Vincent Keymer and Anish Giri enter top 5 Open in FIDE November 2025 rating list
The FIDE November 2025 rating list was primarily shaped by two major team events: the European Team Championship in Batumi, Georgia, and the European Club Cup in Rhodes, Greece (both Open and Women’s sections). While the Women’s Top 10 remains unchanged, the Open Top 10 saw significant shifts. Vincent Keymer (pictured below) and Anish Giri gained 18 and 10 rating points, respectively, in these competitions—propelling both into the Open Top 5. Keymer makes his debut in this elite group, while Giri returns after an 18-month absence. Fabiano Caruana consolidated his hold on third place following his successful title defense at the U.S. Championship, while reigning World Champion Gukesh D re-entered the Open Top 10 thanks to his standout performance at the 2025 European Club Cup. Photo: Michal Waluzsa Biggest gains in top 10 Open and Women Rakshitta, Ravi WGM IND 2381 (+58) Mkrtchyan, Mariam WIM ARM 2353 (+35) Klek, Hanna Marie WGM GER 2357 (+29) Tsolakidou, Stavroula IM GRE 2479 (+26) Kashlinskaya, Alina IM POL 2475 (+25) Toncheva, Nadya FM BUL 2352 (+20) Keymer, Vincent GM GER 2773 (+18) Badelka, Olga IM AUT 2395 (+18) Anton Guijarro, David GM ESP 2648 (+17) Indjic, Aleksandar GM SRB 2635 (+17) Narva, Mai IM EST 2420 (+17) Rapport, Richard GM HUN 2740 (+16) Ravi Rakshitta (pictured below) delivered an outstanding performance at the White Horse GM Tournament 2025. Her +58-point surge not only earned her the top monthly gain but also marked a triumphant return to the Women’s Top 100 and a career-high 63rd position on the list. Photo: Baku Open Mariam Mkrtchyan, Hanna Marie Klek, and Nadya Toncheva excelled at the European Women’s Team Championship, gaining 35, 29, and 20 rating points respectively. All three have re-entered the Women’s Top 100. Stavroula Tsolakidou (pictured below), Alina Kashlinskaya, and Olga Badelka also overperformed in Batumi, and later added 8, 13, and 5 more points, respectively, following strong showings at the 29th European Club Cup for Women. Photo: Michal Walusza Similarly, Aleksandar Indjić, David Antón Guijarro, and Richard Rapport delivered excellent results in both events, contributing to their rating gains. Mai Narva gained 21 points in Batumi, dropped 4 in Rhodes, but still finished the month with a net +17-point increase.
World Cup 2025 kicks off in Goa: Anand honored, young stars shine
The first game of Round One of the FIDE World Cup began this afternoon at 3:00 PM local time in the Baga Resort Rio’s convention centre in Goa, India. The pristine venue hosted the opening clashes of what promises to be a thrilling month-long event, featuring 206 of the world’s top players battling for three coveted spots in the Candidates Tournament — the final step toward challenging for the World Championship title. The round opened with the traditional ceremonial first move: FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich played 1.e4 on behalf of GM Jeffery Xiong (USA). AICF President Nitin Narang mirrored the move for GM Pranav V (India). According to tournament regulations, the top 50 seeds are automatically qualify for Round 2, meaning 78 games were contested today. Move of the day One of the first games to conclude in Round 1 featured the sensational Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, currently rated 2651 and rapidly ascending the world rankings. Born in 2011, the Turkish prodigy is, as of 2025, the youngest grandmaster in the world — and today, he once again demonstrated why. Facing Candidate Master Nagi Abugenda (Libya, 1972), Erdogmus unleashed a brilliant attacking display in an Exchange French Defence. White, already behind in development and with his king stranded in the centre, was caught in the crossfire of a sharp tactical strike. From this moment, Black’s attack erupted with the bold sacrifice 10…Nce5!, forking the queen and bishop. The young grandmaster spent only six minutes calculating the sequence. “I thought this was going to be a long game and that I would win in the endgame,” said Erdogmus afterward. “But then he started to play very aggressively. I think he missed knight e5, and after that he’s just losing.” After 11.dxe5 Nxe5 (another fork), 12.Qxd5 Be6! followed — a developing move that renewed the attack by targeting the overloaded queen. When White retreated with 13.Qe4, Erdogmus continued energetically with 13…f5!, and after 14.Qe3, he had already foreseen the decisive 14…Bd5!, simultaneously attacking the rook on h1 and threatening 15…Nf3+ winning the queen. With no way to parry all the threats, Abugenda resigned a few moves later, conceding victory to the young Turkish star in impressive fashion. On board two, GM Jeffery Xiong (USA, 2648) prevailed in a difficult endgame against CM Li Yiheng (Hong Kong, 1994). Despite the 650-point rating gap, the 12-year-old from Hong Kong played far above his rating, testing the American grandmaster’s technique at every turn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u79ZODb5XFQ In his post-game comments, Xiong praised his young opponent’s resilience and talent: “I wasn’t at all surprised because he is a very young player and, as someone who was already giving GMs a tough fight when I was thirteen years old, I knew going in that he was a prodigy and that I should take it very seriously.” On board three, GM Maxim Rodshtein (Israel, 2647) took the lead in his two-game mini-match against CM Qin Oscar Shu Xuan (New Zealand) with a crisp victory as Black. Rodshtein seized the initiative early, gradually building pressure before launching a decisive kingside attack that left his opponent defenceless. Meanwhile, on board five, England’s former world top-ten player GM Michael Adams (2646) showcased his renowned technical precision. In