Indian Grandmaster (GM) Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa continues to underline his status as one of the world’s most consistent elite players, holding steady at world number four in the September FIDE rating list. The 20-year-old, fresh off a strong showing at the Sinquefield Cup, remains the highest-ranked Indian after World Champion D Gukesh, with Arjun Erigaisi completing the trio of Indians in the top six.While Praggnanandhaa’s rating stability highlights his maturity at such a young age, the biggest rating story of the month came from Vincent Keymer. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The 20-year-old German made a spectacular leap into the world’s top ten for the first time, climbing from 21st to 10th after gaining 21 Elo points at the Chennai Grand Masters. With an Elo of 2751, Keymer is the highest-rated German in history, surpassing even Robert Hübner, the last German player to feature in the global top ten decades ago.Keymer’s surge saw him leapfrog legendary names like Ding Liren, Viswanathan Anand, and Ian Nepomniachtchi, underscoring the generational shift at the game’s summit. Among the world’s elite, only Russia’s Kirill Alekseenko matched his monthly gain (+22), while Dmitry Andreikin also rose sharply with +15 points to reach 30th place.At the other end of the spectrum, Nodirbek Abdusattorov endured a disastrous month, losing 23 points at the Sinquefield Cup and slipping out of the top ten, from seventh to 11th. The same tournament rejuvenated Wesley So, who picked up 11 rating points, won the playoff in St. Louis, and returned to seventh place.The world’s top three, Magnus Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Fabiano Caruana, remain unchanged. But just behind them, Praggnanandhaa continues to look like the heir apparent, his steady rating gains complemented by his dominance of the FIDE Circuit standings. With the Grand Swiss in Samarkand and the World Cup in Goa approaching, the Chennai-born looks poised to shine.
