Arjun Erigaisi remains India's top-ranked player, Gukesh and Pragg not far behind; 13 Indians in top 100

India’s strong presence in world chess continues, with Arjun Erigaisi remaining the country’s highest-ranked player in the latest FIDE ratings for the month of February. Arjun is currently World No. 5 in classical chess, while also holding World No. 4 in Rapid and World No. 7 in Blitz. He is the only Indian player inside the world’s top 10 across all three formats.

Close behind Arjun are two of India’s brightest young stars. Reigning world champion D Gukesh is ranked World No. 9, while R Praggnanandhaa sits just above him at World No. 8. Despite poor results at the recently-concluded Tata Steel Chess Masters 2026, the Indian trio continue to hold their positions in FIDE rankings. This is because the tournament was not included in the February FIDE rating list.

13 Indians in the top 100

Overall, India has as many as 13 players in the world’s top 100 in the Open category. Apart from Arjun, Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa, the list includes legends and rising talents such as Viswanathan Anand (World No. 13), Nihal Sarin (World No. 26), Vidit Gujrathi (World No. 29), Aravindh Chithambaram (World No. 32) and Pentala Harikrishna (World No. 43). Young names like Pranav V, Raunak Sadhwani, Aryan Chopra and Pranesh M also feature in the list.

In women’s chess too, India continues to perform strongly. Four Indian women are ranked inside the world’s top 20. Koneru Humpy is placed World No. 6, though she slipped one position from last month. Divya Deshmukh (World No. 12) and R Vaishali (World No. 16) have maintained their rankings, while Harika Dronavalli climbed one spot to reach World No. 18.

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At the federation level, India remains World No. 2 across the Open and Women’s categories. In the Open section, India trails the top-ranked USA by just 15 Elo points, while in the Women’s category, China leads India by a margin of 93 Elo points.

The Tata Steel Chess 2026 event itself was a tough outing for India’s top players. Arjun, Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Aravindh Chithambaram managed only six wins combined from 52 games. Arjun lost 30 rating points, Praggnanandhaa dropped 17, Aravindh lost 16 and Gukesh dropped six. These reduced points will reflect in the next FIDE rating list.

Uzbek Grandmaster Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the title after defeating Arjun Erigaisi in the final round. Another Uzbek star, Javokhir Sindarov, finished second. Gukesh was the best Indian finisher with 6.5 points, ending joint eighth, while the others finished near the bottom of the Masters standings.