For seven years, Harikrishnan A Ra remained an International Master. In the meantime, he competed in lots of tournaments in his quest to grow to be a Grandmaster however fell brief after coming agonisingly near changing into one.
The 23-year-old lastly earned his third and last GM-norm within the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France on Friday (July 11, 2025). Harikrishnan drew along with his countrymate P. Iniyan within the last spherical to complete fourth and grow to be India’s 87th GM.
Speaking from La Plagne (France), Harikrishnan expressed a sigh of reduction. “Feel very happy. It’s been seven years. I agree there was a huge delay to become a GM. From 2022, I have been competing regularly in tournaments, but couldn’t get the GM norms. It was really a struggle,” Harikrishnan instructed The Hindu on Saturday (July 12, 2025).
He acquired his first GM-norm within the Biel International Chess Festival in 2023 in Switzerland and his second norm within the Lince Andujar Chess Open in June this yr in Spain.
According to Harikrishnan, he knew that he wanted 1.5 factors within the final two rounds to grow to be a GM. “There was pressure and I am glad I did it,” he stated. He defeated Jules Moussard of France within the eighth spherical and drew with Iniyan within the ninth and final spherical to finish his third GM-norm.
Harikrishnan, who simply accomplished his M. Com from SRM, is considering enjoying in fairly just a few tournaments in Spain and Portugal earlier than returning to his hometown Chennai. “I want to continue playing till I get the Elo rating of 2600. I also plan to do my Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in USA,” he stated.
