Who became the first International Master of India?
- A.Viswanathan Anand
- B.Manuel Aaron
- C.Dibyendu Barua
- D.Pravin Thipsay
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Manuel Aaron. Manuel Aaron of Chennai earned the International Master title in 1961, the first Indian to hold any international chess title, and he dominated the national championship for close to two decades at a time when India had no professional circuit. His success is usually treated as the starting point of organised competitive chess in the country. Option A is wrong because Viswanathan Anand belongs to a much later generation and is remembered as India's first Grandmaster, in 1988, rather than its first International Master. Option C is wrong because Dibyendu Barua of Kolkata earned his titles in the nineteen eighties. Option D is wrong because Pravin Thipsay, another strong player of that decade, also came long after Aaron. Note the pairing that papers test: Aaron for International Master, Anand for Grandmaster.
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 became the first Grandmaster of India?
- A.Pentala Harikrishna
- B.Viswanathan Anand
- C.Manuel Aaron
- D.Dibyendu Barua
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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.
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.
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