Gukesh, 17, becomes the top-ranked chess player in India
17-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh achieved a remarkable feat in the first round of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. By winning two games in his second-round match against GM Misratdin Iskandarov, he surpassed Viswanathan Anand in Live Rating, becoming the highest-ranked Indian chess player in the world.
His victory in the first round elevated his live rating to 2755.9, surpassing Anand’s rating of 2754. This made him the second Indian player, after Pentala Harikrishna in March 2016, to overtake Anand in live ratings as India’s No.1 chess player. Anand has held this position for an impressive 37 years since 1986. Although Harikrishna briefly held the top spot for just one day, Anand reclaimed it by winning his game the following day.
This achievement marks the first time since 1986 that an Indian player has surpassed Vishy Anand in the ‘published’ FIDE Rankings. Considering Anand’s reduced participation in recent years, there are good chances that Gukesh will maintain his position as India’s No.1 player for an extended period.
Gukesh’s accomplishments have been exceptional, becoming the youngest player ever to reach a 2750 rating in the world, breaking the record previously held by Magnus Carlsen. He must now maintain his rating above 2754 when FIDE publishes the rankings on September 1.
Notably, Gukesh became the youngest Indian Grandmaster at the age of 12 years, 7 months, and 17 days in March 2019. While he missed becoming the youngest GM in the world by just 17 days, Sergey Karjakin held that record. However, in 2022, both Gukesh and Karjakin were surpassed by an American player of Indian origin, Abhimanyu Mishra, who achieved the title at the age of 12 years, 4 months, and 25 days.
Gukesh’s rapid rise in the rankings continued, and as of the last published rankings on August 1, he was rated 11th in the world with a rating of 2751. In October 2022, at the age of 16, Gukesh accomplished another impressive feat by becoming the youngest player ever to defeat then-world champion Magnus Carlsen in a game at the Aimchess Rapid Tournament.
In the current Live Ratings, Gukesh holds the 9th rank in the world with a rating of 2755.9, while Anand is placed 10th with a rating of 2754.
