&w=3840&q=100)
Another setback for world champion D Gukesh as R Praggnanandhaa surpasses him in live chess ratings
World champion D Gukesh has dropped a spot in the live chess rankings after finishing third at Norway Chess, with R Praggnanandhaa taking his place. read more
R Praggnanandhaa is now one spot ahead of the world champion D Gukesh in live chess ranking. Images: FIDE on X
In the latest setback for chess world champion D Gukesh, compatriot R Praggnanandhaa has overtaken him in the live world rankings, climbing to the fifth spot while the 19-year-old Gukesh has slipped to sixth.
Gukesh remains ranked world No. 5 in the official FIDE ratings, which will be updated at the start of July. However, in the live classical chess ratings, he has dropped to sixth with 2776.6 points, while Praggnanandhaa has moved up to fifth with a rating of 2779.9.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Praggnanandhaa overtakes world champion Gukesh
Praggnanandhaa's rise comes on the back of his strong recent form. Earlier this month, he finished as the joint leader at the Stepan Avagyan Memorial 2025 before losing to fellow Indian Aravindh Chithambaram in the tiebreaks.
Praggnanandhaa is also currently competing at the 2nd UzChess Cup Masters, where he defeated Shamsiddin Vokhidov and drew matches against Nodirbek Yakubboev and Chithambaram so far. This has helped him earn valuable 12.9 points, firing him past Gukesh in the world rankings.
Praggnanandhaa opened the 2025 calendar year with a big win at Tata Steel Chess Masters 2025 and is aiming to qualify for the FIDE Candidates. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost , Praggnanandhaa explained how making 'mental changes' has helped him clinch more wins in the ongoing year.
Gukesh's ranking drops as he struggles in 2025
Meanwhile, Gukesh is currently out of action after finishing third at the Norway Chess 2025. This is also a major reason behind his drop in the live ratings.
The youngest chess world champion of all time, Gukesh, had a highest ranking of world No.3, which he reached in March this year, but overall, it has been a difficult 2025 so far. The 19-year-old has struggled in the Freestyle Grand Slam events and is yet to win a major trophy since clinching the world championship in December 2024.
Gukesh, however, scripted his first-ever classical win over world No.1 Magnus Carlsen at Norway Chess 2025 recently, which highlights that he is on the right path to improving his game and challenging the best players.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
10 minutes ago
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG: ‘Gill must have felt shell-shocked' as captain
Former England captain Alastair Cook has said that Shubman Gill was 'I imagine felt shell-shocked' as a captain during England's successful final-day chase in the first Test at Leeds. England chased down 371, 350 of it came on the final day, as Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley pummelled the Indian bowlers. Cook notes that near the end of the game, Gill had taken backseat, letting others to handle the captaincy calls. 'You could see lots of people out on the field making decisions and getting involved with DRS calls, and they got all of those wrong. You can read all the leadership books you like but until you are out there, there is no other feeling like it. I imagine he [Gill] would have felt shell-shocked,' Cook wrote in his column in UK newspaper The Sunday Times. Cook also made a point that Gill slipped up in India's second innings, in the evening of the fourth day's play. 'I think in India's second innings a more established captain might have thought 'we're 340 ahead and five down, let's put some pressure on England'. As it was they were bowled out with a lead of just over 370 anyway, but it might have helped their situation to have attacked a bit more.' He also wrote about how Gill could have tried a few different things in England's second-innings chase. 'I thought Jadeja could have bowled into the rough slightly slower — instead he bowled in the way he might have done in India. I sympathised with the India captain, Shubman Gill, in that fourth innings. I felt India could have tried more things. They could have had a go with a 7-2 offside field or tried bouncer warfare,' Gill wrote. Looking ahead, Cook had couple of suggestions for the playing XI of India for the second Test at Birmingham. 'They might have to leave out either Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan and play Nitish Kumar Reddy, who can bat and also bowl some phantom seamers, and then they can play Kuldeep Yadav as an extra spinner.' A few days ago, another former England captain Nasser Hussain too had made similar observations on Gill the captain. 'I saw someone finding his way. He [Gill] didn't quite have that on-field aura of Rohit and Virat Kohli. I thought he followed the ball a lot and was reactive rather than proactive,' Hussain said on Sky Sports. 'When Rohit and Kohli captained, you looked down and you immediately knew who was in charge but when I looked down in this game I saw two or three captains, captaincy by committee.'
