FIDE press release
Photos: Michal Walusza and Lennart Ootes
Biggest rating gains in the top 100 Open in 2025
All these players had an excellent 2025, but Vincent Keymer and Anish Giri stand out.
Keymer started the year on the wrong foot, losing 12 points at both the Tata Steel Masters and in the Bundesliga. He then regained momentum with strong performances at the German Championship (+10), the Chennai Grandmasters (+21), the European Team Championship (+9), and the European Club Cup (+9). These results propelled him to fourth place on the January 2026 rating list, his highest ranking to date.
Giri, meanwhile, strung together a series of strong results. He won the 8th Sharjah Masters (+10) and the FIDE Grand Swiss (+13), and overperformed at the European Club Cup (+7). Unsurprisingly, the Dutchman returned to the top 10 after a 15-month absence and finished the year ranked sixth.
Matthias Blübaum shone at the European Team Championship (+18), becoming the first-ever player to win a double crown in this competition, and at the FIDE Grand Swiss (+23). The winner of the FIDE Circuit 2025, Praggnanandhaa R, won the Tata Steel Masters and the Stepan Avagyan Memorial and tied for first place in the Sinquefield Cup.
The other players listed above steadily increased their ratings through consistent performances throughout the year.
Several players began 2025 outside the top 100 Open but earned their way into this elite group through strong results. In absolute terms, their rating gains appear even more impressive, but the “low base effect” must be taken into account: the lower a player’s starting rating, the easier it is to achieve large point gains.
Among these newcomers, two stand out. José Martínez Alcántara launched his surge in May, gaining 61 points over seven months to break into the top 50. Yağız Kaan Erdogmuş followed a different path: the Turkish prodigy accumulated rating points steadily throughout the year, reaching a career-high 57th place on the January 2026 list.
Most overperformers on this list are very young, so their progress appears natural. One exception is Eltaj Safarli, who returned to the top 100 after a six-year absence. Strong results in tournaments in Indonesia and Germany, as well as at the European Club Cup, earned him 35 rating points.
Now let us turn to the women’s list.
Biggest rating gains in the top 100 Women in 2025
Several female players had outstanding years in 2025. Zhu Jiner, winner of the 2024–2025 Women’s Grand Prix, gained an impressive 65 points and climbed to second place. Given the strength of her opposition throughout the year, this achievement is remarkable.
Carissa Yip shone in two summer tournaments, the Spring Classic and the Cairns Cup, adding 58 points to debut in the top 20.
Song Yuxin (+73) and Anna Shukhman (+66) made the largest gains among players who began the year inside the top 100. Both entered 2025 as leading juniors and finished the year in the top 30.
As on the Open list, several women started 2025 outside the top 100 but fought their way into it:
Tatev Abrahamian returned to the top 100 after a five-year absence, driven by excellent results, particularly at the Budapest One Week tournament in August (+62).
Xeniya Balabayeva broke into the top 100 after a strong showing at the Grenke Open (+39), then followed up with standout performances at the Asian Women’s Championship (+41) and the Oskemen Open Masters (+39), climbing to 70th place with an exceptional gain of 121 rating points.
Bat-Erdene Mungunzul delivered impressive performances in the girls’ section of the FIDE World Junior Championship (+34), at the Asian Women’s Championship (+43), and won the Mongolian Women’s Championship (+23), making her debut in the top 100 Women.
Maintaining momentum after a breakout year is notoriously difficult, as players then face much stronger opposition. Whether the overperformers of 2025 can sustain their success remains to be seen.
| Advertising |
.jpeg)