a queen endgame, Adams converted his outside passed pawn into a new queen, sealing a clinical victory in trademark style. Rounding out the top results, GM Vladislav Artemiev (FIDE, 2637) also outplayed CM Heskiel Ndahangwapo of Namibia, trapping his opponent’s queen in the middlegame — a rare tactical motif at this level, and one that drew murmurs of admiration from spectators following the games online. With so many fascinating games on display, it was impossible not to notice several dazzling moments of creativity. One game, in particular, stood out for its sheer precision and ingenuity. In his encounter with IM Satbek Akhmedinov (Kazakhstan, 2372), GM Pranesh M. (India, 2630) found the only move to force victory in a razor-sharp position. In the position, where 47.Bd4+ would have allowed 47…Qxd4, saving the game, and 47.Rf1 would have fallen to 47…Rxg2+!, Pranesh instead uncorked the spectacular 47.Qg7!! Now the twin threats of 48.Bd4+ and 48.Rc6+ loomed, either of which would have decided the game instantly. Akhmedinov tried to resist with 47…Ra1+, but Pranesh calmly blocked with 48.Rf1+!, picking up the rook on a1 and forcing immediate resignation. Outstanding stuff from the young Indian grandmaster. The World Cup’s opening round once again reminded everyone of its trademark unpredictability, as several underdogs punched above their weight to produce surprises and memorable results. The biggest upset of the day came when Chile’s top player, GM Cristóbal Henríquez Villagra (2605), fell with Black in a tricky rook + bishop vs bishop endgame against IM Agibileg Uurtsaikh (Mongolia, 2448). A handful of grandmasters were unable to break through and had to settle for draws — likely saving their energy and preparation for Game 2. Among them: FM Mohan Kavin (Malaysia, 2346), who held GM Robert Hovhannisyan (Armenia, 2633) to a solid draw. IM Reja Neer Manon (Bangladesh, 2369), who split the point with GM Aryan Tari (Norway, 2631). Another standout performance came from FM Daniel Barrish (South Africa, 2284), who pressed with Black throughout against Goa’s own GM Raunak Sadhwani (2641) before agreeing to a draw after 56 moves — a truly impressive result for the young South African. Last but not least, the only female player in the field, recent Women’s World Cup champion GM Divya Deshmukh (India), was defeated by GM Stamatis Kourkoulos-Arditis (Greece, 2583). Divya showed ambition from the start, sacrificing a pawn in the opening to build attacking chances. However, the compensation never fully materialized. As the game steered into a complex double-rook endgame, time pressure took its toll — one misstep was all it took for the Greek grandmaster to seize control and convert the point. Divya will have another opportunity tomorrow to even the match. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X6iRvyRrrM Asked afterward about the unusual atmosphere created by dozens of cameras and spectators crowding the top boards, Kourkoulos-Arditis smiled: “I’ve never
Pranav Venkatesh, clear winner of the 8th Salamanca Masters
The eighth edition of the ‘Salamanca Cradle of Modern Chess’ Festival paid tribute to the city’s fundamental role in the history of the game. It was here, in 1497, that the student Lucena first compiled the modern rules in his work Arte de ajedrez con 150 juegos de partido. An original copy of this incunabulum is preserved in the University’s Historical Library. The tournament, held from October 22 to 25, featured a double round-robin format with a time control of 30 minutes plus a 5-second increment per move. The competition brought together six outstanding players: Ruslan Ponomariov, Pranav Venkatesh, and Julio Granda in one side, and Sara Khadem, Nadia Toncheva, and Sabrina Vega in the other. Heading into the final day, Pranav, the reigning World Junior Champion, stood as the sole leader with 6.5 points, a half-point ahead of the defending Salamanca champion, Ponomariov. The highlight of the last day was their second encounter in the eighth round (Pranav had won the first with the white pieces). Ponomariov achieved a comfortable advantage, exerting pressure on the Indian GM’s hanging pawns – but a single mistake cost him dearly. With 32.Qa3? (much better was 32.Rdc1! maintaining pressure) White allowed Pranav to launch a powerful counterattack with the thematic pawn thrust 32…d4! which turned the tables. After 33.Bxa8 (33.exd4? Bxg2 34.Kxg2 Qe4+) d3! Black won an exchange. Pranav’s conversion was not flawless – at some point it seemed Ruslan might hold a draw – but in the end, time trouble took its toll. 0-1 With this win Pranav practically secured the prestigious title in Salamanca. The World Junior Champion finished strong with two wins on the final day, scoring 9.5/10 and achieving an impressive performance rating of 2949. Another compelling storyline was the battle was for third place on the podium, which for the first time in the eight tournaments was going to be won by a female player. In the final round the strong Iranian-born player Sara Khadem, who became a Spanish national in 2022, was fighting against the tournament’s revelation, the young Bulgarian Nadia Toncheva. Toncheva emerged victorious, establishing herself as a player to watch closely in the women’s chess. She scored 50% against very strong opposition, a remarkable achievement. The success of this eighth edition—the number 8 being highly symbolic in chess—has been undeniable. The organizers acknowledge the sponsorship of the Salamanca City Council, the University of Salamanca (together with Alumni), and the Regional Government of Castilla y León. Final standings: Pranav V – 9½/10 Ruslan Ponomariov – 8 Nadia Toncheva – 5 Sara Khadem – 3½ Julio Granda – 2½ Sabrina Vega – 1½ Photo: Universidad de Salamanca Official website: salamancachess.com/