Indian Chess Players – Top 100 based on FIDE ratings [Updated 2023]

Chess is an ancient Indian game, originally known as Chaturanga, which translates as four divisions of the military: infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariots, represented by the pawns, bishops, rooks, and knights. Over the years, Indian chess players have made their motherland proud on the international stage. And when it comes to making our country proud, no one did that as well as Viswanathan Anand, India’s first chess Grandmaster. He has inspired the youth to play this game, and with all his success and achievements, he has become a role model.

In this article, we will provide you with a list of the top 100 Indian chess players according to FIDE ratings as of November 2023.

List of Indian chess players – Top 100

Take a look at the list of the top 100 Indian Chess players based on FIDE rating as of November 2023:

Rank	Indian Chess players	Title	Rating	B-Year
1	Anand, Viswanathan	Grandmaster	2756	1969
2	Gukesh D	Grandmaster	2732	2006
3	Erigaisi Arjun	Grandmaster	2728	2003
4	Harikrishna, Pentala	Grandmaster	2717	1986
5	Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	Grandmaster	2710	1994
6	Praggnanandhaa R	Grandmaster	2687	2005
7	Nihal Sarin	Grandmaster	2673	2004
8	Narayanan.S.L	Grandmaster	2663	1998
9	Sethuraman, S.P.	Grandmaster	2645	1993
10	Sasikiran, Krishnan	Grandmaster	2636	1981
11	Aryan Chopra	Grandmaster	2629	2001
12	Aravindh, Chithambaram VR.	Grandmaster	2625	1999
13	Karthikeyan, Murali	Grandmaster	2623	1999
14	Sadhwani, Raunak	Grandmaster	2611	2005
15	Vaibhav, Suri	Grandmaster	2610	1997
16	Gupta, Abhijeet	Grandmaster	2607	1989
17	Puranik, AbhInternational masteranyu	Grandmaster	2603	2000
18	Adhiban, B.	Grandmaster	2603	1992
19	Ganguly, Surya Shekhar	Grandmaster	2589	1983
20	Gopal G.N.	Grandmaster	2589	1989
21	Harsha Bharathakoti	Grandmaster	2582	2000
22	Koneru, Humpy	Grandmaster	2574	1987
23	Visakh N R	Grandmaster	2566	1999
24	Narayanan, Srinath	Grandmaster	2559	1994
25	Mendonca, Leon Luke	Grandmaster	2558	2006
26	Lalit Babu M R	Grandmaster	2550	1993
27	Ghosh, Diptayan	Grandmaster	2544	1998
28	Iniyan, P	Grandmaster	2541	2002
29	Pranav, V	International master	2530	2006
30	Arjun Kalyan	Grandmaster	2526	2002
31	Aronyak Ghosh	International master	2521	2003
32	Shyam, Sundar M.	Grandmaster	2518	1992
33	Stany, G.A.	Grandmaster	2510	1993
34	Grover, Sahaj	Grandmaster	2509	1995
35	Harika, Dronavalli	Grandmaster	2507	1991
36	Pranav Anand	International master	2502	2006
37	Sankalp Gupta	Grandmaster	2502	2003
38	Swapnil, S. Dhopade	Grandmaster	2499	1990
39	Sengupta, Deep	Grandmaster	2497	1988
40	Koustav Chatterjee	International master	2496	2003
41	Bharath Subramaniyam H	Grandmaster	2495	2007
42	Rahul Srivatshav P	Grandmaster	2492	2002
43	Debashis, Das	Grandmaster	2491	1993
44	Shyaamnikhil P	International master	2489	1992
45	Das, Sayantan	International master	2489	1997
46	Aditya Mittal	International master	2486	2006
47	Karthik Venkataraman	Grandmaster	2486	1999
48	Vignesh N R	International master	2486	1998
49	Krishna C R G	International master	2480	1991
50	Gagare, Shardul	Grandmaster	2480	1997
51	Mitrabha, Guha	Grandmaster	2474	2001
52	Chanda, Sandipan	Grandmaster	2474	1983
53	Ashwin, Jayaram	Grandmaster	2471	1990
54	Raja Rithvik R	Grandmaster	2470	2004
55	Venkatesh, M.R.	Grandmaster	2470	1985
56	Samant Aditya S	International master	2467	2006
57	Rathanvel, V S	International master	2463	2001
58	Ravi, Teja S.	International master	2462	1993
59	Raja Harshit	Grandmaster	2461	2001
60	Panchanathan, Magesh Chandran	Grandmaster	2460	1983
61	Muthaiah AL	International master	2454	1999
62	Deepan Chakkravarthy J.	Grandmaster	2451	1987
63	Vaishali, Rameshbabu	International master	2451	2001
64	Prraneeth Vuppala	International master	2451	2007
65	Dhulipalla Bala Chandra Prasad	International master	2449	1996
66	Neelash Saha	International master	2446	2002
67	Prithu Gupta	Grandmaster	2444	2004
68	Pranesh M	International master	2442	2006
69	Ajay Karthikeyan	International master	2441	2004
70	Raghunandan, Kaumandur Srihari	International master	2441	2001
71	Mohammad Nubairshah Shaikh	International master	2439	1998
72	Das, Arghyadip	International master	2438	1985
73	Srihari L R	International master	2436	2005
74	Nitish Belurkar	International master	2435	2001
75	Harshavardhan G B	International master	2433	2003
76	Moksh Amit Doshi	International master	2430	2003
77	Prasanna Raghuram Rao	International master	2420	1994
78	Mehar, Chinna Reddy C.H.	International master	2418	1995
79	Vishnu Prasanna. V	Grandmaster	2413	1989
80	Thejkumar, M. S.	Grandmaster	2412	1981
81	Savitha Shri B	Women International master	2411	2007
82	Harikrishnan.A.Ra	International master	2409	2001
83	Sammed Jaykumar, Shete	International master	2408	1999
84	Nitin, S.	International master	2407	1992
85	Anuj Shrivatri	International master	2407	2004
86	Tania, Sachdev	International master	2406	1986
87	Aditya Vikram Paul	FIDE Master	2404	2007
88	Barua, Dibyendu	Grandmaster	2404	1966
89	Saksham Rautela	International master	2401	2004
90	Audi Ameya	International master	2401	1999
91	Souhardo Basak	International master	2400	2007
92	Neelotpal, Das	Grandmaster	2400	1982
93	Bitan, Banerjee	International master	2398	1993
94	Kushagra Mohan	Candidate master	2395	2004
95	Shahil Dey	International master	2395	2007
96	Padmini, Rout	International master	2390	1994
97	Mullick,Raahil	International master	2388	2007
98	Panesar Vedant	FIDE master	2387	2003
99	Hari Madhavan N B		2385	2003
100	Ajay Krishna, S	International master	2383	1999

