List of FIDE chess world number ones

A total of seven chess players have been the chess world number one on the official FIDE rating list since it was first published in July 1971. ^[1]

The first world number one, in July 1971, was Bobby Fischer. In January 1976 Anatoly Karpov became the highest-rated player on the FIDE list, FIDE having dropped Fischer (whose rating was higher than Karpov's) from the list due to inactivity. In January 1984, Garry Kasparov became the third world number one. He would dominate for 22 years from 1984 until his retirement from professional chess on 10 March 2005, with three brief interruptions: Anatoly Karpov briefly held the world number one ranking again in July 1985, as well as during 1994 when FIDE excluded Kasparov from the list; and the fourth world number one, Vladimir Kramnik, briefly held the ranking in January 1996. In January 1990, Kasparov surpassed Fischer's peak of 2785 and became the first player ever to achieve a 2800 rating. In July 1999, he reached his peak rating, 2851. This was the highest FIDE rating in history until January 2013, when it was surpassed by Magnus Carlsen.

On Kasparov's retirement, the world number one ranking passed to Veselin Topalov, since Kasparov was removed from the rating list in April 2006 due to inactivity. In April 2007, Viswanathan Anand became the sixth player to top the rankings. ^[2] Kramnik briefly returned to the number one ranking in January 2008, but was again joint number one by rating, being placed first in the list due to having played more games in the rating period in question. For most of the period April 2007 to November 2009, the top ranking was held by either Anand or Topalov. The seventh and current world number one is Magnus Carlsen, who first achieved this ranking in the January 2010 list, and has been world number one since July 2011 after having lost and reclaimed the position from Anand during 2010 and 2011.

Publication details

There were unofficial lists in 1964, 1969, 1970 and January 1971, as the Elo rating system was first introduced.^{[ where? ]}

From 1971 to 1980, there was one main rating list published each year (for a total of 10), initially published in July from 1971 to 1973, then once in May (1974), before switching to annual publication in January from 1975 to 1980 (in this period, some supplements and amendments were also published).

From 1981 to July 2000, two lists per year were published, in January and July (for a total of 39 lists). In July 2000, the publication schedule was increased to four times a year (January, April, July, October) operating from July 2000 to July 2009 (for a total of 36 lists). In July 2009, the publication schedule was increased again, to six times a year (January, March, May, July, September, November) operating from July 2009 to July 2012 (for a total of 18 lists). In July 2012 the publication schedule was increased again to the current monthly schedule.

Publication of the rating lists in the 1970s and 1980s was in Chess Informant and other chess publications. The number of games played by individuals during the rating period was added to the lists from July 1985 onwards. Player ID numbers were used from January 1990. From January 1999, the practice of rounding to the nearest five Elo points was discontinued, and ratings were then rounded to the nearest Elo point for publication. From July 2000 onwards, the ratings are available from the FIDE website. ^[1]

In January 2010 former World Champion Boris Spassky criticized the current emphasis on ratings rather than World Champions. ^[3] Although Spassky was World Champion during the inception of the FIDE rankings in 1971, he never became the number-one rated player in the world; since July 1971 he, Vladimir Kramnik, Ding Liren, and Gukesh Dommaraju (the current Champion) are the only undisputed World Champions to never become ranked world number one during their tenure as champions as of December 2024. ^[update] (Kramnik has been ranked number one, but never while he was champion.)

List of world number ones

Top players (list)

The following is a list of the players ranked number one on the FIDE rating system from the first official list in July 1971 to the present day, along with their ratings during the periods in question. A rating denoted with bold text followed by an asterisk (*) is a career high rating.

