India keeps Coming Strong

Parimarjan Negi (1993-) is a 15-year-old chess prodigy from India. In July 2005, he earned his third and final International Master norm at the Sort International Open Chess Tournament in Sort, Spain. On July 2006, at the tender age of 13 years, 4 months, and 22 days, he became the second youngest International Grandmaster ever (by drawing with Russian GM Ruslan Shervakov), second only to Sergey Karjakin, when he earned his third and final GM norm at the Chelyabinsk Region Superfinal Championship at Satka in Russia. His FIDE rating as of October 2008 is 2597.

On January 2006 he received his second GM norm at the Hastings Chess Congress where he scored 6/10, a performance of 2568. Negi finished 16th when he was 12 years, 10 months and 29 days old.

Negi replaces Pentala Harikrishna as India's youngest ever GM. The game below, played recently in Philadelphia during the World Open,  is a fine demonstration of his brilliant chess mastery. Viswanathan Anand, look out! 

(Notes by Jerry Hanken)