The October 2025 FIDE rating list was primarily shaped by the FIDE Grand Swiss, the Women’s Grand Swiss, and the inaugural Fujairah Global Chess Championships. These competitions triggered notable changes in the top 100 of both the Open and Women’s rankings.
Zhu Jiner soared to the world #2 spot following her excellent performance at the Fujairah Global Chess Championships – Superstars, where she earned 21 rating points and reached a career-high.
Aleksandra Goryachkina and Divya Deshmukh the only two female players in the FIDE Grand Swiss impressed in this competition. Goryachkina returned to the top five on the women’s list after gaining 13 rating points, while Divya climbed to 11th with a 20-point boost.
Anish Giri re-entered the Open top 10 after an 18-month absence, thanks to his well-deserved victory at the FIDE Grand Swiss 2025, which earned him 13 rating points.
Vaishali R successfully defended her title at the Women’s Grand Swiss, picking up 21 rating points and reaching a career-high 15th place.
Biggest gains in top 100 Open and Women
This category was dominated by newcomers to the top 100.
Sixteen-year-old Rose Atwell (pictured above) made her debut in the Women’s top 100, becoming the biggest rating gainer of September. She won the Labor Day CCC in Charlotte (+54 points) and overperformed at the Chess for Cure SoCal Open in Monrovia, USA (+15), which catapulted her to 85th place.
Another youngster, 15-year-old Melika Mohammadi of Iran, excelled at the Fujairah Global Chess Championships – Masters, netting 54 rating points to break into the Women’s top 100.
Pranav V and Abhimanyu Mishra (pictured above) delivered back-to-back strong performances at the Fujairah Global Chess Championships – Superstars (won by Pranav) and the FIDE Grand Swiss, earning 45 and 41 points respectively. Both debuted in the Open top 100, at 84th and 69th.
Song Yuxin (pictued below) followed a similar path, gaining 35 points across the Fujairah Masters and the Women’s Grand Swiss. The 19-year-old IM from China entered the Women’s top 30 for the first time.
Alua Nurman also shone at the Fujairah Masters, earning 31 points against tough opposition.
Ulviyya Fataliyeva and Irina Krush climbed significantly after strong performances at the Women’s Grand Swiss.
Finally, several experienced players—Alexei Shirov, Alexander Donchenko, Alexandr Predke, Ruslan Ponomariov, Robert Hovhannisyan, and David Anton Guijarro—overperformed in Samarkand and re-entered the Open top 100.