May 2016 ratings: Caruana rejoins 2800 and no. 2 spot

by Albert Silver
5/2/2016 – Since the Norway Chess event won by Carlsen failed to make the May 2016 ratings list, the tale of the list was unquestionably Fabiano Caruana's epic victory at the US Championship. He managed to not only out do his two Top 10 rivals Hikaru Nakamura and Wesley So, but broke back into the 2800 club and regained the no. 2 spot. More...
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FIDE May 2016 – Top 100 Players

Undefeated, a full point ahead of the field, Caruana was unstoppable
at the 2016 US Championship

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2851 0 1990
2 Caruana, Fabiano g USA 2804 11 1992
3 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2801 0 1975
4 Giri, Anish g NED 2790 0 1994
5 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2788 0 1990
6 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2787 11 1987
7 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2784 0 1982
8 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2779 0 1990
9 Ding, Liren g CHN 2778 4 1992
10 So, Wesley g USA 2775 11 1993
11 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2770 0 1969
12 Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2765 0 1983
13 Harikrishna, P. g IND 2763 0 1986
14 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2762 0 1976
15 Li, Chao b g CHN 2756 4 1989
16 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2754 0 1975
17 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2752 0 1983
18 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2748 4 1985
19 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2740 0 1968
20 Yu, Yangyi g CHN 2737 3 1994
21 Andreikin, Dmitry g RUS 2736 0 1990
22 Navara, David g CZE 2735 5 1985
23 Wang, Hao g CHN 2734 4 1989
24 Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2732 0 1983
25 Rapport, Richard g HUN 2731 6 1996
26 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2731 1 1983
27 Wang, Yue g CHN 2728 11 1987
28 Adams, Michael g ENG 2727 2 1971
29 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2726 0 1987
30 Bu, Xiangzhi g CHN 2723 11 1985
31 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw g POL 2722 13 1987
32 Tomashevsky, Evgeny g RUS 2722 0 1987
33 Vitiugov, Nikita g RUS 2721 2 1987
34 Le, Quang Liem g VIE 2718 3 1991
35 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2715 2 1983
36 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2710 0 1969
37 Leko, Peter g HUN 2705 0 1979
38 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2703 5 1979
39 Malakhov, Vladimir g RUS 2703 4 1980
40 Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2703 0 1990
41 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2702 3 1983
42 Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2700 11 1982
43 Ragger, Markus g AUT 2696 6 1988
44 Wei, Yi g CHN 2694 23 1999
45 Matlakov, Maxim g RUS 2693 0 1991
46 Fressinet, Laurent g FRA 2692 0 1981
47 Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2692 0 1974
48 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy g UKR 2691 2 1986
49 Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2689 8 1983
50 Rodshtein, Maxim g ISR 2689 3 1989
51 Hammer, Jon Ludvig g NOR 2689 0 1990
52 Granda Zuniga, Julio E g PER 2686 9 1967
53 Inarkiev, Ernesto g RUS 2686 4 1985
54 Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2685 10 1986
55 Fedoseev, Vladimir g RUS 2685 9 1995
56 Shirov, Alexei g LAT 2685 5 1972
57 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2683 0 1977
58 Ni, Hua g CHN 2682 5 1983
59 Almasi, Zoltan g HUN 2682 0 1976
60 Piorun, Kacper g POL 2681 14 1991
61 Bruzon Batista, Lazaro g CUB 2681 9 1982
62 Najer, Evgeniy g RUS 2681 2 1977
63 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2675 9 1971
64 Bareev, Evgeny g CAN 2675 0 1966
65 Robson, Ray g USA 2674 14 1994
66 Korobov, Anton g UKR 2674 9 1985
67 Sjugirov, Sanan g RUS 2674 0 1993
68 Zvjaginsev, Vadim g RUS 2672 0 1976
69 Howell, David W L g ENG 2671 9 1990
70 McShane, Luke J g ENG 2671 2 1984
71 Kamsky, Gata g USA 2670 11 1974
72 Sadler, Matthew D g ENG 2670 0 1974
73 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g GER 2669 7 1976
74 Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2669 3 1968
75 Artemiev, Vladislav g RUS 2669 0 1998
76 Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2668 11 1975
77 Laznicka, Viktor g CZE 2668 5 1988
78 Lysyj, Igor g RUS 2668 0 1987
79 Areshchenko, Alexander g UKR 2667 6 1986
80 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof g POL 2666 11 1998
81 Adhiban, B. g IND 2665 18 1992
82 Safarli, Eltaj g AZE 2664 9 1992
83 Moiseenko, Alexander g UKR 2663 5 1980
84 Naiditsch, Arkadij g AZE 2663 5 1985
85 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2663 0 1994
86 Postny, Evgeny g ISR 2662 4 1981
87 Dreev, Aleksey g RUS 2662 0 1969
88 Jobava, Baadur g GEO 2661 9 1983
89 Movsesian, Sergei g ARM 2660 7 1978
90 Motylev, Alexander g RUS 2660 3 1979
91 Negi, Parimarjan g IND 2660 0 1993
92 Tkachiev, Vladislav g FRA 2660 0 1973
93 Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi g IND 2658 18 1994
94 Van Wely, Loek g NED 2658 11 1972
95 Bukavshin, Ivan g RUS 2658 0 1995
96 Jones, Gawain C B g ENG 2657 10 1987
97 Swiercz, Dariusz g POL 2656 11 1994
98 Meier, Georg g GER 2656 4 1987
99 Efimenko, Zahar g UKR 2656 2 1985
100 Mamedov, Rauf g AZE 2655 9 1988
101 Short, Nigel D g ENG 2655 9 1965
102 Predojevic, Borki g BIH 2655 3 1987

Top climbers and descenders 

Polish GM Kasper Piorun has done more than win 24 Elo in the last month,
making him the biggest gainer this month. He has gained no less than 90 Elo
over the last eight months, breaking 2600 for the first time in October 2015,
and now closing in on 2700 with 2681. His number one source of success has
been the 2015/2016 Bundesliga, where he has scored no less than 11.5/13.

