2025 in chess
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Major chess events in 2025 include the annual Tata Steel Chess Tournament, Norway Chess and Grand Chess Tour. Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun defended her title against challenger Tan Zhongyi in the Women's World Chess Championship. Anish Giri won the FIDE Grand Swiss Tournament and, alongside runner-up Matthias Blübaum, qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2026. The Chess World Cup in November determined the three qualifiers. The event was won by Javokhir Sindarov, who, at age 19, became the youngest player to date to win the event. R Praggnanandhaa won the 2025 FIDE Circuit, encompassing major tournaments held in 2025, and qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2026. The annual World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships took place in December, where Magnus Carlsen clinched both World Rapid and Blitz titles, meanwhile Aleksandra Goryachkina and Bibisara Assaubayeva claimed the Women's Rapid and Blitz titles respectively.
January
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Magnus Carlsen |
2831 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 |  Fabiano Caruana |
2803 | -2 |
| 3 | 3 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2802 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 |  Arjun Erigaisi |
2801 | 0 |
| 5 | 5 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2777 | -6 |
| 6 | 6 |  Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2768 | -9 |
| 7 | 7 |  Alireza Firouzja |
2763 | 0 |
| 8 | 8 |  Ian Nepomniachtchi |
2754 | -1 |
| 9 | 9 |  Wei Yi |
2751 | -2 |
| 10 | 10 | Viswanathan Anand |
2750 | 0 |
- Jan 4 – World number one Magnus Carlsen married Ella Victoria Malone in a ceremony in Oslo.[1]
- Jan 8 – Vladimir Fedoseev won the Freestyle Chess play-in to qualify for the Weissenhaus Grand Slam, the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.[2]
- Jan 11 – 9-year-old Roman Shogdzhiev became the youngest player to score an International Master norm.[3]
- Jan 11 – Magnus Carlsen made his debut for FC St. Pauli in the Chess Bundesliga, where he played for the first time since 2008, scoring 1½/2.[4][5]
- Jan 17 – The President of India, Droupadi Murmu conferred the Khel Ratna Award on World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.[6]
- Jan 24 – The FIDE Council decided to allow the participation of teams consisting of neutral athletes, particularly Russian and Belarusian athletes, in youth competitions and events for players with disabilities.[7]
- Jan 27 – In a decision by the FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission, Andrejs Strebkovs' ban from all FIDE-rated events was extended to 12 years, and his FIDE title of International Master was revoked.[8][9]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2833 | +2 |
| 2 | 2 | Fabiano Caruana |
2803 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2802 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2801 | 0 |
| 5 | 5 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2777 | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2766 | -2 |
| 7 | 7 | Alireza Firouzja |
2760 | -3 |
| 8 | 9 | Wei Yi |
2755 | +4 |
| 9 | 8 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
2754 | 0 |
| 10 | 10 | Viswanathan Anand |
2750 | 0 |
February
- Feb 2 – R Praggnanandhaa defeated Gukesh Dommaraju 2–1 in a blitz playoff to win the Tata Steel Masters, after both players finished on 8½/13. Gukesh lost his first game as world champion in the final round against Arjun Erigaisi. Thai Dai Van Nguyen won the Challengers and qualified for the 2026 Masters.[10][11]
- Feb 10 – FIDE announced that the Women's World Chess Championship 2025 between Ju Wenjun and Tan Zhongyi would take place in Shanghai and Chongqing from April 1 to 23.[12]
- Feb 14 – Vincent Keymer won the first leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour after defeating Magnus Carlsen in the semifinals and Fabiano Caruana in the finals.[13]
