Every chess career comes and goes. Players rise in the rankings until they reach the top. The top is either World Champion or Top 10 on the ranking list.

When a player’s career ends, a new generation of players must come in.

Players that will be the next elite champions are currently considered to be juniors.

This is unless, of course, the likes of Magnus Carlsen decide to play at their peaks until their late 40s and 50s when it comes to age.

☉ Currently, Magnus Carlsen is considered as the GOAT

This ranking list primarily focuses on Juniors, players who are poised to possibly compete for the World Title in the upcoming years.

All players on this ranking list are below the age of 20. While some players are still recognized as Juniors at the age of 20, that doesn’t apply to this list.

10 Raunak Sadhwani

Raunak was born on 22 December 2005, meaning he is currently 16 years old. His birthplace is India.

This makes him part of the new generation of Indian chess prodigies dominating the chess scene. To back this up, Raunak Sadhwani became a Grandmaster at the age of 13, making him the 9th youngest player in history to achieve the title of Grandmaster.

His current rating is also his peak rating, and it stands at 2616 on the FIDE classical standings.

OK, on the Juniors Ranking list, he is ranked number 13. He has been dubbed to be the strongest under 16 in the world on multiple occasions.

He is mainly ranked number 10 on this list due to his influence and achievements, not coming close to those above him.

☉ To get to the top, as a first step, you need to know How to Master Chess

9 Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa

Praggnanandhaa is an Indian-born chess prodigy. He was born on the 10th of August 2005, meaning he is currently aged 16.

Upon attaining the title of Grandmaster, he automatically became the fifth-youngest person in history to do so.

His potential was first seen when he became the youngest International Master in history at the age of 10 years.

His current rating is 2624, leaving him ranked number 14 on the Juniors FIDE ranking list.

Recently, he broke another record as he became the youngest player in history to defeat the current World Champion Magnus Carlsen.

22 Feb 2022 will be the day that Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa will be remembered as having defeated Magnus Carlsen in a rapid game in the Airthing Masters Tournament.

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8 Hans Moke Niemann

Born on the 20th of June 2003, Hans Niemann is an American Grandmaster, currently aged 18 years old.

His rise to being one of the top Juniors started in March 2019 when he officially joined the top 100 Juniors.

Three years later, he is part of the top 10 and is poised to be one of the future players to potentially fight for the World Classical Title.

According to FIDE, his current rating is 2632. What makes his rating achievement particularly special is the fact that he claims to be his own coach! He has stated that he has never had a coach, rather he self-taught himself to the top.

Besides being a top Professional Grandmaster, Hans Niemann has also made a career for himself as a chess streamer on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Currently, he ranks in the 11th position amongst Juniors.

As to whether being a one-man team will help him to the World Title, only time will tell. But with technological advancement on his side, we have high hopes for the young champion.

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7 Velimir Ivic

Velimir Ivic was born on the 27th of August 2002. He is recognized as a Serbian Grandmaster. With a rating of 2634, he is currently the highest-rated Serbian player at just the age of 19.

His most notable performance is no doubt winning Individual Gold at the 2017 European Youth Team Chess Championship.

This was after he scored scoring 6/7 on board 4. At this time, he was still 14, just days away from his 15th birthday.

His performance in the World Cup was also exceptional as he managed to reach the Round of 16. On his way there, he managed to defeat a 2700+, named GM Dmitry Andreikin.

Such a performance showed that he has a lot to provide and is a potential future 2700+ player.

Velmir Ivic is not only topping the Serbian list, but he is also recognized as a top Junior, currently ranking number 10 on the list.

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6 Domnaraju Gukesh

Yet another history book changer, Gukesh D, was born on the 29th of May 2006. He is an Indian chess prodigy and the third-youngest player in history to get the title of Grandmaster.

At the time of attaining the Grandmaster title, he was the second youngest just 17 days late of Sergey Karjakin’s record.

Currently, he has a rating of 2639, and he is at the forefront of leading Indian chess into a dominant future alongside the other Indian chess prodigies on this list.

