Indians continue ascent: Aravindh climbs to world number 11 in April FIDE rankings

by Carlos Alberto Colodro
4/1/2025 – India’s presence in elite chess continues to strengthen, with Aravindh Chithambaram reaching world number 11 in the latest FIDE rankings. The 25-year-old grandmaster from Madurai recently won the Prague Masters and delivered a flawless performance in the German Bundesliga, gaining 17.5 rating points. His rise places him among India's top players, alongside Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. With strong tournament results, Aravindh is now a serious contender for a place in the next Candidates Tournament. | Photo: Amruta Mokal
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Up to four Indian players in the Candidates?

Aravindh Chithambaram's ascent to world number 11 in the FIDE chess rankings marks yet another milestone for Indian chess. With five Indian players now in the world's top 20, the country's presence in elite-level chess continues to grow. Notably, the legendary Viswanathan Anand has been relegated to fifth place among his compatriots, underscoring the emergence of a new generation of Indian talent.

Among these rising stars are three players under the age of 21 who have firmly established themselves in the world's top 10: world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, Arjun Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu.

Now joining them is 25-year-old Aravindh. Hailing from Madurai, Aravindh recently claimed victory at the prestigious Prague Masters, scoring 6/9. He then followed this success with a flawless 2/2 performance in the German Bundesliga. His strong form this month resulted in an 8/11 performance, earning him 17.5 rating points and securing his position as world number 11 in FIDE's latest rankings, published on 1 April.

Aravindh's steady rise has seen him surpass established players such as Levon Aronian, Anish Giri and Jan-Krzysztof Duda. His current trajectory places him as a strong contender for qualification to the next Candidates Tournament. He currently ranks third in the 2025 FIDE Circuit standings, trailing only former world champion Ding Liren and fellow Indian grandmaster Praggnanandhaa.

With key tournaments such as the FIDE World Cup and the Grand Swiss on the horizon - both of which offer qualifying spots for the Candidates - Aravindh stands a good chance of securing a place in the prestigious event. If his performances continue at this level, 2026 could see up to four Indian players in the Candidates Tournament, with Vidit Gujrathi (who played in the 2024 edition) also in contention for a spot.

It is a known fact that Aravindh has been coached by the extremely successful RB Ramesh, while he also confessed to have received direct help from Sundararajan Kidambi during the Prague Masters last month.

Vrolijk 0 - 1 Aravindh

Bundesliga 2024/25 - week 11

Bundesliga games by Aravindh - Weeks 11 and 12

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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+ 4.Nbd2 0-0 5.a3 Be7 6.e4 d6 7.Be2 Nfd7 8.b4 e5 9.d5 a5 10.Bb2 axb4 11.axb4 Rxa1 12.Qxa1 c5 13.b5 Nf6 14.h3 g6 15.0-0 Nh5 16.Re1 Nd7 17.g3 Ng7 18.Bf1 f5 19.exf5 gxf5 20.Bg2 Qe8 21.Nh2 Qg6 22.Kh1 Bf6 23.Ndf1 Kh8 24.Ne3 Bg5 25.Qb1 Nf6 26.Nf3 Bh6 27.Nf1 Qh5 28.N1h2 Nge8 29.Ng1 Bg7 30.Ne2 Ne4 31.Kg1 Ng5 32.h4 Nf7 33.f4 Qg6 34.Nf1 Nf6 35.fxe5 dxe5 36.Qd3 Ne8 37.Qe3 b6 38.Nc1 Ned6 39.Qc3 Rg8 40.Nd3 f4 41.Nxe5 Qf6 42.Qf3 Nxe5 43.Bxe5 Qxe5 44.Rxe5 Bxe5 45.gxf4 Bd4+ 46.Kh2 Rg4 47.Kh1 Bf5 48.Nh2 Rg8 49.Qe2 Bh3 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Vrolijk,L2512Aravindh,C27060–12025German Bundesliga 2024-2511.2
Aravindh,C2706Markus,R25921–02025German Bundesliga 2024-2512.2

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Topics: Aravindh Chithambaram
Carlos Colodro is a Hispanic Philologist from Bolivia. He works as a freelance translator and writer since 2012. A lot of his work is done in chess-related texts, as the game is one of his biggest interests, along with literature and music.
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Prague R7: Aravindh scores brilliant victory, becomes sole leader

3/6/2025 – The seventh round of the Masters at the Prague Chess Festival saw Aravindh Chithambaram beating Anish Giri with black in what perhaps was the best game of the tournament so far. With this victory, Aravindh took the sole lead in the standings, as Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu was unable to get more than a draw against Wei Yi. Vincent Keymer fared similarly, as he put David Navara under pressure for a long time, but in the end had to be satisfied with half a point. Sam Shankland and Ediz Gürel had more luck: Shankland won with black against Le Quang Liem, while Gürel won with white against Thai Dai Van Nguyen. | Photo: Petr Vrabec
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Prague R2: Aravindh takes down Keymer

2/28/2025 – Vincent Keymer started the Prague Chess Festival with a convincing win, but in round two he suffered a defeat against Aravindh Chithambaram (pictured), who surprised Keymer with a double-edged and rare opening. The four other games in the Masters section all ended in draws. In the Challengers, two of the five games ended decisively, but there could have easily been more. | Photo: Petr Vrabec
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60m English New ideas in the Najdorf_E

‘New ideas in the Najdorf – a Power Play 18 Update’ aims to complement Daniel King’s popular DVD from last year ‘The Sicilian Najdorf - a repertoire for Black’. Such a dynamic and popular opening as the Najdorf is developing the whole time. On this download, Daniel King updates lines that were included on his DVD but also responds to viewers’ requests, considering lines that he omitted from his original repertoire. The lines examined on this update are: • 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 h3 e5 7 Nde2 • 5….a6 6 Bc4 in combination with the English Attack (Be3, f3 etc) • 5…a6 6 Be3 and the …a5 variation • 5…a6 6 Be2 and 9 Re1 • 5 f3 (instead of 5 Nc3) It isn’t necessary to have seen the original Najdorf DVD to understand the lines examined here – but it would help as they form part of a complete repertoire.
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