D Gukesh Becomes New India No. 1, Surpasses Arjun Erigaisi; R Praggnanandhaa Overtakes Viswanathan Anand

D Gukesh Becomes New India No. 1: In a historic moment for Indian chess, 18-year-old D Gukesh has become the new India No. 1, overtaking Arjun Erigaisi in the live FIDE ratings after a stellar performance at the Tata Steel Chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee.

Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa has climbed to third place, surpassing the legendary Viswanathan Anand. This reshuffling of rankings signals a new era for Indian chess, with young players taking centre stage.

We asked Gukesh's long time trainer GM Vishnu Prasanna about what he thinks of Gukesh's achievements and Vishnu said, "Gukesh continues to exceed everyones expectations and the amount of work he has put in to be consistent shows in his play. I am very happy for him for crossing his idol Vishy and also to enter the Top 10 in the world. At the beginning of the year this was an important milestone for him and I am impressed by how smoothly he has achieved this."

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Surpassing Viswanathan Anand

The win against Ding Liren not only marked a personal victory for Praggnanandhaa but also led him to surpass the legendary Viswanathan Anand as the top-rated Indian player. With a FIDE live rating of 2748.3, Praggnanandhaa marginally edged past Anand’s rating of 2748. This achievement places Praggnanandhaa as the second Indian, following Anand, to defeat a reigning world champion in classical chess. He had previously defeated Ding Liren at the Tata Steel tournament in 2023 as well​​​​​.

When was the last time Anand was not the India No. 1?

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Anand has remained India’s top-ranked player in all published lists since January 1987.

Should Gukesh stay ahead of Anand till the release of the next ranking list on 1st September, the 17-year-old will become the first Indian to figure ahead of Anand in the World rankings since Pravin Thipsay in July 1986. At that time, Thipsay was rated 2485 to Anand’s 2420.

In fact, this is the second time, in live ratings, that Anand is seen behind a compatriot. On March 16, 2016, Anand temporarily trailed P. Harikrishna.

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