Guwahati, 19 March (HS): A wave of celebration swept across the city on Thursday as newly crowned chess Grandmaster Mayank Chakraborty returned home to a grand reception, marking a historic milestone for Assam and the Northeast.

Touching down at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport after travelling from Sweden via Kolkata, the 17-year-old prodigy—now India’s 94th Grandmaster—was greeted by a large gathering of admirers. Officials from the Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare, members of the All Assam Chess Association and several organisations welcomed him with traditional Assamese honours, including gamosas and floral bouquets.

The celebrations continued later in the day with a formal felicitation programme organised by the Directorate of Sports at the Bhogeswari Phukanani Indoor Stadium in Dispur. In recognition of his remarkable achievement, Chakraborty was presented with a cheque of ₹5 lakh. By evening, more honours followed at his residence in Anand Nagar, where leading sports bodies such as the Guwahati Sports Association and the Assam Olympic Association joined others in congratulating the young Grandmaster.

Chakraborty, who had earlier received the promising sportsperson award from the Sports Journalists Welfare Association of Assam in 2023, secured his final Grandmaster norm at the 8th GM Tournament – Hotel Stockholm North by First Hotels Young Talent held in Sweden from March 9 to 14, 2026. Delivering an outstanding performance, he scored 7 points from eight rounds to clinch the title.

His decisive victory over International Master Philip Lindgren in the eighth round proved to be the turning point, enabling him to seal the coveted Grandmaster title with a round to spare.----------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash