The first month of the year brought few significant changes at the top of the rating lists. The sole notable shift was Tan Zhongyi’s return to the women’s top five following her strong performance in the Chinese Chess League Division A (+11 points).
January has traditionally been the month of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, but the results of this year’s first major event, concluding tonight, will be incorporated into the March 2026 rating list.
Biggest gains in the top 100 Open and Women
This month’s list of top gainers is dominated by women. WIM Rachael Li leads the category after an excellent showing at the 35th Annual North American Open, where she gained 30 points to make her debut in the women’s top 100.
Amina Kairbekova’s solid performance at the Marienbad Open brought her 31 points, propelling the Kazakh youngster to a career-high 61st position on the women’s list.
Shining in the Israel National Team Championship and the Israeli Open, Marsel Efroimski gained 20 points to debut in the women’s top 50.
Tatjana Melamed (+20) and Yan Tianqi (+19) collected valuable rating points in the team competitions, in Germany and China respectively.
Continuing his upward trajectory since last March, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus added another 11 points to his tally after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Clash of Generations II, marking his first appearance in the Open top 50.
Almira Skripchenko picked up 10 rating points in two competitions in Sweden, while Kirill Alekseenko earned 9 points in the Schachbundesliga 2025-2026.
The recently concluded European Women’s Rapid and Blitz Championships generated notable rating movements on both rapid and women’s lists. In the rapid event, Alexandra Kosteniuk (+15), Nino Batsiashvili (+11), Ekaterina Atalik (+11) and Mai Narva (+17) were the main beneficiaries. The blitz competition produced even larger gains with standout performances by Yuliia Osmak (+49), Bella Khotenashvili (+32), Nino Batsiashvili (+39), Oliwia Kiolbasa (+78), Alicja Sliwicka (+62) and Olga Badelka (+51).