Vidit Gujrathi is the senior member of India’s current world-elite generation — born in 1994, almost a decade older than Gukesh, Pragg, and Erigaisi, but reaching his strongest play in the same 2023–24 window. He qualified for the 2024 Candidates Tournament via the FIDE Grand Swiss in Riga, finishing in the middle of the Toronto field but contesting decisive games to the final rounds.
His style is more aggressive than either of his Indian peers. He plays the King’s Indian and the Sveshnikov as Black, and his 1.d4 White repertoire ranges through the Catalan and the sharp Sämisch lines of the Nimzo-Indian. His best results have come at events where his deep opening preparation gives him the early-game edge — the 2023 Grand Swiss in particular included several wins out of long forced lines he had prepared specifically for the format.
He served as vice-captain of the Indian team at the 2024 Olympiad in Budapest, where India won gold for the first time. His public-facing role in Indian chess — as both player and presence on the country’s chess YouTube circuit — has been substantial in making the modern Indian generation visible to a global audience.