Time of India
14 minutes ago
- Time of India
Wimbledon's youthful buzz: Smelling of teen spirit ahead of the Championships
Jannik Sinner of Italy (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Before Monday's start to the world's most famous tennis championships, a sense of quiet efficiency settles over Wimbledon . Everything is in place. The landscaping is perfected so that the purple flowers and green creepers show off Wimbledon's iconic colours in just the right blush, even as an Indian summer sun beats down on the grounds. Players and their entourages, mostly dressed in pristine white with a few outliers in all black, move between the practice courts and locker rooms. All around them is an unmistakable sight — the young boys and girls who make up one of Wimbledon's most cherished traditions: the ball boys and girls. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Fondly called the BBGs, they stand out in their famous Ralph Lauren uniforms, which in the official stores retail at eye-watering prices. They are an overwhelming presence at the Championships. Hundreds of young people work through the summer here, manning front desks, merchandise stalls, hospitality venues and the hallowed courts. They chatter away in small groups, go through their drills, roll out and roll in the covers at the uncovered outside courts, practice setting up the net posts and measuring net heights. They bring a vibrant, youthful energy to a tournament where even the biggest stars are barely out of their teens. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like "척추관협착증 통증 때문에 걷기 힘들때"..."비수술치료"로 통증 개선 하세요! ort02a_강남정형외과병원 지금 예약 Undo MLC 2025: Unmukt Chand's road to redemption in America Watched by millions worldwide, the BBGs make their job look effortless during live broadcasts. But behind the scenes, they go through rigorous training to be selected and prepared. Becoming a coveted BBG is fiercely competitive. Around 1,000 kids from local schools and institutions apply each year, but only 250 make the cut. Of these, about 170 are new recruits from the ninth and tenth grades while around 80 return for a second year. The average age is just 15. Many spend two years on the job. It is striking to think that girls were inducted only in 1977 and made their Centre Court debut as late as 1985. On Saturday, the biggest draws for fans at the practice courts were defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. Conveniently for those lucky enough to be there, they trained at two ends of the day. In the morning, Alcaraz hit with Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old Brazilian star many believe is the next big thing. Inside the red-velvet roped enclosures of the Aorangi Practice Courts, Spanish filled the air as Alcaraz and Fonseca laughed and chatted while drilling forehands, backhands, lobs and serves under the watchful eyes of coaches Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guilherme Teixeira. Quiz: Who's that IPL player? 'I was excited about hitting with him,' Alcaraz later said at a press conference. 'The last time I hit with him was in 2023. He's not an experienced player on grass yet, but his style is aggressive. He loves to hit big forehands and go to the net. I'm sure he will get the level on grass really soon.' Just a few steps away, the contrast in resources is easy to see. Two women players slug it out on the next court with just one coach each, while Alcaraz's practice area buzzes with an entourage of seven or eight. Nearby at the Aorangi Arena, other players focus on strength and mobility. Coco Gauff sharpens her footwork using cones while Alexander Zverev works with resistance bands and others lift medicine balls. The word 'movement' is heard often. Both Alcaraz and Sinner highlight its importance when they speak to the press later in the day. It feels surreal at times to walk the grounds and suddenly realise the player ahead with her trainer is Emma Raducanu or that the wavy-haired blond young man behind you is Zverev. Young kids carrying giant tennis balls have the best chance of collecting treasured autographs, as the players find it impossible to say no to tiny fans. Every few steps, stars pause for selfies with adults or bend down to sign for children. Everything at Wimbledon might look timeless and calm. But underneath it all, the grounds come alive with the energy of these young faces, who make sure every match runs perfectly — all while dreaming, perhaps, of their own Centre Court moments one day. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
United News of India
43 minutes ago
- United News of India
Aarit talented enough to become another Gukesh: Coach Sareen
New Delhi, June 29 (UNI) Nine-year-old Chess boy wonder Aarit Kapil, who recently held the legendary Magnus Carlsen to a draw in an online tournament, has the potential to reach the top in the game, says International Master (IM) Vishal Sareen. Aarit held Carlsen to a draw in an online blitz game at the 'Early Titled Tuesday' chess tournament on June 24. Besides holding the Norwegian great to a draw, Aarit is the youngest Indian and third youngest in the world to have defeated a Grand Master when he overcame veteran GM Raset Ziatdinov in the 15th KIIT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar in December 2024. The Delhi resident also won a silver at the Under 9 Chess nationals, a silver medal in both classical and rapid categories at the Under 8 Asian championships besides several other exploits at such a young age. Aarit's coach International Master (IM) Vishal Sareen describes him as the Sachin Tendulkar of Chess and says that he has the potential to reach the heights of D Gukesh, the reigning World Champion in the Classical format and R Praggnanandhaa, India's current number one player. "Aarit is the Sachin of Chess, the pace at which he picks up things is amazing, I think that going forward there will be no flaws in his game, he is just nine and is meant for very big things. He actually was in a very strong position against Carlsen. He was not overexcited after the match, and said that he wil beat him the next time, of course next time Magnus will be sharper and won't take him lightly, he can reach the level of Gukesh and Praggnanandhaa." Sareen points out that Chess is an expensive sport and without proper international exposure Aarit runs the risk of not reaching his full potential "I hope he gets a sponsor soon as Chess is an expensive sport, training modules, coaching all have high cost and for reaching one's full potential the player needs to compete at international events, so financial support is going to be crucial for him at the moment, which I hope he gets soon." Aarit's father Vijay who works as a Mutual Funds agent says that he has tried to support Aarit as much as possible but going forward it will be very difficult to sustain his training and participation in competitions without a sponsor. "Going abroad for tournaments needs a lot of money yet those tournaments are important in terms of his learning and world ranking is concerned, so I am looking for a sponsor for him right now." Vijay recounts Aarit's meteoric rise in Chess "He was five and a half when he started Chess, his elder sister Aarna taught him, after just one week of learning Chess he defeated me! I recognised that he had great potential we started his coaching. "Soon within a few weeks he registered for an online tournament which he won, he played a few online tournaments after that where he won, later he started winning offline tournaments and state level tournaments as well. He was second in the Under 7 nationals and went on to win Silver medal in both classical and rapid categories at the Under 8 Asian championships," he said. A Class V student of Somerville School, Vasundhara Enclave, Aarit idolises Magnus Carlsen, says Vijay. 'He idolises him (Magnus) and was thrilled to face him, though he was not overawed by the situation, he was in a winning position against him but it ended in a draw." Deputy President of Asian Chess Federation Bharat Singh Chauhan was all praise for Aarit, calling him a resolute fighter, "Aarit is tactically very good and the thing that sets him apart is that he is a fighter who thinks about winning irrespective of the situation, his success again proves that we have very good junior players who are capable of beating anyone in the world," UNI RKM SSP
