Which Indian chess player has achieved World No. 1 ranking?

Only one Indian chess player has become World World No. 1.

India has undoubtedly become the new global hub in chess. The recent spree of laurels, including the twin gold medals won by the Indian Men’s and Women’s teams at the Budapest 2024 Olympiad, testifies to this fact.

Gukesh Dommaraju created history in December last year when he became the youngest World Champion. The likes of R. Praggnanandhaa, Arjun Erigaisi, Koneru Humpy, Harika Dronavalli, among others have all managed to prove themselves in global competitions. The nation has produced 85 Grandmasters overall.

It is thus a matter of great intrigue that a country with such bright talents has only one chess player, who has gone on to achieve the summit in the world rankings. Vishwanathan Anand, who started it all and changed the landscape of the sport, is the only Indian to have achieved the feat.

However, a certain stat might justify this. Ever since the FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs. Since the World Chess Federation (WFC) ratings were introduced in 1971, only seven players, including Anand, have become World No. 1.

Also Read: Top five greatest Indian chess players of all-time

The other six are: Bobby Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov and Magnus Carlsen. This shows that once a player has established his dominance, it is difficult to overtake him. For example, Kasparov remained at the top for more than 21 years.

The fact that Anand’s name features in such a list is a tribute to the greatness he has achieved in the sport. He was 37 when he surpassed Topalov in 2007 to become the World Number #1. Kramnik pushed him down the following year before returning to the top.

Topalov regained his position towards the end of the year. The Indian then managed to return to the summit for brief durations in 2010 and 2011, following which Magnus Carlsen commenced his reign, beginning a streak that continues to be unscathed even today. Anand thus occupied the top spot for a total of 21 months.

Also Read: Full list of chess Grandmasters from India

About Vishwanathan Anand:

India’s first ever Grandmaster, Vishwanathan Anand, is a five-time World Chess Champion, a two-time World Rapid Chess Champion, and a two-time Chess World Cup Champion. He achieved his best rating of 2817 in March 2011.

He defeated Alexei Shirov to clinch the 2000 FIDE World Chess Championship, a title he held until 2002. The player from Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu then became the undisputed world champion in 2007, and managed to defend the title three times: in 2008, 2010 and 2012, before eventually losing to Carlsen in 2013.

Also Read: ⁠FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship: Full list of winners

In 2006, he became the fourth player to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list. As of today, he is the eighth-highest FIDE rated player of all time.

In his early days, Anand was primarily known for his supremacy in rapid and blitz events. Having earned the title “Lightning Kid”, he eventually became a universal figure.

He was the first recipient of India’s highest sporting honour, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (formerly known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award), in 1992. In 2007, he became the first sportsperson to be awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award.

Anand, undoubtedly an all-time great, was elected as the Deputy President of FIDE in 2022. The 55-year-old continues to hold the post to date.

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