GM Hikaru Nakamura‘s wins in state championships have taken him back to 2816, a peak he reached exactly a decade ago, but also provoked FIDE to change its rules. Elsewhere GM Anish Giri‘s victory in the FIDE Grand Swiss took him up to world number-seven, while World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju crashed out of the top 10. Young players starred, with GMs Abhimanyu Mishra and Pranav Venkatesh both picking up over 40 points, while 14-year-old GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and 11-year-old GM Faustino Oro became the youngest players to cross 2650 and 2500 respectively.
September was a busy month for top-level chess, and one that shook up the rating list.
FIDE Classical Ratings Top 100: October 1, 2025
| +/- | Rank | Name | Title | Fed | Rating | Born |
| – | 1 / 1 | Magnus Carlsen | GM | 2839 | 1990 | |
| – | 2 / 2 | Hikaru Nakamura | GM | 2816 (+9) | 1987 | |
| – | 3 / 3 | Fabiano Caruana | GM | 2789 | 1992 | |
| ↑ | 4 / 5 | Arjun Erigaisi | GM | 2773 (+2) | 2003 | |
| ↓ | 5 / 4 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | GM | 2771 (-14) | 2005 | |
| ↑ | 6 / 8 | Alireza Firouzja | GM | 2762 (+8) | 2003 | |
| ↑ | 7 / 12 | Anish Giri | GM | 2759 (+13) | 1994 | |
| ↓ | 8 / 7 | Wesley So | GM | 2756 | 1993 | |
| ↑ | 9 / 10 | Vincent Keymer | GM | 2755 (+4) | 2004 | |
| ↓ | 10 / 9 | Wei Yi | GM | 2754 (+1) | 1999 | |
| ↓ | 11 / 6 | Gukesh Dommaraju | GM | 2752 (-15) | 2006 | |
| ↓ | 12 / 11 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | GM | 2750 (+2) | 2004 | |
| ↑ | 13 / 14 | Viswanathan Anand | GM | 2743 | 1969 | |
| ↑ | 14 / 16 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | GM | 2742 (+1) | 1985 | |
| ↑ | 15 / 20 | Hans Moke Niemann | GM | 2738 (+5) | 2003 | |
| ↑ | 16 / 18 | Leinier Dominguez Perez | GM | 2738 | 1983 | |
| – | 17 / 17 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | GM | 2737 (-1) | 1990 | |
| ↑ | 18 / 19 | Ding Liren | GM | 2734 | 1992 | |
| ↓ | 19 / 15 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | GM | 2732 (-10) | 1990 | |
| ↑ | 20 / 23 | Quang Liem Le | GM | 2729 | 1991 | |
| ↑ | 21 / 22 | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | GM | 2729 | 1998 | |
| ↑ | 22 / 29 | Richard Rapport | GM | 2724 (+13) | 1996 | |
| ↓ | 23 / 13 | Levon Aronian | GM | 2722 (-22) | 1982 | |
| – | 24 / 24 | Javokhir Sindarov | GM | 2721 (-1) | 2005 | |
| ↑ | 25 / 26 | Yu Yangyi | GM | 2720 (+6) | 1994 | |
| ↓ | 26 / 21 | Vladimir Fedoseev | GM | 2720 (-11) | 1995 | |
| ↓ | 27 / 25 | Veselin Topalov | GM | 2717 | 1975 | |
| ↓ | 28 / 27 | Vidit Gujrathi | GM | 2716 (+4) | 1994 | |
| ↓ | 29 / 28 | Aravindh Chithambaram | GM | 2711 | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 30 / 32 | Awonder Liang | GM | 2710 (+12) | 2003 | |
| ↓ | 31 / 30 | Dmitry Andreikin | GM | 2710 | 1990 | |
| ↑ | 32 / 34 | Nihal Sarin | GM | 2700 (+7) | 2004 | |
| ↑ | 33 / 36 | Samuel Sevian | GM | 2698 (+6) | 2000 | |
| ↓ | 34 / 31 | Pentala Harikrishna | GM | 2697 (-7) | 1986 | |
| – | 35 / 35 | Jorden van Foreest | GM | 2697 (+5) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 36 / 37 | Parham Maghsoodloo | GM | 2697 (+5) | 2000 | |
| ↑ | 37 / 40 | Andrey Esipenko | GM | 2693 (+6) | 2002 | |
| – | 38 / 38 | Teimour Radjabov | GM | 2692 | 1987 | |
| ↓ | 39 / 33 | Wang Hao | GM | 2691 (-7) | 1989 | |
| ↑ | 40 / 45 | Nodirbek Yakubboev | GM | 2689 (+8) | 2002 | |
| ↑ | 41 / 51 | Matthias Bluebaum | GM | 2687 (+16) | 1997 | |