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Indian Chess players – Top 100 players title

According to the International Chess federations (FIDE), out of the top 100 Indian Chess players based upon ranking in November 2023, 54 have received Grandmaster (GM) title. Here is an overview of the titles won by the top 100 players:

Titles	Number of Indian players
Grandmaster (GM)	54
Women International Master (WIM)	1
International Master (IM)	41
FIDE Master (FM)	2
Candidate Master (CM)	1
No title	1

Top 9 Indian chess players based on the world ranking

To emerge as talented in chess, one has to recognize the rules, apprehend patterns, assume quickly, practice, and evaluate one’s gameplay. Indians aren’t a long way back when it comes to excelling at a game whose original roots trace back to our very own country. Every chess player desires to achieve the highly proclaimed and prestigious title of “Grandmaster,” and many Indians have secured success in doing so, and there are many more to come soon.

The top 9 active Indian chess players have an average rating of 2701. Here are the top 10 Indian chess players who make it to the list of the top 100 chess players world ranked by FIDE:

Top 10 Indian Chess Players	Rating	Standard Rating World
Anand, Viswanathan	2756	9
Gukesh D	2732	18
Erigaisi Arjun	2728	20
Harikrishna, Pentala	2717	27
Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi	2710	32
Praggnanandhaa R	2687	48
Nihal Sarin	2673	60
Narayanan.S.L	2663	72
Sethuraman, S.P.	2645	93

Let’s take a look at the top 9 Indian chess players and their playing styles.

Vishwanathan Anand

• Birth Place: Tamil Nadu
• Standard Rating- 2756
• World Rank – 9
• Titles – Grandmaster (1998) and International Master  (1985)

Viswanathan Anand, aka “The Madras Tiger”, also known as “Vishy Anand”, received his Grandmaster title in 1988. He is the undisputed champion when it comes to chess. Born and brought up in Tamil Nadu, he was an astounding chess player from a very early age. He is a three-year FIDE champion, and his winning streak started in 2007.

He has been conferred with the Arjuna Award, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, and Khel Ratna award by the Government of India. Anand’s style is distinguished by a deep understanding of chess and a good grasp of tactical opportunities and patterns. He surprised his opponents with great speed and agility as a young player.

Gukesh D

• Birth Place: Chennai
• Standard Rating- 2728
• World Rank – 18
• Titles – Grandmaster (2019), International Master (2018), and Candidate Master (2015)

Gukesh D is the third-youngest person in history to qualify for the title of Grandmaster. He learned to play chess at the age of seven and won the under-9 section of the Asian School Chess Championship in 2015. He also won five gold medals in the Asian Youth Chess Championships in 2018, U-12 individual rapid and blitz, U-12 team rapid and blitz, and U-12 individual classical formats.

