Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli in top 10 of women's FIDE rankings

The Indian women chess players continue to do the country proud as two stars featured in the top 10 of the Federation International des Echecs (FIDE) rankings that were released this week. World Rapid Champion Koneru Humpy and Harika Droonavalli are present among the best ten chess players, ranked at number three and nine respectively.

However, no male player is ranked in the top ten, with Vishwanathan Anand, the highest-ranked Indian in the FIDE ratings, at 15th spot. He is followed by Santosh Gujarati, who is placed at 26th position. In the girl's section, R. Vaishali is world number 10.

The country has made rapid strides in the world of chess in the recent past with a number of Grandmasters (GM) emerging from India. In a bid to promote the game and hone the talent of the kids, GM Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik and GM Boris Gelfand, who had unsuccessfully challenged Anand for the World Championship in 2012, had held a training camp to help 14 chess players last month.

R. Praggnanandhaa, D. Gukesh, Raunak Sadhwani, Prithu Gupta, P.Iniyan, Arjun Erigaisi, Leon Mendonca, Sreeshwan Maralakshikari, Aditya Mittal, Arjun Kalyan, Bharat Subramaniyam, Raahil Mullick, Rakshitta Ravi and Vaishali were some of the chess players who had been a part of the camp that had been held in Chennai.

"I am not here to turn players into GMs. I want them to become very, very tough players so that they make a mark on the tour," Kramnik had told The New Indian Express.

It is heartening to see the sport expand among the youth in India, the credit of which needs to go to Humpy and Anand, who have set the precedent with their longevity and consistency. Though Anand has fallen out of the top 10, Kramnik believed that Anand can still beat the best on his day.

“Maybe (he is past his prime) because he has set the bar so high. He is not as good as he was in the past. But the thing is that he is extremely good even at his age (50). To be a top-level player at such an age in this era is itself an achievement. I am not sure if the next generation will manage it. As long as he is enjoying the game, he should continue. I hope to see him play for some more years.”