| ↓ | 42 / 39 | Daniil Dubov | GM | 2684 (-7) | 1996 | |
| ↑ | 43 / 44 | Peter Svidler | GM | 2682 | 1976 | |
| ↑ | 44 / 50 | Amin Tabatabaei | GM | 2681 (+8) | 2001 | |
| ↑ | 45 / 49 | Kirill Alekseenko | GM | 2679 (+5) | 1997 | |
| ↓ | 46 / 42 | Bu Xiangzhi | GM | 2672 (-12) | 1985 | |
| ↓ | 47 / 46 | Rustam Kasimdzhanov | GM | 2671 (-4) | 1979 | |
| ↑ | 48 / 54 | Igor Kovalenko | GM | 2669 | 1988 | |
| ↑ | 49 / 56 | David Howell | GM | 2668 | 1990 | |
| ↑ | 50 / 68 | Shant Sargsyan | GM | 2667 (+14) | 2002 | |
| ↑ | 51 / 52 | Volodar Murzin | GM | 2664 (-6) | 2006 | |
| ↓ | 52 / 47 | Ray Robson | GM | 2664 (-10) | 1994 | |
| ↑ | 53 / 61 | Thai Dai Van Nguyen | GM | 2664 (+4) | 2001 | |
| ↑ | 54 / 55 | Karthikeyan Murali | GM | 2662 (-7) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 55 / 65 | Ivan Saric | GM | 2661 (+6) | 1990 | |
| ↓ | 56 / 41 | Alexey Sarana | GM | 2661 (-25) | 2000 | |
| ↑ | 57 / 66 | Johan-Sebastian Christiansen | GM | 2661 (+6) | 1998 | |
| ↑ | 58 / 62 | Grigoriy Oparin | GM | 2661 (+1) | 1997 | |
| ↓ | 59 / 43 | Pavel Eljanov | GM | 2657 (-25) | 1983 | |
| ↑ | 60 / 67 | David Navara | GM | 2656 (+3) | 1985 | |
| ↑ | 61 / 71 | Rauf Mamedov | GM | 2655 (+4) | 1988 | |
| ↓ | 62 / 49 | Bogdan-Daniel Deac | GM | 2655 (-19) | 2001 | |
| ↓ | 63 / 53 | Sam Shankland | GM | 2654 (-16) | 1991 | |
| ↓ | 64 / 57 | Nikita Vitiugov | GM | 2654 (-12) | 1987 | |
| ↓ | 65 / 60 | Radoslaw Wojtaszek | GM | 2654 (-7) | 1987 | |
| ↓ | 66 / 64 | Alexander Grischuk | GM | 2654 (-3) | 1983 | |
| ↑ | 67 / 69 | Kirill Shevchenko | GM | 2653 | 2002 | |
| ↑ | 68 / 82 | Nikolas Theodorou | GM | 2652 (+6) | 2000 | |
| ↑ | 69 / | Abhimanyu Mishra | GM | 2652 (+41) | 2009 | |
| ↑ | 70 / 80 | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | GM | 2651 (+5) | 2011 | |
| ↑ | 71 / 74 | Alexander Morozevich | GM | 2650 | 1977 | |
| ↑ | 72 / 89 | Jeffery Xiong | GM | 2648 (+8) | 2000 | |
| ↑ | 73 / 83 | Maxim Rodshtein | GM | 2647 (+2) | 1989 | |
| ↓ | 74 / 59 | Vladislav Artemiev | GM | 2646 (-18) | 1998 | |
| ↑ | 75 / 79 | Michael Adams | GM | 2646 | 1971 | |
| ↓ | 76 / 75 | Nils Grandelius | GM | 2645 (-3) | 1993 | |
| ↑ | 77 / 92 | Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara | GM | 2644 (+5) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 78 / 85 | Francisco Vallejo Pons | GM | 2644 | 1982 | |
| ↓ | 79 / 78 | Lu Shanglei | GM | 2643 (-4) | 1995 | |
| ↑ | 80 / 81 | Benjamin Gledura | GM | 2643 (-3) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 81 / 86 | Gawain Maroroa Jones | GM | 2643 | 1987 | |
| ↑ | 82 / 88 | Vladimir Malakhov | GM | 2643 | 1980 | |
| ↓ | 83 / 77 | Dmitrij Kollars | GM | 2642 (-5) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 84 / | Pranav V | GM | 2641 (+45) | 2006 | |
| ↑ | 85 / | Alexander Donchenko | GM | 2641 (+17) | 1998 | |
| ↓ | 86 / 63 | Raunak Sadhwani | GM | 2641 (-17) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 87 / 84 | Shamsiddin Vokhidov | GM | 2640 (-5) | 2002 | |
| ↓ | 88 / 87 | Frederik Svane | GM | 2638 (-5) | 2004 | |
| ↑ | 89 / | Alexei Shirov | GM | 2636 (+20) | 1972 | |
| ↓ | 90 / 70 | Boris Gelfand | GM | 2636 (-16) | 1968 | |
| ↑ | 91 / | Alexandr Predke | GM | 2634 (+25) | 1994 | |
| ↑ | 92 / 97 | Ediz Gurel | GM | 2634 (+3) | 2008 | |
| – | 93 / 93 | Maksim Chigaev | GM | 2634 (-4) | 1996 | |
| ↑ | 94 / | Ruslan Ponomariov | GM | 2633 (+11) | 1983 | |
| ↑ | 95 / | Robert Hovhannisyan | GM | 2633 (+4) | 1991 | |
| ↑ | 96 / | Sanan Sjugirov | GM | 2632 (+5) | 1993 | |
