Twenty-one-year-old Trisha Kanyamarala became the first Irish woman to be awarded the title of woman grandmaster (WGM) in chess, following her high standard of play at the London Chess Classic recently.
The achievement marked the pinnacle of a six-year journey for Kanyamarala, who previously became Ireland’s first woman international master in 2020, aged just 14.
Speaking about the achievement, she said: “I was incredibly happy and relieved when I met the requirements. The tournament was competitive, with many grandmasters and international masters playing, but from very early on, I felt confident in my play.”
Gaining a woman grandmaster title (or “norm”) involves reaching a chess rating of 2,300, while also achieving a performance rating of 2,400 across three officially recognised tournaments. To put this in context, a casual chess player might be rated between 800 and 1,000, while the world’s number one player, Magnus Carlsen, boasts a rating of 2,840.
Kanyamarala had been close to snagging her WGM title on previous occasion
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