Martinez Surges In December 2025 FIDE Ratings

But perhaps no player demonstrates the effect of the World Cup more than GM Alireza Firouzja, who didn’t play any classical games at all in the past month at Goa or elsewhere, but gained four rating spots as other players’ ratings fell. Firouzja is playing at the ongoing London Chess Classic, which will have an effect on the January 2026 rating list. GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov, who lost 18 points this month, has gained back 17 so far in London.

For multiple reasons, largely because World Cup matches are often decided in tiebreaks, players can see their classical ratings fluctuate very differently depending on their exact path. Martinez, seeded 57th, nonetheless won in regulation in three of the first four rounds, including against eighth-seeded Abdusattorov, hence the sizeable swing for each of those two players. Sindarov, on the other hand, had a first-round bye as the 16th seed, and so his regulation wins provided less rating. And, when Martinez and Sindarov played each other in the quarterfinal, they drew both classical games, which benefited Martinez and harmed Sindarov. Sindarov went on to need tiebreaks in the last two rounds as well, and that’s how you get the winner of the event gaining five points while the quarterfinalist who lost to him gained 23.

Newcomers to the top 100 in December—albeit some not for the first time—were GMs Saleh Salem, Aleksey Grebnev, Anton Demchenko, Aydin Suleymanli, and Etienne Bacrot. Several players already in the top 100 also gained double-digit rating on the December list, including GMs Sindarov, Alexander Donchenko, Amin Tabatabaei, Andrey Esipenko, Peter Leko, Sam Shankland, and Frederik Svane. All but two of them played in the World Cup: Demchenko gained points from the conclusion of the Slovenian Team Championship, while Tabatabaei reached a 2700 rating by winning the Bavarian Open. 

There was also some activity at the very top of the list. GM Magnus Carlsen has not been entirely inactive in classical chess, tacking on one rating point to his overall position this month following a cameo in the Norway Eliteserien, which happened all the way back on October 31 but only counts now because the two-day event leg did not conclude until November 1.

GM Hikaru Nakamura, meanwhile, experienced a near-repeat of last month: In his last tournament that finally passed the games threshold he needs in order to qualify for the 2026 Candidates Tournament by rating, the Washington Dulles Open on November 6-10, Nakamura dropped three points despite scoring 4.5/5. That was not nearly enough to lose a ranking spot to third-place GM Fabiano Caruana, who was the highest-rated inactive player this month—having no need to play in this year’s World Cup after already qualifying for the Candidates last year.

FIDE Circuit 2025 Top 10: December 1, 2025

In other Candidates news, Praggnanandhaa’s elimination in the fourth round of the World Cup was bad news for players behind him in the FIDE Circuit, who had been hoping that Praggnanandhaa might qualify in Goa and leave the Circuit path to another player. With players two through five in the updated Circuit standings also having qualified for the Candidates by other means, Praggnanandhaa’s World Cup elimination had the biggest effect on GMs Vincent Keymer, Wesley So, and Abdusattorov, all within four points of each other in spots six through eight in what is now likely an irrelevant battle.

FIDE Classical Ratings Top 25 Juniors: December 1, 2025

GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus went 5/6 in his classical games in the World Cup—sweeping his first two opponents before reaching but dropping a tiebreak playoff against GM Richard Rapport—to move into fourth in the junior rankings. Grebnev, who made it all the way to the round-of-16, had the highest points gain among the top 25 juniors; at 15 points, it was the only double-digit gain in the top 23.

Despite their early defeats in the World Cup in the face of Sindarov’s success, GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Gukesh Dommaraju held their top two spots over the Uzbekistani player whose teenage years end on December 8. Next month, only Gukesh will be a junior player from among these three, meaning Erdogmus could well be the number-two junior in January—with several years left before losing eligibility.

