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Praggnanandhaa Gains 660 Points As FIDE Adjusts Rapid, Blitz Ratings
Praggnanandhaa R. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Praggnanandhaa Gains 660 Points As FIDE Adjusts Rapid, Blitz Ratings

PeterDoggers
| 23 | Chess Players

Some players have made considerable Elo gains as the International Chess Federation has corrected rapid and blitz ratings with the publication of the October 2022 rating lists. GM Praggnanandhaa R. gains a staggering 660 points for his rapid rating. Meanwhile, GM Gukesh D. has entered the top 20 of the standard (classical) list for the first time, and GM Viswanathan Anand is back in the top 10.

The FIDE General Assembly in August in Chennai, India made an important decision by approving the proposal of Sabrina de San Vicente, chair of the Qualification Commission. A one-time change has been made in the October 2022 rapid and blitz ratings lists:

  • If a player is unrated in rapid or blitz, then they remain unrated in rapid or blitz.
  • If a standard rating is more than 100 points higher than one of the other ratings, then the other rating has been increased to the standard rating minus 100 points.
  • If a standard rating is 100 or fewer points higher than one of the ratings, then the player retains the other rating with no change.

In the case of Praggnanandhaa, this means the following: By playing very few rapid tournaments that count for the FIDE ratings, he had a rapid rating of just 1927. Because his October 1 standard rating climbed to 2687, he clearly falls into the second category; therefore, his new rapid rating is 2687-100=2587, a rise of 660 points.

Praggnanandhaa's rating progress chart
Praggnanandhaa's rating progress chart. Image: FIDE.

Another oddity is what happened to GM Garry Kasparov's blitz rating. The 13th world champion played his first FIDE-rated blitz tournament in August 2017 in St. Louis, where he started with a rating that was set at 2812, his last published standard rating from 2005. Kasparov lost 11 points back then, and so he had a blitz rating of 2801 until July 2021, when he lost 157 points at the Croatia Rapid and Blitz (note that his K-factor was 20, see below). For the last year, Kasparov's blitz rating was 2644 which now has been adjusted to 2712, 100 points under the 2812 standard rating from 2005.

Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov has also received a rating adjustment. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.

Another change in the rapid and blitz regulations is that the "K-factor" (development coefficient) is no longer 20 for all players. Starting from October 1, the K-factor will vary between 10 and 40, following these rules:

  • K = 40 for a player new to the rating list until they have completed events with at least 30 games.
  • K = 20 as long as a player's rating remains under 2400.
  • K = 10 once a player's published rating has reached 2400 and remains at that level subsequently, even if the rating later drops below 2400.
  • K = 40 for all players until the end of the year of their 18th birthday, as long as their rating remains under 2300.

The changes make sense but aren't an ideal solution. Apart from the fact that not everybody will be happy to see players getting rating increases for free, it also remains to be seen if this "one-time" change might need an update in the future. Unless there is a significant increase in FIDE-rated rapid and blitz tournaments, more prodigies will rise to the top in the coming years with their rapid and blitz ratings falling behind compared to their standard rating. With a K-factor of 10 for players above 2400, it will be even harder to catch up in some cases.

Looking at the new standard rating list, the biggest changes at the top involve Indian players. For example, Anand, who will turn 53 in December, has re-entered the world's top-10 for the first time since October 2019 without playing as he profited from the loss of rating points by both GMs Levon Aronian and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup.

The 16-year-old Gukesh is the second player born in the 21st century to make it to the top 20 of the world. (GM Alireza Firouzja, the current number four, was born in 2003). Born on May 29, 2006, Gukesh climbed five spots compared to September thanks to earning six rating points at the Spanish team championship.

It should be noted that GM Arjun Erigaisi is keeping pace with Gukesh; the 19-year-old GM gained 4.1 points in the Slovenian League, but those three games were not included in the October list. This means that in the live ratings, Erigaisi is actually 0.1 points ahead of Gukesh.

In the standard top-100, two players gained 11 points in one month: Praggnanandhaa (at the Dubai Open) and the much-discussed GM Hans Niemann, who got his points at the Sinquefield Cup. He is one point shy of 2700, a rating GM Vincent Keymer reached for the first time after winning seven points in the Polish League. The biggest loss is by 2020-2021 Candidate GM Kirill Alekseenko, who lost 16 points in the Spanish League.

