On 3 August 2021, ________became India's 69$$^{th}$$​ Grandmaster of Chess at the Biel Masters Open.

Correct option is A

Correct Option: (A) Harshit Raja

• On 3 August 2021, Harshit Raja became India’s 69th Grandmaster (GM) in chess.

• He achieved this milestone at the Biel Masters Open Chess Tournament held in Switzerland.

• Harshit hails from Pune, Maharashtra, and secured the GM title after crossing 2500 Elo rating points and achieving all required GM norms.

• The Grandmaster title is the highest title awarded in chess by FIDE, the International Chess Federation.

• India’s first Grandmaster was Viswanathan Anand in 1988.

• Harshit’s achievement reflects the rising trend of young chess prodigies emerging in India.

• Nihal Sarin:

  • Became a Grandmaster in 2018 at the age of 14.

  • Known for being part of India’s Online Olympiad gold-winning team (2020).

• Dommaraju Gukesh:

  • Became a GM in 2019 at the age of 12 years, 7 months—one of the youngest ever globally.

• Prithu Gupta:

  • Became India's 64th Grandmaster in 2019.

  • He achieved the GM title at the age of 15.