The 17-year-old Chennai Grandmaster, D Gukesh has replaced the legendary Viswanathan Anand as India’s top chess player after more than three decades. Anand has been India’s No.1 since July 1986.
Gukesh broke into the top 10 of the FIDE rating list for the first time. He recently lost in the quarterfinals of the FIDE World Cup in Baku to Magnus Carlsen, but managed to move ahead of Anand to be ranked No.8 in the world. A five-time world champion, Anand is currently ranked No.9. As per the FIDE ratings effective September 1, Gukesh’s rating is 2758, while Anand’s is 2754. The teenaged GM has gained three places in the rating list since August 1.
Another teen prodigy R Praggnanandhaa, who made the world take notice of him by reaching the World Cup final where he lost to Carlsen, has risen to No. 19 in the list with a rating of 2727. He is India’s No.3 player behind Gukesh and Anand.
There are five Indians currently in the top 30, including Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (no.27) and Arjun Erigaisi (no.29). Senior chess player P Harikrishna is at number 31st.
