Another setback for world champion D Gukesh as R Praggnanandhaa surpasses him in live chess ratings

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.

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.

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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.