A Ra Harikrishnan becomes the 87th Indian Chess Grandmaster

Tamil Nadu’s A. Ra Harikrishnan became the 87th Indian Chess Grandmaster by securing his third Grandmaster norm at the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France. L.R. Srihari was the 86th Grandmaster of India, who secured the Grandmaster norm in May 2025. 

Before the start of the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France, the International Master A. Ra Harikrishnan needed one more Grandmaster norm to earn the coveted GM title. A male chess player needs to secure a minimum 2500 Elo rating points and three Grandmaster norms to earn the coveted Grandmaster title.

A. Ra Harikrishnan earned his third and final Grandmaster norm by finishing fourth in the French Chess event. It also ended the seven-year wait of Harikrishnan, who became an International Master in 2018.

He achieved his first Grandmaster norm at the Biel International Chess Festival in 2023 in Switzerland and his second norm at the Lince Andujar Chess Open in Spain in June 2025.

Vishwanathan Anand was the first Indian to get the Grandmaster title in 1998. Koneru Humpy was the first Indian woman to earn the Grandmaster title in chess in 2002.

For details, see: 

Tamil Nadu’s L R Srihari becomes the 86th Indian Chess Grandmaster

Jharkhand wins 15th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2025

Hockey Jharkhand won the 15th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2025 by defeating Hockey Association of Odisha 1-0 in the final. It was the 5th consecutive title win for the Hockey Jharkhand women’s team.

Jirn Soy Munda of Jharkhand scored the match-winning goal in the 27th minute of the game to give the Jharkhand team its fifth consecutive title.

In the third-place match, Hockey Haryana defeated Hockey Mizoram in a penalty shootout 5-4 after the match ended in a 3-3 tie at the end of the stipulated time.

The 15th Hockey India Sub Junior Women National Championship 2025 - Division ‘A’  was organsied by Hockey India and held at the Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh AstroTurf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand, from 3-14 July 2025.