Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi on Sunday became the second Indian after legendary Viswanathan Anand and 16th worldwide to reach the gold-standard ELO rating of 2800, while also occupying the fourth spot in the latest rankings.

The 21-year-old has been in sensational form this year, having won an individual gold as well as team title in India’s recent historic performance in the Chess Olympiad.

“Arjun Erigaisi has become the 16th player in history to break the 2800 Elo barrier in classical chess ratings!” the world governing body of the sport FIDE said on ‘X’.

“ArjunErigaisi joins five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand as the second Indian to achieve this milestone. In the December 2024 #FIDERating list, his rating stands at 2801, and he is currently ranked #4 in the world! Earlier this year, this 21-year-old also delivered a stellar performance at the 45th #ChessOlympiad, winning both team gold and individual gold!” Born in Warangal, Telangana, Erigaisi earned the Grandmaster’s title at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 13 days. In September 2024, he became India’s top rated player.

Erigaisi now has 2801 rating points for the fourth sport, just below Hikaru Nakamura (2802) of USA. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen continued to be at the top spot with 2831 ratings, followed by Fabiano Caruana (2805) of the USA.

Another Indian chess prodigy, the 18-year-old D Gukesh, who is currently fighting against Ding Liren of China for the World Championships title in Singapore, is one place below Erigaisi at fifth with 2783 ratings. Liren (2728) is at 22nd.