Rk
Old
 Name
Fed
Ti.
Rating
Old
Gms
25 32 Rapport, Richard HUN GM 2731 +14 2717 6
27 31 Wang, Yue CHN GM 2728 +10 2718 11
54 43 Cheparinov, Ivan BUL GM 2685 -10 2695 10
60 96 Piorun, Kacper POL GM 2681 +24 2657 14
63 98 Akopian, Vladimir ARM GM 2675 +19 2656 9
65 86 Robson, Ray USA GM 2674 +11 2663 14
66 42 Korobov, Anton UKR GM 2674 -21 2695 9
86 69 Postny, Evgeny ISR GM 2662 -11 2673 4
88 70 Jobava, Baadur GEO GM 2661 -11 2672 9
101 72 Short, Nigel D ENG GM 2655 -16 2671 9

FIDE Top 100 Women

The biggest winner in May in the Women's list was the Uzbek WIM Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (don't ask how that is pronounced) who earned 103 Elo in the last month with a huge score in the Tashkent Open, inclduing a 2.0/3 against GMs.

Nazi Paikidze, the new US Women's Champion earned 29 Elo for her
great victory. She showed great form over the board, matching her
fitness freak side (she works out twice a day), with energy and drive.

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2663 0 1994
2 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2575 0 1987
3 Muzychuk, Mariya g UKR 2561 0 1992
4 Ju, Wenjun g CHN 2559 12 1991
5 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2556 1 1984
6 Muzychuk, Anna g UKR 2555 0 1990
7 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2537 4 1987
8 Cmilyte, Viktorija g LTU 2536 0 1983
9 Lagno, Kateryna g RUS 2529 0 1989
10 Harika, Dronavalli g IND 2514 7 1991
11 Tan, Zhongyi wg CHN 2509 22 1991
12 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2507 9 1979
13 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2504 11 1985
14 Gunina, Valentina g RUS 2497 0 1989
15 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2493 11 1984
16 Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2490 0 1985
17 Sebag, Marie g FRA 2490 0 1986
18 Paehtz, Elisabeth m GER 2489 0 1985
19 Zhukova, Natalia g UKR 2489 0 1979
20 Lei, Tingjie wg CHN 2487 23 1997
21 Goryachkina, Aleksandra wg RUS 2485 9 1998
22 Kosintseva, Nadezhda g RUS 2483 0 1985
23 Batsiashvili, Nino m GEO 2476 0 1987
24 Bodnaruk, Anastasia m RUS 2475 10 1992
25 Galliamova, Alisa m RUS 2475 0 1972
26 Shen, Yang m CHN 2472 0 1989
27 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2471 0 1963
28 Khotenashvili, Bela g GEO 2470 15 1988
29 Socko, Monika g POL 2469 9 1978
30 Hoang, Thanh Trang g HUN 2467 3 1980
31 Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina m RUS 2467 0 1974
32 Kashlinskaya, Alina m RUS 2466 0 1993
33 Zatonskih, Anna m USA 2460 12 1978
34 Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat m IRI 2459 8 1997
35 Skripchenko, Almira m FRA 2453 0 1976
36 Huang, Qian wg CHN 2450 0 1986
37 Ushenina, Anna g UKR 2450 0 1985
38 Hunt, Harriet V m ENG 2449 0 1978
39 Nomin-Erdene, Davaademberel m MGL 2448 18 2000
40 Guo, Qi m CHN 2447 21 1995
41 Danielian, Elina g ARM 2445 0 1978
42 Krush, Irina g USA 2443 11 1983
43 Girya, Olga wg RUS 2443 0 1991
44 Zawadzka, Jolanta wg POL 2442 11 1987
45 Munguntuul, Batkhuyag m MGL 2442 8 1987
46 Cori T., Deysi wg PER 2435 0 1993
47 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2434 0 1982
48 Padmini, Rout m IND 2433 17 1994
49 Ding, Yixin wg CHN 2419 4 1991
50 Turova, Irina m RUS 2419 0 1979
51 Zhu, Chen g QAT 2418 0 1976
52 Nechaeva, Marina m RUS 2416 5 1986
53 Saduakassova, Dinara wg KAZ 2415 16 1996
54 Gaponenko, Inna m UKR 2415 9 1976
55 Shvayger, Yuliya wm ISR 2415 0 1994
56 Batchimeg, Tuvshintugs m MGL 2412 8 1986
57 Szczepkowska-Horowska, Karina wg POL 2411 19 1987
58 Khurtsidze, Nino m GEO 2409 11 1975
59 Melia, Salome m GEO 2409 11 1987
60 Karavade, Eesha m IND 2409 8 1987
61 Atalik, Ekaterina m TUR 2408 0 1982
62 Bojkovic, Natasa m SRB 2406 0 1971
63 Peptan, Corina-Isabela m ROU 2402 9 1978
64 Sukandar, Irine Kharisma m INA 2401 0 1992
65 Tania, Sachdev m IND 2398 8 1986
66 Ziaziulkina, Nastassia m BLR 2396 0 1995
67 Daulyte, Deimante m LTU 2392 0 1989
68 Kovanova, Baira wg RUS 2391 0 1987
69 Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim wm UZB 2390 16 1999
70 Michna, Marta wg GER 2390 0 1978
71 Rajlich, Iweta m POL 2389 9 1981
72 Videnova, Iva m BUL 2389 0 1987
73 Savina, Anastasia m RUS 2387 3 1992
74 Abdumalik, Zhansaya wg KAZ 2386 8 2000
75 Guichard, Pauline wg FRA 2386 2 1988
76 Derakhshani, Dorsa wm IRI 2386 0 1998
77 Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman m IND 2384 0 1979
78 Houska, Jovanka m ENG 2383 9 1980
79 Aulia, Medina Warda wg INA 2383 0 1997
80 Wang, Jue wg CHN 2380 15 1995
81 Lujan, Carolina m ARG 2380 0 1985
82 Peng, Zhaoqin g NED 2379 2 1968
83 Ryjanova, Julia wg RUS 2379 0 1974
84 Guramishvili, Sopiko m GEO 2376 0 1991
85 Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina m ESP 2375 18 1987
86 Matveeva, Svetlana m RUS 2375 0 1969
87 Ni, Shiqun wg CHN 2374 9 1997
88 Abrahamyan, Tatev wg USA 2373 11 1988
89 Berend, Elvira wg LUX 2372 8 1965
90 Stockova, Zuzana m SVK 2368 4 1977
91 Zhang, Xiaowen wg CHN 2367 15 1989
92 Lomineishvili, Maia m GEO 2367 11 1977
93 Vasilevich, Tatjana m UKR 2367 0 1977
94 Paikidze, Nazi m USA 2366 11 1993
95 Nemcova, Katerina wg USA 2365 15 1990
96 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan g SCO 2364 5 1968
97 Zaiatz, Elena m RUS 2364 3 1969
98 Kazimova, Narmin wg AZE 2364 0 1993
99 Arabidze, Meri m GEO 2363 11 1994
100 Schleining, Zoya wg GER 2363 1 1961

FIDE Top 100 Juniors

Richard Rapport has been on a roll after a serious drop in results, bottoming out at 2649 in
September last year. Whatever ailed the Hungarian talent is past and he has been racing back
up the Elo ladder to personal best of 2731 and world no. 25.

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Rapport, Richard g HUN 2731 6 1996
2 Wei, Yi g CHN 2694 23 1999
3 Artemiev, Vladislav g RUS 2669 0 1998
4 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof g POL 2666 11 1998
5 Dubov, Daniil g RUS 2644 0 1996
6 Bluebaum, Matthias g GER 2633 12 1997
7 Xiong, Jeffery g USA 2624 11 2000
8 Nyzhnyk, Illya g UKR 2622 2 1996
9 Eliseev, Urii g RUS 2606 9 1996
10 Sevian, Samuel g USA 2589 0 2000
11 Burke, John M m USA 2584 0 2001
12 Antipov, Mikhail Al. g RUS 2576 8 1997
13 Oparin, Grigoriy g RUS 2575 0 1997
14 Wagner, Dennis g GER 2571 4 1997
15 Alekseenko, Kirill g RUS 2570 9 1997
16 Donchenko, Alexander g GER 2569 12 1998
17 Bai, Jinshi g CHN 2567 15 1999
18 Bortnyk, Olexandr g UKR 2565 16 1996
19 Ghosh, Diptayan m IND 2562 18 1998
20 Tari, Aryan g NOR 2558 6 1999
21 Gledura, Benjamin m HUN 2557 12 1999
22 Van Foreest, Jorden g NED 2557 2 1999
23 Vaibhav, Suri g IND 2556 0 1997
24 Rambaldi, Francesco g ITA 2554 0 1999
25 Chigaev, Maksim m RUS 2552 20 1996
26 Troff, Kayden W g USA 2543 0 1998
27 Boruchovsky, Avital g ISR 2542 3 1997
28 Santos Latasa, Jaime m ESP 2541 8 1996
29 Pichot, Alan g ARG 2532 0 1998
30 Xu, Yinglun   CHN 2531 15 1996
31 Aravindh,Chithambaram VR. g IND 2528 9 1999
32 Svane, Rasmus m GER 2526 4 1997
33 Gordievsky, Dmitry m RUS 2523 9 1996
34 Karthikeyan, Murali g IND 2518 0 1999
35 Li, Ruifeng m USA 2517 9 2001
36 Gagare, Shardul g IND 2514 9 1997
37 Maghsoodloo, Parham   IRI 2510 8 2000
38 Schroeder, Jan-Christian g GER 2508 3 1998
39 Sunilduth Lyna, Narayanan g IND 2507 9 1998
40 Yuffa, Daniil m RUS 2503 9 1997
41 Deac, Bogdan-Daniel m ROU 2501 9 2001
42 Paravyan, David m RUS 2497 17 1998
43 Repka, Christopher m SVK 2494 12 1998
44 Fang, Yuxiang m CHN 2494 3 1996
45 Lugovskoy, Maxim m RUS 2491 18 1996
46 Kobo, Ori m ISR 2491 13 1997
47 Henriquez Villagra, Cristobal m CHI 2491 0 1996
48 Drozdowski, Kacper m POL 2490 0 1996
49 Lampert, Jonas m GER 2489 4 1997
50 Lei, Tingjie wg CHN 2487 23 1997
51 Goryachkina, Aleksandra wg RUS 2485 9 1998
52 Firouzja, Alireza   IRI 2485 7 2003
53 Golubov, Saveliy m RUS 2484 9 2000
54 Bellahcene, Bilel m FRA 2483 4 1998
55 Yang, Darwin m USA 2483 0 1996
56 Zajic, Milan m SRB 2481 15 1999
57 Tabatabaei, M.amin m IRI 2481 9 2001
58 Mosadeghpour, Masoud m IRI 2481 7 1997
59 Dastan, Muhammed Batuhan m TUR 2480 0 1997
60 Petrosyan, Manuel m ARM 2480 0 1998
61 Supi, Luis Paulo m BRA 2479 0 1996
62 Pechac, Jergus f SVK 2477 12 2001
63 Ali Marandi, Cemil Can m TUR 2476 17 1998
64 Georgiadis, Nico m SUI 2475 16 1996
65 Smirnov, Anton m AUS 2475 9 2001
66 Petrov, Nikita m RUS 2475 6 1996
67 Igonin, Temur f UZB 2474 0 2000
68 Izzat, Kanan m AZE 2474 0 1996
69 Triapishko, Olexandr   RUS 2474 0 2000
70 Vavulin, Maksim m RUS 2474 0 1998
71 Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel f CUB 2471 27 2000
72 Esipenko, Andrey f RUS 2471 9 2002
73 Tran, Tuan Minh m VIE 2471 0 1997
74 Kollars, Dmitrij m GER 2470 4 1999
75 Lobanov, Sergei   RUS 2469 11 2001
76 Tan, Justin m AUS 2469 9 1997
77 Ebeling, Daniel m FIN 2468 0 1996
78 Sanal, Vahap m TUR 2465 9 1998
79 Chandra, Akshat m USA 2464 11 1999
80 Kelires, Andreas m CYP 2464 11 1999
81 Gurevich, Daniel m USA 2464 0 1997
82 Zenzera, Alexey m RUS 2464 0 1997
83 Studer, Noel m SUI 2463 11 1996
84 Preotu, Razvan m CAN 2462 0 1999
85 Korpa, Bence m HUN 2461 2 1998
86 Aryan Chopra m IND 2459 9 2001
87 Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat m IRI 2459 8 1997
88 Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo f PER 2458 0 1999
89 Lorparizangeneh, Shahin m IRI 2455 9 1999
90 Basso, Pier Luigi m ITA 2454 11 1997
91 Xu, Xiangyu   CHN 2454 3 1999
92 Le, Tuan Minh m VIE 2454 0 1996
93 Mikaelyan, Arman m ARM 2453 0 1996
94 Harutyunian, Tigran K. m ARM 2452 0 1997
95 Puranik, Abhimanyu m IND 2452 0 2000
96 Zanan, Evgeny f ISR 2450 12 1998
97 Theodorou, Nikolas   GRE 2450 0 2000
98 Petrov, Martin   BUL 2449 9 2000
99 Vykouk, Jan f CZE 2449 6 2000
100 Ladva, Ottomar m EST 2449 0 1997

FIDE Top 100 Girls

It is a slightly curious scene at the top of the Girls list. While the top four players are not only still the top four, three of them lost a considerable amount of rating in different events, from Lei Tingjie's negative 17 to Nomin Erdene's 42 Elo loss. Naturally, these talented girls are merely experiencing a temporary setback, it is just curious it should strike them all at the same time.