FIDE Standard Ratings | Oct. 1, 2022 

- # Fed Name Title Rating Born
- 1 / 1 Carlsen, Magnus GM 2856 (-5) 1990
- 2 / 2 Ding, Liren GM 2811 (+3) 1992
- 3 / 3 Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM 2793 (+1) 1990
- 4 / 4 Firouzja, Alireza GM 2785 (+7) 2003
- 5 / 5 So, Wesley GM 2774 (+3) 1993
- 6 / 6 Nakamura, Hikaru GM 2768 1987
- 7 / 7 Giri, Anish GM 2764 1994
8 / 9 Caruana, Fabiano GM 2763 (+5) 1992
9 / 12 Anand, Viswanathan GM 2756 1969
10 / 8 Aronian, Levon GM 2755 (-4) 1982
11 / 13 Rapport, Richard GM 2754 1996
12 / 16 Dominguez Perez, Leinier GM 2747 (+2) 1983
13 / 10 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar GM 2747 (-10) 1985
14 / 11 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime GM 2747 (-10) 1990
15 / 14 Karjakin, Sergey GM 2747 1990
16 / 15 Radjabov, Teimour GM 2747 1987
- 17 / 17 Grischuk, Alexander GM 2745 1983
18 / 23 Gukesh D GM 2732 (+6) 2006
19 / 18 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof GM 2731 1998
20 / 19 Andreikin, Dmitry GM 2729 1990
21 / 24 Erigaisi Arjun GM 2728 (+3) 2003
22 / 20 Le, Quang Liem GM 2728 1991
23 / 21 Topalov, Veselin GM 2728 1975
24 / 22 Wei, Yi GM 2722 (-5) 1999
25 / 26 Vitiugov, Nikita GM 2722 1987
26 / 25 Wang, Hao GM 2722 1989
- 27 / 27 Maghsoodloo, Parham GM 2721 2000
- 28 / 28 Yu, Yangyi GM 2718 1994
- 29 / 29 Harikrishna, Pentala GM 2717 (+1) 1986
30 / 33 Vallejo Pons, Francisco GM 2716 (+5) 1982
31 / 30 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM 2713 2004
32 / 31 Shankland, Sam GM 2712 1991
33 / 32 Sargissian, Gabriel GM 2711 1983
34 / 35 Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi GM 2710 1994
35 / 39 Sjugirov, Sanan GM 2709 (+6) 1993
36 / 40 Dubov, Daniil GM 2708 (+6) 1996
37 / 34 Deac, Bogdan-Daniel GM 2707 (-3) 2001
- 38 / 38 Artemiev, Vladislav GM 2701 (-5) 1998
39 / 44 Keymer, Vincent GM 2700 (+7) 2004
40 / 49 Niemann, Hans Moke GM 2699 (+11) 2003
41 / 36 Bu, Xiangzhi GM 2698 (-11) 1985
42 / 43 Eljanov, Pavel GM 2697 (+2) 1983
43 / 41 Tomashevsky, Evgeny GM 2696 (-4) 1987
44 / 45 Van Foreest, Jorden GM 2694 (+3) 1999
45 / 42 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw GM 2693 (-3) 1987
46 / 37 Alekseenko, Kirill GM 2691 (-16) 1997
47 / 46 Robson, Ray GM 2690 1994
48 / 47 Xiong, Jeffery GM 2690 2000
49 / 52 Cheparinov, Ivan GM 2689 (+3) 1986
50 / 48 Adams, Michael GM 2689 1971
51 / 53 Fedoseev, Vladimir GM 2688 (+3) 1995
52 / 66 Praggnanandhaa R GM 2687 (+11) 2005
53 / 50 Nyzhnyk, Illya GM 2687 1996
54 / 51 Moussard, Jules GM 2686 1995
55 / 60 Predke, Alexandr GM 2684 (+4) 1994
56 / 54 Sevian, Samuel GM 2684 2000
57 / 55 Oparin, Grigoriy GM 2683 1997
58 / 56 Svidler, Peter GM 2683 1976
59 / 57 Jakovenko, Dmitry GM 2682 1983
60 / 59 Santos Latasa, Jaime GM 2677 (-3) 1996
61 / 65 Almasi, Zoltan GM 2677 1976
62 / 64 Salem, A.R. Saleh GM 2677 1993
63 / 58 Navara, David GM 2676 (-5) 1985
64 / 80 Martirosyan, Haik M. GM 2675 (+9) 2000
65 / 68 Kovalenko, Igor GM 2674 1988
66 / 63 Nihal Sarin GM 2673 (-4) 2004
67 / 70 Korobov, Anton GM 2672 (+1) 1985
68 / 61 Li, Chao b GM 2672 (-7) 1989
69 / 72 Kasimdzhanov, Rustam GM 2670 1979
70 / 62 Esipenko, Andrey GM 2668 (-10) 2002
71 / 75 Gelfand, Boris GM 2668 1968
72 / 74 Saric, Ivan GM 2668 1990
73 / 81 Naiditsch, Arkadij GM 2667 (+1) 1985
74 / 76 Ni, Hua GM 2667 (-1) 1983
75 / 82 Amin, Bassem GM 2667 (+4) 1988
76 / 77 Howell, David W L GM 2667 1990
77 / 67 > Najer, Evgeniy GM 2666 (-10) 1977
- 78 / 78 Kamsky, Gata GM 2666 1974
79 / 88 Narayanan.S.L GM 2663 (+6) 1998
80 / 89 Yakubboev, Nodirbek GM 2663 (+7) 2002
81 / 71 Matlakov, Maxim GM 2662 (-9) 1991
82 / 69 Shirov, Alexei GM 2662 (-11) 1972
83 / 84 Sarana, Alexey GM 2662 2000
84 / 85 Guseinov, Gadir GM 2661 1986
85 / 86 Inarkiev, Ernesto GM 2661 1985
86 / 87 Sargsyan, Shant GM 2661 2002
87 / 79 Ma, Qun GM 2659 (-7) 1991
88 / 73 Kryvoruchko, Yuriy GM 2658 (-11) 1986
89 / 93 Tabatabaei, M. Amin GM 2657 (+6) 2001
- 90 / 90 Tari, Aryan GM 2656 1999
91 / 83 Anton Guijarro, David GM 2655 (-7) 1995
92 / 92 Sindarov, Javokhir GM 2654 (+3) 2005
93 / 97 McShane, Luke J GM 2653 (+3) 1984
94 / 91 Swiercz, Dariusz GM 2652 1994
95 / 94 Berkes, Ferenc GM 2651 1985
96 / 95 Grandelius, Nils GM 2651 1993
97 / 96 Malakhov, Vladimir GM 2651 1980
- 98 / Bluebaum, