India's GM century: The high cost of chasing a chess dream

Chess coach RB Ramesh recalls a conversation not long ago with a sobbing parent. It was a familiar story. A family struggling to afford overseas travel for norm tournaments, a young player's rating taking a beating and confidence beginning to fray. To break the cycle, they needed money. Money to travel, compete and climb back up the rating ladder.

On Sunday, India got its 100th grandmaster.

“For every player who makes it to the grandmaster title, there are many talented ones who have to give up on the dream because it’s too expensive,” Ramesh says. “For India, it surely has been an exponential growth arc. But it must be said that most of the progress is despite the system.”

The GM title carries no prize money. Earning it, however, can cost a small fortune. Behind the required three norms and 2500 Elo rating are years of coaching, tournament fees, flights, visas and hotel bills. For aspiring players, chess ability is only part of the test. The other is financial endurance.

“More than 90 per cent of the grandmaster norms are being made abroad because we don’t have enough norm tournaments in India. This means only those who can afford to travel are making norms. Those who are talented but cannot afford to go abroad are left behind. This has always been the case,” Ramesh says.

Families can end up spending ₹15–25 lakh or more a year on coaching and competition, particularly during the intensive norm-chasing years.

“We spent approximately ₹15–20 lakh annually on coaching, travel and accommodation,” estimates Edwin Vaz, whose son Ethan became India’s 96th GM in June.

Heena Sadhwani, whose son Raunak earned the title six years ago, puts her family’s annual expenditure on chess at ₹20–25 lakh during those years. “Financially, it was a major commitment, and you’re also dealing with a lot of uncertainty. Unlike many other sports, there isn’t a proper pathway or support system in place for players trying to earn the title.”

The bill depends on the number of tournaments played, the countries visited and, perhaps most cruelly, how long the norms take to arrive. Europe offers numerous opportunities, but travel there is expensive.

Pranav Venkatesh, reigning world junior champion and recently crowned world junior blitz champion, missed major overseas age-group events growing up because his family could not afford them, his father Venkatesh recalls.

“He was too young to travel alone, and it was tough to afford the expenses of accompanying him. Only after he reached a rating of 2100 did we begin travelling outside India for tournaments. Even then, we chose the more economical ones in Dubai and Malaysia. He became a GM within a year of becoming an International Master, so we didn’t have to chase norms for too long.”

For Mayank Chakraborty, who this year became the Northeast’s first GM, even access to strong coaching presented a logistical challenge. His mother Monomita hosted grandmasters from other parts of India.

“We hosted a grandmaster at home for the first time in 2018. We paid for his both way airfare from Kolkata and training charges of ₹42,000 for around five to six days.”

Another coach charged ₹10,000 a day. When the family invited him back after Mayank’s rating rose to around 2350, three and a half days cost ₹50,000, airfare extra.

The GM title can ease some expenses. Organisers sometimes offer GMs ‘conditions’: waived entry fees, accommodation, meals and, occasionally, flights or appearance fees. Yet these benefits too depend on rating and reputation. At the 2026 Serbia Open, advertised appearance fees ranged from €200 (approx. ₹21,000) at the lower end to €1,500 (approx. ₹1.57 lakh) for players rated above 2650.

Also Read: India's first GM Viswanathan Anand recalls the journey to 100 Grandmasters

“If a player is ambitious and does well, things can fall into place. After Pranav became world junior champion, invitations followed,” Venkatesh says. Pranav collected approximately $43,000 ( ₹38 lakh) in prize money from three tournaments last year, excluding appearance fees.

According to Chess.com, 26 top grandmasters earned six-figure tournament prize sums in 2025. Among them were Arjun Erigaisi ($431,214 across 16 events-approx. ₹4.04 crore), R Praggnanandhaa ($317,122 across 14, approx. ₹2.97 crore) and D Gukesh ($202,292 across 13, approx. ₹1.89 crore).

For the vast majority, the financial reality is starkly different.

Anuj Shrivatri, who declined a software engineering job and became India’s 100th GM last weekend, has coached alongside playing to maintain an income. He intends to continue. Others have moved into full-time coaching, finding it more rewarding financially than competing.

For those still chasing the GM title, it is almost a race between what runs out first: funds or belief.