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Lei, Tingjie wg CHN 2487 23 1997
2 Goryachkina, Aleksandra wg RUS 2485 9 1998
3 Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat m IRI 2459 8 1997
4 Nomin-Erdene, Davaademberel m MGL 2448 18 2000
5 Saduakassova, Dinara wg KAZ 2415 16 1996
6 Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim wm UZB 2390 16 1999
7 Abdumalik, Zhansaya wg KAZ 2386 8 2000
8 Derakhshani, Dorsa wm IRI 2386 0 1998
9 Aulia, Medina Warda wg INA 2383 0 1997
10 Ni, Shiqun wg CHN 2374 9 1997
11 Bivol, Alina wm RUS 2359 18 1996
12 Tsolakidou, Stavroula wm GRE 2357 9 2000
13 Zhai, Mo wg CHN 2354 15 1996
14 Osmak, Iulija wf UKR 2345 9 1998
15 Pratyusha, Bodda wm IND 2336 9 1997
16 Obolentseva, Alexandra wf RUS 2324 9 2001
17 Vaishali R wm IND 2322 8 2001
18 Rodriguez Rueda, Paula Andrea m COL 2321 0 1996
19 Shuvalova, Polina wf RUS 2320 9 2001
20 Kiolbasa, Oliwia wm POL 2319 9 2000
21 Mammadzada, Gunay wg AZE 2318 0 2000
22 Kazarian, Anna-Maja f NED 2317 1 2000
23 Tejaswini, Sagar wf IND 2310 0 2000
24 Velikic, Adela   SRB 2309 7 1997
25 Marjanovics, Annamaria wf HUN 2304 12 2001
26 Khomeriki, Nino wm GEO 2304 11 1998
27 Styazhkina, Anna wm RUS 2302 18 1997
28 Harazinska, Ewa wf POL 2301 9 1998
29 Fataliyeva, Ulviyya wm AZE 2301 0 1996
30 Xiao, Yiyi wf CHN 2300 15 1996
31 Hojjatova, Aydan wf AZE 2300 0 1999
32 Dordzhieva, Dinara wm RUS 2296 18 1999
33 Osmanodja, Filiz wm GER 2296 0 1996
34 Wozniak, Mariola wm POL 2295 9 1998
35 Buksa, Nataliya wg UKR 2288 9 1996
36 Frayna, Janelle Mae wm PHI 2285 0 1997
37 Navrotescu, Andreea-Cristiana wm FRA 2284 11 1996
38 Diakonova, Ekaterina   RUS 2281 0 1999
39 Makarenko, Alexandra wf RUS 2269 18 1996
40 Antova, Gabriela wf BUL 2268 16 2002
41 Gu, Tianlu wm CHN 2265 15 1997
42 Blagojevic, Tijana wm MNE 2263 9 1997
43 Eswaran, Ashritha wm USA 2261 11 2000
44 Bykova, Anastasia wf RUS 2258 0 1997
45 Garcia Martin, Marta wf ESP 2257 19 2000
46 Tantsiura, Maria wm UKR 2257 0 1996
47 Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra   RUS 2252 9 2002
48 Nicolas Zapata, Irene wm ESP 2252 5 1997
49 Mahalakshmi, M wm IND 2251 0 1998
50 Garcia-Castany Musellas, Gal.la wf ESP 2248 19 1997
51 Movileanu, Daniela wf ITA 2247 0 1996
52 Unuk, Laura wm SLO 2246 0 1999
53 Zhou, Qiyu wm CAN 2239 0 2000
54 Sieber, Fiona wf GER 2236 0 2000
55 Imnadze, Nato wm GEO 2233 0 1996
56 Bluhm, Sonja Maria wf GER 2229 0 1998
57 Terbe, Julianna wf HUN 2228 13 1997
58 Avramidou, Anastasia wf GRE 2228 0 2000
59 Feng, Maggie wc USA 2227 0 2000
60 Kalaiyalahan, Akshaya   ENG 2223 9 2001
61 Varshini, V wf IND 2223 9 1998
62 Heinemann, Josefine wm GER 2221 9 1998
63 Lingur, Zalina wf RUS 2216 0 1998
64 Rodionova, Daria wf RUS 2212 0 1998
65 Zayas Gonzalez, Laura Amalia wf CUB 2208 3 1998
66 Gazikova, Veronika wf SVK 2207 0 1999
67 Drogovoz, Irina wm RUS 2205 0 1999
68 Khokhlova, Daria   RUS 2204 18 1999
69 Marikova, Jana   CZE 2202 1 1996
70 Amrayeva, Aytan wf AZE 2198 0 1997
71 Chernyak, Viktoria wf RUS 2196 18 1997
72 Yip, Carissa   USA 2196 11 2003
73 Martynkova, Olena wf UKR 2194 0 2000
74 Mendoza, Shania Mae wf PHI 2193 0 1998
75 Protopopova, Anastasiya wf RUS 2188 0 2000
76 Yu, Jennifer R wf USA 2187 12 2002
77 Injac, Teodora wf SRB 2185 18 2000
78 Gorti, Akshita f USA 2184 11 2002
79 Ren, Xiaoyi   CHN 2184 4 1996
80 Mammadova, Narmin wm AZE 2183 9 1999
81 Utiatskaja, Irina wm RUS 2181 18 1996
82 Aakanksha Hagawane   IND 2181 0 2000
83 Zhang, Lanlin   CHN 2180 8 1999
84 Balajayeva, Khanim wf AZE 2180 6 2001
85 Vidic, Teja wf SLO 2179 7 1998
86 Michelle Catherina, P wm IND 2179 0 1996
87 Zarkovic, Mila wm SRB 2178 9 1996
88 Zhu, Jiner   CHN 2177 15 2002
89 Alekseeva, Irina   RUS 2177 0 1999
90 Gueci, Tea wf ITA 2177 0 1999
91 Roca Rojas, Ana Flavia wf CUB 2177 0 1996
92 Gaboyan, Susanna   ARM 2175 0 1996
93 Uuriintuya, Uurtsaikh   MGL 2172 9 1998
94 Yuan, Ye   CHN 2171 15 2000
95 Richterova, Natasa wf CZE 2169 3 1996
96 Kovacs, Judit   HUN 2168 4 2002
97 Barchuk, Irina   UKR 2168 2 1997
98 Ivanova, Simoneta wf BUL 2166 0 1997
99 Chung, Mathilde wc MNC 2165 11 1999
100 Matiukova, Uliana   RUS 2161 0 1999

Top 100 Rapid

Aside from a strong rapid event in Russia with a few known names, there was little in the way of results in the rapid list and no major swings at the top.