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
1971	(before official FIDE ratings)						Fischer (2760)
1972							Fischer (2785*)
1973							Fischer (2780)
1974					Fischer (2780)
1975	Fischer (2780)
1976	Karpov (2695)
1977	Karpov (2690)
1978	Karpov (2725)
1979	Karpov (2705)
1980	Karpov (2725)
1981	Karpov (2690)						(2700)
1982	Karpov (2720)						(2700)
1983	Karpov (2710)
1984	Kasparov (2710)						(2715)
1985	Kasparov (2715)						Karpov (2720)
1986	Kasparov (2720)						(2740)
1987	Kasparov (2735)						(2740)
1988	Kasparov (2750)						(2760)
1989	Kasparov (2775)
1990	Kasparov (2800)
1991	Kasparov (2800)						(2770)
1992	Kasparov (2780)						(2790)
1993	Kasparov (2805)						(2815)
1994	Karpov (2740) [4]						Karpov (2780*) [4]
1995	Kasparov (2805)						(2795)
1996	Kramnik (2775)						Kasparov (2785)
1997	Kasparov (2795)						(2820)
1998	Kasparov (2825)						(2815)
1999	Kasparov (2812)						(2851*)
2000	Kasparov (2851*)						(2849)
2001	Kasparov (2849)			(2827)			(2838)
2002	Kasparov (2838)									(2836)
2003	Kasparov (2847)			(2830)
2004	Kasparov (2831)			(2817)						(2813)
2005	Kasparov (2804)			(2812)
2006	Kasparov (2812)			Topalov (2804)			(2813)
2007	Topalov (2783)			Anand (2786)			(2792)			(2801)
2008	Kramnik (2799)			Anand (2803)			(2798)			Topalov (2791)
2009	Topalov (2796)			(2812)			(2813)				(2810)
2010	Carlsen (2810)		(2813)				(2826)				Anand (2804)
2011	Carlsen (2814)		Anand (2817*)				Carlsen (2821)		(2823)		(2826)
2012	Carlsen (2835)						(2837)		(2843)		(2848)
2013	Carlsen (2861)	(2872)			(2868)	(2864)	(2862)			(2870)		(2872)
2014	Carlsen (2872)		(2881)		(2882*)	(2881)	(2877)		(2870)	(2863)		(2862)
2015	Carlsen (2862)	(2865)	(2863)		(2876)		(2853)			(2850)		(2834)
2016	Carlsen (2844)		(2851)			(2855)		(2857)		(2853)		(2840)
2017	Carlsen (2840)	(2838)			(2832)		(2822)		(2827)	(2826)	(2837)
2018	Carlsen (2834)	(2843)					(2842)		(2839)		(2835)
2019	Carlsen (2835)	(2845)			(2861)	(2875)	(2872)	(2882*)	(2876)		(2870)	(2872)
2020	Carlsen (2872)	(2862)		(2863)							(2862)
2021	Carlsen (2862)		(2847)						(2855)			(2856)
2022	Carlsen (2865)		(2864)						(2861)	(2856)	(2859)
2023	Carlsen (2859)	(2852)		(2853)			(2835)		(2839)		(2829)	(2830)
2024	Carlsen (2830)						(2832)			(2831)
2025	Carlsen (2831)	(2833)	(Future)
Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December

Timeline of world number ones

Player statistics

Seven players have held the world number one ranking over a period of 53 years and 8 months, encompassing 255 rating lists. These seven players include six undisputed world chess champions, with Topalov being the only player to achieve the number one ranking without becoming undisputed world champion, though he was FIDE world champion from 2005 to 2006, and is still an active player. Spassky, Kramnik, Ding, and Gukesh are the only world champions in the period in question to never have been world number one while being champion. (Of these, Kramnik has been world number one, but only when he was not champion; Spassky, Ding, and Gukesh were never world number one.)

Fischer was top of the lists successively five times over a period of 4.5 years, though he is considered to have already become the number one player in the world before the official list started, as he topped the unofficial list in 1970. Karpov topped the list 14 times, successively 11 times over a period of 8 years, once for 6 months, and twice for a year while Kasparov was excluded. Kasparov was world number one on the official list 52 times over a period of 22 years, and 31 times successively over nearly a decade from July 1996 to January 2006; he was number one 3 times successively over 1.5 years, then 16 times successively over 8 years, then twice successively for one year, and then finally 31 times over 9 years and 9 months. Kramnik was world number one 2 times (for 6 and 3 months), for a total of 9 months. Topalov was world number one successively 4 and 6 times (a total of 10 times), for 12 months and 15 months respectively (for a total of 27 months). Anand was world number one successively 2 and 3 times (a total of 5 times), for 6 months and 9 months respectively (for a total of 15 months). As of September 2023, ^[update] Carlsen has been world number one a record 147 times, including a record 141 consecutive times since July 2011.