| ↑ | 97 / | David Anton Guijarro | GM | 2631 (+6) | 1995 | |
| – | 98 / 98 | Aryan Tari | GM | 2631 | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 99 / | M Pranesh | GM | 2630 (+19) | 2006 | |
| ↑ | 100 / | Loek van Wely | GM | 2630 (+2) | 1972 |
Nakamura Regains His Peak
Exactly 10 years after hitting 2816 on the October 2015 rating list, Nakamura is back. In the intervening years he’d dropped as low as 2736 and world number-22, but this time he trails world number-one Magnus Carlsen by only 23 points, less than the 34 in 2015.
His climb back has been almost exclusively in top events, but the last steps to the summit have proved controversial—Nakamura’s nine-point gain in September came with 11 wins in 11 rated games against players rated no higher than 2250, as he played the Louisiana and Iowa State Championships.
The point wasn’t to gain rating—he needed only to tick off games to meet a 40-game requirement for FIDE Candidates Tournament qualification—but the run nevertheless provoked FIDE to change their “400-point” rule for the third time in as many years. The rule meant a gap of more than 400 points was treated as 400 points, and Nakamura gained 0.8 points for each win, while now, for players rated over 2650, gaps of the kind the U.S. star faced will mean gaining almost zero points for a win, while any draw or loss will be even more costly.
For a while it seemed Nakamura’s nine-point gain might even be retroactively removed.
Documenting this achievement with another case; not every day does the International Chess Federation solve the mystery of time travel! Now, if they’d be so kind as to help me get to 1858, so I can experience Paul Morphy’s genius firsthand
https://t.co/WFwGv3Rj2t pic.twitter.com/mtGZuYEHbq
— Daniel Naroditsky (@GmNaroditsky) September 29, 2025
In these cases, however, FIDE CEO and GM Emil Sutovsky explained in a tweet that a special rule had existed since December 2024 to ignore rapid and blitz games among players with a rating difference of 600 points or more. He said they’d forgotten to apply it, but have gone back and done it now.
Giri Climbs, Gukesh Falls After Grand Swiss
No rule existed for classical chess, so Nakamura was safe, but his was far from the only change in the top 10. Giri’s victory in the Grand Swiss saw him enter at number seven, his highest ranking since March 2024, though the 13-point rating gain was just the cherry on the cake of qualifying for the Candidates.
Nowadays I no longer care that much about the ratings, to be honest, but still nice to be back in the top 7!
Grateful for all the support!🙏 pic.twitter.com/TjOHU9jf5F
— Anish Giri (@anishgiri) September 17, 2025
His co-qualifier, GM Matthias Bluebaum, rose to a career-best 2687 and world number-41, though it could have been better! After a heroic 11 games unbeaten in the Grand Swiss he dropped 5.8 rating points with a brutal loss to GM Haik Martirosyan on the first weekend of the 2025-6 Chess Bundesliga.
Another shift at the top was GM Arjun Erigaisi move up to fourth place, above GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, who dropped 14 points in the Grand Swiss. Other top GMs to suffer there were Ian Nepomniachtchi (-10) and Levon Aronian (-22), but the one who stood out was the world champion. Gukesh recovered to win his last two games, but three losses in a row, all to players rated under 2650, would have been shocking even if two of them weren’t aged 16: Mishra and GM Ediz Gurel.