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2878 0 1990
2 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2846 0 1987
3 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2818 0 1990
4 Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2812 0 1990
5 Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2803 0 1983
6 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2799 0 1975
7 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2795 0 1969
8 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2791 0 1985
9 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2788 0 1987
10 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2784 0 1990
11 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2771 0 1969
12 Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2771 0 1975
13 Sjugirov, Sanan g RUS 2765 0 1993
14 Wang, Hao g CHN 2763 0 1989
15 Le, Quang Liem g VIE 2761 5 1991
16 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2760 0 1983
17 Andreikin, Dmitry g RUS 2743 22 1990
18 Adams, Michael g ENG 2741 0 1971
19 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy g UKR 2740 0 1986
20 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2739 0 1982
21 Rublevsky, Sergei g RUS 2738 10 1974
22 Giri, Anish g NED 2738 0 1994
23 Kamsky, Gata g USA 2737 0 1974
24 Melkumyan, Hrant g ARM 2736 0 1989
25 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2734 0 1968
26 Wang, Yue g CHN 2733 5 1987
27 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2733 0 1976
28 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2732 21 1977
29 Inarkiev, Ernesto g RUS 2729 0 1985
30 Rapport, Richard g HUN 2729 0 1996
31 Navara, David g CZE 2728 0 1985
32 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw g POL 2721 0 1987
33 Fedoseev, Vladimir g RUS 2720 0 1995
34 Onischuk, Vladimir g UKR 2720 0 1991
35 Guseinov, Gadir g AZE 2718 0 1986
36 Short, Nigel D g ENG 2717 0 1965
37 Yu, Yangyi g CHN 2716 0 1994
38 Korobov, Anton g UKR 2714 0 1985
39 Ponkratov, Pavel g RUS 2712 11 1988
40 Salem, A.R. Saleh g UAE 2712 5 1993
41 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2712 0 1983
42 Jobava, Baadur g GEO 2710 0 1983
43 Tomashevsky, Evgeny g RUS 2710 0 1987
44 Zhigalko, Sergei g BLR 2709 0 1989
45 Kovalenko, Igor g LAT 2708 0 1988
46 Harikrishna, P. g IND 2706 0 1986
47 Popov, Ivan g RUS 2706 0 1990
48 Ding, Liren g CHN 2704 0 1992
49 Artemiev, Vladislav g RUS 2701 9 1998
50 Malakhov, Vladimir g RUS 2701 0 1980
51 McShane, Luke J g ENG 2701 0 1984
52 Bacrot, Etienne g FRA 2700 0 1983
53 Dubov, Daniil g RUS 2700 0 1996
54 Jakovenko, Dmitry g RUS 2699 0 1983
55 Savchenko, Boris g RUS 2698 0 1986
56 Bogdanovich, Stanislav m UKR 2697 0 1993
57 Fressinet, Laurent g FRA 2695 0 1981
58 Granda Zuniga, Julio E g PER 2694 0 1967
59 Amonatov, Farrukh g TJK 2693 0 1978
60 Bukavshin, Ivan g RUS 2692 0 1995
61 Leko, Peter g HUN 2692 0 1979
62 Akopian, Vladimir g ARM 2689 0 1971
63 Meier, Georg g GER 2689 0 1987
64 Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2689 0 1968
65 Petrosian, Tigran L. g ARM 2688 0 1984
66 Socko, Bartosz g POL 2688 0 1978
67 Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son g VIE 2685 4 1990
68 Movsesian, Sergei g ARM 2685 0 1978
69 Berkes, Ferenc g HUN 2684 0 1985
70 Istratescu, Andrei g FRA 2684 0 1975
71 Khairullin, Ildar g RUS 2683 0 1990
72 Howell, David W L g ENG 2681 0 1990
73 Onischuk, Alexander g USA 2681 0 1975
74 Ragger, Markus g AUT 2680 0 1988
75 Dreev, Aleksey g RUS 2679 32 1969
76 Bortnyk, Olexandr g UKR 2678 0 1996
77 Salgado Lopez, Ivan g ESP 2678 0 1991
78 Vitiugov, Nikita g RUS 2677 0 1987
79 Khismatullin, Denis g RUS 2676 19 1984
80 Fridman, Daniel g GER 2675 0 1976
81 Riazantsev, Alexander g RUS 2675 0 1985
82 Bartel, Mateusz g POL 2674 0 1985
83 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2673 0 1979
84 Matlakov, Maxim g RUS 2673 0 1991
85 Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2673 0 1983
86 Naiditsch, Arkadij g AZE 2672 0 1985
87 Mamedov, Rauf g AZE 2670 0 1988
88 Parligras, Mircea-Emilian g ROU 2670 0 1980
89 Motylev, Alexander g RUS 2669 10 1979
90 Nielsen, Peter Heine g DEN 2669 0 1973
91 Georgiev, Kiril g BUL 2667 10 1965
92 Bu, Xiangzhi g CHN 2667 4 1985
93 Najer, Evgeniy g RUS 2667 0 1977
94 Lysyj, Igor g RUS 2665 9 1987
95 Shirov, Alexei g LAT 2664 0 1972
96 Laznicka, Viktor g CZE 2662 0 1988
97 Sadler, Matthew D g ENG 2661 0 1974
98 Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2660 4 1981
99 Bocharov, Dmitry g RUS 2659 9 1982
100 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter g GER 2659 0 1976

Top 50 Women Rapid

There were no big changes in the top ranks, aside from Valentina Gunina who gained over 70 Elo. It should be noted that she is really recovering her normal rating after a slip at the Mindgame earlier this year.

