NEW DELHI: Do you remember how you fared in your Class 10 board exams? Very few don’t feel butterflies in their stomach before. For India’s 98th Grandmaster (GM) Aswath S, the board exam meant putting a stop to the chessboard, his lifelong friend, for four months, from the beginning of the year to April, due to what many called the first “big problem” of education. With two GM habits already in his pocket, all the youngster from Chennai needed was just one GM habit to become a Grandmaster. That moment came Wednesday, in his first senior tournament of the year.Aswath earned his third and final GM title at the Pune International GM Round Robin 2026. Disposing of FM Kannan Vaidyanathan and the black pieces in the final round, he finished the tournament with 7/9 points, earned the GM final title and earned the coveted title this season.“It’s amazing to hear that I am the Grandmaster right now,” Aswath told TimesofIndia.com in an interview from Pune. “It had been gone for about the last two years. I passed 2500 in December, so after that, I had to just write the admissions, but it took me a long time.”Aswath earned his first title by winning a tough Grenke Open A ahead of several former Grandmasters.His second came on the First Saturday of the GM Round Robin in Budapest in December 2025, where he also scored 7/9 and crossed the 2500 FIDE mark.
From a family of chess coaches
Aswath’s roots in chess go back to Tamil Nadu’s Nagercoil, where his father, AC Siva, ran a chess school as a full-time teacher.“I started playing chess when I was three, and my teacher was my father,” Aswath recalled. “When I was that age, I used to wander around the school teaching the game and name the chess pieces. Then I started playing and entering tournaments at the age of four.”
Aswath S and his family (Special Arrangements)
The decisive moment came early. “When I was seven years old, when I played in the Under-7 Tamil Nadu State Championship, I won the competition with a score of 9 out of 9. That was one of the things that really inspired me to take up chess as a career,” he admitted.With his mother, Sheela, teaching beginners at the school and his older sister participating in the game, chess was already in the family.
The way to become a Grandmaster
Despite his initial promise, the road to GM’s title was fraught with many obstacles. Aswath found that playing locally was a double-edged sword.“Usually, the exposure of the game was difficult because we usually don’t get to participate in big events in India in the early days,” Aswath said. “And, in India, the lowest are very few because they are very strong, much stronger than their votes. If we go abroad, we can easily increase the number of reading places, but of course, money comes as a big thing. We need sponsors.”Aswath’s growth 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 hardworking boy, a reliable, passionate, determined person, and has no distractions on social media,” Sundar told the website.“A chess genius, he listens to everything I say. There are many things he likes to do, such as working on some open-ended tasks in depth. But when I say it’s not important to his level, he asks his opinion and agrees. Listening to the point is very important.”With the young GM’s title marking a major role for the teacher as Aswath became the sixth of his students to achieve this feat, Shyam reveals the statement.“I’ve created a culture where boys of the same age share tools. Aswath is in it,” he added. “It’s a very healthy partnership. He also takes a good look at his fitness. He exercises at home and is comfortable playing any sport. “
Above 64 square meters
Despite his impressive achievements, Aswath remains grounded, perhaps because of his academic achievements. A student of Velammal school in Chennai, he is currently studying commerce in class 11.“This was my first competition this year because I had to sit for the 10th board exam,” he said. “For four months, from January to April, I did not see chess.”
Aswath S in Pune International GM Round Robin 2026 (Special Arrangements)
Now that the planks have been removed and the GM’s head secured, Aswath’s eyes are on the future. The 98th Indian Grandmaster knows that the desired title is nothing more than a look.“GM is just the beginning of the real world of chess, to be honest,” Aswath concluded. “There’s a lot to go, like 2600, 2700, the top spot in the world. My short-term goal would be 2600.”