June 22, 2025: In a significant shift in the global chess landscape, 18-year-old Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa has overtaken reigning world champion D Gukesh in the live FIDE rankings. As of Saturday, Praggnanandhaa’s live rating stands at 2777.2, narrowly ahead of Gukesh’s 2776.6. Arjun Erigaisi continues to lead among Indian players with a live rating of 2780.7, holding the world No. 4 spot.
This leap places Praggnanandhaa as the new India No. 2, pushing Gukesh to third nationally. Praggnanandhaa is currently competing in the UzChess Cup Masters in Tashkent, where he started strong — drawing his first-round match and winning the second against Uzbek GM Shamsiddin Vokhidov. He now leads the tournament leaderboard with 1.5 points, tied with Erigaisi and others.
Earlier this year, Praggnanandhaa defeated Gukesh in the tie-breaker at the prestigious TATA Steel Chess Masters in Wijk aan Zee, a result that proved crucial in building momentum. Reflecting on that win, he said, “It was full of tension… These were risky games with just 10 seconds to move. I couldn’t think of anything.”
The victory, combined with intensive training under coach R. B. Ramesh, has put Pragg on a sharp upward trajectory. “The TATA win was huge for my confidence,” he said. “2025 looks exciting.”