As we noted in our 2025 FIDE Grand Swiss: 13 Conclusions, Gukesh has surprisingly struggled in the Grand Swiss over the years, but, after a number of lacklustre classical events (and not just Freestyle ones), it’s possible to ask if the champion is in a slump. It’s been asked at some point of almost all his great predecessors, though it’s worth recalling he’s still only 19!
GM Alireza Firouzja climbed to world number-six, but missed out on Candidates qualification by tiebreaks and now, as he’s not playing the FIDE World Cup, it seems the Candidates door has shut for him this time around. GM Hans Niemann also came agonizingly close, but the U.S. 22-year-old will go into the U.S. Championships at a new career-best 2738 and world number-15.
Nihal Sarin And Awonder Liang Finally Join The 2700 Club Officially
Crossing 2700 is big for any top chess player, and both GMs Nihal Sarin and Awonder Liang have flirted with it for years. Now, after the Grand Swiss, they’ve both made it officially and not only on live ratings. Nihal has hit exactly 2700, while Liang is up to 2710. “Basically when I was 2695 I would be an amazing player, but at 2699 I’d instantly become 2300-strength,” he told Rachel Burak in Samarkand.
“At some point, it seemed impossible.”
🇺🇸Awonder Liang on crossing 2700 and more. pic.twitter.com/4AuxlyygaL
— Take Take Take (@TakeTakeTakeApp) September 15, 2025
The funny thing is, the U.S. 22-year-old actually gambled at the very end, playing the Charlotte Fall Open the weekend before the rating list came out. Disaster was averted and he even grew his rating, picking up that now infamous 0.8 points for a win in the first three games.
There was less movement in the FIDE Circuit, where the biggest change was two “withdrawals.”
FIDE Circuit 2025 Top 10: October 1, 2025
Giri’s Grand Swiss victory earned him 28.41 FIDE Circuit points, the highest haul in a tournament this year, but, like second-placed Bluebaum, he’s now out of the Circuit running, since he’s already earned one of the eight Candidates spots.
Praggnanandhaa scored nothing in a disappointing event, but zero points is actually useful for him, since the tournament still counts toward the two events with 50+ players he needs to be able to count his five best scores in smaller events. He’ll be hard to catch, so that the best chance for the chasing pack is that he qualifies for the Candidates by finishing in the top-three in the upcoming World Cup in Goa next month. Then GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov and GM Vincent Keymer, who agonizingly missed out on a Candidates spot on Grand Swiss tiebreaks, are next in line.
FIDE Classical Ratings Top 25 Juniors: October 1, 2025
The oldest juniors at the top of the list suffered in September, but for many others it was a month of huge gains.
| +/- | Rank | Name | Title | Fed | Rating | Born |
| – | 1 / 1 | Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu | GM | 2771 (-14) | 2005 | |
| – | 2 / 2 | Gukesh Dommaraju | GM | 2752 (-15) | 2006 | |
| – | 3 / 3 | Javokhir Sindarov | GM | 2721 (-1) | 2005 | |
| – | 4 / 4 | Volodar Murzin | GM | 2664 (-6) | 2006 | |
| ↑ | 5 / 11 | Abhimanyu Mishra | GM | 2652 (+41) | 2009 | |
| – | 6 / 6 | Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | GM | 2651 (+5) | 2011 | |
| ↑ | 7 / 19 | Pranav V | GM | 2641 (+45) | 2006 | |
| ↓ | 8 / 5 | Raunak Sadhwani | GM | 2641 (-17) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 9 / 7 | Ediz Gurel | GM | 2634 (+3) | 2008 | |
| – | 10 / 10 | M Pranesh | GM | 2630 (+19) | 2006 | |
| ↑ | 11 / 20 | Aditya Mittal | GM | 2624 (+35) | 2006 | |
| – | 12 / 12 | Marc’Andria Maurizzi | GM | 2624 (+14) | 2007 | |
| ↓ | 13 / 9 | Leon Luke Mendonca | GM | 2620 (+5) | 2006 | |
| ↑ | 14 / 17 | Aydin Suleymanli | GM | 2614 (+12) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 15 / 13 | Aleksey Grebnev | GM | 2611 (+3) | 2006 | |
| ↓ | 16 / 14 | Christopher Woojin Yoo | GM | 2607 | 2006 | |
| ↓ | 17 / 8 | Daniel Dardha | GM | 2605 (-19) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 18 / 15 | Denis Lazavik | GM | 2605 | 2006 | |
| ↓ | 19 / 18 | Bardiya Daneshvar | GM | 2602 (+4) | 2006 | |
| ↑ | 20 / 21 | Ivan Zemlyanskii | GM | 2596 (+10) | 2010 | |
| ↑ | 21 / 22 | Elham Amar | GM | 2593 (+9) | 2005 | |
| ↑ | 22 / 27 | Andy Woodward | GM | 2590 (+33) | 2010 | |
| – | 23 / 23 | Sina Movahed | GM | 2586 (+6) | 2010 | |
| ↓ | 24 / 16 | Pranav Anand | GM | 2581 (-22) | 2006 | |
| – | 25 / 25 | Bharath Subramaniyam | GM | 2573 (+8) | 2007 |
16-year-old Mishra became the youngest player ever to beat a world champion in a classical game, has gone 67 games unbeaten, and was a whisker away from qualifying for the Candidates, so that a 41-point gain and entering both the junior top five and the world top 100 (at 69) was richly deserved.
