Arjun Erigaisi Back to World No.5 – Three Indians Still in the Top 10
Arjun Erigaisi is back at World No.5 in the December 2025 FIDE rating list. He earned 6.4 Elo points thanks to his strong run at the FIDE World Cup 2025.
R Praggnanandhaa held his World No.7 spot, even though he dropped a few rating points. World Champion D Gukesh slipped to World No.10 after being knocked out in the third round.
India now has only five players in the Top 30. Pentala Harikrishna gained 3 Elo points after his career-best World Cup performance. Pranav Venkatesh kept his rating steady after an impressive World Cup campaign.
Indian Women in the Top 20
Four Indian women remain inside the world’s Top 20. Humpy Koneru climbed to World No.5 even without playing in November. Divya Deshmukh dropped to World No.12. Among the top Indian women, only IM Padmini Rout and IM Savitha Shri B gained Elo points this month.
Eleven Indians in the World Top 100
November was challenging for many Indian players, as several struggled at the FIDE World Cup 2025.
Arjun Erigaisi played excellent chess before losing in the quarterfinals to Wei Yi, the eventual runner-up. Harikrishna had a breakthrough run, only being stopped by Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara, who had a dream tournament.
Arjun’s World Cup performance helped him return to World No.5. Praggnanandhaa stayed at No.7. Gukesh dropped from No.9 to No.10. Harikrishna earned 3 more Elo points. Pranav Venkatesh maintained his rating.
Arjun, Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Vishy Anand, and Vidit Gujrathi all remain inside the World Top 30. In total, eleven Indians are now in the World Top 100.
Seven Indian Women in the World Top 100
Four Indian women continue to shine inside the Top 20:
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Humpy Koneru – World No.5
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Divya Deshmukh – World No.12
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R Vaishali – World No.17
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Harika Dronavalli – World No.19
Humpy rose to No.5 despite not playing a single rated game. Divya slipped to No.12 after an early exit at the World Cup.
Padmini Rout gained an impressive 16.5 Elo points from the Bavarian Open and the World Women’s Team Championship. Savitha Shri B added 14.7 Elo points from tournaments in Bosnia and the Women’s Team Championship.
There are now seven Indian women in the World Top 100.
India Holds No.2 in Global Ranking List
India kept its No.2 spot in the November 2025 FIDE country rankings, based on the average rating of its top 10 players. The gap of 12 Elo points behind the USA remained unchanged. December country statistics will be updated when released.
Photos: Aditya Sur Roy
Source: CHESS BASE.in
