August 2025 FIDE Ratings: GM Divya Breaks Into Top 15

World Rapid Chess Champion GM Volodar Murzin gained seven points and overtook GM Raunak Sadhwani as the world number-four among players born 2005 or later. Slightly lower down, we notice Erdogmus had the biggest gain (and the only other gain) in the top 10.

GM Pranav Anand had the biggest gain in the top 25, jumping seven places on the list with a 24-point increase. At 2590, he is also at his peak rating, and close to breaking 2600 for the first time. The biggest drop was GM Elham Amar‘s 16-point loss, an “evening of the scales” for a player who only gained rating in the previous two lists, breaking 2600 for the first time last month.

FIDE Classical Ratings (Top 100 Women) | July 31, 2025

The Women’s World Cup was responsible for great activity and significant changes in the ratings of the world’s top women. The most striking change, however, is the 24-point loss for GM Hou Yifan, the world number-one who is often inactive. The Championnat de Paris 2025 Masters was her first event this year, and she suffered three losses there. The gap between her and World Champion Ju Wenjun is still nearly 40 points, however.

Chinese GMs Lei Tingjie, Tan Zhongyi, and Zhu Jiner all made gains in the World Cup, with Tan gaining 12 points after her third-place finish. The only other player to gain rating in the top-15 was Divya, who gained the most in that group. Far more important than the 15-point gain, however, was her first-place finish at the World Cup. With that, she earned not only $50,000 but also an automatic grandmaster title.

IM Oliwia Kiolbasa had the biggest gain, 32 points, to reach 2393 rating, though she’s been over 2400 in the past. The most meaningful breakthrough was IM Leya Garifullina‘s jump of 27 points to a peak of 2477. She closes in on the 2500 rating required for the grandmaster title, though she still currently holds no grandmaster norms. The biggest loss was IM Olga Badelka‘s of 40 points. 

Prodigy Watch: To Be Added

The Prodigy Watch is an idea by Chess By The Numbers founder Tai Pruce-Zimmerman. It tracks the progress of young chess superstars, with an emphasis on those setting records.

His “prodigy rank” is 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 precise current age, then the player would have a prodigy rank of number-12. You can read more about Prodigy Watch here.

We will add this portion soon.

All data courtesy of FIDE.