17-year-old D Gukesh Overtakes GM Viswanathan Anand As India's Top-Ranked Chess Player

The 17-year-old teenage prodigy D. Gukesh ended Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand's 37-year reign as India's top chess player in the live world rankings on Thursday. Gukesh, who defeated Mistradin Iskandarov in the second round of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, got a live rating of 2755.9 to move up to world number 9 in the classic open category. Anand, who has a score of 2754.0 dropped to tenth place. Anand has only dropped to second place in the live world rankings twice since 1986.

https://twitter.com/FIDE_chess/status/1687123817439657985

"Gukesh D won again today and has overcome Viswanathan Anand in live rating! There is still almost a month till next official FIDE rating list on September 1, but it's highly likely that 17-year-old will be making it to top 10 in the world as the highest-rated Indian player!" International Chess Federation (ICF) tweeted on Thursday.

D. Gukesh's outstanding performance has captivated the chess world, and all eyes are now on his upcoming encounter against the Azerbaijani opponent with black pieces.

A draw in this vital match will advance him to the second round. Another victory will put him ahead of Vishy Anand in both the live ratings and the world rankings. He is also close to Alireza Firouzja, one of the brightest emerging talents in the chess world who is not competing in Baku.

Gukesh is also the third Indian to enter the top 10 in the world after Anand and Pentala Harikrishna.