Gukesh has been on a winning spree, capturing four tournament titles this year and reaching No 32 in the world chess rankings based on live ELO ratings
D. Gukesh, the 16-year-old Grandmaster from Chennai, became only the sixth Indian to reach and cross the coveted 2700 ELO ratings mark in chess. Following his victory against GM Le Quang Liam from Vietnam in the Biel Chess Festival (Classic) in Switzerland on July 16 to take his point tally to 2.5 in 3 games, the young grandmaster’s Live ELO ratings went up to 2703.9.
Only two other players – China’s Wei Yi (some months before turning 16) and Iranian-born French player Alireza Firouzja achieved this earlier than the 16 years and nearly 2 months old Gukesh, even as world champion Magnus Carlsen attained a FIDE rating of 2700 when he was 16 and a half years old. Note, this is a live rating; FIDE updates its ratings list every month and Gukesh would have to avoid setbacks for the live rating to stay above 2700 in the games he will have to play in the next 15 days.
Gukesh is among a cohort of Indian grandmaster youngsters which includes GM Arjun Erigaisi, GM R Praggnanandhaa, GM Nihal Sarin and GM Raunak Sadhwani who have recently showcased their skills in their teens and have attained significant ELO ratings. While GMs Praggnanandhaa and Nihal Sarin stole a march initially in their careers as prodigies with high ELO ratings at a tender age, GMs Arjun and Gukesh have had spectacular tournaments recently, propelling them above Nihal and Praggnanandhaa among junior GMs in the ratings tally. Gukesh in particular has been on a winning spree, capturing four tournament titles this year and reaching No 32 in the world chess rankings based on live ELO ratings.
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