All You Need To Know About Harikrishnan A Ra, India's 87th Chess Grandmaster

Last Updated:July 12, 2025, 21:38 IST

Harikrishnan A Ra, 24, from Chennai, became India's 87th grandmaster after drawing with P. Iniyan at the La Plagne Chess Festival. He aims for an Elo rating of 2600.

Harikrishnan A Ra -- India's latest Grandmaster. (PC: X)

Chennai-based 24-year-old Harikrishnan A Ra became India’s 87th grandmaster on Saturday (July 12) after a draw with P. Iniyan in the final game of the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France. Harikrishnan became an International Master seven years ago but faced a long struggle to attain the Grandmaster title, failing to secure his final two GM norms until building momentum in the last few months.

He has been on the road since May, playing seven tournaments in a stretch. He earned his second norm in Spain before the third in France granted him the highest title in the sport. He won’t return home just now, aiming to compete in three more tournaments and has already left for Spain again. The method is quite in contrast with most chess players, who prefer taking breaks to reset between tours.

“This method doesn’t work for many people," Harikrishnan told The Indian Express. “But if I plan to play in just two or three tournaments, usually it’s going to be bad. Last year too, I played nine tournaments in a row. After four tournaments, I was not doing well. Then, in the final five, I improved my Elo rating to 2500. So bunching together tournaments usually works for me. For some reason, I get into my flow after four tournaments. This year too, after four tournaments, I got my two norms back-to-back," he added.

Harikrishnan has a Master of Commerce degree from SRM University and wants to pursue an MBA in the USA. He also wants to reach an Elo rating of 2600.

According to the newspaper, Harikrishnan told his coach, GM Shyamsundar Mohanraj, who runs Chess Thulir in Chennai, that he won’t return from this tour unless he becomes a GM or gets a rating of 2600.

“That made me very proud. He’s 24. Other players in his shoes might have felt that they have finally become a GM.’Chalo, ho gaya. Now time for a party.’ But not him. In fact, his next event starts in two days," Shyamsundar told the newspaper. “He doesn’t have too many distractions. He doesn’t get carried away. So if we’re doing 10 to 12 camps of his rating level in a year, he used to be there in at least 90 percent of them," the coach said.

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