Javokhir Sindarov leads reigning champion Gukesh Dommaraju by 72 rating points and 22 places on the November list from the International Chess Federation (FIDE).2,4 Sindarov goes into the 2026 Salesforce FIDE World Championship against Gukesh with that lead.2

The new FIDE rating list also moves Nihal Sarin into the world top 20 and drops Hans Niemann below the 2700 mark.3

The Top of the FIDE Rating List

Sindarov is listed under Uzbekistan and was born in 2005.8 The wider top 100 includes players such as Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura.10 Carlsen and Alice Lee are among the players who top the rankings in their respective categories.3

Despite a number of top players being in action in October, the rankings at the top were left almost unchanged.2 The US Chess Championships and the European Club Cup were the most important tournaments of the past month.3 Both brought changes to the rankings of the world's top players.3

Biggest Movers

The biggest climber near the top was Nihal Sarin, whose European Club Cup result, equal to playing at a 2859 rating level, took him up to a career-best world number-19.2

Women's Rankings

The women's top 10 stayed unchanged, but Alice Lee climbed to 14th and took over as the U.S. women's number-one, while Rachael Li, another player on the women's list, climbed 50 points and Carissa Yip dropped 31.2

The standout women's performance was by Bodhana Sivanandan, who earned the international master title, an official chess title, and is the seventh youngest international master, male or female, of all time.2

How FIDE Ratings Work

FIDE governs international chess competition, and each month it publishes rating lists.4 It also publishes national rankings based on the average rating of each country's top 10 players and top 10 female players in classical chess, the traditional format played with long time limits per game.4 Ratings are calculated using the Elo rating system, a points-based method that gives each player a number, which is what lets FIDE rank and compare players on its monthly lists.4

Between monthly updates, the site 2700chess tracks live ratings, real-time updates and advanced stats for all active FIDE-rated players around the globe.5 You can also browse game archives and historical charts there.5

If all this rating talk makes you want to play, Friend Chess lets you generate a private game code, share it with one person and play together online. It also offers a visible move history and quick rematches.

What to Watch Next

Denis Lazavik is approaching 2650 after winning the 2026 KazChess Masters with an unbeaten 6.5/9.9 Daniil Dubov was the only other unbeaten player, half a point back.9 It was also a memorable tournament for 14-year-old Mark Smirnov.9

The Speed Chess Championship is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with live finals in London.6 The 11th edition of the Speed Chess Championship (XI) starts in November and features a $250,000 prize fund.9 Eight players have officially qualified for it.6

Sources