Who is India's second chess Grandmaster?

Dibyendu Barua of Kolkata, West Bengal, became India's second chess Grandmaster (GM) in 1991, three years after Viswanathan Anand became the first in 1988.

More about Dibyendu Barua:

• He was born on 27 October 1966 in Kolkata.
• He first attracted international attention in 1982, at the age of 16, when he defeated the former world championship challenger Viktor Korchnoi at the Lloyds Bank tournament in London.
• He has won the Indian National Chess Championship more than once and received the Arjuna Award in 1983.
• He runs the Dibyendu Barua Chess Academy in Kolkata, which trains young players.

India's early Grandmasters:

• Viswanathan Anand (1988): India's first GM and five-time World Champion.
• Dibyendu Barua (1991).
• Pravin Thipsay (1997).
• Abhijit Kunte (2000).
• Krishnan Sasikiran (2000).
• Koneru Humpy became India's first woman Grandmaster in 2002.

India's chess boom:

• India now has more than 85 Grandmasters, and Tamil Nadu has the largest number.
• Gukesh became the youngest undisputed World Champion in 2024.
• Praggnanandhaa reached the final of the 2023 FIDE World Cup.
• Arjun Erigaisi became only the second Indian (after Anand) to cross a FIDE rating of 2800 in 2024.

How to become a Grandmaster:

A player needs to achieve three "GM norms" (strong results in tournaments against strong opposition) and reach a FIDE rating of at least 2500. The GM title is awarded by FIDE, the world chess body (founded 1924).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Pravin Thipsay became India's third Grandmaster in 1997.
• ✗Viswanathan Anand was India's first Grandmaster (1988).
• ✗Koneru Humpy was India's first woman Grandmaster (2002).