Ajay Santhosh earns first Grandmaster norm at Baku Open

Indian International Master Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy delivered a stellar performance at the Baku Open 2026, finishing second and securing his first Grandmaster norm. The 15-year-old remained unbeaten, gained Elo points, and moved closer to achieving the prestigious Grandmaster title

Hyderabad: India’s International Master Ajay Santhosh Parvathareddy produced a remarkable performance at the prestigious Baku Open 2026 International Chess Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, finishing second in the nine-round event.

Importantly, Ajay, the Noida-based Telugu player, earned his first Grandmaster norm. He now needs two more norms to achieve the coveted Grandmaster title.

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The 15-year-old scored an unbeaten 6.5/9 and received a certificate of appreciation along with $7,000 in prize money from the organisers.

The tournament featured 100 players from 10 countries, including India, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine.

Santhosh stood out with a brilliant Elo performance rating of 2631. He gained 19.6 Elo points, taking his live rating to 2499.6 — just 0.4 points shy of the 2500 mark.

Trained by noted chess coach Lokeshwara Rao Moogi, Ajay remained unbeaten and drew all five Grandmasters he faced.

Ajay’s list of opponents included former World Champion GM Ruslan Ponomariov (2636) of Ukraine, India’s GM Pranav Anand (2596), and Iran’s GM Sina Movahed (2575).

Observers predicted a bright future for Ajay due to his fearless approach on the 64 squares as he embarks on his journey to achieve his immediate goal of becoming India’s next Grandmaster.