Ameet Ghasi recently became England's 42nd grandmaster, achieving this milestone at the age of 37 during the international tournament in Fagernes, Norway, where he shared first prize with a score of 6.5/9. Ghasi, an amateur who works full-time for Biogen, is the oldest English player to earn the GM title, which requires three norms at the 2600 level and a published Fide rating of 2500. He has been striving for his final norm for several years, and the decisive factor was the support from the new Department for Culture, Media and Sport grant for elite chess, which allowed him to focus on Fagernes as a potential norm event and prepare adequately.
Ghasi's standout victory in the tournament was against a Norwegian GM, where he launched an attack, executed a rook sacrifice for a bishop, and secured a checkmate. Reflecting on his achievement, Ghasi commented, "It's been a long journey. It feels like a significant milestone, albeit a challenging one. I haven't been celebrating; it's more of a relief. I've always been working full-time, and I took an eight-year break from chess in my late teens, so there were reasons for the delay. But it's been frustrating, and I'm glad it's finally done."
Grandmaster titles among English players have been scarce in the past decade. The recent successes of Shreyas Royal, who qualified last month at the age of 15, and Ghasi mark only the fourth and fifth titles since 2014, following Jonathan Hawkins, Ravi Haria, and Daniel Fernandez. Keith Arkell previously held the record as the oldest qualifier, though Jonathan Penrose, a 10-time British champion, achieved his final norm at 35 in the 1968 Lugano Olympiad but was awarded the GM title 25 years later.
In recent years, Arkell has excelled in senior over-50 chess, earning numerous team and individual gold and silver medals. Ghasi's achievement places him among the generation led by Harry Grieve, 23, and Matthew Wadsworth, 24, who are also nearing the GM title. Along with Royal, these players could potentially succeed England's current Olympiad team, whose average age is around 40.
A recurring theme in recent English successes has been the crucial role of DCMS financial backing for elite chess, announced last year and increasingly influential. This support has enabled English and British players and teams to win gold medals in various senior championships and the world problem-solving championship. At the junior level, England boasts three of the world's top six under-10 players, and Royal's success has inspired a surge in results among teenagers.
In last month's regional qualifiers for the UK Open and Women's Blitz Championships, 16 of the 32 finalists were juniors, including qualifiers from Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Belfast. Recently, Royal and Sivanandan visited 11 Downing Street to meet Chancellor Rachel Reeves, a former national junior champion. However, there are concerns that the successful elite chess grant may be at risk due to potential DCMS departmental cuts.
In other news, Kirill Shevchenko, Romania's 22-year-old Ukraine-born world No. 69, was defaulted and expelled from the Spanish League after allegedly concealing a cellphone in the toilet. Earlier, Shevchenko had won chess.com's Titled Tuesday with impressive play. Meanwhile, GM Christopher Yoo, 17, was expelled from the US Championship after allegedly reacting to a loss to defending champion Fabiano Caruana by crumpling his score sheet, storming out, and striking a videographer. Yoo faces charges of fourth-degree assault and his results have been annulled.
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