Time at FIDE number one and youngest age at FIDE number one

Player	Months at No. 1	Peak rating	Age at first time No. 1	Date at first time No. 1	Rating at first time No. 1
Garry Kasparov	255	2851	20 years, 263 days	January 1, 1984	2710
Magnus Carlsen	175	2882	19 years, 32 days	January 1, 2010	2810
Anatoly Karpov	102	2780	24 years, 223 days	January 1, 1976	2695
Bobby Fischer	54	2785	28 years, 114 days	July 1, 1971	2760
Veselin Topalov	27	2816	31 years, 17 days	April 1, 2006	2804
Viswanathan Anand	21	2817	37 years, 111 days	April 1, 2007	2786
Vladimir Kramnik	9	2817	20 years, 190 days	January 1, 1996	2775

Women

List of world female number ones

The following is a list of the players ranked number one female on the FIDE rating system from the first official list in July 1971 to the present day, along with their ratings during the periods in question. A rating denoted with bold text followed by an asterisk (*) is a career high rating.

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
1971	(before official FIDE ratings)						Nona Gaprindashvili (2390)
1972							Nona Gaprindashvili (2450)
1973							Nona Gaprindashvili (2420)
1974					Nona Gaprindashvili (2405)
1975	Nona Gaprindashvili (2410)
1976	Nona Gaprindashvili (2440)
1977	Nona Gaprindashvili (2445)
1978	Nona Gaprindashvili (2425)
1979	Nona Gaprindashvili (2405)
1980	Maia Chiburdanidze (2400)
1981	Maia Chiburdanidze (2425)						(2405)
1982	Maia Chiburdanidze (2390)						(2385)
1983	Pia Cramling (2355)						Maia Chiburdanidze (2380)
1984	Pia Cramling (2405)						Susan Polgar (2405)
1985	Susan Polgar (2430)						Maia Chiburdanidze (2450)
1986	Maia Chiburdanidze (2455)						Susan Polgar (2455)
1987	Maia Chiburdanidze (2530)						(2550)
1988	Maia Chiburdanidze (2560*)						(2555)
1989	Judit Polgár (2555)
1990	Judit Polgár (2550)						(2540)
1991	Judit Polgár (2540)						(2550)
1992	Judit Polgár (2550)						(2575)
1993	Judit Polgár (2595)						(2635)
1994	Judit Polgár (2630)
1995	Judit Polgár (2630)						(2635)
1996	Judit Polgár (2675)						(2665)
1997	Judit Polgár (2645)						(2670)
1998	Judit Polgár (2675)						(2665)
1999	Judit Polgár (2677)						(2671)
2000	Judit Polgár (2658)						(2656)
2001	Judit Polgár (2676)			(2678)			(2686)
2002	Judit Polgár (2677)						(2681)			(2685)
2003	Judit Polgár (2700)			(2715)			(2718)			(2722)
2004	Judit Polgár (2728)
2005	Susan Polgar (2577*)			Judit Polgár (2732)			Judit Polgár (2735*)
2006	Judit Polgár (2711)						(2710)
2007	Judit Polgár (2727)						(2707)			(2708)
2008	Judit Polgár (2707)			(2709)			(2711)
2009	Judit Polgár (2693)						(2687)				(2680)
2010	Judit Polgár (2682)										(2686)
2011	Judit Polgár (2686)				(2699)				(2701)		(2710)
2012	Judit Polgár (2710)		(2709)					(2698)		(2705)
2013	Judit Polgár (2696)									(2689)		(2693)
2014	Judit Polgár (2693)			(2685)			(2676)		(2675)
2015	Judit Polgár (2675)		Hou Yifan (2686*)			(2676)		Judit Polgar (2675)	Hou Yifan (2671)		(2683)
2016	Hou Yifan (2673)		(2667)	(2663)				(2658)		(2649)	(2635)	(2651)
2017	Hou Yifan (2651)		(2649)		(2652)	(2666)		(2652)	(2670)	(2678)	(2680)
2018	Hou Yifan (2680)	(2654)		(2657)	(2658)							(2662)
2019	Hou Yifan (2662)					(2659)						(2664)
2020	Hou Yifan (2664)		(2658)
2021	Hou Yifan (2658)
2022	Hou Yifan (2658)		(2650)							(2638)
2023	Hou Yifan (2638)		(2628)								(2632)
2024	Hou Yifan (2632)							(2633)
2025	Hou Yifan (2633)		(Future)
Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December

