NEW DELHI: July’s FIDE rating list has brought a wave of excitement to Indian chess fans, as 19-year-old GM R Praggnanandhaa surged into the world top-4 for the first time in his career. Gaining 12 rating points thanks to his thrilling win at the 2025 UzChess Cup, the Chennai prodigy also claimed the title of India’s number-one player.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Praggnanandhaa’s rating leap comes on the back of a gritty performance in Tashkent. After losing two games in a row – including a spectacular one to GM Richard Rapport, already being touted as a game of the year candidate – he bounced back with 2.5 points in his final three rounds and clinched the title in tiebreaks. He now leads the FIDE Circuit standings by 36 points, placing him firmly in contention for the 2026 Candidates Tournament.
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While Indian fans celebrated Pragg’s rise, it was business as usual for Magnus Carlsen, who retained the world number-one ranking following his solid showing at Norway Chess 2025. It was the Norwegian legend’s first individual classical event since last year’s edition of the same tournament. Fellow elite player Hikaru Nakamura remains at number two after a brief return at the American Cup earlier in the year.World Champion D Gukesh slipped to sixth place in the latest rankings, just behind fellow Indian Arjun Erigaisi, who also drop down to fifth – giving India an impressive three players in the world’s top 10.Among the other major rating movements, Fabiano Caruana climbed to world number-three with a seven-point gain, while Dutch star Anish Giri re-entered the top-10 after over a year. For the first time in rating list history, no Russian player features in the world’s top-10, as Ian Nepomniachtchi plummeted to 14th after a winless nine-round run.
On the women’s side, GM Anna Muzychuk reclaimed the world number-four spot after six years, while Carissa Yip surged to 21st following her Cairns Cup win. Chinese GM Hou Yifan remains the top-rated female player.
