♦ World champion D Gukesh became the highest-ranked Indian chess player, at fourth, in the latest FIDE rankings on 23 January 2025.

♦ He achieved the feat when he logged his second victory in the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk Aan Zee (Netherlands) defeating Vincent Keymer of Germany. Gukesh has amassed 2784 rating points.

♦ Norway’s Magnus Carlsen continues to be the undisputed world No.1 with 2832.5 points, followed by United States’ Grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura (2802) and country-mate Fabiano Caruana (2798).