Poor outings result in loss of rating points. It’s not going to be any different for the Indian quartet of D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, and Aravindh Chithambarama at Tata Steel Masters. After 10 games, they are in the bottom half of the standings. In the last three rounds starting on Friday, Gukesh & Co. will have to better what they have so far to arrest the slide.
The world champion has suffered the least of the four in terms of rating points. He is the best-placed Indian at eighth in the field of 14 players, with a tally of five. Still, the 4.6 rating points Gukesh lost in three wins, three defeats and four draws makes him 11th in the world rankings, according to live ratings on 2700chess.com. R Praggnanandhaa is 12th.
If this turns out to be accurate and these two players from Chennai don’t fare well in the remainder of the elite event in Wijk Aan Zee in the Netherlands, Erigaisi might remain the only Indian in the top 10 of classical chess rankings. Since Praggnanandhaa became the world No. 8 last March, there have been three Indians in that bracket for 11 months.
Live rating is an unofficial but usually accurate indicator. Only the world governing body — FIDE — can issue official ratings and rankings. It’s updated every month. Live ratings are subject to daily changes. In the FIDE list of January, Praggnanandhaa was eighth and Gukesh ninth. Them slipping out of the top-10 together will be a blip in the collective career graph of this young bunch which took the world by storm.
Gukesh made four draws and posted a win before the first rest day. Between the second and third rest days, the 19-year-old lost three and won two. The third defeat came against Germany’s Matthias Bluebaum, who was ranked 43rd in the world before this event and rated 75 points below the Indian. The wins he posted did some damage control and Gukesh needs more favourable results to stay in the top-10.
Praggnanandhaa hasn’t lost after the first two rounds, but he has won just one game. He is 12th with a tally of 4.5 points. Three of his seven draws came against opponents rated 70-100 points below. It has resulted in a loss of 10.9 rating points. After reaching a career-best of No. 4 last July, the 20-plus is in danger of being out of the top-10.
Erigaisi has been the principal sufferer among the Indians. After three defeats, six draws and a solitary win, he is 12th with just four points. Being the world No. 5 and second seed, each setback has cost him more than others and he has lost a hefty 17.9 rating points. The live ratings are showing him at seventh and of the famous Indian trio, this 22-year-old has the strongest chance of retaining his place in the top-10.
A win in the 10th round lifted Aravindh Chithambaram from the bottom and made him 13th in the standings. Playing his first competition of this strength, the player from Madurai lost his way after beginning with two draws. He suffered four losses and said after his first win that he was not happy at all with the way he played. From world No. 32, he is 38th on live ratings with a loss of 12.3 points. The 26-year-old is certain to slip out of the elite ELO rating bracket of 2700, when FIDE releases the fresh list in the first week of February.
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