Mayank scripts history by becoming first GM from Northeast

History had long been in the making. And, on Saturday in Stockholm, when Mayank Chakraborty sealed the third and final norm in his journey to become a Grandmaster with aplomb, it validated the promise that the 17-year-old from Assam had shown from childhood.

Chakraborty achieved the feat with a round to spare in the eighth round of Hotel Stockholm North by First Hotels Young Talents chess tournament by defeating Swedish IM Philip Lindgren in a dominant show and became the first GM from the northeast and the 94th Indian to make the cut.

The son of a doctor mother and a father who quit his job to support his son’s dream, Chakraborty also reaffirmed the belief of his parents in his talent on the chess board.

He accumulated the required 6.5 points that were enough to secure his final Grandmaster norm. In the final round, he played out an exciting draw with English IM Jonah B Willow to seal what was his most memorable performance to date.

Born in the land of football, it did not, however, take long for Chakraborty’s parents to identify their son’s gift for an indoor game. And what followed was the youngster’s triumphs in age-group tournaments. Chakraborty emerged on the national scene as the Under-9 national silver medallist and Under-11 national gold medallist, besides winning the Under-10 silver at Asian Youth Chess Championship in Sri Lanka.

His precocious talent saw him grow in the game by leaps and bounds, and saw him become the India and Asia No.1 in the Under-11 category.

Then came the year 2021 that proved to be the ultimate stepping stone in his journey. He competed in Europe, jumping from an Elo rating in the 1800s to nearing 2200 while also becoming world No.6 in the Elo rankings for boys born on or after 2009. By 2024, Chakraborty had become an International Master.

This week, the teenager also crossed the critical 2500 Elo rating mark, with his current rating standing a few points above the threshold, thereby confirming the Grandmaster title as per the rules of FIDE.

Chakraborty lost one game, drew two and won the remaining six to finish with seven points out of a possible nine, also clinching the tournament title in the process with a half-point lead over Aksel Bu Kvaloy after the Norwegian’s last-round walkover.