The best thing about the D Gukesh fairytale is it doesn’t end there. He is, at the moment, on top of a pyramid which has a strong foundation. There are several Indians already at the elite level. A few more are getting closer. The depth in chess is formidable and the rate of growth high. India is second in the world, behind the USA, in the average Elo ratings of a country’s top 10 players.
The new world champion not being the highest-rated Indian confirms this is a serious pool. That honour goes to Arjun Erigaisi, who has become the second Indian to cross the 2800 mark in ratings. He is the World No. 4 and Gukesh No. 5. Viswanathan Anand is amazingly at No. 10 at the age of 55. There are five Indians in the top 25 and eight in the first 50.
In the women’s section, it has taken a bit longer, but here too, the youngsters have started following the trends set by Koneru Humpy and D Harika. R Vaishali and Divya Deshmukh are making rapid strides and Vantika Agarwal is clawing her way up. Indians occupy four positions in the top 20 of the women’s rankings. At No. 6, Humpy continues to maintain her presence in the top-10.
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Arjun the man to watch
The success of Gukesh will spur on the whole young bunch. The focus, immediately, is on Arjun. He has not had as much exposure on the elite circuit as Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa or Vidit Gujrathi. The strategy at the Chess Olympiad was to keep him on the third board in spite of his high rating, to deal with opponents in the region of 2650. He won nine games and drew two to secure the gold medal on the third board and played a pivotal part in India’s triumph.
The 21-year-old is eyeing the Candidates. Only eight qualify for the event that selects the challenger to the world champion. Arjun was part of the Indian quartet which reached the World Cup quarter-finals in 2023. He was the only one from the four missing at the Candidates earlier this year, where Gukesh, Pragg and Vidit formed a historic Indian trio.
Arjun is trailing Fabiano Caruana of the US in the race to the Candidates through the Fide Circuit. The World Rapid and Blitz later this month will be his last chance via this channel. He has gone on record saying that he wants to play more top-tier tournaments. He played a couple of late and finished tied-second in one and tied-first in the other, when the title eluded him on tie-break.
Pragg with a point to prove
Toast of the fans until the Candidates in April, Pragg has fallen slightly behind and didn’t have as sparkling an Olympiad as Gukesh or Arjun. If a 19-year-old still ranks 17th in the world, it means there is something about him. This prodigy from Chennai has already been in the top-10 and in 2025, he will be eager to show that he can go further.
The elite of chess saw his potential at the World Cup last year, where he put up a show before losing to Magnus Carlsen in the final. Pragg demonstrated his immense capabilities after that, by beating the World No. 1 in his den at the Norway Chess event in May. He can sometimes pull rabbits out of his hat. He showed that at the Candidates. Expect him to come back recharged.
Nihal, Arvind and others
One name that goes unnoticed is Nihal Sarin. Ranked 49th in the classical format at the age of 20, he excels in the shorter formats. At the star-studded Global Chess League, the Kerala GM was named player of the tournament. His world ranking is better in the shorter formats and he will be a player to watch at the World Rapid and Blitz in New York from December 26-31.
Arvind Chidambaram has quietly moved up to World No. 26, with an Elo rating of 2718. Winner of the recent Chennai Grandmasters event, he is the latest Indian knocking on the doors of the elite level. There is Raunak Sadhwani. At 19, he has reached No. 51 and he also does well in speed chess.
Divya, Vaishali lead charge of the women
Many in the women’s section will be inspired by Gukesh. Vaishali had a quiet Olympiad, but was still part of a gold-winning team. At the women’s Candidates, she was a joint runner-up after winning five successive games. At 23, she became the third Indian woman to become a GM, which makes her and Pragg the only brother-sister duo with the coveted title.
Divya has made the most stunning progress. She won the under-19 girls’ World Championship this year and secured gold on the third board in India’s victorious Olympiad campaign. She was actually the engine that pulled the team through. From an Elo rating of 2420 in January to 2490 in December is a big jump, which puts her at 14th in the women’s rankings.
The names mentioned are just a few, who have made their mark at the top level. There are many more in the making. Like Anand inspired a generation, a new, young and vibrant lot will be fired up by Gukesh’s triumph. This will boost the supply line India has in place already. As Garry Kasparov put it, this could well be the beginning of the “Indian earthquake in chess”.
Also Read: A year of alchemy for Indian chess