Kottayam lad Jake Shanty bags International Master title in chess after tour of Europe

Kerala's Jake Shanty has become an International Master (IM) in chess. The 14-year-old from Kottayam secured his third and final norm at the Budapest Spring Festival 2026 held last month.

Impressively, Jake completed all his norms in just four months by competing in overseas tournaments.

He secured his first IM norm at the IM Putnik 96 event in Novi Sad, Serbia, in December 2025. He won the event by scoring eight points.

In January, Jake bagged his second IM norm at the SixDays Budapest - IM-A event, in which he finished second on 7 points.

At his second event in Budapest, Jake scored positive scores against three IMs and also defeated GM Abdimalik Abdisalimov of Uzbekistan.

Jake began his chess training under Binoy Joseph in Pala before joining Rajesh Nattakom's Kottayam Chess Academy.

The title of IM is a level below Grandmaster (GM) and is awarded to players who achieve an Elo rating of 2400 or higher and secure at least 3 norms.