On Friday, Grandmaster (GM) and 17-year-old D. Gukesh managed to achieve a feat that was registered only for a day on March 15, 2016, by then 29-year-old Indian GM P. Harikrishna. Gukesh’s win over Azerbaijan GM Misratdin Iskandarov in the FIDE World Cup was enough for him to lift his ELO live ratings to 2756 points, which helped him leapfrog Indian legend GM Viswanathan Anand to become the India No. 1 in chess (this will not be official until the end of the month when FIDE’s releases its list) GM Harikrishna had also managed to do this, but his feat was overturned within a day when Anand won back his spot on March 16, 2016.
Table 1 | The table shows the top five players from India at various points of time
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India has become the new superpower in chess today, but it is a testament to Anand’s longevity and consistency that he has retained the No. 1 slot among Indians in FIDE’s list since July 1986 (Table 1). Back then, Anand was the only Indian player ranked within the top 500 chess players in the world. He had an ELO rating of 2420 then and was ranked 438 in the world at the young age of 17. International Master Pravin Thipsay, who later went on to become India’s third GM, was ranked first among Indians (World No. 149) in the earlier FIDE list, as of January 1986, with a 2485 ELO rating but underwent a 90-point fall by July 1986. The table attests to the fact that chess in India was at a fledgling moment when Anand, who was then an International Master, became India no. 1. In the 37 years since then, Anand has marched ahead, from a world ranking of 438 to reach the No. 1 mark in 2008 and has remained within the Top 17 players in the world from January 1991 till now (Chart 2).
Chart 2 | The chart shows Viswanathan Anand’s world rankings over time. He has remained within the top 17 players in the world from January 1991 till now
With Gukesh capturing the No. 1 slot among Indians in live ratings and the No. 9 position in the world, India now has six super GMs (ELO rating above 2700) and another player who is very close to joining the elite club (Nihal Sarin with 2691.8 points, as of Sunday). Anand is no longer a regular on the FIDE circuit; he plays sparingly and is also FIDE’s Deputy President. But he is still capable of playing at the highest level which makes him a formidable chess exponent even at the ripe age of 53. Only four other peers aged above 50 years are in the top 100 currently - Alexei Shirov (ranked 61), Vasyl Ivanchuk (67), Michael Adams (75) and Boris Gelfand (84). No one aged 40 or above is ranked above 21 other than Anand (Table 3).
Table 3 | The table shows the oldest players in the top 100 and their rankings
Meanwhile, Gukesh — also a resident of Chennai like his mentor Anand, who trains him at the Westbridge Anand Chess Academy (WACA) — has managed a meteoric rise to the top 10. He is ranked second among juniors (players aged 20 and below), only behind France’s Alireza Firouzja (2777 ELO points).
Chart 4 | The charts plot Gukesh, select players’s FIDE ratings against their age in months.
Gukesh’s rise in ratings is matched only by Carlsen and Firouzja while Anish Giri came very close. While only Wei Yei managed to eclipse him, the Chinese player last played outside the country in 2019, leading to a stagnation in his rating. Gukesh is ahead of Nakamura, Ding Liren and Caruana in his ratings journey till now.
A comparison of rating points with his young Indian contemporaries such as Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Erigaisi Arjun and Nihal Sarin also shows that he is way ahead of their rating curves.
A comparison of rating points with his older Indian players such as Viswanathan Anand, Pentala Harikrishna and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi also shows a similar trend with Gukesh leading them with a very high margin. In other words, if Gukesh’s chess journey is any indication, he is in line for higher laurels and ranking, mirroring his mentor Anand.
Gukesh has been first among his teenage peers — GMs Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi and Nihal Sarin in reaching the World’s Top 10 ranking (Table 1), but the trio have been no slouches. With stupendous performances in both over-the-board and online events, these teen Super GMs also promise the beginning of a golden period for Indian chess. They are being trained at WACA by Anand among other coaches. Learning from the experience of a chess wizard will keep the young brigade in good stead.
Source: Olimpbase.org, 2700chess.com, fide.org
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