He had some competition when it came to notable gains, however. 15-year-old fellow American GM Andy Woodward picked up 33 points after beating GM Parham Maghsoodloo and Aronian in Samarkand, while Indian 19-year-old GM Aditya Mittal continued his revival after a difficult year, gaining 35 points to hit a new peak of 2624. The greatest gain at the top, however, was for another Indian star, 18-year-old Pranav, who did well in the Grand Swiss, but even better in the preceding Fujairah Global Superstars, which he won by a full point!
One big-mover lower down the rankings was 11-year-old Oro, who entered the top 50 for the first time after crushing the Legends & Prodigies event in Madrid… but we’ll get to him in the Prodigy Watch.
Meanwhile, Fujairah and the Grand Swiss were also the main events that influenced the Women’s rating list.
FIDE Classical Ratings Top 100 Women | October 1, 2025
| +/- | Rank | Name | Title | Fed | Rating | Born |
| – | 1 / 1 | Hou Yifan | GM | 2617 (+8) | 1994 | |
| ↑ | 2 / 4 | Zhu Jiner | GM | 2569 (+21) | 2002 | |
| – | 3 / 3 | Lei Tingjie | GM | 2566 (+1) | 1997 | |
| ↓ | 4 / 2 | Ju Wenjun | GM | 2564 (-6) | 1991 | |
| ↑ | 5 / 8 | Aleksandra Goryachkina | GM | 2541 (+13) | 1998 | |
| – | 6 / 6 | Humpy Koneru | GM | 2535 | 1987 | |
| – | 7 / 7 | Tan Zhongyi | GM | 2532 (+1) | 1991 | |
| ↓ | 8 / 5 | Anna Muzychuk | GM | 2525 (-10) | 1990 | |
| – | 9 / 9 | Kateryna Lagno | GM | 2517 (+12) | 1989 | |
| – | 10 / 10 | Bibisara Assaubayeva | GM | 2513 (+8) | 2004 | |
| ↑ | 11 / 15 | Divya Deshmukh | GM | 2498 (+20) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 12 / 11 | Nana Dzagnidze | GM | 2496 | 1987 | |
| – | 13 / 13 | Mariya Muzychuk | GM | 2485 (+1) | 1992 | |
| ↓ | 14 / 12 | Polina Shuvalova | IM | 2479 (-13) | 2001 | |
| ↑ | 15 / 22 | Vaishali Rameshbabu | GM | 2473 (+21) | 2001 | |
| ↑ | 16 / 17 | Alexandra Kosteniuk | GM | 2469 (-3) | 1984 | |
| ↑ | 17 / 18 | Nino Batsiashvili | GM | 2469 | 1987 | |
| ↑ | 18 / 19 | Harika Dronavalli | GM | 2466 (-1) | 1991 | |
| ↓ | 19 / 14 | Yuliia Osmak | IM | 2464 (-14) | 1998 | |
| ↓ | 20 / 16 | Leya Garifullina | IM | 2453 (-24) | 2004 | |
| ↑ | 21 / 25 | Stavroula Tsolakidou | IM | 2453 (+8) | 2000 | |
| ↓ | 22 / 20 | Carissa Yip | IM | 2452 (-6) | 2003 | |
| ↑ | 23 / 24 | Alina Kashlinskaya | IM | 2450 (+1) | 1993 | |
| ↑ | 24 / 33 | Song Yuxin | IM | 2444 (+35) | 2005 | |
| ↑ | 25 / 26 | Sarasadat Khademalsharieh | IM | 2444 | 1997 | |
| ↑ | 26 / | Zhao Xue | GM | 2438 (-4) | 1985 | |
| ↓ | 27 / 21 | Teodora Injac | IM | 2436 (-18) | 2000 | |
| ↓ | 28 / 23 | Lu Miaoyi | IM | 2431 (-18) | 2010 | |
| – | 29 / 29 | Marie Sebag | GM | 2425 | 1986 | |
| ↓ | 30 / 28 | Lela Javakhishvili | IM | 2423 (-11) | 1984 | |
| ↓ | 31 / 27 | Meri Arabidze | IM | 2417 (-27) | 1994 | |
