On Friday, while the rest of the chess world was focussed on the FIDE World Cup in India, where Indians are making waves, Raahul VS quietly won the ASEAN Individual Championship in the Philippines, a feat that sealed his grandmaster title in one shot, thus making him India’s 91st GM.

After his coronation as a grandmaster upon winning the title with a round to spare on Friday, it is unlikely that Raahul VS had any time to celebrate. On Saturday, he had to play his final game of the tournament in the Philippines from 9 am (local time) before rushing to the airport to catch a flight for Malaysia at 2.30 pm to play in the Commonwealth Chess tournament.

While Shyamsundar Mohanraj, Raahul’s chess mentor from Chennai who has created many of India’s recent grandmasters, told The Indian Exp

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