Top 5 Indian Chess Players of All Time

Chess has grown dramatically in India, and credit for this growth should go to all stakeholders who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make this entity extremely popular.

In terms of current developments, India has over 95 Grandmasters, the majority of whom have an ELO rating of 1750 or higher.

The current chess ecosystem in India makes it easy for players to flourish and become World Chess Champions.

Here in this article, we will reveal Top 5 Indian Chess Players of all time in detail shared in the below format:

5. Tania Sachdev: Tania Sachdev is regarded as one of India’s top chess players.

She joins the ranks of pioneers in Indian Female Chess.

She had a variety of accomplishments, including the International Masters FIDE title (IM) and Women Grand Master (GM).

She also holds the record for winning the Women’s World Championship twice, in 2006 and 2007.

4. Koneru Humpy: Koneru Humpy, another legendary Indian chess player, ranks fourth on our list. She is certainly regarded as the female flag bearer of Indian chess.

A book about her life has already been translated into 45 languages. She won the World Rapid Chess Championship twice.

She achieved Grandmaster status at the age of 15 years, 1 month, and 27 days. She also won gold medals at the Olympics, Asian Games, and Asian Championships.

She is also India’s first female grandmaster, and she made a name for herself by becoming the second female player after Judit Polgar to surpass 2600 ELO rating, with a rating of 2606.

She also won the Women’s Rapid Chess Championship in both 2019 and 2024.

3. R Vaishali: R Vaishali is the third most successful Indian chess player, and her autobiography has been translated into 18 different languages.

She also had a sibling, R Praggandha, and the two of them have made the entire nation proud in the chess fraternity.

2. Vidit Gujrati: Vidit Gujrati leads all Indian chess players with a Historical Popularity Index of over 41.20.

In 2013, he became the 30th Indian player to hold the Grandmaster title. He also falls into the category of players with an ELO rating of more than 2700.

He also won two double medals at the Chess Olympiad.

He became the third Indian to qualify for the Candidates tournament after winning Grand Swiss 2023.

1. Vishwanathan Anand: 

With Historical Popularity Index of more than 60.59, Vishwanathan Anand stands tall among all Indian Chess Player.

He became 5 time World Champion till 2013 where he held his rein before it was taken by Magnus Carlsen.

Anand also held record of winning twice Rapid Chess Championship and Chess World Championship title.

He became undisputed World Champion in 2007 in the coming years he defeated players like Vladmir Kremnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010 and Boris Gelfand in 2012.

He had all time eight highest FIDE rankings of all time.

In April 2006, Anand became fourth player in the history of game to score more than 2800 ELO rating.

He also held the record of being Number 1 in ranking for consecutive 21 months.

From an early age, Anand was touted as one of the best rapid chess players of the generation and he didn’t disappoint but did wonders when it mattered the most.

He also bagged FIDE World Rapid Chess Championship in the year 2003 and 2017 respectively.

For his contribution in Chess Fraternity, Anand have been bestowed with honors like Khel Ratna along with Padma Vibhushan award which is India’s second highest civilian honor.

In the early years, Anand was touted as “Lightning Kid” for his speedy move in Chess.

He inspired next generational Chess Players from India to take up the sport.

Anand’s illustrious career has included five World Chess Championship titles and numerous prestigious tournament wins.

Anand is well-known for his versatile style and deep understanding of the game, and he excels at adapting to different formats such as classical, rapid, and blitz chess.

His matches with legendary players such as Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen are etched in chess history. Anand’s contributions go beyond the board, as he mentors young players and promotes chess worldwide.

His legacy established him as a symbol of excellence and perseverance, and chess became a household name in India.

Chess will grow even further in India, as current players are etching records and making their presence felt at World Level.

Based on massive rise in Sports popularity in India, the game is ought to extract interest from distinct stakeholders, sponsors and more events could be organized in future.