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Hou, Yifan g CHN 2631 0 1994
2 Lagno, Kateryna g RUS 2594 0 1989
3 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2565 0 1979
4 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2549 0 1987
5 Ju, Wenjun g CHN 2542 4 1991
6 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2519 0 1984
7 Gunina, Valentina g RUS 2517 10 1989
8 Tan, Zhongyi wg CHN 2501 4 1991
9 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2500 0 1987
10 Ushenina, Anna g UKR 2498 0 1985
11 Khotenashvili, Bela g GEO 2487 0 1988
12 Paehtz, Elisabeth m GER 2483 0 1985
13 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2479 3 1985
14 Krush, Irina g USA 2470 0 1983
15 Harika, Dronavalli g IND 2464 5 1991
16 Bodnaruk, Anastasia m RUS 2460 0 1992
17 Zhu, Chen g QAT 2459 5 1976
18 Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2458 8 1985
19 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2457 0 1984
20 Munguntuul, Batkhuyag m MGL 2455 5 1987
21 Lei, Tingjie wg CHN 2446 4 1997
22 Foisor, Cristina-Adela m ROU 2445 0 1967
23 Huang, Qian wg CHN 2445 0 1986
24 Turova, Irina m RUS 2444 0 1979
25 Guo, Qi m CHN 2442 5 1995
26 Wang, Jue wg CHN 2442 0 1995
27 Shen, Yang m CHN 2439 0 1989
28 Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan g SCO 2437 0 1968
29 Galliamova, Alisa m RUS 2428 0 1972
30 Gaponenko, Inna m UKR 2428 0 1976
31 Arabidze, Meri m GEO 2427 9 1994
32 Matnadze, Ana m ESP 2427 0 1983
33 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2425 0 1982
34 Goryachkina, Aleksandra wg RUS 2424 0 1998
35 Socko, Monika g POL 2424 0 1978
36 Pustovoitova, Daria f RUS 2421 0 1994
37 Batsiashvili, Nino m GEO 2417 0 1987
38 Zhukova, Natalia g UKR 2402 0 1979
39 Cramling, Pia g SWE 2401 0 1963
40 Vasilevich, Tatjana m UKR 2400 0 1977
41 Kovanova, Baira wg RUS 2399 0 1987
42 Nechaeva, Marina m RUS 2395 16 1986
43 Peptan, Corina-Isabela m ROU 2391 0 1978
44 Melia, Salome m GEO 2390 0 1987
45 Zhang, Xiaowen wg CHN 2390 0 1989
46 Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat m IRI 2386 12 1997
47 Girya, Olga wg RUS 2386 8 1991
48 Cosma, Elena-Luminita wg ROU 2384 0 1972
49 L'Ami, Alina m ROU 2383 0 1985
50 Zimina, Olga m ITA 2382 16 1982

Top 100 Blitz

The real result was Magnus Carlsen's gain of 25 Blitz Elo, breaking 2900 once more,
and distancing himself somewhat from the pack

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2915 9 1990
2 Nakamura, Hikaru g USA 2883 0 1987
3 Ding, Liren g CHN 2875 0 1992
4 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime g FRA 2871 9 1990
5 Nepomniachtchi, Ian g RUS 2846 0 1990
6 Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2830 9 1975
7 Giri, Anish g NED 2822 9 1994
8 Shkuro, Iuri g UKR 2814 0 1982
9 Le, Quang Liem g VIE 2805 4 1991
10 Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2801 0 1990
11 Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2800 0 1987
12 Aronian, Levon g ARM 2798 9 1982
13 Mamedov, Rauf g AZE 2796 0 1988
14 Tomashevsky, Evgeny g RUS 2793 0 1987
15 Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2792 0 1968
16 Wang, Hao g CHN 2784 0 1989
17 Dominguez Perez, Leinier g CUB 2783 0 1983
18 Bortnyk, Olexandr g UKR 2769 0 1996
19 Adams, Michael g ENG 2768 0 1971
20 Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2766 0 1983
21 Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2764 0 1969
22 Petrosian, Tigran L. g ARM 2760 0 1984
23 Harikrishna, P. g IND 2759 9 1986
24 Andreikin, Dmitry g RUS 2759 0 1990
25 Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2754 0 1969
26 Navara, David g CZE 2754 0 1985
27 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2754 0 1976
28 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam g UZB 2736 0 1979
29 Riazantsev, Alexander g RUS 2736 0 1985
30 Jones, Gawain C B g ENG 2734 11 1987
31 Dubov, Daniil g RUS 2734 0 1996
32 Onischuk, Vladimir g UKR 2734 0 1991
33 Fedoseev, Vladimir g RUS 2732 0 1995
34 Melkumyan, Hrant g ARM 2727 0 1989
35 Lu, Shanglei g CHN 2724 5 1995
36 Artemiev, Vladislav g RUS 2722 0 1998
37 Bogdanovich, Stanislav m UKR 2721 0 1993
38 Dreev, Aleksey g RUS 2721 0 1969
39 Vitiugov, Nikita g RUS 2717 0 1987
40 Kamsky, Gata g USA 2715 0 1974
41 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2714 0 1985
42 Yu, Yangyi g CHN 2712 0 1994
43 Bachmann, Axel g PAR 2709 0 1989
44 Kravtsiv, Martyn g UKR 2708 0 1990
45 Kononenko, Dmitry g UKR 2706 0 1988
46 Swiercz, Dariusz g POL 2705 0 1994
47 Berkes, Ferenc g HUN 2701 0 1985
48 Kovalenko, Igor g LAT 2699 11 1988
49 Zhigalko, Sergei g BLR 2699 11 1989
50 Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo g VEN 2698 0 1989
51 Matlakov, Maxim g RUS 2698 0 1991
52 Leko, Peter g HUN 2697 0 1979
53 Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2695 0 1983
54 Kokarev, Dmitry g RUS 2694 0 1982
55 Bruzon Batista, Lazaro g CUB 2692 11 1982
56 Zubov, Alexander g UKR 2692 0 1983
57 Plat, Vojtech m CZE 2691 0 1994
58 Saric, Ivan g CRO 2690 0 1990
59 Balog, Imre g HUN 2686 0 1991
60 Vallejo Pons, Francisco g ESP 2686 0 1982
61 Jumabayev, Rinat g KAZ 2685 4 1989
62 Nyzhnyk, Illya g UKR 2685 0 1996
63 Andriasian, Zaven g ARM 2684 11 1989
64 Wang, Yue g CHN 2684 5 1987
65 Laznicka, Viktor g CZE 2684 0 1988
66 Saric, Ante g CRO 2684 0 1984
67 Sasikiran, Krishnan g IND 2681 4 1981
68 Amonatov, Farrukh g TJK 2679 0 1978
69 Savchenko, Boris g RUS 2678 11 1986
70 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof g POL 2678 0 1998
71 Guseinov, Gadir g AZE 2675 0 1986
72 Safarli, Eltaj g AZE 2673 11 1992
73 Sargissian, Gabriel g ARM 2673 0 1983
74 Malakhov, Vladimir g RUS 2672 0 1980
75 Adly, Ahmed g EGY 2671 0 1987
76 Morozevich, Alexander g RUS 2671 0 1977
77 Ponkratov, Pavel g RUS 2670 0 1988
78 Salem, A.R. Saleh g UAE 2669 14 1993
79 Granda Zuniga, Julio E g PER 2669 0 1967
80 Ragger, Markus g AUT 2667 10 1988
81 Alekseev, Evgeny g RUS 2667 0 1985
82 Korobov, Anton g UKR 2666 11 1985
83 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw g POL 2666 0 1987
84 Caruana, Fabiano g USA 2665 0 1992
85 Khusnutdinov, Rustam g KAZ 2664 5 1987
86 Lenderman, Aleksandr g USA 2664 0 1989
87 Meier, Georg g GER 2664 0 1987
88 Stevic, Hrvoje g CRO 2664 0 1980
89 Khairullin, Ildar g RUS 2663 0 1990
90 Grachev, Boris g RUS 2662 0 1986
91 Akobian, Varuzhan g USA 2661 0 1983
92 Cheparinov, Ivan g BUL 2661 0 1986
93 Edouard, Romain g FRA 2661 0 1990
94 Izoria, Zviad g USA 2661 0 1984
95 Socko, Bartosz g POL 2661 0 1978
96 Kalezic, Blazo m MNE 2660 12 1978
97 Bocharov, Dmitry g RUS 2660 0 1982
98 Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2659 9 1983
99 Smirin, Ilia g ISR 2659 0 1968
100 Gajewski, Grzegorz g POL 2658 0 1985

