FIDE Rating List April 2026: Arjun Erigaisi returns to Top ten, Divya Deshmukh becomes World #10 for the first time, Nihal #22 and Pranav V #51

Arjun Erigaisi is the only Indian currently in World Top 10 in April FIDE Rating list 2026. He is currently World no.10. R Praggnanandhaa moved by one place moved up by one place to World no.12. The World Champion, D Gukesh slipped five places from World no.10 to 15, after his forgettable performance at Prague International Chess Festival 2026. Vishy Anand, continues to remain in inactive list, despite playing Tata Steel India Rapid and Blitz 2026 back in January.

Nihal reaches World #22 with a career high 2723, Pranav Venkatesh crosses 2650, becomes World no.51, 13 Indians still in Top 100

Arjun Erigaisi gained 6.1 Elo rating points to move back to World Top ten. Nihal Sarin gained 6.7 rating points to move to World #22 with a career high rating of 2723. Aravindh Chithambaram increased his Elo rating by 3.7, thanks to his third place finish at 8th Prague International Chess Festival 2026 Masters.

Arjun Erigaisi top 10 | Photo: Lennart Ootes / Tata Steel Chess 2026

Nihal Sarin is now World #22 with a career high rating 2723 | Photo: Thilo Gubler

Aravindh Chithambaram added 3.7 Elo rating points in total due to his third place finish at 8th Prague International Chess Festival 2026 Masters | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague International Chess Festival

Pranav Venkatesh’s stellar performance at KazChess Masters Nauryz 2026 moved him up to World #51 | Photo: Kazakhstan Chess Federation

Aryan Chopra added a total of 5.5 Elo rating points combining Saint Louis Masters and President’s Cup 2026 | Photo: Saint Louis University

Arjun Erigaisi, R Praggnanandhaa, D Gukesh, Nihal Sarin and Vidit Gujrathi are still in Top 30 | Source: FIDE

There are still 13 Indians in World Top 100 | Source: FIDE

Women: Seven Indians still in Top 100

Four Indian women are still in top 20. They are – GM Humpy Koneru, World no.5, GM Divya Deshmukh, World no.10, GM Harika Dronavalli, World no.18 and GM R Vaishali, World no.19 among women. Divya’s third place finish at Prague International Chess Festival 2026 Challengers gained her 12.6 Elo rating points and made her World #10 for the first time in her career in a published FIDE Rating list. Harika’s third place finish at 4th International Women’s Chess Championship 2026 Masters earned her 4.3 Elo rating points and moved up by two place to World #18.

Divya Deshmukh finished third at Prague International Chess Festival 2026 Challengers | Photo: Petr Vrabec / Prague International Chess Festival

Harika Dronavalli finished third at 4th International Women’s Chess Championship 2026 Masters to gain 4.3 Elo rating points | Photo: Uzbekistan Chess Federation

Four Indians are still in World Top 20 among Women | Source: FIDE

Seven Indian women are in Top 100 | Source: FIDE

Countries

India had the no.2 position in March 2026 FIDE Rating list in terms of average rating of top ten players in the Open, 33 Elo rating points behind the USA. The gap got reduced to 29 in this list. India was also no.2 in the Women category. The gap got reduced from 90 to 88. In Mixed category, India maintained its no.2 position. USA is no.1 with 2726, followed by India at 2697.

India is still no.2 in Open section among Top Federation | Source: FIDE

India retained no.2 place in Women | Source: FIDE

India also retained no.2 in Mixed category | Source: FIDE