+/-	#	Name	Title	Fed	Rating	Born
–	1 / 1	Praggnanandhaa R	GM		2761 (-7)	2005
–	2 / 2	Gukesh D	GM		2754 (-9)	2006
–	3 / 3	Javokhir Sindarov	GM		2726 (+5)	2005
↑	4 / 5	Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus	GM		2658 (+7)	2011
↓	5 / 4	Volodar Murzin	GM		2648 (-7)	2006
–	6 / 6	Ediz Gurel	GM		2645 (-3)	2008
↑	7 / 8	V Pranav	GM		2641	2006
↑	8 / 9	Raunak Sadhwani	GM		2638 (-3)	2005
↓	9 / 7	Abhimanyu Mishra	GM		2636 (-6)	2009
↑	10 / 14	Aleksey Grebnev	GM		2632 (+15)	2006
↑	11 / 12	Aydin Suleymanli	GM		2628 (+6)	2005
↓	12 / 10	Pranesh M	GM		2627 (-3)	2006
↓	13 / 11	Aditya Mittal	GM		2624	2006
↓	14 / 13	Leon Luke Mendonca	GM		2615 (-5)	2006
–	15 / 15	MarcAndria Maurizzi	GM		2611	2007
↑	16 / 17	Andy Woodward	GM		2608 (+3)	2010
↓	17 / 16	Christopher Woojin Yoo	GM		2607	2006
–	18 / 18	Denis Lazavik	GM		2605	2006
↑	19 / 20	Daniel Dardha	GM		2603 (+5)	2005
↓	20 / 19	Bardiya Daneshvar	GM		2600 (-2)	2006
–	21 / 21	Sina Movahed	GM		2596	2010
↑	22 / 23	Ivan Zemlyanskii	GM		2592 (+7)	2010
↓	23 / 22	Elham Amar	GM		2592 (+1)	2005
↑	24 / 25	Pranav Anand	GM		2591 (+10)	2006
↓	25 / 24	Ihor Samunenkov	GM		2584	2009

Despite shakeups within the top 25, there were no new members in the entire set. One player who has well over a decade to crack this list eventually is another Indian youngster:

Congratulations to Sarvagya Singh Kushwaha 🇮🇳 for becoming the World’s Youngest Fide Rapid Rated Player!

Sarvagya was born in 2022 😳
He creates history by becoming a FIDE rated player at “3 years, 7 months and 20 days”😍
Incredible! 🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/VqS49Au3uK

— Rakesh Kulkarni (@itherocky) December 1, 2025

FIDE Classical Ratings Top 100 Women | December 1, 2025

IM Polina Shuvalova gained 30 points and entered the women’s top 10 as a member of the controversial FIDE team at the Women’s World Team Championship in Linares, Spain, where she scored 8.5/9. Shuvalova, who has one of three GM norms needed to become a grandmaster, reached the 2500 threshold that is also a requirement for the title.