| – | 32 / 32 | Bella Khotenashvili | GM | 2416 | 1988 | |
| ↑ | 33 / 42 | Dinara Wagner | IM | 2410 (+10) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 34 / 40 | Elina Danielian | GM | 2410 (+5) | 1978 | |
| ↑ | 35 / 58 | Ulviyya Fataliyeva | IM | 2410 (+25) | 1996 | |
| ↓ | 36 / 35 | Afruza Khamdamova | WIM | 2409 | 2009 | |
| ↓ | 37 / 34 | Alice Lee | IM | 2409 | 2009 | |
| – | 38 / 38 | Elisabeth Paehtz | GM | 2408 (+1) | 1985 | |
| ↓ | 39 / 36 | Anna Ushenina | GM | 2407 (-2) | 1985 | |
| ↓ | 40 / 37 | Tatev Abrahamyan | IM | 2407 | 1988 | |
| ↓ | 41 / 31 | Valentina Gunina | GM | 2405 (-13) | 1989 | |
| ↓ | 42 / 30 | Anna Shukhman | WGM | 2404 (-16) | 2009 | |
| ↑ | 43 / 56 | Mai Narva | IM | 2403 (+17) | 1999 | |
| ↓ | 44 / 41 | Pia Cramling | GM | 2403 | 1963 | |
| ↑ | 45 / 55 | Olga Girya | GM | 2401 (+15) | 1991 | |
| ↓ | 46 / 43 | Irina Bulmaga | IM | 2396 (-4) | 1993 | |
| ↑ | 47 / 53 | Zsoka Gaal | WGM | 2395 (+7) | 2007 | |
| ↑ | 48 / 64 | Aleksandra Maltsevskaya | IM | 2394 (+15) | 2002 | |
| ↓ | 49 / 46 | Antoaneta Stefanova | GM | 2393 (-2) | 1979 | |
| – | 50 / 50 | Alisa Galliamova | IM | 2392 | 1972 | |
| – | 51 / 51 | Gunay Mammadzada | IM | 2390 | 2000 | |
| ↑ | 52 / 74 | Irina Krush | GM | 2388 (+22) | 1983 | |
| ↓ | 53 / 39 | Oliwia Kiolbasa | IM | 2388 (-17) | 2000 | |
| ↓ | 54 / 49 | Ding Yixin | WGM | 2388 (-4) | 1991 | |
| ↑ | 55 / 71 | Guo Qi | IM | 2387 (+16) | 1995 | |
| ↓ | 56 / 52 | Shen Yang | IM | 2387 (-2) | 1989 | |
| ↓ | 57 / 47 | Deimante Daulyte-Cornette | IM | 2386 (-8) | 1989 | |
| ↑ | 58 / 63 | Zhai Mo | WGM | 2385 (+5) | 1996 | |
| ↓ | 59 / 54 | Nurgyul Salimova | IM | 2385 (-1) | 2003 | |
| ↓ | 60 / 57 | Karina Ambartsumova | IM | 2385 | 1989 | |
| ↑ | 61 / 66 | Eline Roebers | IM | 2383 (+6) | 2006 | |
| – | 62 / 62 | Zoey Tang | FM | 2381 | 2008 | |
| ↑ | 63 / 67 | Marsel Efroimski | IM | 2380 (+3) | 1995 | |
| ↑ | 64 / 65 | Wang Pin | WGM | 2378 | 1974 | |
| ↓ | 65 / 61 | Vantika Agrawal | IM | 2377 (-4) | 2002 | |
| ↓ | 66 / 48 | Lilit Mkrtchian | IM | 2377 (-16) | 1982 | |
| ↑ | 67 / 68 | Olga Badelka | IM | 2377 (+2) | 2002 | |
| ↑ | 68 / 69 | Iweta Rajlich | IM | 2373 | 1981 | |
| ↑ | 69 / 70 | Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova | IM | 2370 (-2) | 1999 | |
| ↑ | 70 / 75 | Anna M. Sargsyan | IM | 2369 (+3) | 2001 | |
| ↑ | 71 / 73 | Huang Qian | WGM | 2367 | 1986 | |
| ↑ | 72 / 92 | Meruert Kamalidenova | IM | 2363 (+14) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 73 / 59 | Sabrina Vega Gutierrez | IM | 2362 (-21) | 1987 | |
| ↓ | 74 / 72 | Govhar Beydullayeva | WGM | 2362 (-5) | 2003 | |
| ↑ | 75 / 76 | Anastasia Bodnaruk | IM | 2362 | 1992 | |
| ↑ | 76 / 87 | Alina Bivol | IM | 2361 (+9) | 1996 | |
| ↑ | 77 / 89 | Sophie Milliet | IM | 2360 (+9) | 1983 | |
| ↑ | 78 / 90 | Manon Schippke | WIM | 2359 (+9) | 2007 | |
