GMs Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus are the stars on an October FIDE rating list dominated by the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand. Abdusattorov climbed two spots to world number-five after picking up 18 rating points and individual gold on board one, while Erdogmus took silver and is now the highest-rated 15-year-old ever after picking up 15 points and moving to world number-17. GM Zhu Jiner was the women's star to gain team and individual gold on board one, picking up nine rating points to regain the women's number-two spot behind GM Hou Yifan.

GMs Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura continue to lead the rating list after skipping the Olympiad, but most of the world elite was in action.

Abdusattorov led Uzbekistan to Olympiad gold by example, scoring big wins over GMs Richard Rapport (-15 rating points for September), Ding Liren (-10), and Fabiano Caruana (-5) and holding draws against key rivals GMs Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Vincent Keymer. 

Abdusattorov moved up two spots to world number-five, but a missed win in the final round allowed GM Javokhir Sindarov to remain Uzbek number-one and world number-four in the run-up to the world championship match. Sindarov, who gained four points, also took individual bronze on board two in the craziest board contest—his 2797 performance was a single point behind GMs Wei Yi and Jorden van Foreest. 

Olympiad Board 2 Podium: Open

Wei's performance (+6 rating points) took him back into the top 10, with GM Alireza Firouzja joining him, as GMs Anish Giri (-5) and Arjun Erigaisi (-13) slipped out. Van Foreest gained 10 rating points and moved up six spots, but was hit by a last round loss to GM Matthias Bluebaum—a win that kept Bluebaum as the German number-two, above Olympiad star GM Frederik Svane, who won gold on board three.

The biggest rating gain for an Uzbek player—and the biggest gain of anyone in the top 100—was the 27 points of GM Nodirbek Yakubboev, that saw the 24-year-old crash through the 2700 barrier for the first time in his career, hitting 2712. Just 14.4 points of that gain came from an individual silver-medal performance in Samarkand, with the other 12.8 points coming from a 3-1 match victory over GM Amin Tabatabaei to mark Uzbekistan's Independence Day.

The Olympiad, meanwhile, was another stepping stone on Erdogmus' rise to the top. The Turkish prodigy gained another 15 points, entered the top-20 for the first time (at number 17), and, despite only turning 15 in June, at 2731 he's already broken Wei's record for a 15-year-old of 2721. He's also only six points short of Wei's record of 2737 for a 16-year-old.   

Erdogmus held draws with Black against top-10 stars Abdusattorov, GM Vincent Keymer, and Caruana, while winning the battle of the prodigies against 12-year-old GM Faustino Oro.

One drama on the live rating list that didn't become official was World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju dropping half a point below 2700 in round two of the Olympiad.

World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju drops under 2700 by live rating with a draw against Indonesian IM Satria Duta Cahaya!https://t.co/QCjANwWwI2#ChessOlympiad pic.twitter.com/GPj9w1JxQv

— chess24 ( @chess24com) September 17, 2026

The 20-year-old Indian's draw had helped to team win their match, and he would go on to power the team with 7/8 in the coming rounds. A last-round defeat to GM Gleb Dudin was a rating blow and cost individual gold, but Gukesh still gained seven points to end on 2710.

FIDE Classical Ratings Top 100 Women | October 2026

The Women's Chess Olympiad was notable for missing seven of the world's top-10 players, but Zhu took the chance to move back to women's world number-two as she combined team gold for China with individual gold on board one.

GM Koneru Humpy also gained nine points in what she called her best Olympiad for India, helping the team to bronze. GM Bibisara Assaubayeva had a relatively modest performance, dropping four points and one spot, but her solid result on top board helped Kazakhstan to silver medals.

The biggest gains near the top came for the U.S. duo of IMs Carissa Yip and Alice Lee, with Yip climbing to 2484 and 13th, while Lee, the highest-rated women's junior, moved to 2467 and 17th. 

They'll both get a chance to move closer to the 2500 they need as a GM title requirement when they compete in the U.S. Women's Championship 2026 in just over a week's time.

Women's World Championship Challenger Vaishali Rameshbabu struggled at the Olympiad, dropping 17 points and eight spots to world number-24. Meanwhile a number of players made big gains to cross 2400, including Armenian WGM Mariam Mkrtchyan (2421, +47), Indian IM Savitha Shri (2405, +23), Polish IM Oliwia Kiolbasa (2405, +19), and Chinese IM Lu Miaoyi (2400, +29). 16-year-old Lu will be hoping Olympiad team and individual gold will help her resume her climb, after hitting a plateau and even dropping rating in the last couple of years.

One name we can't avoid is that of 11-year-old FM Bodhana Sivanandan, who we covered separately after she became the youngest-ever WGM and also gained an IM norm. Her 28-point gain has taken her up to 2382 and women's world number-64 on the October rating list. 

FIDE Classical Ratings Top 25 Juniors | October 2026

Erdogmus continues to reign supreme on the list of the top 25 juniors, with his lead soon set to increase as players such as Gukesh and GMs Pranav Venkatesh, Pranesh M, and Volodar Murzin become too old for the list.

One mover in the top-10 was GM Denis Lazavik, who benefited from the decision to allow Belarus back into the Olympiad. On board one he defeated GMs Jan-Krzysztof Duda and Nikita Vitiugov as he gained 15 points.   

All data courtesy of FIDE.