What Pushed Praggnanandhaa Ahead of Gukesh?

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.

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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.”