Timeline

Women statistics

Time at FIDE number one and youngest age at FIDE number one

Player	Months at No. 1	Peak rating	Age at first time No. 1	Date at first time No. 1	Rating at first time No. 1
Judit Polgar	312	2735	12 years, 162 days	January 1, 1989	2555
Hou Yifan	119	2686	21 years, 2 days	March 1, 2015	2686
Nona Gaprindashvili	102	2495	30 years, 59 days	July 1, 1971	2390
Maia Chiburdanidze	78	2560	18 years, 349 days	January 1, 1980	2400
Susan Polgar	21	2577	15 years, 73 days	July 1, 1984	2405
Pia Cramling	12	2550	19 years, 253 days	January 1, 1983	2355

List of junior world number ones

FIDE publishes lists of highest-rated junior chess players; a "junior" is defined as being a player who is aged under 20 at the start of the year. The following is a list of the players ranked number one junior in the FIDE rating system from July 1999 to the present day, along with their ratings during the periods in question.

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
1999	N/A						Peter Leko (2701) [5]
2000	Ruslan Ponomariov (2627) [6]						(2630)			(2624)
2001	Ruslan Ponomariov (2677)			(2673)			(2684)
2002	Ruslan Ponomariov (2727)			(2743)
2003	Ruslan Ponomariov (2734)			(2718)			Alexander Grischuk (2732)
2004	Teimour Radjabov (2656)			(2670)			(2664)			(2663)
2005	Andrei Volokitin (2685)			(2679)			Teimour Radjabov (2682)			(2704)
2006	Teimour Radjabov (2700)			(2717)			(2728)			(2729)
2007	Teimour Radjabov (2729)			(2747)			(2746)			(2742)
2008	Magnus Carlsen (2733)			(2765)			(2775)			(2786)
2009	Magnus Carlsen (2776)			(2770)			(2772)				(2801)
2010	Magnus Carlsen (2810)		(2813)				(2826)				(2802)
2011	Fabiano Caruana (2721)		(2716)		(2714)		Lê Quang Liêm (2711)		Anish Giri (2722)		Fabiano Caruana (2727)
2012	Fabiano Caruana (2736)		(2767)		(2770)		(2775)	(2773)		(2772)	(2786)	(2782)
2013	Anish Giri (2726)	(2722)	(2729)	(2727)	(2734)			(2737)		(2749)	(2732)	(2734)
2014	Anish Giri (2734)	(2746)	(2745)		(2746)	(2752)	(2750)	(2745)	(2758)	(2768)	(2776)	(2768)
2015	Richárd Rapport (2716)	(2703)	(2709)	(2710)	Wei Yi		(2724)	(2725)	(2734)		(2737)	(2730)
					(2718)	(2721)
2016	Richárd Rapport (2721)		(2720)	(2717)	(2731)		(2752)			(2729)	(2730)	(2717)
2017	Wei Yi (2706)	(2725)		(2727)	(2732)	(2728)	(2738)	(2753)	(2748)	(2740)	(2739)	(2743)
2018	Wei Yi (2743)	(2734)					Jan-Krzysztof Duda		Wei Yi (2742)		Jan-Krzysztof Duda
							(2737)	(2740)			(2738)
2019	Wei Yi (2733)			(2728)	(2736)	(2741)	(2737)	(2727)	(2721)		(2724)	(2725)
2020	Alireza Firouzja (FIDE)		(2728)								(2749)
	(2723)	(2726)
2021	Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) (2749)		(2759)				Alireza Firouzja (2759)		(2754)	(2770)		(2804)
2022	Alireza Firouzja (2804)					(2793)		(2778)		(2785)
2023	Alireza Firouzja (2785)					(2786)	(2777)					(2763)
2024	Vincent Keymer (2743)	R Praggnanandhaa (2747)	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2750)	(2765)		(2766)	(2769)	Gukesh D (2766)	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2766)	Gukesh D (2794)	(2783)
2025	Gukesh D (2783)	(2777)
Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December

List of girl world number ones

FIDE publishes lists of highest-rated girl chess players; a "girl" is defined as being a player who is aged under 20 at the start of the year, and female. The following is a list of the players ranked number one girl in the FIDE rating system from January 2000 to the present day, along with their ratings during the periods in question.

