Himal Gusain Becomes Chess International Master: CCA Honoured Him with Cheque of Rs.10000/- & Trophy

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Chandigarh 16^th September:- The long wait for Chandigarh chess enthusiasts is over. Chandigarh's top chess player 23 year old Himal Gusain got the International Master Title from Fide (World Chess Federation) last month, making him the first International Master in Chess from Chandigarh. Chandigarh Chess Association and its office bearers are proud of Himal Gusain's wonderful performances over the years and his latest achievement of Master's title, which will prove a source of inspiration for the young upcoming chess players from Chandigarh. The dream of a chess player is to first attain FIDE rating, and Himal achieved that at a very early age. A chess player then plays various tournaments to continuously increase his Rating, and Himal's rating currently is 2454. He is 52^nd in India in terms of his rating. In addition to improving the Rating, a serious chess player dreams and hopes to attain a Chess Title, and Himal has now got the Master's title. India with its population of 1.3 crore has about 50 Grandmaster and 100 Masters in Chess, and it is a great achievement for the City Beautiful, that it has a Chess Master in a population of approximately 10 lakhs, a no mean achievement. In North Indian states this side of Delhi, Himal is only the second person to achieve this title. And as he is already having one GM norm, CCA hopes and prays that Himal very soon becomes the first Chess  Grandmaster from Chandigarh.

Himal became Chandigarh Chess Champion at a young age of 13 in 2007, and has since then been crowned Chandigarh Chess Champion eight times from 2007 to 2015. He has also won Chandigarh under-25 Championship, when he was just 11. He also was victorious in many FIDE rated tournaments in various cities,  Shimla (2008), Jammu (2010), Gujarat (2015), Delhi (2017), etc. Among his other notable achievements is National Youth championship in 2016 at Guwahati, and his securing of a Grandmaster norm in Chigorin Memorial Tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia (2016). He has travelled extensively and played in many foreign countries like Brazil, Holland, Russia, Greece, Poland, Latvia, Philipines, etc.

At the felicitation function AP Saksena, President Chandigarh Chess Association gave a cheque of Rs. 10000/- for his achievements in Chess.

Prof. Anil Raina Chairperson presented IM Himal Gusain with a trophy of honor for attaining the Title of International Master.