- Feb 21 – Magnus Carlsen won the Chessable Masters, the first leg of the Champions Chess Tour 2025. The top three – Carlsen, Hikaru Nakamura, and Ian Nepomniachtchi, qualified for the 2025 Esports World Cup.[14]
- Feb 27 – Aleksandra Goryachkina won the third leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 on tiebreaks, ahead of Koneru Humpy and Batkhuyag Munguntuul, who all scored 5½/9. Goryachkina took the lead in the Grand Prix standings.[15]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2833 | 0 |
| 2 | 3 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2802 | 0 |
| 3 | 5 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2787 | +10 |
| 4 | 2 | Fabiano Caruana |
2783 | -20 |
| 5 | 4 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2777 | -24 |
| 6 | 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2773 | +7 |
| 7 | 8 | Wei Yi |
2760 | +5 |
| 8 | 14 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2758 | +17 |
| 9 | 7 | Alireza Firouzja |
2757 | -3 |
| 10 | 8 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
2753 | -1 |
March
- Mar 6 – Ian Nepomniachtchi won the Aeroflot Open for the fourth time, ahead of Richárd Rapport and Andrey Esipenko.[16]
- Mar 7 – Aravindh Chithambaram won the Prague Chess Festival Masters, going undefeated with three wins and six draws. Nodirbek Yakubboev won the Challengers after defeating Jonas Buhl Bjerre 1½-½ in a playoff.[17]
- Mar 7 – Pranav V and Anna Shukhman became the World Junior Chess Champions.[18]
- Mar 8 – Daniil Dubov played an exhibition blitz match against Hans Niemann in Moscow, winning 9½-8½.[19]
- Mar 15 – Vidit Gujrathi won the Freestyle Chess play-in to qualify for the Paris Grand Slam, the second leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour.[20]
- Mar 23 – Hikaru Nakamura won the American Cup, after beating Fabiano Caruana in the grand final. It was the second time he won the event, after first winning it in 2023. He also won the blitz tournament held the following day.[21]
- Mar 24 – Anna Muzychuk won the fourth leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25, edging out Zhu Jiner on tiebreaks.[22][23]
- Mar 26 – The FIDE Ethics and Disciplinary Commission sanctioned Kirill Shevchenko with a worldwide ban of three years, with one year of the sanction suspended, after finding him guilty of breaching Article 11.7(e) of the Disciplinary Code by attempting to cheat using an electronic device in the Spanish Team Championship.[24][25]
- Mar 27 – Matthias Blübaum won the European Individual Chess Championship, becoming the first player to win it twice. Frederik Svane and Maxim Rodshtein finished on the same score as Blübaum, but came second and third on tiebreaks, respectively.[26]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2837 | +4 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2804 | +2 |
| 3 | 3 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2787 | 0 |
| 4 | 5 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2782 | +5 |
| 5 | 4 | Fabiano Caruana |
2776 | -7 |
| 6 | 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2773 | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | Wei Yi |
2758 | -2 |
| 8 | 8 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2758 | 0 |
| 9 | 10 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
2757 | +4 |
| 10 | 9 | Alireza Firouzja |
2757 | 0 |
April
- Apr 2 – Vidit Gujrathi married Nidhi Kataria in a wedding held at the Oxford Golf Resort in Pune. It was attended by World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand, Arjun Erigaisi and Anish Giri, among others.[27][28]
- Apr 14 – Magnus Carlsen won the second leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the semifinals, and Hikaru Nakamura in the final.[29]
- Apr 16 – Ju Wenjun defeated Tan Zhongyi by a score of 6½-2½ to win the Women's World Chess Championship 2025, retaining her title and becoming world champion for the fifth time.[30][31]
- Apr 21 – Magnus Carlsen scored a perfect 9/9 in the inaugural Grenke Freestyle Open and won the tournament. Aswath S tied with Brandon Jacobson with 8/9 in Classical Open but won on tiebreaks.[32]
