Premium

Aravindh Chithambaram goes past Viswanathan Anand to become World No. 14 in live rating list after beating Dutch GM Anish Giri

Aravindh Chithambaram surpassed five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand to become the new World No. 14 on the live rating list.

India's Aravindh Chithambaram in action during the Prague Masters 2025. (Photo: Prague Masters )

Tamil Nadu GM shining at the biggest stage of the chess world is not something new, and continuing that legacy now is Aravindh Chithambaram.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old surpassed five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand to become the new World No. 14 on the live rating list. This achievement came after he beat Dutch GM Anish Giri in the seventh round of the Prague Masters chess tournament to gain 5.0 Elo rating points.

With a live rating of 2745.1, Chithambaram is currently ranked India No. 4 behind the new Classical World Champion D. Gukesh, Arjun Erigaisi and R. Praggnanandhaa.

Story continues below this ad

With a win over former Candidates player Giri, Chithambaram also took the sole lead in the tournament, ahead of his closest rival and compatriot Praggnanandhaa.

READ | New Delhi to host FIDE World Cup; Bharat Mandapam and Yashobhoomi ‘prime candidates’ to host event

After seven rounds, Chithambaram has notched up five points, courtesy of three wins and four draws. Praggnanandhaa is placed second with 4.5/7, while four players are one full point behind the 2023 World Cup finalist at 3.5/7.

Chithambaram will face local player David Navara and Turkish prodigy Ediz Gurel in the final two rounds.

Story continues below this ad

RAPID RISE

Earlier, the Madurai-born player gained 64 Elo ratings in 2024 and jumped 49 places to finish among the world’s top 25 by the end of the year. In a strong field consisting of players like Arjun, Vidit Gujrathi, Levon Aronian (USA), Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (France), Alexey Sarana (Serbia), and Iranians Parham Maghsoodloo and Amin Tabatabaei, Chithambaram emerged as the winner of Chennai Grandmaster 2024 in last November.

Three Indians feature in the world’s top 10 live rating list. The number surges to five in the top 15 and seven in the top 30.

Gukesh, with a live rating of 2787.0, is currently the highest-ranked Indian at World No. 3, while Arjun (2777.0) and Praggnanandhaa (2763.4) are fifth and seventh, respectively.