chessroom← Back to gameNihal Sarin has reached the world’s top 20 for the first time. The November 2026 FIDE classical rating list places the Indian grandmaster at No. 19 with a rating of 2720, following an 11-point gain at the European Chess Club Cup.
The milestone follows a score of 5 out of 6 in Budva, Montenegro, where Nihal won the individual gold medal on board two. He was ranked No. 30 on the previous list. [1]
A strong team event produces an individual milestone
The European Club Cup is a team competition, but its games also contribute to individual ratings. Nihal’s results in this edition brought both a board medal and a substantial rise in the monthly rankings. An 11-place climb moves him into a smaller group of players near the top of classical chess.
Chess.com reported a 2859 tournament performance rating for his European Club Cup appearance. That number describes his performance in that particular event; it is not his new published rating. His November classical rating is 2720. [2]
Where selected players stand in November
The table below is a selection from the November 2026 classical list, rather than live ratings or a complete top-20 table. [2]
| World rank | Player | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2823 |
| 2 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2792 |
| 4 | Javokhir Sindarov | 2782 |
| 7 | R Praggnanandhaa | 2763 |
| 12 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2746 |
| 14 | Viswanathan Anand | 2739 |
| 19 | Nihal Sarin | 2720 |
| 26 | D Gukesh | 2710 |
India’s depth and the wider rankings picture
Praggnanandhaa is the only Indian in the November open top 10. ChessBase India’s roundup counts 13 Indian players in the open top 100 and 11 in the women’s top 100. Koneru Humpy is the highest-ranked Indian on the women’s list, at No. 9. [1]
Another point of interest is the gap between Gukesh and Javokhir Sindarov ahead of their World Championship match. Their November ratings are 2710 and 2782 respectively, a difference of 72 points. A rating comparison provides context, but is not the result of a match that has yet to be played. [2]
Published rating, live rating and performance rating are different
Reader’s guide: A monthly rating list is a dated reference point. A live rating can change as further games are played, so an article about the November list should not be read as a constantly updating leaderboard.
A tournament performance rating answers a different question: how strong was a player’s result against that particular field? It can be much higher than the player’s established rating after a successful event. Keeping those measures separate helps explain why Nihal’s 2859 performance figure and his 2720 published rating can both appear in reports of the same tournament.
For this month’s list, the main development is clear: Nihal’s European Club Cup results have taken him to a new ranking milestone. The next published lists will show whether he can consolidate that position.
Sources and reporting notes
This is an independently written news summary of published reporting, checked on . Rankings refer to the November 2026 list. No player interview or original game-by-game analysis is claimed.
- ChessBase India: November FIDE rating list and Nihal Sarin’s top-20 breakthrough, published 1 November 2026.
- Chess.com: November FIDE rating list, tournament performance and World Championship context, updated 31 October 2026.