess Federation (FIDE):
President – Arkady Dvorkovich
Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