- Apr 23 – Koneru Humpy won the fifth leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 on tiebreaks, ahead of Zhu Jiner.[33]
- Apr 27 – Vasily Ivanchuk won the 4th Menorca Open with 8/9.[34]
- Apr 30 – Vladimir Fedoseev won the GCT Rapid & Blitz Poland with three rounds to spare, scoring 26½/36. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished second with 21½/36, while R Praggnanandhaa finished third with 20½/36.[35]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2837 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2804 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2787 | 0 |
| 4 | 5 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2782 | 0 |
| 5 | 4 | Fabiano Caruana |
2776 | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2771 | -2 |
| 7 | 7 | Wei Yi |
2758 | |
| 8 | 8 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2758 | 0 |
| 9 | 10 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
2757 | 0 |
| 10 | 9 | Alireza Firouzja |
2757 | 0 |
May
- May 3 – Christopher Yoo won the Sardinia Chess Festival with a score of 7.5/9.[36]
- May 6 – Aleksandar Inđić won the Baku Open 2025 with a score of 7/9.[37]
- May 9 – Christopher Yoo was slapped with a 60-day provisional suspension (9 May – July 8) after multiple harassment complaints, previously under USCF domestic ban since November 14, 2024.[38][39]
- May 15 – Bardiya Daneshvar won the Asian Chess Championship which was his maiden title. He had tied with Nihal Sarin by 7/9 but won by tiebreaks. The defending champion Shamsiddin Vokhidov finished third with 6.5/9. Song Yuxin won in the women's section.[40]
- May 16 – There was a three-way tie for first between R Praggnanandhaa, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Alireza Firouzja in the Superbet Chess Classic on 5½/9. Praggnanandhaa won the blitz playoff to win the tournament.[41]
- May 16 – Anna Muzychuk won the final leg of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 on tiebreaks, ahead of Zhu Jiner. Thus Zhu Jiner and Aleksandra Goryachkina who finished as winner and runner-up of the FIDE Women's Grand Prix 2024–25 both qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026.[42]
- May 23 – Vincent Keymer won his maiden German Chess Championship, held in Munich.[43]
- May 25 – Anish Giri won the Sharjah Masters ahead of Aleksandar Indjic and Nodirbek Abdusattorov.[44]
- May 26 – Javokhir Sindarov won the TePe Sigeman & Co chess tournament ahead of Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus and Nils Grandelius.[45]
- May 31 – Sam Shankland won the American Continental Championship for third time in his career. José Martínez and Alexandr Fier finished second and third place respectively.[46]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2837 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2804 | 0 |
| 3 | 4 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2782 | 0 |
| 4 | 5 | Fabiano Caruana |
2777 | +1 |
| 5 | 3 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2776 | -11 |
| 6 | 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2767 | -4 |
| 7 | 7 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2767 | +9 |
| 8 | 9 | Alireza Firouzja |
2766 | +9 |
| 9 | 8 | Wei Yi |
2758 | 0 |
| 10 | 10 | Ian Nepomniachtchi |
2757 | 0 |
June
- Jun 1 – World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju defeated world number one and former world champion Magnus Carlsen for the first time in a classical game in the sixth round of Norway Chess.[47]
- Jun 4 – Aleksey Grebnev won the Dubai Open with a score of 7/9, ahead of Alan Pichot.[48]
- Jun 6 – Aravindh Chithambaram won the Stepan Avagyan Memorial on tiebreaks ahead of R Praggnanandhaa and climbed into the world's top ten in live ratings for the first time.[49]
- Jun 6 – Magnus Carlsen won Norway Chess for the seventh time, while Anna Muzychuk won the women's event.[50]
- Jun 13 – Team MGD1, led by Arjun Erigaisi, won the World Rapid Team Championship.[51]
- Jun 15 – The WR Chess Team defended their title at the World Blitz Team Championship.[52]