+/-	#	Name	Title	Fed	Rating	Born
–	1 / 1	Hou Yifan	GM		2613 (-7)	1994
–	2 / 2	Zhu Jiner	GM		2579	2002
–	3 / 3	Lei Tingjie	GM		2569	1997
–	4 / 4	Ju Wenjun	GM		2565	1991
↑	5 / 6	Humpy Koneru	GM		2535	1987
↓	6 / 5	Aleksandra Goryachkina	GM		2534 (-6)	1998
–	7 / 7	Tan Zhongyi	GM		2524	1991
–	8 / 8	Anna Muzychuk	GM		2518	1990
–	9 / 9	Kateryna Lagno	GM		2508 (-9)	1989
↑	10 / 17	Polina Shuvalova	IM		2502 (+30)	2001
↓	11 / 10	Bibisara Assaubayeva	GM		2497 (-16)	2004
↓	12 / 11	Divya Deshmukh	GM		2497 (-8)	2005
↓	13 / 12	Alexandra Kosteniuk	GM		2483	1984
↓	14 / 13	Stavroula Tsolakidou	IM		2479	2000
↓	15 / 14	Alina Kashlinskaya	IM		2475	1993
↓	16 / 15	Mariya Muzychuk	GM		2475	1992
↓	17 / 16	Vaishali Rameshbabu	GM		2473	2001
–	18 / 18	Nana Dzagnidze	GM		2469	1987
–	19 / 19	Harika Dronavalli	GM		2466	1991
–	20 / 20	Nino Batsiashvili	GM		2462 (+1)	1987
–	21 / 21	Carissa Yip	IM		2459	2003
↑	22 / 24	Song Yuxin	IM		2454 (+6)	2005
↓	23 / 22	Leya Garifullina	IM		2454 (-4)	2004
↓	24 / 23	Yuliia Osmak	IM		2450 (-2)	1998
↑	25 / 26	Zhao Xue	GM		2436	1985
↑	26 / 33	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	IM		2434 (+14)	1996
↑	27 / 28	Lela Javakhishvili	IM		2432 (+5)	1984
↓	28 / 25	Lu Miaoyi	IM		2431 (-9)	2010
↑	29 / 35	Anna Shukhman	WGM		2431 (+13)	2009
–	30 / 30	Bella Khotenashvili	GM		2426 (+2)	1988
↓	31 / 29	Marie Sebag	GM		2425	1986
–	32 / 32	Teodora Injac	IM		2421	2000
↑	33 / 34	Mai Narva	IM		2420	1999
↓	34 / 27	Sarasadat Khademalsharieh	IM		2414 (-15)	1997
↑	35 / 38	Meri Arabidze	IM		2413 (+5)	1994
↑	36 / 39	Elisabeth Paehtz	GM		2409 (+1)	1985
–	37 / 37	Alice Lee	IM		2408	2009
↓	38 / 36	Elina Danielian	GM		2408	1978
↓	39 / 31	Anna Ushenina	GM		2407 (-16)	1985
–	40 / 40	Dinara Wagner	IM		2404	1999
–	41 / 41	Afruza Khamdamova	WGM		2403	2009
↑	42 / 46	Irina Krush	GM		2402 (+6)	1983
↑	43 / 53	Olga Girya	GM		2398 (+8)	1991
↓	44 / 43	Aleksandra Maltsevskaya	IM		2398	2002
↑	45 /	Nataliya Buksa	IM		2397	1996
↓	46 / 44	Oliwia Kiolbasa	IM		2397	2000
↑	47 / 50	Eline Roebers	IM		2396 (+4)	2006
↓	48 / 45	Nurgyul Salimova	IM		2396	2003
↓	49 / 47	Ding Yixin	WGM		2396	1991
↓	50 / 48	Olga Badelka	IM		2395	2002
↓	51 / 49	Valentina Gunina	GM		2393	1989
–	52 / 52	Antoaneta Stefanova	GM		2391	1979
↓	53 / 51	Tatev Abrahamyan	IM		2390 (-1)	1988
–	54 / 54	Gunay Mammadzada	IM		2390	2000
↓	55 / 42	Pia Cramling	GM		2389 (-13)	1963
–	56 / 56	Irina Bulmaga	IM		2389 (+3)	1993
↑	57 / 60	Zhai Mo	WGM		2385 (+1)	1996
↓	58 / 55	Deimante Daulyte-Cornette	IM		2385 (-3)	1989
↓	59 / 57	Karina Ambartsumova	IM		2385	1989
↓	60 / 58	Marsel Efroimski	IM		2384	1995
↑	61 / 62	Shen Yang	IM		2383	1989
↑	62 / 63	Rakshitta Ravi	WGM		2381	2005
↑	63 / 66	Anna M. Sargsyan	IM		2379 (+2)	2001
↑	64 / 67	Sabrina Vega Gutierrez	IM		2379 (+2)	1987
–	65 / 65	Wang Pin	WGM		2378	1974
↓	66 / 59	Guo Qi	IM		2375 (-9)	1995
↓	67 / 61	Zsoka Gaal	IM		2374 (-9)	2007
–	68 / 68	Iweta Rajlich	IM		2373	1981
↑	69 / 71	Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova	IM		2372 (+3)	1999
↑	70 / 77	Xeniya Balabayeva	WGM		2371 (+11)	2005
↓	71 / 70	Vantika Agrawal	IM		2369	2002
–	72 / 72	Alisa Galliamova	IM		2368	1972
↑	73 / 96	Alua Nurman	WGM		2367 (+23)	2007
↓	74 / 69	Lilit Mkrtchian	IM		2366 (-6)	1982
↑	75 / 97	Meruert Kamalidenova	IM		2366 (+23)	2005
↓	76 / 73	Huang Qian	WGM		2366	1986
↑	77 / 78	Govhar Beydullayeva	WGM		2364 (+6)	2003
↑	78 / 84	Nadya Toncheva	FM		2362 (+10)	2005
↑	79 / 80	Hanna Marie Klek	WGM		2361 (+4)	1995
↓	80 / 75	Ekaterina Goltseva	FM		2361	2002
↓	81 / 76	Alina Bivol	IM		2360	1996
↓	82 / 74	Almira Skripchenko	IM		2357 (-6)	1976
↓	83 / 79	Anastasia Bodnaruk	IM		2357	1992
↓	84 / 64	Zoey Tang	FM		2356 (-25)	2008
↓	85 / 81	Monika Socko	GM		2356	1978
↓	86 / 82	Medina Warda Aulia	IM		2355	1997
↑	87 /	Padmini Rout	IM		2354	1994
↓	88 / 86	Sophie Milliet	IM		2354 (+3)	1983
↑	89 /	Amina Kairbekova	WGM		2353	2006
↓	90 / 83	Mariam Mkrtchyan	WIM		2353	2004
↓	91 / 85	Xiao Yiyi	WGM		2352	1996
↓	92 / 87	Khanim Balajayeva	IM		2351 (+1)	2001
↓	93 / 89	Bat-Erdene Mungunzul	WIM		2350	2005
↓	94 / 88	Deysi Cori T.	IM		2349 (-1)	1993
↓	95 / 91	Ekaterina Atalik	IM		2349	1982
↓	96 / 92	Le Thao Nguyen Pham	IM		2348	1987
↓	97 / 93	Ticia Gara	WGM		2347	1984
↓	98 / 94	Marta Garcia Martin	IM		2346	2000
↓	99 / 95	Ni Shiqun	WGM		2345	1997
↓	100 / 98	Yuliya Shvayger	IM		2343	1994

