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It would have been inconceivable in the glory days of the Soviet chess empire. For the first time since 1971 when Fide, the world chess body, began publishing its rating lists – then annually and now monthly – there are no Russians ranked in the classical world top 10. Bobby Fischer was No 1 in the first Fide list, published on the eve of his Reykjavik match with Boris Spassky, but after Fischer gave up active play Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov took over.
In 1970, when the USSR team defeated the Rest of the World, or in the decades when Mikhail Botvinnik, Karpov, and Kasparov were the game’s supreme masters, it would have been a joke to suggest that Russian supremacy would disappear within half a century and be replaced by a rivalry between India and the United States.
The final nail in the coffin came last week when Ian Nepomniachtchi, the double world title challenger, dropped from 10th to 14th after a poor performance at Tashkent, where he finished next to last and appeared disinterested.
There are a couple of caveats. Sergey Karjakin, the 2015 world title challenger, would be in the top 10 if he was still an active player, but since the start of the Ukraine war Karjakin has transformed himself into a cheerleader for the Russian armed forces and has played less than a handful of Fide-rated classical games.
Karjakin did make a comeback at Blitz last week in a “Chess Stars 5.0” tournament in which five elite GMs competed against five top women, and showed that he retains his strength. Meanwhile Anish Giri, the Netherlands’ No 1 and the current world No 10, was born in St Petersburg.
Nepomniachtchi may yet recover his mojo when the serious business of qualifying for the 2026 Candidates returns, but otherwise a Russian classical comeback may have to wait until the 10-year-old prodigy Roman Shogdzhiev, the youngest ever international master, fulfils his promise – if he does.
Meanwhile Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, the 19-year-old super-grandmaster, scored his third major victory of 2025 last week when he captured the $20,000 first prize at the UzChess Cup in Tashkent. Just like his previous two successes at Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee and Bucharest, he did it the hard way by sharing first and then winning a speed playoff.
“Pragg” is now up to world No 4. He has edged ahead of his Asian rivals, world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, fellow Indian Arjun Erigaisi and Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and more importantly has put himself in a strong position to capture the world title Candidates place which goes to the most successful tournament competitor of 2025.
He is behind only Norway’s world No 1 Magnus Carlsen, who has retired from world championship competition, and the two Americans Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana. Caruana is already qualified for the Candidates.
Praggnanandhaa attributes his 2025 improvement to his coach, RB Ramesh: “I’m now much more confident and ambitious when I play, and that’s something we worked on,” the player said.
His achievement came despite losing a brilliancy in mid-tournament where he had prepared the opening in advance. The game has been hailed as one of the great King’s Indian masterpieces, with Kasparov, no less, comparing it to his own classic against Jan Timman in 1992. It seems that White’s decisive mistake came as late as 23 Bc4? Bc2! , when 23 Nd4! was needed.
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Next weekend, on Sunday 13 July, ChessFest, the popular free family-friendly event, returns to London’s Trafalgar Square, with opportunities to test your and your children’s skills against England’s top masters and grandmasters. World senior champion Michael Adams, reigning British and English champion Gawain Jones, former Russian champion and current England No 1 Nikita Vitiugov, and former world girl champion Harriet Hunt will all be there and ready to take on the public.
More than 20,000 attended ChessFest in 2024 and, weather permitting, this year’s numbers should be even larger.
Other attractions include a living chess game with human pieces, chess puzzle quizzes and free lessons from CSC tutors. ChessFest days are also scheduled for Portishead on 12 July, Hull on 13 July and Liverpool on 20 July.
3979 1 Nf5+! and Black resigned. If 1…gxf5 2 Rg3+ Kh8 3 Rxg8+! (the point) and 4 Qxe7. Black might have tried 1…exf5 2 Rxe7 Nxe7 and White will eventually win as long as he avoids 3 Qxe7?? Rfe8 with a back rank mate trick.