- Jun 27 – There was a three-way tie between R Praggnanandhaa, Nodirbek Abdusattorov and Javokhir Sindarov for first place in the UzChess Cup Masters with 5½/9. Praggnanandhaa won after two blitz playoffs to win the tournament. Nikolas Theodorou won the Challengers section with 6½/9.[53]
- Jun 30 – Alexey Sarana won the Aktobe Open with a score of 7/9, ahead of Aryan Chopra, Zhamsaran Tsydypov and P. Iniyan.[54]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2839 | +2 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2807 | +3 |
| 3 | 5 | Fabiano Caruana |
2784 | +7 |
| 4 | 7 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2779 | +1 |
| 5 | 3 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2776 | -6 |
| 6 | 5 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2776 | 0 |
| 7 | 6 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2771 | +4 |
| 8 | 8 | Alireza Firouzja |
2766 | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | Wei Yi |
2748 | -10 |
| 10 | 12 |  Anish Giri |
2748 | 0 |
July
- Jul 1 – FIDE extends the domestic suspension of Christopher Yoo to take effect worldwide, banning him from FIDE-rated events until 14 November, following a request by the USCF. Additionally, he has been put on probation until 14 November 2030.[55]
- Jul 1 – For the first time since the inception of FIDE rating lists, Russian players were absent from the world's top ten, after Ian Nepomniachtchi dropped to number 14.[56] On the other hand, Anish Giri returned to the top ten after over a year.[57]
- Jul 6 – Magnus Carlsen won the SuperUnited Rapid & Blitz Croatia with a score of 22½/36. Wesley So finished second with 20/36, while Gukesh Dommaraju finished third with 19½/36.[58]
- Jul 20 – Levon Aronian won the fourth leg of the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour after defeating Fabiano Caruana in the semifinals, and Hans Niemann in the final.[59]
- Jul 23 – IM Divya Deshmukh defeated former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi in the semi-finals of Women's Chess World Cup 2025.[60]
- Jul 24 – Vladimir Fedoseev won the Biel Masters Triathlon on tiebreaks, ahead of Aravindh Chithambaram. Nikolas Theodorou won the Challengers Triathlon.[61] The traditional open tournament was won by Karthikeyan Murali with a score of 8/10.[62]
- Jul 27 – Former Women's World Champion Tan Zhongyi defeated Lei Tingjie in the match for third place in the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 and qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026.[63]
- Jul 28 – Divya Deshmukh defeated Koneru Humpy in final of the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 with 2½–1½ and became the third Women's World Cup Champion. Both the winner and the runner-up secured a spot for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026.[64]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2839 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2807 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | Fabiano Caruana |
2784 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2779 | 0 |
| 5 | 5 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2776 | 0 |
| 6 | 6 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2776 | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov |
2771 | 0 |
| 8 | 8 | Alireza Firouzja |
2766 | 0 |
| 9 | 9 | Wei Yi |
2753 | +5 |
| 10 | 10 | Anish Giri |
2748 | 0 |
August
- Aug 1 – Magnus Carlsen, signed with Team Liquid, won the inaugural chess event at the Esports World Cup, defeating Alireza Firouzja (Team Falcons) in the final.[65]
- Aug 7 – There was an exhibition Blitz match between Jan-Krzysztof Duda & Gukesh Dommaraju hosted in Katowice, Poland. Duda won the match with a score of 5–1 despite losing the first game.[66]
- Aug 15 – Vincent Keymer won the Chennai Grand Masters with one round to spare and reached into the World's Top ten in live ratings for the first time. Pranesh M won the Challengers section with 6½/9.[67]
- Aug 15 – Levon Aronian won the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz with 24½/36. Fabiano Caruana finished second with 21½/36 while Maxime Vachier-Lagrave finished third with 21/36.[68]
