PRESS NOTE: For Immediate Release
Chess prodigy Ethan Vaz of Goa has become a Grandmaster at just 14 years of age after securing his third and final GM norm at the “Chess Summer in Sarajevo – GM Mix” tournament in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Ethan also won the international GM tournament with an unbeaten score of 7 points from 9 rounds. With the completion of the Grandmaster requirements, he becomes the current youngest Grandmaster in India, the current second-youngest Grandmaster in the world, and India’s 96th Grandmaster.
The nine-round international Swiss tournament, held from June 22 to 27, attracted 56 players from 15 countries, including 48 titled players comprising 10 Grandmasters, 13 International Masters and 15 FIDE Masters. Ethan scored five wins and four draws, playing all nine rounds against titled opponents, including three Grandmasters, three International Masters and three FIDE Masters, and finishing with an impressive performance rating of 2653. The strength of his performance is reflected by the fact that seven of his nine opponents finished among the tournament’s top ten.
Remarkably, all three of Ethan’s GM norms were earned while winning international Grandmaster tournaments — a notable achievement that underlines both his strength as well as consistency. His first GM norm came at the “GM4 Festival Šaha Bijeljina 2025” tournament in Bosnia & Herzegovina in October 2025, where he secured the norm with a round to spare before going on to win the tournament. His second followed at the “GM Mix 11 Fantastico” tournament in Senta, Serbia, in January 2026, where he defeated a 2395-rated FIDE Master in a last-round must-win game to clinch both the norm and the tournament title. In Sarajevo, he completed the journey by once again winning an international Grandmaster tournament while securing his third and final GM norm.
Ethan had crossed the FIDE rating threshold of 2500 Elo points earlier on Nov 14, 2025, while playing the “RUDAR XXV – GM ROUND ROBIN” Tournament in Pozarevac, Serbia, where, yet again, he had won the international GM tournament, with an undefeated score of 6.5 point out of 9, but missed the GM norm back then by half a point.
Ethan’s achievement carries additional significance under FIDE’s revised Grandmaster regulations, introduced in June 2022, which require every aspiring Grandmaster to earn at least one GM norm in an individual Swiss tournament, making the title more demanding to achieve than under the previous regulations. Ethan is the youngest Indian to fulfil the Grandmaster requirements after introduction of these strengthened regulations, having earned two of his three GM norms in Swiss tournaments.
Ironically, Ethan had originally been scheduled to represent India at the FIDE World Youth Chess Championship (Under-18) in Italy during the same period but was unable to travel after his visa was not approved in time. Not wanting the disappointment to affect him, his parents quickly put together an alternative tournament schedule to travel to Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, where Ethan made the opportunity count by completing his Grandmaster journey.
At just 14 years of age, Ethan has joined the ranks of the world’s elite chess players while adding another milestone to India’s remarkable rise as a global chess powerhouse.
“It has been my goal since the time I started playing chess, and I am glad to have achieved the Grandmaster title,” says Ethan, a man of few words. “I will continue to work on my game and try to achieve my dream of becoming the World Champion.”
“Since seven years of age, Ethan’s aim has been to become the youngest Grandmaster in the world. If not for the recent US-Iran war that derailed tournament plans earlier this year, he may have well nailed it. The two years that were hijacked by the COVID-19 pandemic is another story. Given that and all the other odds, including financial constraints, we are thrilled that Ethan exceeded all practical expectations,” expressed Ethan’s dad, Edwin Vaz. “He has made it count every single time he was given an opportunity – from winning 30 international medals for India, to achieving his chess titles – FM, IM & GM, we are immensely proud of what Ethan has accomplished with the bare minimum exposure that we have provided him.”
Ethan’s mother, Linda Fernandes, expressed gratitude, saying, “We would like to thank Ethan’s coaches Prakash Vikram Singh, GM Swayams Mishra and GM Srinath Narayanan for nurturing Ethan and taking him to this level. A big thank you to Chola Chess Academy and, through them, the Pro Chess Training and all their coaches including GM RB Ramesh, for their guidance and mentorship. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Ethan’s sponsors, Geno, Helpchess Foundation, Quantbox, Group e4, Chola Chess, The King’s School, and all our friends and well-wishers who donated towards Ethan’s crowdfunding campaign.” “We are grateful to Ethan’s grandparents, late Sebastiao & late Luiza Vaz, and Mariano & Eliza Fernandes, for their blessings always,” she added, “and especially to AICF, SAI, GCA and SAG for their help and support always.”