Vijayawada: Musunoori Rohit Lalith Babu from Vijayawada is just 14 points away from the coveted Super Grandmaster title.
Lalith has 2,586 Fide rating points after the Gibraltar International Chess Festival Masters Tournament that concluded on January 31, where he secured 30 points.
If Lalith secures another 14 points in the coming International tournament Aeroflot Chess Open that begins on February 18 at Moscow, Russia, then he will become the first Super Grandmaster in residuary AP.
Earlier P. Harikrishna and K. Hampi of AP achieved the Super Grandmaster title but that was before bifurcation.
Lalith came agonisingly close to the title thrice earlier. The first time was in April 2014 when he secured at 2,594 points. He again came close in January 2016 at 2,596 points, and finally, in March 2017 when he managed 2,594 points.
As of now, he is at 2,556 points and will need to reach 2,600 Fide rating points before March for the title.