- Aug 24 – Denis Lazavik won Abu Dhabi Masters on tiebreaks with 7/9, tying with four other players Zeng Chongsheng, Arkadij Naiditsch, Aleksey Grebnev & IM Maksim Tsaruk.[69]
- Aug 24 – Nodirbek Yakubboev won the 61st Rubinstein Memorial with 6½/9 ahead of Radosław Wojtaszek & Matthias Blübaum.[70]
- Aug 26 – FIDE announced that the Chess World Cup 2025 would take place in Goa, India from October 31 to November 27.[71]
- Aug 28 – There was a three-way tie for first place between Wesley So, R Praggnanandhaa and Fabiano Caruana at the Sinquefield Cup. So won the tournament after blitz playoffs.[72]
- Aug 29 – FIDE revokes the Grandmaster title of Kirill Shevchenko in their final decision regarding the cheating scandal.[73]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2839 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2807 | 0 |
| 3 | 3 | Fabiano Caruana |
2789 | +5 |
| 4 | 4 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2785 | +6 |
| 5 | 5 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2771 | -5 |
| 6 | 6 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2767 | -9 |
| 7 | 12 | Wesley So |
2756 | +12 |
| 8 | 8 | Alireza Firouzja |
2754 | -12 |
| 9 | 9 | Wei Yi |
2753 | +5 |
| 10 | 21 |  Vincent Keymer |
2751 | +21 |
September
- Sep 1 – Pranav V won the inaugural Fujairah Global Championship scoring 7/9, with the big upsets of top seeds Nihal Sarin & Amin Tabatabaei.[74]
- Sep 8 – Sixteen year old Abhimanyu Mishra defeated the reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju in the fifth round of FIDE Grand Swiss and became the youngest player in history to defeat a reigning World Champion.[75]
- Sep 15 – Anish Giri won the FIDE Grand Swiss with 8/11. He qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2026 along with the runner-up Matthias Blübaum.[76]
- Sep 15 – Vaishali Rameshbabu won the FIDE Women's Grand Swiss defending her previous title, and became the first player to win multiple Women's Grand Swiss events. She along with the runner-up Kateryna Lagno, qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026.[77]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2839 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2816 | +9 |
| 3 | 3 | Fabiano Caruana |
2789 | 0 |
| 4 | 5 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2773 | +2 |
| 5 | 4 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2771 | -14 |
| 6 | 8 | Alireza Firouzja |
2762 | +8 |
| 7 | 12 | Anish Giri |
2759 | +13 |
| 8 | 7 | Wesley So |
2756 | 0 |
| 9 | 10 | Vincent Keymer |
2755 | +4 |
| 10 | 9 | Wei Yi |
2754 | +1 |
October
- Oct 3 – Fabiano Caruana won the Grand Chess Tour 2025 after defeating Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Grand Finals by 15–13. Levon Aronian finished third after defeating R Praggnanandhaa in the third-place match by 20–8.[78]
- Oct 4 – FIDE revealed the tournament bracket for Chess World Cup 2025 on their official website.[79][80]
- Oct 5 – Team USA defeated Team India in the first leg of 'Checkmate - USA vs India' match held in Arlington, Texas, United States.[81]
- Oct 15 – FIDE announced a new World Championship tournament in chess named 'Total Chess World Championship Tour', organized by Norway Chess. The tournament will determine a World Chess Combined Champion from all three formats - Fast Classical (45+30, introduced in Sep 2025),[82] Rapid and Blitz. A one-tournament pilot version will kick off during late 2026, to test the new tour format, with the full official tournament to follow from 2027 onwards. It will also serve as a new qualification pathway for Candidates Tournament in the next cycle.[83]
- Oct 19 – American grandmaster and commentator Daniel Naroditsky died in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina at the age of 29.[84] The Charlotte Chess Center announced his death the following day, without citing a cause. The chess community expressed widespread grief at his sudden demise.[85][86]
