India take Olympiad silver and bronze, Savitha Shri, 19, gold on board five
By Louis · October 1, 2026 · 4 min readIndia finished 2nd in the open and 3rd in the women's section of the Chess Olympiad, keeping the Gaprindashvili Cup for the best combined result. Savitha Shri, 19, took gold on board five, unbeaten with 9/10: she gains 23 points to 2405 and climbs from No. 60 to No. 39 in the women's world rankings. Gukesh lost to Gleb Dudin in the last round, as India drew 2–2 with Hungary. He defends his world title against Javokhir Sindarov in Geneva in November, and is No. 4 in India and No. 28 in the world at 2710. Pragg remains India's top-rated player at 2763 (+2 this month). Nihal Sarin slips from No. 4 to No. 5 in the Indian top 10 at 2709 after a -9 month, -9.3 at the Chess Olympiad (open) with 6/10.
India top 10
| # | Player | World | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  GMR Praggnanandhaa | 7 | 2763 | +2 |
| 2 |  GMArjun Erigaisi | 12 | 2746 | -13 |
| 3 |  GMViswanathan Anand | 14 | 2739 | 0 |
| 4 |  GMGukesh D | 28 | 2710 | +7 |
| 5 |  GMNihal Sarin | 30 | 2709 | -9 |
| 6 |  GMVidit Gujrathi | 36 | 2693 | -4 |
| 7 |  GMAravindh Chithambaram | 42 | 2677 | 0 |
| 7 |  GMV Pranav | 42 | 2677 | 0 |
| 9 |  GMPranesh M | 44 | 2674 | 0 |
| 10 |  GMPentala Harikrishna | 67 | 2648 | 0 |
India women's top 10
Humpy Koneru remains the top-rated Indian woman at 2518 (+9 this month). Deekshitha Modipalli (14) slips from No. 4 to No. 5 in the Indian women's top 10 at 2436 after a -18 month, -16.0 at the Gazi Open in Gaziantep with 3.5/9. Vaishali Rameshbabu slips from No. 3 to No. 4 in the Indian women's top 10 at 2452 after a -17 month, -17.1 at the Chess Olympiad (women) with 2.5/6.
| # | Player | World | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  GMHumpy Koneru | 9 | 2518 | +9 |
| 2 |  GMDivya Deshmukh | 12 | 2488 | -2 |
| 3 |  GMHarika Dronavalli | 23 | 2453 | 0 |
| 4 |  GMVaishali Rameshbabu | 24 | 2452 | -17 |
| 5 | WCMDeekshitha Modipalli | 29 | 2436 | -18 |
| 6 | IMSavitha Shri B | 39 | 2405 | +23 |
| 7 |  IMVantika Agrawal | 45 | 2402 | +7 |
| 8 | WIMKalyani Sirin | 47 | 2401 | 0 |
| 9 | WIMPratitee Bordoloi | 56 | 2393 | 0 |
| 10 |  WGMRakshitta Ravi | 80 | 2364 | 0 |
Sachi Jain (17) climbs from No. 32 to No. 19 in the Indian women's top 20 at 2288 after a +94 month, +105.2 at the SixDays September IM round-robin (group A) with 6.5/9.
Full India women's ranking →
Beyond the top 10
The biggest gain among Indian players rated 2200+ belongs to Sanjay Narayanan P S, 14, with +230 to 2356, +144.0 at the SixDays September IM round-robin (group B) with 6.5/9. Shaurya Chaudhary (14) crosses 2400 for the first time on FIDE lists since 2001, now at 2419. Aarav Saish Amonkar (14) crosses 2400 for the first time on FIDE lists since 2001, now at 2400. Aarush Bhat, 14, rated 1875, beat Davor Rogic (2365) at the Zagreb Open (Hulak Memorial), a 490-point gap.
New titles
The October list brings 8 new FIDE masters, 1 new woman international master, 13 new candidate masters, 3 new woman FIDE masters and 5 new woman candidate masters.
Juniors — under 20
105 active Indian players aged 20 or under are rated 2300+, against 75 of the same age a year ago.
Full India U20 ranking →
Viswanathan Anand has held India's No. 1 the longest
Pragg has been No. 1 since Sep 2026. Viswanathan Anand holds the record for most time at the top: 23 years and 1 month in total. 4 players have led India since 2001.
All 13 reigns with dates
- AnandJan 2001 → Aug 202322y 8m
- Gukesh DSep 2023 → Oct 20232m
- AnandNov 2023 → Mar 20245m
- Erigaisi ArjunApr 2024 → Apr 20241m
- Gukesh DMay 2024 → May 20241m
- Erigaisi ArjunJun 2024 → Feb 20259m
- Gukesh DMar 2025 → May 20253m
- Erigaisi ArjunJun 2025 → Jun 20251m
- Praggnanandhaa RJul 2025 → Sep 20253m
- Erigaisi ArjunOct 2025 → Feb 20265m
- Gukesh DMar 2026 → Mar 20261m
- Erigaisi ArjunApr 2026 → Aug 20265m
- Praggnanandhaa RSep 2026 → Oct 20262m
Humpy Koneru has been No. 1 since Sep 2022, and no one has spent longer at the top: 23 years and 6 months in total. 3 players have led India's women since 2001.
All 6 reigns with dates
- VijayalakshmiJan 2001 → Jul 20019m
- KoneruOct 2001 → Sep 201716y
- DronavalliOct 2017 → Oct 20181y 1m
- KoneruNov 2018 → Feb 20223y 4m
- DronavalliMar 2022 → Aug 20226m
- KoneruSep 2022 → Oct 20264y 2m
Where India played
India is No. 2 among federations by the average of its 10 best active players (2703.6, -1.7 since September). The event with the most Indian players rated 2300+ was the Berjaya Global Chess Open (Masters) (36 Indian players, 20 of them rated 2300+), won by Boris Savchenko. 583 Indian players received their first FIDE standard rating on the October list.
| Event | IND players |
|---|---|
| Berjaya Global Chess Open (Masters) · Johor Bahru | 36 |
| SixDays September Open (group A) · Budapest | 19 |
| Merdeka Open · Kuala Lumpur | 30 |
| Sestao Open · Sestao (Vizcaya) | 21 |
| Sants Open · Barcelona | 25 |
| Chess Olympiad (open) · Samarkand | 5 |
| Chess Olympiad (women) · Samarkand | 5 |
| Southern California Open · Glendale, CA | 6 |
Top games of the month · India players
The standout games of the month involving India players. Replay them move by move.
Starting position
Masters0 games
| Masters 2400+ · OTB only | You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Games | Results | Games | Score | ≈ Elo |
Written by
Louis
Founder & product
Chasing 2300. Started Chess Second to train smarter and get there.
Methodology
Computed from the official FIDE standard rating list of October 2026, compared with the previous monthly list and the monthly archive since 2001. Active players only (no inactivity flag on the list). Federation = the federation shown on each list, not today's. Age = list year minus birth year. Tournament results come from rated event files (classical only); events not yet published by FIDE may be missing. Every figure in this report is generated from the data and checked automatically against it.