| – | 79 / 79 | Almira Skripchenko | IM | 2358 (-1) | 1976 | |
| ↑ | 80 / 84 | Xiao Yiyi | WGM | 2357 (+3) | 1996 | |
| ↑ | 81 / 82 | Ekaterina Atalik | IM | 2357 (+2) | 1982 | |
| ↑ | 82 / 85 | Monika Socko | GM | 2356 (+3) | 1978 | |
| – | 83 / 83 | Medina Warda Aulia | IM | 2355 | 1997 | |
| ↓ | 84 / 77 | Padmini Rout | IM | 2354 (-8) | 1994 | |
| ↑ | 85 / | Rose Atwell | FM | 2353 (+69) | 2009 | |
| – | 86 / 86 | Prishita Gupta | FM | 2353 | 2011 | |
| ↑ | 87 / | Khanim Balajayeva | IM | 2351 (+20) | 2001 | |
| ↑ | 88 / | Bat-Erdene Mungunzul | WIM | 2350 (+22) | 2005 | |
| ↓ | 89 / 60 | Xeniya Balabayeva | WGM | 2349 (-34) | 2005 | |
| ↑ | 90 / 97 | Deysi Cori T. | IM | 2349 (+3) | 1993 | |
| ↑ | 91 / 94 | Le Thao Nguyen Pham | IM | 2348 | 1987 | |
| ↑ | 92 / | Ekaterina Goltseva | FM | 2347 (+34) | 2002 | |
| ↑ | 93 / | Alua Nurman | WGM | 2347 (+31) | 2007 | |
| ↑ | 94 / 96 | Ticia Gara | WGM | 2347 | 1984 | |
| ↑ | 95 / | Marta Garcia Martin | IM | 2346 (+8) | 2000 | |
| ↑ | 96 / 98 | Zarina Nurgaliyeva | WIM | 2344 | 2009 | |
| ↑ | 97 / 99 | Yuliya Shvayger | IM | 2343 | 1994 | |
| ↑ | 98 / | Melika Mohammadi | WFM | 2342 (+54) | 2010 | |
| ↑ | 99 / 100 | Jovanka Houska | IM | 2342 | 1980 | |
| ↑ | 100 / | Inna Gaponenko | IM | 2340 (+7) | 1976 |
22-year-old GM Zhu Jiner climbed to world number-two for the first time, with a new peak rating of 2569, after beating three strong grandmasters and tying for fifth place in Fujairah.
At times Women’s number two has been thought of as the top spot, since GM Hou Yifan is almost retired from classical chess, but the 31-year-old followed a disappointing Paris Masters in July by starting the Chinese League with 7/7.
Another Chinese star, 19-year-old IM Song Yuxin, continued her rise by following a strong Women’s World Cup with strong performances in Fujairah and the Women’s Grand Swiss, gaining 35 points in total, while it was a month of big comebacks (or continuing comebacks) for India’s young stars.
GM Divya Deshmukh joined GM Aleksandra Goryachkina in playing the Open Grand Swiss, with both players beating grandmasters, gaining points, and climbing the rankings—Goryachkina up to world number-five, while Divya is back on the brink of 2500 and the Women’s top-10.
GM Vaishali Rameshbabu, meanwhile, stormed back from losing 24 points in August to pick up 21 in September after convincingly winning the Women’s Grand Swiss—and a spot in the Women’s Candidates—for a second edition in a row.
There were also some notable gains going into the U.S. Women’s Championship, with 41-year-old GM Irina Krush picking up 22 points to move up more than 20 places, while 16-year-old FM Rose Atwell picked up a massive 69 to climb to a new peak rating of 2353 and enter the top 100 (at 85) for the first time.