Top 50 Women Blitz

There were no big changes in the top ranks this month.

Rk
 Name
Ti.
Fed
Rtg
Gms
B-Year
1 Lagno, Kateryna g RUS 2641 0 1989
2 Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2590 0 1979
3 Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2576 0 1984
4 Ju, Wenjun g CHN 2571 4 1991
5 Gunina, Valentina g RUS 2571 0 1989
6 Tan, Zhongyi wg CHN 2552 4 1991
7 Zhao, Xue g CHN 2526 2 1985
8 Koneru, Humpy g IND 2502 0 1987
9 Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2500 0 1987
10 Ushenina, Anna g UKR 2485 0 1985
11 Krush, Irina g USA 2464 0 1983
12 Wang, Jue wg CHN 2457 0 1995
13 Matnadze, Ana m ESP 2452 0 1983
14 Paehtz, Elisabeth m GER 2446 0 1985
15 Harika, Dronavalli g IND 2443 5 1991
16 Pham, Le Thao Nguyen m VIE 2442 5 1987
17 Lei, Tingjie wg CHN 2434 5 1997
18 Socko, Monika g POL 2418 0 1978
19 Turova, Irina m RUS 2416 0 1979
20 Arabidze, Meri m GEO 2415 9 1994
21 Ding, Yixin wg CHN 2408 0 1991
22 Bodnaruk, Anastasia m RUS 2407 0 1992
23 Sukandar, Irine Kharisma m INA 2406 0 1992
24 Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2402 11 1985
25 Rogule, Laura wg LAT 2399 0 1988
26 Zhai, Mo wg CHN 2398 0 1996
27 Peptan, Corina-Isabela m ROU 2397 0 1978
28 Khukhashvili, Sopiko m GEO 2396 0 1985
29 Li, Ruofan m SIN 2394 0 1978
30 Szczepkowska-Horowska, Karina wg POL 2392 0 1987
31 Zhukova, Natalia g UKR 2388 0 1979
32 Khotenashvili, Bela g GEO 2387 0 1988
33 Nemcova, Katerina wg USA 2384 0 1990
34 Abdumalik, Zhansaya wg KAZ 2380 5 2000
35 Javakhishvili, Lela m GEO 2380 0 1984
36 Zhu, Chen g QAT 2379 10 1976
37 Mkrtchian, Lilit m ARM 2374 0 1982
38 Huang, Qian wg CHN 2372 0 1986
39 Batsiashvili, Nino m GEO 2370 9 1987
40 Haast, Anne wg NED 2370 0 1993
41 Pustovoitova, Daria f RUS 2369 0 1994
42 Guramishvili, Sopiko m GEO 2368 0 1991
43 Michna, Marta wg GER 2367 0 1978
44 Padmini, Rout m IND 2366 5 1994
45 Berend, Elvira wg LUX 2364 0 1965
46 Ubiennykh, Ekaterina wm RUS 2363 0 1983
47 Hoang, Thi Bao Tram wg VIE 2358 4 1987
48 Cori T., Deysi wg PER 2358 0 1993
49 Kulon, Klaudia wg POL 2357 0 1992
50 Linares Napoles, Oleiny wg CUB 2357 0 1983

Source: FIDE

Born in the US, he grew up in Paris, France, and after college moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had a peak rating of 2240 FIDE, and was a key designer of Chess Assistant 6. In 2010 he joined the ChessBase family as an editor and writer at ChessBase News. He is also a passionate photographer with work appearing in numerous publications, and the content creator of the YouTube channel, Chess & Tech as well as the author of Typing Tomes, a powerful typing program.

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Raymond Labelle Raymond Labelle 5/5/2016 09:55
The last round of Norway Chess was held on April 29. How come is it that the Norway Chess games are not reflected in the official May FIDE ratings?
Rama Rama 5/4/2016 10:32
As far as denigrating the skill of the elite players of today as compared to the past - Kasparov trained Carlsen for some time and said that he (Kasparov) was better tactically than Carslen but that Carlsen was better than him in chess intuition. He said that Carlsen's style reminded him of Karpov - only better. His exact language was that Carlsen is 'like Karpov on steroids'.

