After the unparalleled highs of 2024, this year was going to be an acid test for the Indian chess brigade. Expectations had risen following wins in the Olympiad and world championships (men’s classical, women’s rapid) and so had the pressure. Previously, their potential was known, but they were not always the favourites. After those waves of success, they are.
Nearing the halfway stage of the year, the Indian players have given a good account of themselves collectively. This has happened in spite of the top guns not firing. World champion D Gukesh and world No. 3 Arjun Erigaisi are yet to hit the levels they had last year. That’s why the success stories scripted by R Praggnanandhaa and others augur well for Indian chess. If one or two don’t do it, there is another bunch eager to pounce and that’s what they have done.
The following is a glance at some notable performances by Indians at the senior level in 2025.
R Praggnanandhaa (winner, Tata Steel Masters & Superbet Chess Classic)
In the classical format, he is possibly the performer of the year so far. Having started 2025 as 13th in the world with a rating of 2741, Pragg was No. 7 on 2758 in May. The unbeaten title run in Bucharest might see him progress further when the list is updated. Having played three events in 2025, the Chennai prodigy won two and he was a joint-leader heading into the last round of Prague Masters.
It’s just one rung below the two events Pragg won, but a fairly prestigious one. He lost in the last round and finished fourth. To be in title contention till the last round in tournaments of such stature is an achievement. By winning two, the player turning 20 in August has shown he is mastering how to consistently close things out or timely down shutters at the top level.
Aravindh Chithambaram (winner, Prague Masters)
Gukesh, Erigaisi and Pragg are the players referred to when it comes to the Indian youngsters causing a stir. Quietly, this player from Madurai had crept up to No. 23 in the January rating list. The 25-year-old made the most of his opportunities and finds himself at 12 in the list published in May.
It was a career-best 11 in April, after he sprang a surprise in Prague. The 10-player field he topped by a full point had six above 2700. Slightly older than the country’s Gen Z, he had shifted base to Chennai to train under coach RB Ramesh. Pragg is from the same stable and these two have been friends for a while. With Gukesh and Erigaisi yet to perform according to their ratings this year, Aravindh has joined Pragg in keeping the Indian flag flying in global events.
Nihal Sarin (winner, Tashkent Open; runner-up, Asian Championship)
Part of the pack that snatched bronze at the 2022 Olympiad in Chennai, he has not moved as fast as some of his peers. This year, the player from Kerala looks steadier and consistent. The event he won in Tashkent was not an elite one, but open tournaments are never easy. The higher one’s rating, the greater the risk of losing rating points. The player turning 21 in July was the top seed in the events he played.
After Tashkent, the Menorca Open in Spain was a bit of a dampener. Nihal then found himself in a mess midway through the Asian Championship in Al Ain, UAE. He strung together five straight wins to finish tied on top. On tie-break score he came second and grabbed one of the three World Cup berths on offer from this event. At 2693, he is on the threshold of breaking into the 2700 club.
Koneru Humpy (winner, Women’s Grand Prix Pune; runner-up, Monaco)
She is the only one constant in Indian chess after Viswanathan Anand. At the age of 38, this mother of one has been in the top 4-5 of women’s rankings for years. After winning the world rapid title in December, Humpy said that she had not been playing well. However good or otherwise she may be shaping up, she is still a major force in the circuit.
Winning the Pune leg of the Grand Prix after finishing second in the previous leg in Monaco means she is fourth in the season’s standings in this chain of competitions. Having opted out of the Olympiad last year and seen her compatriots strike gold, she has made a strong comeback. Dronavalli Harika and Divya Deshmukh finished third in one Grand Prix each. R Vaishali tried her best. Humpy continues to show who the boss is.
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