Who became the first Grandmaster of India?
- A.Pentala Harikrishna
- B.Viswanathan Anand
- C.Manuel Aaron
- D.Dibyendu Barua
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Viswanathan Anand. Anand, born in Mayiladuthurai and brought up in Chennai, earned the Grandmaster title in 1988 while still a teenager and became the first Indian to hold the highest lifetime title awarded by FIDE. His speed at the board earned him the nickname Lightning Kid. He went on to win the FIDE world title in 2000 and became undisputed world champion in 2007, holding the crown until 2013. Option A is wrong because Pentala Harikrishna took the title much later, in the following generation. Option C is wrong because Manuel Aaron was India's first International Master, in 1961, a lower title, and he never became a Grandmaster. Option D is wrong because Dibyendu Barua, though an early Indian talent who beat Viktor Korchnoi as a boy, became a Grandmaster after Anand.
Read the full article: Chess and Indian Grandmasters: Firsts, Titles and Records
Practice Questions
View allThe modern game of chess is believed to have developed from which ancient Indian game?
- A.Chaturanga
- B.Pachisi
- C.Gilli Danda
- D.Chausar
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Chaturanga was played in India in the Gupta age and its name means four limbs, standing for the four divisions of an ancient army: infantry, cavalry, elephants and chariots.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first Indian woman to be awarded the Grandmaster title?
- A.Koneru Humpy
- B.Dronavalli Harika
- C.Tania Sachdev
- D.Vaishali Rameshbabu
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Humpy, from Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, earned the open Grandmaster title in 2002 while in her teens, and at that time she was the youngest woman in the world to have done so.
Read the full explanation →How many squares are there on a standard chessboard?
- A.36
- B.49
- C.64
- D.81
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A chessboard is a square divided into eight rows, called ranks, and eight columns, called files, so the number of squares is 8 multiplied by 8, that is 64.
Read the full explanation →In which year was FIDE, the international chess federation, founded?
- A.1912
- B.1924
- C.1936
- D.1951
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FIDE, the Federation Internationale des Echecs, was founded in Paris in 1924, and its motto is Gens una sumus, a Latin phrase meaning we are one people.
Read the full explanation →International Chess Day is observed every year on which date?
- A.20 July
- B.19 November
- C.29 August
- D.6 April
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The date marks the founding of FIDE, the international chess federation, in Paris on 20 July 1924, and the day is observed by chess federations across the world with tournaments and school events.
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