- Oct 22 – FIDE announced an investigation into former world champion Vladimir Kramnik's campaign of cheating allegations against Daniel Naroditsky.[87] FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich stated that all relevant public statements made by Kramnik would be referred to the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission for independent consideration.[88]
- Oct 29 – Magnus Carlsen won the 'Clutch Chess - Champions Showdown', a rapid chess tournament organised by Saint Louis chess club which also included star players like Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and reigning World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju.[89]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2839 | 0 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2813 | -3 |
| 3 | 3 | Fabiano Caruana |
2795 | +6 |
| 4 | 9 | Vincent Keymer |
2773 | +18 |
| 5 | 7 | Anish Giri |
2769 | +10 |
| 6 | 4 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2769 | +4 |
| 7 | 5 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2768 | +13 |
| 8 | 8 | Wesley So |
2756 | 0 |
| 9 | 11 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2763 | +11 |
| 10 | 6 | Alireza Firouzja |
2762 | 0 |
November
- Nov 10 – FIDE announced that the Candidates Tournament 2026 and the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 would take place in Paphos, Cyprus from 28 March to 15 April 2026.[90]
- Nov 25 – Andrey Esipenko won the third place match of 2025 FIDE World Cup after defeating Nodirbek Yakubboev by 2-0 and qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2026.[91]
- Nov 26 – Javokhir Sindarov won the 2025 FIDE World Cup by defeating Wei Yi in final tiebreaks, making him the youngest player to win the World cup, at the age of 19. Both the finalists qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2026.[92][93]
| Rank | Prev | Player | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Magnus Carlsen |
2840 | +1 |
| 2 | 2 | Hikaru Nakamura |
2810 | -3 |
| 3 | 3 | Fabiano Caruana |
2795 | 0 |
| 4 | 4 | Vincent Keymer |
2776 | +3 |
| 5 | 6 | Arjun Erigaisi |
2775 | +6 |
| 6 | 10 | Alireza Firouzja |
2762 | 0 |
| 7 | 7 | R Praggnanandhaa |
2761 | -7 |
| 8 | 5 | Anish Giri |
2760 | -9 |
| 9 | 11 | Wei Yi |
2754 | +1 |
| 10 | 9 | Gukesh Dommaraju |
2754 | -11 |
December
- Dec 5 – Nodirbek Abdusattorov won the London Chess Classic with 7½/9 and a performance rating of 2932, ahead of Alireza Firouzja and Nikita Vitiugov.[94]
- Dec 8 – R Praggnanandhaa won the 2025 FIDE Circuit and qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2026.[95]
- Dec 11 – Levon Aronian won the Freestyle Chess Grand Slam Tour finals held in Cape Town, South Africa.[96] Meanwhile, Magnus Carlsen won the overall Grand Slam Tour.[97]
- Dec 11 – Ian Nepomniachtchi won the Gashimov Memorial on tiebreaks, ahead of Vladimir Fedoseev.[98]
- Dec 14 – FIDE’s General Assembly voted to reinstate Russian and Belarusian teams in official FIDE tournaments, fully restored youth players’ rights, allowed national symbols in junior events, and lifted Belarus hosting restrictions, while the adult symbol use is pending till further IOC consultation.[99]
- Dec 23 – Team Alpine SG Pipers led by Fabiano Caruana won the Global Chess League 2025 after defeating the defending champions Triveni Continental Kings led by Alireza Firouzja in the final.[100][101]
- Dec 28 – Magnus Carlsen won his sixth World Rapid Championship with a score of 10½/13. Aleksandra Goryachkina won the Women's World Rapid Championship after defeating Zhu Jiner in blitz play-off after they both tied for first place in Swiss stage.[102][103]
- Dec 30 – Magnus Carlsen won his ninth World Blitz Championship after defeating Nodirbek Abdusattorov in the finals. Bibisara Assaubayeva won her third Women's World Blitz Championship after defeating former World Blitz champion Anna Muzychuk in the finals. She also qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026 after finishing as highest non-qualifier in Women's Events cycle 2024–25.[104][105]
Events
Major tournaments
FIDE World Championship cycle events are marked in blue.
Opens
Rapid & Blitz events
Women's events
FIDE World Championship cycle events are marked in blue.
