Chennai has once again proved it was the cradle of Chess as city produced a new Grandmaster when 16-year-old A.R.Ilamparthi achieved the final norm

today and was eyeing to break the 2600 ELO rating mark and become a Super GM. He chess prodigy fromthe city achieved the final norm at the Bijeljina tournamenton in Bosnia and Herzegovina today.

He joined the illustrious list of legendary and multiple world champion Vishy Anand and multiple champions like Pragnanantha, Gukesh, Vaishali and several others, including women GMs.

Hailing the feat, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin congratulated Ilamparthi for becoming the latest and 35th GM from the state and said the State's reign in the game of 64 squares shines brighter, adding another jewel to the crown of champions.

"Tamil Nadu’s 35th Grandmaster Ilamparthi makes our reign on the 64 squares shine brighter!", he wrote on X.

"He battles through brilliance to script history, earning his title and adding another jewel to Tamil Nadu’s crown of champions", he said.

"As the sun rises higher on Tamil Nadu chess, the Dravidian Model will keep turning every promising move into a masterstroke. More TN GMs in the making!", Mr Stalin added.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who also holds the portfolio of Youth Welfare and Sports Development also haled Ilamparthi's feat and promised all support from the Tamil Nadu government for hsi endeavours.

Ilamparthi achieved his first GM norm at the Ha Noi tournament in Vietnam in December 2023, but had to wait till the Bijeljina tournament this year to complete his GM norm. He secured his second GM norm at the Singapore International Open in 2024, and crossed the 2500 Elo Rating mark at the 2024-25 Rilton Cup.

Reacting to his feat, his father Ravikumar, a 47-year-old software engineer, whose younger son was a epileptic patient and could accompany Ilamparthi to tournaments, said he felt elated especially after Ilamparthi failed to achieve the final norm over six tournaments since April this year.

“He missed by a whisker in all those tournament and could have become a GM earlier if he had participated in several events” he added. Mr Ravikumar spoke to him over phone upon hearing the news and said his son's aim was to break the 2600 ELO mark and become a Super GM.