Dommaraju Gukesh, a chess prodigy and Grandmaster, has ascended to the position of India’s top-ranked chess player, surpassing the renowned Viswanathan Anand in live ratings. This achievement follows Gukesh’s advancement to the third round of the FIDE Chess World Cup, a significant single-elimination tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan. His victory against GM Misratdin Iskandaro on the tournament’s home turf elevated his live rating to 2755.9, narrowly edging out Anand’s 2754.0.
For the past 36 years, Anand has held the title of India’s highest-ranked chess player according to published rankings. However, this is expected to change when FIDE releases its ratings at the end of the current month.
Gukesh, mentored by Anand, experienced a rapid ascent after entering the top 100 in 2023. Presently, his world ranking stands at 11 according to FIDE’s monthly list. This varies from the live ratings, which are recalculated daily following matches.
In July, Gukesh also made history by becoming the youngest chess player to cross the 2750 mark, surpassing a record previously held by five-time World Champion Magnus Carlsen, the reigning World No. 1 since July 2011. Carlsen currently maintains a live rating of 2838.4, with the US’ Fabiano Caruana following at 2786.4.
Running until August 25, the FIDE World Cup doubles as a qualifier for the 2024 Chess World Championship. A total of 17 Indians are participating in this year’s World Cup, including D Gukesh, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, Nihal Sarin, S L Narayanan, Abhimanyu Puranik, Adhiban B, Karthik Venkataraman, Harsha Bharathakoti, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali R, Divya Deshmukh, Nandhidhaa P V, Mary Ann Gomesh, and Priyanka Nutakki, as reported by ChessBase India.
