Who is Mayank Chakraborty, North East's first and India's 94th Grandmaster

Mayank Chakraborty became India's 94th chess Grandmaster and the first ever to hail from the country's North East region. He scored his final norm during the Hotel Stockholm North by First Hotels Young Talents tournament in Sweden.

Hailing from Assam, Chakraborty achieved the feat after beating Philip Lindgren in the penultimate round of the tournament which he eventually won. Mayank dominated the field with a stellar performance, finishing first with 7 points out of 9, a point clear of the second-best player.

The 16-year-old's magnificent performance is expected to pave way for the sport to grow further into the North East.

Mayank Chakraborty profile

Inspired by PV Sindhu's historic silver at the 2016 Olympics, Chakraborty had chosen badminton over chess as a kid. However, the physically demanding nature of badminton meant he reverted to chess.

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He played his first chess tournament at 6 before going shifting to badminton. Once he returned to the board, he was more determined than before. By 12, he had become the Under-17 national champion, a title he would win twice. Despite hailing from Assam where he would struggle to get top-quality coaches, Chakraborty and his family kept finding ways to move ahead.

In 2023, he became just the second person from the North East to become an International Master. Shahil Dey, also from Assam, became the region’s first International Master in 2021 and a couple of years later, Chakraborty too reached there. The next step was to become a Grandmaster and now he has achieved that feat as well.

His mother played the most important role in his journey in becoming a Grandmaster. A gynaecologist in Guwahati, Monomita introduced chess to his son and sacrificed a lot to ensure he kept going on the right track. She would also help his son in practice and then do her own work.

In 2022, Monomita left her government job and put focus entirely on his son's career. She would travel with Chakraborty to his tournaments and is currently in Sweden with his son as he becomes North East's first Grandmaster. However, for Monomita, this is just the start.

“It was Mayank’s goal to become the first GM from the Northeast. Since the purpose was larger, the motivation was perhaps greater. It was challenging for the family to get here. But he’s finally a GM now, and it’s only the beginning,” she told the Hindustan Times.