Arjun Erigaisi continues to hold the position of India's top-ranked chess player, according to the February 2026 FIDE ratings. The country boasts an impressive representation in the global chess arena, with thirteen players in the top 100.

As of February 2026, Arjun Erigaisi holds the World No. 5 rank. He also holds strong positions in other formats of the game, maintaining World No. 4 in Rapid and World No. 7 in Blitz. He is currently the only Indian player to be in the top 10 across all three formats. Erigaisi's current FIDE rating is 2775. His peak rating was 2801 in December 2024, making him the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to cross the 2800 threshold.

Following closely behind Erigaisi are R Praggnanandhaa and D Gukesh, holding the World No. 8 and No. 9 positions, respectively. Other Indian players in the top 100 include Viswanathan Anand (World No. 13), Nihal Sarin (World No. 26), Vidit Gujrathi (World No. 29), Aravindh Chithambaram (World No. 32), and Pentala Harikrishna (World No. 43). The remaining players who make up the thirteen are Murali Karthikeyan (World No. 71), Pranav V (World No. 83), Raunak Sadhwani (World No. 85), Aryan Chopra (World No. 89), and Pranesh M (World No. 100).

India holds the World No. 2 position in terms of the average rating of its top ten players across the Open, Women's, and Mixed categories. In the Open category, India is behind the USA by 15 Elo points.

In the women's rankings, Koneru Humpy is at World No. 6, Divya Deshmukh and R Vaishali hold World No. 12 and No. 16, and Harika Dronavalli has moved up to World No. 18.

The Tata Steel Masters 2026, a major classical event, was not included in the February 2026 FIDE Rating List because it concluded after the month started. Therefore, the classical ratings in the latest list remain largely unchanged. Arjun Erigaisi participated in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz, securing third place in both events. His Rapid rating decreased by 5 points, moving him from World No. 3 to World No. 4, while his Blitz rating decreased by 1 point, maintaining his World No. 7 ranking. R Praggnanandhaa also participated in the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz.