Indian chess has seen a sudden surge since Covid-19, and many of our top players are also consistently competiting for the top prizes in international tournaments.
It was perfectly reflected in D Gukesh’s World Championship victory last year, and then this year Divya Deshmukh clinched the FIDE Women’s World Cup title, defeating Koneru Humpy in an all-Indian final.
The men’s field has been totally action-packed, also with the rise of Aravindh Chithambaram. Meanwhile, R Praggnanandhaa is the India No. 1 and also world No. 4 in the live chess rankings. Meanwhile, Arjun Erigaisi is fifth in the live chess rankings and D Gukesh is sixth.
Viswanathan Anand picks between D Gukesh, R Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi
So when chess legend Viswanathan Anand was asked to pick between Gukesh, Praggnanandhaa and Arjun, he had a very neutral perspective. But Anand’s answer also gives Praggnanandhaa the edge.
Speaking on a YouTube show, he said, “The thing is they are so close in strenght that you have to see recent momentum. I think right now Pragg. But Arjun has his moments as well. He had a lot of them last year. Now, this year he has been slower.”
“Gukesh, of course, he won the big thing, the World Championship. So that kind of keeps him there, but I think in pure chess strength, they are all very close to each other. It is not an accident that most games between them end in draws,” he further added.
Praggnanandhaa began this year with victory at the Tata Steel Masters, defeating D Gukesh in the playoffs. He also came out on top at the Grand Chess Tour Superbet Chess Classic Romania. In June, he won the 2nd UzChess Cup 2025 in blitz tiebreaks. His performances also saw him climb the rankings, and he is above both Gukesh and Arjun. The trio have also been participating in the Freestyle Chess Grand Slams.