International Chess Day is celebrated annually on July 20. The date marks the day the International Chess Federation was established in 1924. The year 2022 marks the 98th anniversary of FIDE. 

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A look at FIDE ranked top 10 chess Grandmasters of India

1. Vishwanathan Anand 

Vishwanathan Anand became India’s first chess Grandmaster in 1998. He is also a five-time world chess champion. Anand became the fourth player in 2006 to pass the 2800 Elo mark on the FIDE rating list. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, making him the first sportsperson to receive the award. His world ranking is 12. 

2. Pentala Harikrishna

He became the youngest chess Grandmaster from India in 2001. He also became the Commonwealth Champion in 2001 and Asian Individual Champion in 2011. His world ranking is 25.

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3. Vidit Santosh Gujrathi

Vidit attained the title of Grandmaster in 2013. He was the 30th Indian player to attain this title. He was the second highest-rated player in India, behind Anand in 2021. He happens to be the fourth Indian player to have crossed the Elo rating threshold of 2700. Vidit’s world ranking is 28. 

4. Erigaisi Arjun

He achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 14. He is the 54th grandmaster from India. He became the first Grandmaster of the state of Telangana in 2018. He won a silver medal in the 2015 Asian Youth Championship in Korea 2015. His world ranking is 46.

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5. Gukesh D

Gukesh D is the third youngest person in history to qualify for the title of Grandmaster in 2019. In July 2022 he crossed the rating of 2700 as the third youngest player. His world ranking is 54.

6. S.L. Narayana

S.L. Narayana gained the Grandmaster title in 2015. His all-India ranking is 5 and his world ranking is 73 as of April 2022.

7. Nihal Sarin

A chess prodigy, Nihal achieved his Grandmaster title at the age of 14. He won the Gold Medal as part of the Indian team in the 2020 FIDE Chess Olympiad held online. He won the U-18 World Youth Championship held online in the rapid format in 2020. He reached the second round in the World Cup 2019. His world ranking is 105.

8. Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

A chess prodigy, he earned the international master title at the age of 10 and the Grandmaster title at age of 12. He defeated Magnus Carlsen at the age of 16 and became the youngest player ever to defeat him. His world ranking is 112. 

9. Krishnan Sasikiran

Krishnan Sasikiran won the gold medal in the mixed team event at the 2006 Asian Games. He defeated Anand in 2002 in the World Cup Chess tournament. His world ranking is 127.

10. Abhijeet Gupta

He happens to be the first player to win the commonwealth Chess Championship five times. He was the third Indian to win the World Junior Chess Championship in 2008. His world ranking is 146.