On the FIDE juniors ranking list, he is currently sitting on number 9, and he has the potential to go higher up this ranking.

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5 Nihal Sarin

Nihal Sarin is yet another Indian sensation on the ranking list. Born on 13 July 2004, Nihal is mainly known for being the fourth-youngest player in history to cross 2600+ on the FIDE ranking list.

Among just multiple achievements, he also held the World Under 10 World Championship title in 2014.

Even at the age of 10, Nihal Sarin was already an elite player as he played 112 players simultaneously and won all games.

Nihal Sarin has also been an influential player in the online chess community during the majority of the peak of the pandemic.

Besides performing well in the titled arenas, he has even managed to give the likes of GM Hikaru Nakamura and GM Magnus Carlsen a run for their money in one on one matchups.

Currently, he has a rating of 2647. This rating finds him placed number seven on the FIDE Juniors ranking list.

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4 Abdusattorov Nodirbek

Born on 1 December 2004, Abdusattorov Nodirbek is an Uzbek Grandmaster. His major fame came in 2021 as he won the World Rapid Championship.

A title that he still holds and hopes to defend on December 2022. Upon winning, he became the youngest person to win it, breaking Magnus Carlsen’s record.

What also made his title win significant is that he also defeated Magnus Carlsen in the same event.

Abdusattorov also shocked the world by defeating Anish Giri 3-1 the same year during the Chess World Cup.

His current rating is 2661, making him the second-highest rated player in his country. Most importantly, he is ranked number five on the FIDE Juniors Ranking List.

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3 Vincent Keymer

Vincent Keymer was born on 15 November, 2004, in Germany. He is currently the top-ranked chess player in Germany.

On his way to the GM title, Keymer got his first norm by finishing first in a group of the Grenke Chess Open.

By that time, he was only 13 years old and he finished ahead of a field that included four players with a rating of 2700+.

His performance rating in the event is the highest ever by an under 14 chess player: the performance rating is 2798.

Currently, Vincent Keymer has a rating of 2667, making him the fourth highest-rated Junior in the world.

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2 Erigaisi Arjun

Born on the third of September of 2003, Erigaisi Arjun is also part of the Indian Prodigy group. Arjun is the current reigning Indian National Champion.

A title which he recently won in March 2022. At his young age, he has had multiple accomplishments, including being the first Indian to qualify for the Champions Chess Tour.

In India, he is known as a beast and has been at the forefront in terms of players who win the majority of the events hosted.

This is an elite tournament in which only the best players in the world take part, including current world Champion Magnus Carlsen.

With a rating of 2676, Erigaisi Arjun is the 4 highest rated player in India. The Indian prodigy is also ranked number 3 on the FIDE Juniors ranking list.

☉ Watch here Chess Prodigy Alireza Firouzja’s Attacking Masterpiece

1 Alireza Firoujza

Alireza Firoujza was born on the 18th of June 2003. While he was born in Iran, he had since changed citizenship and is now considered a French Chess player.

His rise to fame came due to the level of strength he was portraying in online chess. He managed to also portray the same strength in his classical chess, and is currently ranked number three in the world, with a rating of 2804.

He is the youngest ever player to reach a rating of 2800. This record was previously held by Magnus Carlsen.

In 2021, he won the FIDE Grandswiss event, guaranteeing him a spot in the 2022 Candidates Tournament.

Alireza Firoujza recently also finished third in the 2021 World Blitz Championship. While he had the same points as first and second-placed players, the tiebreak didn’t favor him in the event.

This also leads to Magnus Carlsen stating that he will possibly only defend his title if Alireza Firoujza is to win the Candidates Tournament.

Alireza Firouzja is also ranked number one in France and also tops the FIDE Juniors Ranking List. His closest competitor is close to 100 Elos away.

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Conclusion

All these players have made history in their way. They each have broken certain records which now seem to be unbreakable again.

They are in a league of their own and, hopefully, we will have at least one of them become World Classical Champion!

Though with the current level of strength they are showing considering their age, we are guaranteed that they will entertain us with strong chess for many years to come.