The Personification of Perseverance - GM Sayantan Das
25/03/2023 - IM Sayantan Das became India's 81st Grandmaster on Sunday 26th February 2022. He defeated GM Alexander Motylev in the final round of 6th Cannes Open 2023 to cross 2500 and become a Grandmaster. He also became a clear champion. The 25-year-old scored his first GM-norm at 22nd Montcada Open 2014. Then he delivered a fantastic performance to secure his second GM-norm at 14th Delhi GM Open 2016. The final GM-norm was scored at Czech Open 2017 Pardubice. It has been a long wait since then. Anyone who has ever seen his game, was well aware of his GM-like strength. However, he had to wait over 5.5 years to fulfil the rating requirements and he finally achieved it in an excellent manner. Photo: Shahid Ahmed