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2000	Hoang Thanh Trang (2448) [7]						(2489)			(2493)
2001	Xu Yuanyuan (2437)			Viktorija Čmilytė (2464)			(2464)			Humpy Koneru (2484)
2002	Humpy Koneru (2539)			(2486)			(2473)			(2484)
2003	Humpy Koneru (2496)			(2496)			(2468) [8]			Kateryna Lagno (2486) [note 1]
2004	Humpy Koneru (2498)			(2513)			Alexandra Kosteniuk (2511)			(2508)
2005	Humpy Koneru (2512)			(2508)			(2531)			(2540)
2006	Humpy Koneru (2537)			(2548)			(2545)			(2545)
2007	Humpy Koneru (2567)			(2575)			(2572)			(2606)
2008	Hou Yifan (2527)			(2549)			(2557)			(2578)
2009	Hou Yifan (2571)			(2590)			(2584)		(2585)		(2588)
2010	Hou Yifan (2590)		(2570)		(2589)		(2577)		(2578)		(2591)
2011	Hou Yifan (2602)				(2612)		(2575)		(2578)
2012	Hou Yifan (2605)		(2639)		(2623)		(2617)	(2599)		(2605)	(2606)
2013	Hou Yifan (2603)	(2617)				(2595)	(2600)	(2609)		(2621)	(2629)
2014	Hou Yifan (2629)			(2618)	(2629)			(2661)	(2663)	(2673)
2015	Aleksandra Goryachkina
	(2451)		(2456)	(2473)	(2474)	(2486)		(2474)	(2497)	(2480)	(2478)	(2493)
2016	Aleksandra Goryachkina			Lei Tingjie			Aleksandra Goryachkina (2482)	Lei Tingjie
	(2502)		(2509)	(2504)	(2487) [note 2]			(2480)		(2473)		(2468)
2017	Lei Tingjie (2467)		(2480)		(2471)	(2482)	(2488)	(2522)	(2514)	(2534)	(2528)
2018	Aleksandra Goryachkina
	(2493)		(2491)	(2495)	(2496)	(2505)	(2509)	(2535)		(2536)	(2534)	(2518)
2019	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2468)		Polina Shuvalova (2471)	Zhansaya Abdumalik					Zhu Jiner		Zhansaya Abdumalik
				(2463)	(2464)		(2458)	(2457)	(2471)	(2507)	(2472)	(2465)
2020	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2471)		(2461)	(2478)
2021	Polina Shuvalova (2476)				(2484)	(2489)		(2507)	(2510)	(2509)	(2515)	(2516)
2022	Zhu Jiner (2478)		(2464)							(2484)	(2486)
2023	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2440)				(2464)	(2469)					(2468)	(2472)
2024	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2472)			(2481)		(2472)		Divya Deshmukh (2472)	(2483)	(2501)	(2493)	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2492)
2025	Divya Deshmukh (2490)
Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December

Rapid and blitz ratings

Since January 2012, FIDE has also calculated ratings for Rapid and Blitz chess, and has published top player rating lists for these time controls since May 2014. ^{[11] [12]}

Rapid chess

Top players

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Hikaru Nakamura (2841) [11]		Fabiano Caruana (2858)
2015	Fabiano Caruana (2856)		Carlsen (2855)	Hikaru Nakamura (2850)							Magnus Carlsen (2873)
2016	Magnus Carlsen (2878)						(2894)					(2906)
2017	Magnus Carlsen (2896)						(2919)	(2909)				(2908)
2018	Magnus Carlsen (2880)											(2903)
2019	Magnus Carlsen (2869)					(2895)			Maxime Vachier-Lagrave			Carlsen
									(2867)		(2873)	(2886)
2020	Magnus Carlsen (2881)
2021	Magnus Carlsen (2881)								Magnus Carlsen (2842)
2022	Magnus Carlsen (2847)							Hikaru Nakamura (2837)	Magnus Carlsen (2834)
2023	Magnus Carlsen (2839)					Ding Liren (2830)
2024	Ding Liren (2830)	Magnus Carlsen (2823)				(2827)				(2834)	(2825)	(2838)
2025	Magnus Carlsen (2819)

