Laxman is India`s 20th Grandmaster

Kolkata: R R Laxman of Chennai became the country`s 20th Grandmaster after acquiring his third norm in

the 4th Kolkata Open Chess tournament that concluded today and the 26-year-old said he had to wait for more than one year to acquire the final norm. Having got his first GM norm in February last year, Laxman, who has 2486 Elo rating before the meet, now crossed the 2500 barrier, required to be a GM. "But there were few ups and downs which took me so long for getting the third norm. It was frustrating," Laxman, employed with Integral Coach Factory, told. Laxman, who got his second norm in Gurgaon in January, said his win over GM Ziaur Rahman (2554) of Bangladesh in the seventh round was crucial to get the norm. "This has been a superb tournament for me, best so far. Beside the win over Rahman, I drew (Parimarjan) Negi from a difficult position in round eight," he said. Laxman has now set his eyes on 2600 Elo. "I hope to continue with my form and maintain the standard to get there." International Master Swayangsu Satyapragyan from Orissa had an amazing run in the meet finishing seventh that ensured her second GM norm. Satyapragyan (2439) had stunned three GMs -- Mikheil Mchedlishvili (2613) in round eight, Anuar Ismagambetov (2528) in round four and Deepan Chakravarthy (2524) in round seven. He also forced GM Le Quang Liem who emerged winner and British GM Nigel Short to split points. Bureau Report