Shreyas has now been belatedly included in the initial rankings, and is the No2 seed, rated 2048 behind Clement Kuhn of France 2087.
However in my opinion the clear favourite for this world championship is the No15 seed Tykhon Cherniaiev of Ukraine, rated 1940, who is still only 8 and could have played in the U8 championship.
Cherniaiev is already a double world U10 champion after winning the U10 rapid and blitz titles at Riga in July, unbeaten in both.
He is Fide rated above 2100 in both rapid and blitz and holds his own at both with the best players in Kharkov. While still 7, he had an 11-round rapid TPR of 2382, losing only to an IM.
He plays every day on Lichess where he is among the top players at blitz and bullet. His website asks for donations to help him break Karjakin's record as the youngest GM.
My Guardian article a year ago named him as the best global talent in his age group.
www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/sep/08/m ... oly-karpov
Cherniaiev has played very few classical events till now. His Fide classical rating of 1940 comes mainly from the 2017 Ukraine U18 championship where he scored 50 percent at age 7.
So this will be a test, and it's not unknown for the very best talents to fail in a junior event, witness Kasparov in two world U16s in the 1970s.
Shreyas is also improving steadily so has a chance to medal in this World U10, but it's not a done deal.