Crossword Genius

Figure one Grand Master must enter with first class marks (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

stigmata

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'marks' is the definition.
(plural of stigma - stigma can mean a mark or wound)

'figure one grand master must enter with first class' is the wordplay.
'figure' becomes 'stat' (statistic).
'one grand master' becomes 'igm' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'must enter' is an insertion indicator.
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'first class' becomes 'A' (as in A-list, A-team etc).
'stat' going around 'igm' is 'stigmat'.
'stigmat'+'a'='STIGMATA'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for stigmata that I've seen before include "Spots" , "Marks resembling the wounds of Christ" , "Marks resembling Christ's wounds" , "Wounds like Christ's" , "Distinguishing marks; the wounds of Christ" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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