Arjun Erigaisi

• Birth Place: Telangana
• Standard Rating- 2728
• World Rank – 20
• Titles – Grandmaster (2018), International Master (2018), FIDE Master (2017), and Candidate Master (2016)

Telangana-born Arjun Erigaisi is an Indian chess Grandmaster. Having earned the Grandmaster title at the young age of 14 in 2018, he became the 32nd youngest man ever to do so. Among the many Indian Grandmasters, he is the 54th one.

In 2015, Arjun bagged a silver medal in Korea’s Asian Youth Championship. In 2021, he became the first Indian to qualify for the Champions Chess Tour 2021. Having been placed 2nd in October 2021 at the Junior U21 Round Table Open Chess Championship (Classical), Bulgaria, in the very next month, he ranked 3rd/82 in the Lindores Abbey Blitz Tournament held in Riga. Later, he went on to win the Rapid section of the Tata Steel India Chess Tournament (Rapid and Blitz), followed by winning the Tata Steel Chess 2022 Challengers in January 2022.

As praised by Magnus Carlsen, “He plays chess in a way that I enjoy! You can just sense that he knows how to play!” He has a tremendous strategic eye and can switch between game styles effortlessly.

Harikrishna Pentala

• Birth Place: Andhra Pradesh
• Standard Rating – 2717
• World Rank – 27
• Titles – Grandmaster (2001) and International Master (2000)

The third rank in the best Indian chess players list is deservingly reserved for Harikrishna. In 2001, he conquered his Grandmaster norm, and he became the seventh player among the youngest ones to receive this prestigious title. He has shown skill and intelligence throughout his chess career with his consistent opening repertoire and solid game style.

Vidit Gujrathi

• Birth Place: Maharashtra
• Standard Rating- 2710
• World Rank – 32
• Titles – Grandmaster (2013), International Master (2009), and FIDE Master (2005)

Hailing from Nashik, Vidit received the Grandmaster norm back in 2013. In the year 2018, he successfully crossed the 2700 rating. He makes chess seem easy. He can introduce changes into his game quite quickly without affecting his results. Vidit may come across as a positional player, but he knows how to attack.

Praggnanandhaa R

• Birth Place: Chennai
• Standard Rating- 2687
• World Rank – 48
• Titles – Grandmaster (2018), International Master (2016), and FIDE Master (2013)

Born on 10th August 2005, Praggnanandhaa received the grandmaster title at the age of 12. On 22nd February 2022, at the age of 16, he became the youngest player to defeat the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen.

Praggnanandhaa is the youngest sibling of Women Grandmaster and International Master R Vaishali. Praggnanandhaa entered the Chess World Cup 2021 and defeated GM Gabriel Sargissian and GM Michał Krasenkow.

Nihal Sarin

• Birth Place: Kerala
• Standard Rating- 2673
• World Rank – 60
• Titles – Grandmaster (2018), International Master (2017), FIDE Master (2015), and Candidate Master (2014)

Famous for “chess genius” or “wizard” of India, he received the title of Grandmaster at 14 years old only. He is the first among the younger ones to have passed the 2600 rating points of FIDE. His calm composure has proved him unbeatable after expert chess players got Check-mated by him.

S.L. Narayanan

• Birth Place: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
• Standard Rating- 2663
• World Rank – 72
• Titles – Grandmaster (2016) and International Master (2014)

Having earned the Grandmaster title in 2016, Sunilduth Lyna Narayanan became the 41st Indian Grandmaster. In his initial years, he was professionally trained by former Kerala State Champion P. Sreekumar and later in his subsequent years by International Master Varugeese Koshy.

In 2014, he won the highest prize at the National junior championship. After succeeding in a decisive final round, he bagged a bronze medal at the 2016 World Junior Chess Championship. He emerged victorious in the Ellobregat Open 2019, his first tournament victory on foreign soil.

A man who always loves keeping the fighting spirit within him alive no matter what, his balanced playing style and razor-sharp mind have heavily contributed to his power-packed and consistent performances, making him one of the fastest-growing players in Indian Chess.

Sethuraman, S.P.

• Birth Place: Madras
• Standard Rating- 2645
• World Rank – 93
• Titles – Grandmaster (2011) and International Master (2007)

Sethuraman is an Indian grandmaster and Asian chess champion. He achieved the title of grandmaster in 2011 and International master in 2007. In 2014, Sethuraman took the team bronze medal with the Indian team at the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø and won the Indian National Premier Championship.

Indian Chess Players – FAQS