Tuesday's World Cup match in Baku, Azerbaijan saw D Gukesh defeat local favourite Misratdin Iskandarov, moving him beyond senior compatriot Viswanathan Anand in the Federation International des Eches (FIDE) live world rankings. In the second game of their encounter in the second round, the 17-year-old Gukesh defeated Iskandarov of Azerbaijan in just 44 moves.
Should he stay at the top until September 1st, the youngster will become the first Indian to surpass Anand since Pravin Thipsay did so in July 1986 in the FIDE World rankings. The 17-year-old had his eyes set on the No. 1 ranking and said during his interview with ESPN about his desire to compete in the World Championship cycle.
International Chess Federation tweeted as below:
"Gukesh D won again today and has overcome Viswanathan Anand in live rating! There is still almost a month till next official FIDE rating list on September 1, but it's highly likely that 17-year-old will be making it to top 10 in the world as the highest-rated Indian player."
Vishwanathan Anand has remained India's top-ranked chess player since 1991:
The latest surge by 2.5 rating points lifted him above Vishwanathan Anand, whose rating is 2754.0. Anand, who made it to the top 10 for the first time in July 1991, has remained India's top-ranked chess player in all published lists since January 1987.
Meanwhile, Gukesh D will lock horns with fellow countryman S L Narayanan in the 3rd round of the World Cup.