Prodigy Watch: 11-year-old Faustino Oro Back As The Best Ever For His Age
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 20: October 1, 2025
| Player Name | Rating | Age | Prodigy Rank | FED | Change from September 2025 |
| Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus | 2651 | 14.33 | 1 | – | |
| Faustino Oro | 2509 | 11.96 | 1 | +2 | |
| Roman Shogdzhiev | 2403 | 10.66 | 2 | – | |
| Ashwath Kaushik | 2345 | 10.15 | 3 | +4 | |
| Ruben Yanmi Quintans | 1976 | 7.46 | 6 | +5 | |
| Luca Protopopescu | 2174 | 9.51 | 8 | -3 | |
| Abhimanyu Mishra | 2652 | 16.65 | 10 | +16 | |
| Ivan Zemlyanskii | 2596 | 15.09 | 11 | +1 | |
| Zechen Yu | 2389 | 11.75 | 16 | -2 | |
| Andy Woodward | 2590 | 15.42 | 18 | +14 | |
| Marc Barcelo Melnyk | 2168 | 9.75 | 19 | +33 | |
| Ediz Gurel | 2634 | 16.82 | 20 | +1 | |
| Sina Movahed | 2586 | 15.35 | 21 | +1 | |
| Rizat Ulan | 2132 | 9.75 | 35 | -3 | |
| Dau Khuong Duy | 2489 | 14.20 | 42 | -5 | |
| Sergey Sklokin | 2354 | 12.31 | 46 | -4 | |
| Supratit Banerjee | 2309 | 11.60 | 47 | -7 | |
| Christian Gloeckler | 2451 | 13.91 | 50 | -6 | |
| Khagan Ahmad | 2455 | 13.97 | 51 | -9 | |
| Bodhana Sivanandan | 2205 | 10.57 | 51 | +1 |
Several top prodigies soared to new peak heights this month. At the top of the list was Faustino Oro, whose extraordinary performance netted his first GM norm, made him the youngest 2500+ player in history, and brought his Prodigy Rank back to #1 with the highest rating ever achieved at or before his current age.
Meanwhile Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus posted a 2721 performance rating at the Grand Swiss, bringing his rating to a career high of 2651, and of course maintaining his #1 Prodigy Rank as well (at his age no other player has exceeded a 2603 rating).
The most prodigious Grand Swiss performance, however, was from Abhimanyu Mishra. Mishra finished in fifth place, half a point shy of qualifying for the Candidates Tournament, with a spectacular 2828 performance rating, bringing his rating to a career-high 2652 and bringing his Prodigy Rank back into the top ten for the first time in a year.
Two more top-ten ranked prodigies also had great months. FM Ashwath Kaushik, fresh off of gaining 172 rating points last month, added 81 more this month and is now rated 2345 at barely 10 years old. Most of the points came in a Swiss norm tournament in Budapest.
He’s the fourth youngest 2300 ever, and his Prodigy Rank rises to #3. Ruben Quintans, just seven years old, added 93 points to his rating and is now rated 1976, for a #6 Prodigy Rank.
And this month we have one name to highlight for exceeding 2000 before the age of 10: Aiden Li, born in 2016, shot to 2076 this month.
Prodigy Watch Top 15 Girls: October 1, 2025
| Player Name | Rating | Age | Prodigy Rank | FED | Change from September 2025 |
| Bodhana Sivanandan | 2205 | 10.57 | 5 | – | |
| Berikkyzy Alanna | 2241 | 11.75 | 9 | -3 | |
| Lu Miaoyi | 2431 | 15.64 | 10 | -5 | |
| Stella Xin | 1935 | 9.50 | 10 | -1 | |
| Prishita Gupta | 2353 | 14.31 | 15 | -2 | |
| Abigail Zhou | 1896 | 9.75 | 16 | -2 | |
| Megan Althea Paragua | 2259 | 12.81 | 17 | – | |
| Alice Lee | 2409 | 15.97 | 20 | -1 | |
| Aimee Yang | 2115 | 11.75 | 29 | -4 | |
| Afruza Khamdamova | 2409 | 16.60 | 30 | – | |
| Anna Shukhman | 2404 | 16.41 | 30 | -9 | |
| Zhansaya Sholpanbek | 2085 | 11.72 | 36 | -3 | |
| Sharvaanica A S | 1971 | 10.75 | 39 | -4 | |
| Divi Bijesh | 1954 | 10.75 | 42 | -3 | |
| Elnaz Kaliakhmet | 2323 | 15.04 | 43 | +13 |
In the Women’s Grand Swiss, WIM Elnaz Kaliakhmet, 15, gained 24 rating points of her own, reaching her new peak rating of 2323, and entering the girls’ Prodigy Watch list.
All data courtesy of FIDE.
