Chess: D Gukesh to Vantika Agrawal – Indian players with biggest rise in 2024

Indian chess players had a miraculous year in 2024, winning medals at almost all the major competitions, including the World Chess Championship, where Gukesh Dommaraju was crowned the youngest-ever world champion.

This success of Indian chess has been reflected well on the FIDE rating lists for January 2025. If we compare that to January 2024, many players had a big jump in the world rankings after gaining good Elo points.

Last year, India had three players in the world's top 10 of classical ratings for the first time, showcasing their sheer strength and the rise on the world circuit.

On the other hand, India currently has two players in the world's top 5 classical rankings, having World Champion Gukesh in the fifth position and Arjun Erigaisi in the 4th.

Players who rose high in the year 2024:

GM Aravindh Chithambaram

The 25-year-old Aravindh has been one of the shining stars for India this year, gaining the most (64) rating points in the last 12 months to become India's No. 5 in classical chess rankings.

With a jump of 49 places, Aravindh is now world no.23, having an overall classical rating of 2726 in the recent update of January 2025. He overtook the renowned Indian player, Vidit Gujrathi in the rankings.

GM Gukesh Dommaraju

This will not be an overstretch if we say that the year 2024 belongs to Gukesh, he has achieved a lot this year, from becoming the Candidates champion to the youngest-ever Classical World Champion.

He has also entered the world's top 5 in the classical ratings, showcasing his rise in the year 2024. He jumped up 20 places to rank fifth in the world by earning 52 Rating points in the last 12 months.

GM Arjun Erigaisi 

Arjun has also seen a big rise in the last 12 months as he became India's No.1 this year by earning 63 rating points. He is currently ranked fourth in the world with an overall rating of 2801.

He is just the second Indian ever to attain this 2800+ rating mark after the legendary Viswanathan Anand. He will now try to take this forward and break Anand's record of peak FIDE rating (2817) by an Indian player.

IM Divya Deshmukh

Indian chess has not only seen progress in the men's section but the women's counterparts have also shown some immense progress in the last year. One such player is the 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh.

She has gained a whopping 70 rating points this year and jumped up 27 places to enter the world's top-15. She also overtook long-standing Harika Dronavalli as the new India no.2 in women's classical, having an overall rating of 2490.

WGM Vantika Agrawal

Another rising star this year for the Indian chess was Vantika Agrawal, she has gained limelight after her heroic performance at India's first-ever triumph at the Chess Olympiad 2024.

She has jumped up 12 places in the classical rankings, gaining 13 Elo pints. She now has 2411 Rating points and is currently sitting in the 39th position at the World Classical Women Rankings.