P Shayaamnikhil became India’s 85th Grandmaster by completing his third and final GM norm in the just-concluded Dubai Police Masters chess tournament, ending a 12-year-wait for the player who took to the sport as an eight-year-old.

P Shyaamnikhil is a native of Tamil Nadu .

Shyaamnikhil needed just one win and eight draws to complete the long-overdue GM title which he achieved in the tournament.

The 31-year-old conjured the requisite 2500 ELO rating points, the minimum requirement to be a GM, way back in 2012 with two Grandmaster norms but for the third one, he had to wait for 12 years.