India, Nov. 9 -- When I was growing up, becoming a Grandmaster was a very real challenge for Indians. We were all competing to become the first Grandmaster and I spent two years chasing that title. I say two years because I became an International Master in 1984-85 and then took on this obvious next step.

So, the challenges we faced were not only becoming strong enough to fulfil the norm requirements but also getting to play in tournaments that ticked all the boxes for being a Grandmaster tournament. You had to have a certain number of players from a certain number of countries, a minimum number of Grandmasters, and a certain number of rounds (with a minimum of nine).

In those days, many norm hopefuls not only from India would meet ther...