Ratings are simply a measure of past performance against people that you have had the opportunity to play - it makes no sense to compare them across eras. Therefore rating inflation is as irrelevant as the inflation of the dollar; as long as the ratings of those playing today are equally inflated it all works out.

If any of the past greats were somehow resurrected and started playing today then they would play totally differently - they would take advantage of computers and databases just like today's players and the 'style' of play in their games would reflect that.
Luis Parreira Luis Parreira 5/4/2016 12:19
Of course top players are stronger now than the top players of 20, 30, 40 years ago. This is true for most areas. In 1972, the winner of the 100 m in the Olympics did 10.14s, the bronze medalist did 10.33s. With these times, they would probably not be able to compete in modern Olympics. Theory of training has developed in all areas, and it is easier for people to approach their potential best.
It may seem that top players are not that good when we all have access to analysis of software that is much better than them, which was not the case in the past. When Kasparov was playing Karpov there was nobody better than them to point out the imprecisions of their games, now we all can have in our mobile phones software that immediately identify imprecisions that in the past could have been considered brilliancies.
koko48 koko48 5/3/2016 11:13
The brain is a muscle....If you don't use it as much, it begins to soften and atrophy

I think there is a strong argument to be made that the reliance on computers for analysis, has made modern chessplayers weaker in their own decision making....I see nothing in the games of Super GMs nowadays, that makes me think they play better chess (or make better decisions when they're 'on their own') than the players of the pre-computer age
turok turok 5/3/2016 10:22
It is as simple as forcing a higher standard to be a GM. Nowadays everybody is a GM. As for Theory can you really give me a break. It is a click away from having every game from around the world on a daily basis from now until the past. Do you know how important that is in playing competitive chess?? So now every players games are known to whoever wants them around the world. Fisher had to get USSR articles and interpret games from people around the world. Please do not insult people by saying the technology today is not a huge advantage. His candidates matches will never be matched before winning the title. PLus add in all of the collusion in the candidates matches that has come out to be true. There is nothing Super about these GMs that is all even with the inflated ratings period.
Balthus Balthus 5/3/2016 07:15
Would have... could have... :yawn:

Who cares, really? But seriously. Elo rankings show the momentary relations exclusively, no projection into the past, nor extrapolation into the future, is possible; nor, indeed, would it be desirable. It is not the point. If you just pick Elo points and compare them to show how they have been inflated, yeah, big deal, the two eras are totally different in terms of top-level tournament density and organization. It's a different fight out there today but no less intense.

Having said that, if someone could come up with a normalization of Elo levels over the decades, acceptable and plausible to everyone, I would also be curious to see the results, objective or not.
koko48 koko48 5/3/2016 04:12
The "advances in opening theory" that all the rating inflation deniers keep harping on, is a myth...In fact the main lines in some of the most theoretical, frequently played openings (Open Sicilians, Slavs, etc) have remained remarkably unchanged in the past forty years - with a few wrinkles

I think if the players of forty years ago were to come back in a time machine and play their 'old' opening lines, they would (for the most part, with a few exceptions) have perfectly playable positions out of the opening and good middlegames to work with...They would not be getting busted out of the opening

It's why most GMs now play such anti theoretical stuff...Because computer analysis in the more theoretical lines has required that they memorize so much more, in order to gain what is still a negligible advantage out of the opening (the standard ('plus over equal')

Many older GMs maintain that the younger GMs, despite their heftier ratings, actually play worse chess....And in some ways I agree....The recent blitz match with Kasparov seemed to vindicate that theory....Kasparov was done in by rust and the hallucinations of advanced age, but he got very good positions against this new class of Super GMs by playing simple, principled, theoretical chess....And his theory was not so 'new' either

One gets the feeling that 20 years ago Kasparov would have beaten these new elite GMs to death....And I get the feeling that Fischer in his prime would have also
Justjeff Justjeff 5/3/2016 05:09
The top players today are simply better than Fischer was even at his prime. 50 years of development in theory in all phases of the game will do that. This happens in virtually every human endeavor - it takes about a generation or two for the giants of the past to be eclipsed by today's giants.

The term "Super GM" is just a catchphrase, don't be too caught up in it. We all know who is World Champion and who are the reasonable contenders.

And they're all pretty good about honoring commitments to sponsors, something Fischer didn't always manage.
digupagal digupagal 5/3/2016 05:06
@tom_70 you are seriously underestimating the elo inflation here.

Ppl. seriously are no better in terms of middlegame and endgame, the edge they are getting mostly is in opening theory.

Overall today's ~2852 Elo GM is comparable to ~2780 Elo GM of 90s-2000, so everyone is overrated. Kasparov at his best would have kicked everyone's ass at the top.

Clearly ppl. like Vishy and Kramnik have declined in terms of playing quality because of their age. Youngsters have caught up because of their age benefit and computers.

Kasparov clearly showed that he can compete with Caruana, So and Nakamura even after years of rust and non-playing. That shows what level these youngsters are playing at.
Villa Lucija Villa Lucija 5/3/2016 02:49
tom_70- your elo must be arround 1200 :)!
tom_70 tom_70 5/3/2016 02:22
@Turok, Sorry, but players today simply are better than their counterparts from era's past. Chess theory is constantly growing and expanding. The technology to play other strong players has also expanded greatly in the last 20 years. Fischer was one of the greats, no doubt about it, but he would NOT have an elo over 3000 today. That is laughable. And assuming everyone with a chess computer can become a GM is equally laughable.
nonoyski nonoyski 5/3/2016 01:50
@Turok
Your statements are full of exaggeration. Not everybody can become a GM not even a FIDE Master. If your claim is the gospel truth, then why are you not a GM yourself?
turok turok 5/3/2016 01:38
I am sorry but from a person like myself who has been around since the Fischer days etc. These ratings have no become a joke. The name of SUPER GM is also a joke because where was the word Super GM when fischer was close to 2800 himself or others way up there in the ratings. Nowadays everybody can become a GN especially with computers. What is needed is a higher system so that a SUPER GM is not really called that but just a GM like in the past but adjust the scale so it is harder to become a GM. The players today are not better than those in the past and to call them SUPER is a joke and shows what Bobby always said about it is memorization. If he had been in his prime with a database like today he wouldve been above 3000 easily. Lets correct this and please by all that is sacred reporters and writers please stop calling the top rated people SUPER GMS!!!!
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