Top women

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Judit Polgár (2656) [11]		(2646)
2015	Judit Polgár (2646)						Hou Yifan (2614)				(2625)
2016	Hou Yifan(2625)			(2631)						(2645)
2017	Anna Muzychuk (2611)		Hou Yifan (2611)					(2617)		(2618)
2018	Hou Yifan (2618)		Anna Muzychuk (2611)		(2597)			(2609)
2019	Ju Wenjun (2618)		(2613)
2020	Hou Yifan (2621)
2021	Hou Yifan (2621)
2022	Ju Wenjun (2610)	Alexandra Kosteniuk (2542)		Alexandra Kosteniuk (FIDE) (2542)					Ju Wenjun (2600)	Hou Yifan (2618)
2023	Hou Yifan (2618)				Ju Wenjun (2592)				(2581)	(2575)
2024	Ju Wenjun (2566)					(2550)		Hou Yifan (2550)	Ju Wenjun (2536)		Hou Yifan (2539)
2025	Ju Wenjun (2542)

Top juniors

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Richárd Rapport (2707) [11]		(2717)	(2724)
2015	Richárd Rapport (2724)			(2736)
2016	Richárd Rapport (2729)
2017	Vladislav Artemiev (2706)					(2719)			(2708)	(2712)	(2687)
2018	Vladislav Artemiev (2767)					(2733)				(2764)	(2812)
2019	Wei Yi (2698)					(2713)					Jeffery Xiong (2730)
2020	Jeffery Xiong (2730)
2021	Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) (2703)						Alireza Firouzja (2696)		Andrey Esipenko (2681)		(2679)
2022	Andrey Esipenko (2679)			Andrey Esipenko (FIDE)				Alireza Firouzja
								(2704)	(2732)	(2745)
2023	Alireza Firouzja (2745)							(2742)				(2737)
2024	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2733)					(2724)		(2732)	(2723)	(2722)	(2742)	(2740)
2025	Praggnanandhaa R (2684)

Top girls

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Hou Yifan (2600) [11]
2015	Guo Qi (2426)				Aleksandra Goryachkina
					(2429)	(2453)
2016	Lei Tingjie (2445)					(2446)					Aleksandra Goryachkina
											(2456)	(2466)
2017	Aleksandra Goryachkina (2462)										(2487)	(2460)
2018	Aleksandra Goryachkina (2476)				(2477)
2019	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2490)					(2484)
2020	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2462)
2021	Polina Shuvalova (2394)								Carissa Yip (2393)		Polina Shuvalova (2400)
2022	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2396)
2023	Carissa Yip (2393)	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2359)			(2432)				(2439)		(2436)
2024	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2425)							(2434)	(2439)		(2444)
2025	Alice Lee (2412)

Blitz chess

Top players (blitz)

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Hikaru Nakamura (2879) [11]		Magnus Carlsen (2948)
2015	Magnus Carlsen (2948)			(2933)			(2914)				Hikaru Nakamura (2884)
2016	Magnus Carlsen (2890)				(2915)		Ding Liren (2875)
2017	Magnus Carlsen 2914)						(2899)	(2948)				(2986)
2018	Magnus Carlsen (2965)					(2939)
2019	Magnus Carlsen (2954)					(2923)	Maxime Vachier-Lagrave		Hikaru Nakamura
							(2948)	(2939)	(2871)			(2885)
2020	Hikaru Nakamura (2900)
2021	Hikaru Nakamura (2900)								Magnus Carlsen (2892)
2022	Hikaru Nakamura (2850)					Levon Aronian (2850)				Hikaru Nakamura (2909)
2023	Alireza Firouzja (2904)					(2896)						Magnus Carlsen (2887)
2024	Magnus Carlsen (2886)					(2888)					(2893)	(2890)
2025	Magnus Carlsen (2889)	(2883)

Top women (blitz)

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Judit Polgár (2673) [11]		Judit Polgár (2736)
2015	Judit Polgár (2736)						Hou Yifan (2704)
2016	Valentina Gunina (2598)		Kateryna Lagno				Hou Yifan (2676)
			(2594)	(2641)
2017	Anna Muzychuk (2663)										Hou Yifan (2659)
2018	Nana Dzagnidze (2580)							Hou Yifan (2627)
2019	Hou Yifan (2627)							Kateryna Lagno (2587)			(2606)
2020	Kateryna Lagno (2608)
2021	Kateryna Lagno (2608)								Hou Yifan (2601)
2022	Kateryna Lagno (2522)
2023	Tan Zhongyi (2519)				Hou Yifan (2561)
2024	Hou Yifan (2561)				Ju Wenjun (2500)		Kateryna Lagno (2500)	Hou Yifan (2529)	(2522)
2025	Hou Yifan (2522)

