Vidit Gujrathi has broken into the world's top ten and is now the new number one in India according to live ratings.
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Vidit Gujrathi recently became India’s top chess player according to FIDE’s live rating list, surpassing the renowned Viswanathan Anand. The 29-year-old Vidit accomplished this by defeating Nodirbek Abdusattarov from Uzbekistan during the second-to-last round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands in 2024.
This victory not only marked Vidit’s entry into the world’s top 10 for the first time with a live rating of 2751.5, but it also placed him at number 10 globally. Just before Vidit’s rise, young prodigy Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa had beaten world champion Ding Liren, claiming the title of India’s No. 1 from Anand.
However, the 18-year-old Praggnanandhaa has since dropped to third place in India with a rating of 2747.2. Anand, aged 54, holds the second highest ranking among Indian chess players presently. A 17-year-old named Dommaraju Gukesh recently became the best player in India, taking the top spot from Anand.
Anand had been the best player since 1986. Now, Vidit might become the country’s official No. 1 when FIDE updates its ratings on February 1. Moreover, Vidit’s recent win also puts him among five leaders at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament of 2024, tied with Gukesh, Abdusattarov, Wei Yi, and Anish Giri, all scoring 7.5 out of 12 rounds.
Vidit Gujrathi is a grandmaster in chess from India, a title he earned back in January 2013. He’s not only the highest-rated Indian player but also the fourth from India ever to cross the 2700 Elo rating benchmark. In 2018, Vidit won the Challenger event of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament with an unbeaten score of 9/13 and later played in the Masters category in 2019.
There, he performed well, scoring 7/13 and achieving a win against the former world champion Vladimir Kramnik. He was part of the Chess World Cup in 2023, where he beat Ian Nepomniachtchi in the round of 16 but lost in the quarterfinals to Nijat Abasov, missing his shot at the Candidates Tournament.
During the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament in 2023, Vidit lost his first round but bounced back to win seven out of the next ten games. This earned him the tournament win with a score of 8/11, and he secured a spot in the Candidates Tournament for 2024. To help him prepare, the All India Chess Federation has pledged financial support of 20 million to Vidit, Praggnanandhaa, and R Vaishali.
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