September 2025 FIDE Ratings: Keymer, So In Top 10, Abdusattorov, Giri Out

The standout result on the women’s list was a surprise, not least for U.S. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan herself, who called her victory in the Budapest One Week GM the “best tournament of my career.” She catapulted up 64 points to 2407 and Women’s world number-37, earning not only a GM norm but something she admitted “wasn’t on my radar,” the 2400 rating she needed to confirm her IM title after long since gaining the three norms required.

At the top it continues to be the year of GM Zhu Jiner, who moved up to Women’s world number-four with a remarkable eight wins in nine games in the Turkish Super League. 

She continued that form into the 2025 Fujairah Global Superstars, with a 2700-performance to tie for fifth place—though the points gained will appear on the next rating list.

Zhu’s 8/9 was impressive, but Georgian GM Nino Batsiashvili scored a perfect 7/7 in the Spanish League, gaining 28 points with a performance rating difficult to quantify, since perfect scores break the system!  

Nino Batsiashvili scored a perfect 7/7 at the Spanish Team Championship! https://t.co/66JwA4TgLJ pic.twitter.com/bqI8bsv1Ul

— chess24 (@chess24com) August 15, 2025

For some to rise others must fall, however, and it was a tough month for Indian GMs Vaishali Rameshbabu (-24) and Harika Dronavalli (-20), who struggled in the Chennai Grand Masters. 

Prodigy Watch: Erdogmus Still Top Player 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 5: September 1, 2025

There was minimal movement at the top of Prodigy Watch this month. Erdogmus gained four more rating points, marginally increasing his record rating for his age and maintaining his #1 prodigy rank. 10-year-old IM Roman Shogdzhiev slid to a #2 prodigy rank without any rating change, just on the basis of being a month older, and 11-year-old IM Faustino Oro dropped a single rating point, sliding to a #3 rank from his #2 last month.

Joining the above trio in the category of players among the all-time top five for their age this month was French CM Luca Protopopescu, who regained 74 points this month and is back to a #5 prodigy rank, rated 2174, and still more than six months away from his 10th birthday. Also notable was a player we mentioned in last month’s rating update, Zechen Yu, who gained another 92 rating points this month (on top of his 182 points gained last month) and is suddenly closing in on the 2400 rating barrier with a prodigy rank that has now risen to #14.

Prodigy Watch Top 5 Girls: September 1, 2025

In our girls rankings, WFM Alanna Berikkyzy jumped to a #6 prodigy rank, achieving a new peak rating of 2241 (+79 this month), while our other girls who were top-ten of all time for their age last month (WFM Bodhana Sivanandan, IM Lu Miaoyi, and WCM Stella Xin) all remained so, with Stella also pushing her rating to a new high mark of 1962. There was also a huge gain from WCM Senem Gul Bassari, 13, who gained 237 rating points this month, shooting to 2226 and a #40 prodigy rank.

And as always we highlight players under 10 years old who passed the 2000 rating mark for the first time, with just one name this month. Sarbatho Mani jumps to a Prodigy Rank of 61 with his 2073 rating.

All data courtesy of FIDE.