Top juniors (blitz)

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Yu Yangyi (2771) [11]		Anish Giri (2757)
2015	Olexandr Bortnyk				Vladimir Fedoseev (2798)			Lu Shanglei (2780)
	(2761)	(2762)	(2764)
2016	Daniil Dubov (2713)		Vladislav Artemiev (2724)	Olexandr Bortnyk (2769)			(2784)			Vladislav Artemiev
										(2781)	(2847)
2017	Vladislav Artemiev (2777)		(2785)	(2746)					Wei Yi (2740)	Vladislav Artemiev
										(2729)	(2798)
2018	Vladislav Artemiev (2834)			(2824)	(2849)						(2825)
2019	Alireza Firouzja (2724)			Parham Maghsoodloo (2719)				(2729)	(2735)
2020	Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) (2750)				(2770)
2021	Alireza Firouzja (FIDE) (2770)						Alireza Firouzja (2810)
2022	Alireza Firouzja (2791)							(2795)		(2904)
2023	Alireza Firouzja (2904)					(2896)						(2863)
2024	Nihal Sarin (2704)								(2711)	Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2715)		Praggnanandhaa R (2716)
2025	Praggnanandhaa R (2717)

Top girls (blitz)

Year	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	December
2014	N/A				Hou Yifan (2662) [11]
2015	Guo Qi (2396)						Aleksandra Goryachkina		Wang Jue (2505)
							(2363)	(2377)
2016	Zhai Mo (2398)			Lei Tingjie
				(2415)	(2434)					(2446)
2017	Lei Tingjie (2446)					(2451)				(2461)
2018	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2457)			Aleksandra Goryachkina
				(2449)	(2448)	(2422)
2019	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2368)					(2415)
2020	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2409)									Aleksandra Maltsevskaya (2411)	Zhansaya Abdumalik (2409)
2021	Vaishali Rameshbabu (2313)									Polina Shuvalova (2341)		R Vaishali (2313)
2022	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2404)
2023	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2440)				(2461)	(2478)				(2476)
2024	Bibisara Assaubayeva (2469)							(2457)	(2443)
2025	Divya Deshmukh (2343)	Eline Roebers (2360)

See also

• Chess portal
• World portal

• Comparison of top chess players throughout history
• Chess rating systems
• List of chess players by peak FIDE rating

Notes

1. FIDE erroneously states that Anna Muzychuk (rated 2325) was the highest-rated girl player in October 2003, despite their official list showing sixteen girl players more highly-rated than Muzychuk. ^[9]
2. FIDE did not release an official list of top girl players in May 2016, perhaps as a reference to the HTTP 404 computer error: such a list, if published, would have been numbered 404 on the FIDE website. ^[10]

References

1. "History of Elo ratings 1971-2001". OlimpBase. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023.
2. FIDE January 2007 Rating List: Top 100, The Week In Chess
3. Spassky Kings Don't Rule
4. Kasparov was excluded from FIDE ratings during 1994:
   • "History of Elo ratings 1971-2001". OlimpBase. Archived from the original on September 3, 2023.
   • Lundstrom, Harold (February 18, 1994). "Kasparov, Short Omitted from FIDE's Global Rating". Deseret News .
   • Evans, Larry (4 November 1995). "Controversy over Two Rival Rating Systems" . Sun-Sentinel . Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
   • Di Luca, Giovanni. "Why Did Kasparov Leave FIDE? A Brief History". Chess Pulse.
   • "World Chess Championship – FIDE/PCA Chronology". mark-weeks.com.
5. FIDE Top 20 Juniors july 1999, web.archive.org (november 1999).
6. FIDE Top 20 Juniors january 2000, web.archive.org (march 2000).
7. FIDE Top 20 girls, january 2000, web.archive.org, january 2000.
8. "Top 20 Girls July 2003 FIDE Top players archive".
9. "Top 20 Girls October 2003 FIDE Top players archive".
10. "Top 100 Girls May 2016 FIDE Top players archive".
11. Nakamura is world no.1 in Rapid and Blitz, ChessBase, May 2014.
12. FIDE Chess Rankings and Statistics, ratings.fide.com

External links

• All Time Rankings, includes "Top 10 lists from 1970 to 1997"
• FIDE historical ratings (1970–2000)
• World Top Chess players (from FIDE, includes archive of FIDE Top Lists from July 2000 to the present)