Chess in India
India has 826 titled players on FIDE's list, 93 of them Grandmasters. Here is what that population actually looks like.
India is top-heavy: 11.3% of its 826 titled players are Grandmasters, which puts it in the upper quarter of federations for concentration. The elite is disproportionately strong relative to the base beneath it, which is the signature of a federation where reaching the top is well supported and reaching the first rung is not especially easy.
The middle half of its titled players are rated between 2,076 and 2,342, with a median of 2,213. Across every federation the median titled player is rated 2,216, so that figure is the one to compare against rather than any absolute standard.
| Title | Holders | Share |
|---|---|---|
| GM | 93 | 11.3% |
| IM | 167 | 20.2% |
| FM | 193 | 23.4% |
| CM | 164 | 19.9% |
| WGM | 13 | 1.6% |
| WIM | 46 | 5.6% |
| WFM | 78 | 9.4% |
| WCM | 72 | 8.7% |
| Player | Title | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Erigaisi Arjun | GM | 2,759 |
| Praggnanandhaa R | GM | 2,750 |
| Anand, Viswanathan | GM | 2,739 |
| Nihal Sarin | GM | 2,718 |
| Gukesh D | GM | 2,703 |
| Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi | GM | 2,697 |
| Aravindh, Chithambaram VR. | GM | 2,677 |
| Pranesh M | GM | 2,673 |
| Pranav, V | GM | 2,670 |
| Karthikeyan, Murali | GM | 2,668 |
Counted from FIDE's published titled-player list. Titles are permanent and never revoked, so these counts include everyone who ever reached the standard and remains listed — including players long retired. A federation is where a player is registered, which is not always where they are from.