Other notable appearances in Linares included IM Nataliya Buksa playing her first classical games of the year, rejoining the active list in 45th place, and IM Padmini Rout, who reentered the top 100 in the 87th spot. GM Hou Yifan lost seven points, but still holds a 34-point advantage over second place GM Zhu Jiner, who did not make the trip to Spain.

Prodigy Watch: Charvi Continues To Rise

The Prodigy Watch by Chess By The Numbers founder Tai Pruce-Zimmerman tracks the progress of young chess superstars, with his “prodigy rank,” a measure of how a player’s current rating at their current age compares historically. If there are 11 players in chess history who have been rated higher at or before the player’s age, then the player would have a prodigy rank of 12. You can read more about Prodigy Watch here, while here’s this month’s update:

Prodigy Watch Top 15: December 1, 2025

Player	Rating	Age	Prodigy Rank	FED	Change from Nov 2025
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus	2658	14.50	1		–
Faustino Oro	2503	12.13	1		–
Roman Shogdzhiev	2403	10.82	4		–
Ashwath Kaushik	2345	10.32	6		-2
Ruben Yanmi Quintans	1928	7.62	10		-1
Marc Barcelo Melnyk	2143	9.28	11		-9
Andy Woodward	2608	15.58	14		+1
Ivan Zemlyanskii	2592	15.25	14		+1
Ediz Gurel	2645	16.99	20		-3
Abhimanyu Mishra	2636	16.82	20		-2
Zechen Yu	2389	11.92	20		-2
Sina Movahed	2596	15.52	21		-2
Sergey Sklokin	2407	12.48	25		+13
Ethan Vaz	2500	14.25	36		+16
Supratit Banerjee	2334	11.77	39		+3

Erdogmus and IM Faustino Oro each gained seven points this month and continue to be the highest-rated players ever for their ages. Other prodigies making gains this month include IM Ethan Vaz, who achieved a 2500 rating for the first time after scoring 19/27 across three tournaments, and FM Sergey Sklokin achieving his first-ever 2400 rating. Both players are now just norms away from their next title jump. The 10-year-old untitled Serbian Leonid Ivanovic gained a whopping 95 rating points, into the 39th-highest-ever rating for his age.

Prodigy Watch Top 10 Girls: December 1, 2025

Player	Rating	Age	Prodigy Rank	FED	Change from Nov. 2025
Bodhana Sivanandan	2229	10.74	4		–
Charvi Anilkumar	2270	11.75	5		+9
Lu Miaoyi	2431	15.80	10		-5
Berikkyzy Alanna	2241	11.92	12		-2
Stella Xin	1885	9.67	16		-2
Anna Shukhman	2431	16.57	17		+5
Alice Lee	2408	16.13	26		-1
Megan Althea Paragua	2219	12.97	28		-7
Devindya Oshini Gunawardhana	2272	13.92	30		+73
Prishita Gupta	2309	14.48	32		-1

The 11-year-old WFM Charvi Anilkumar only continued to make waves this month, gaining another 95 points and now ranking fifth all time among players her age. That doesn’t even count the start to her performance at the ongoing Bali Festival, which runs through December 8 and thus does not become official until next month, but has already earned her the FIDE master title based on her live rating crossing 2300.

Sri Lankan WIM Devindya Gunawardhana made an even larger rating leap this month of 136 points, shooting her into the top 30 for her age.

All data courtesy of FIDE.