FIDE ratings – January 2026

Top 100

The top of the list remains unchanged, with Magnus Carlsen in first place, Hikaru Nakamura in second and Fabiano Caruana in third, with no change in Elo ratings. In December, the focus of the world elite in FIDE-rated tournaments was particularly on the World Championships in blitz and rapid chess, which is why rating changes are more noticeable there. However, these lists also continue to be led by Magnus Carlsen. In the Top Ten, Anish Giri has overtaken Alireza Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, moving from eighth to sixth place in the world. Giri achieved this not through his own tournament participation, but because Firouzja and Praggnanandhaa each lost rating points at the London Chess Classic.

Germany’s number one, Vincent Keymer, remains in fourth place in the world rankings with an unchanged Elo of 2776, one point ahead of Arjun Erigaisi. Matthias Bluebaum recorded a loss of 0.1 Elo points from his two Bundesliga appearances in December. 

Top 100 Women

The women’s Top 10 remains unchanged. The list is led by Hou Yifan with an Elo rating of 2617. She is followed by three Chinese players: Zhu Jiner (2569), Lei Tingjie (2566) and Ju Wenjun (2564). The only player in the Top 10 with a change in her Elo is Anna Muzychuk (2522, 8^th place). Thanks to a game in the Austrian Women’s Bundesliga, she gained 4 rating points, reducing the gap to Tan Zhongyi.

Top 100 Juniors

The best juniors are also among the best players in the world. Classical chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju leads the list with an Elo rating of 2754. Even without taking part in tournaments, the players on the list each moved up by at least one place, as Praggnanandhaa, who had previously headed the list, has aged out of the category.

Javokhir Sindarov, who had previously been ranked third among the juniors, met the same fate. The 14-year-old Turkish player Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş (Elo rating 2658, 2^nd place) is the youngest player at the top of the list. Even younger is the 12-year-old Argentine Faustino Oro (2516), who is currently ranked 39^th.

Top 100 Girls

There have also been age-related changes in the Top 100 world rankings for girls in the U20 category. Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, who had previously led the list, has been removed from the girls’ rankings due to age. The same applies to Song Yuxin (formerly ranked second). The rankings are now headed by the Chinese player Li Miaoyi and Anna Shukhman, both with the same rating.

Top countries (average rating of top ten players)

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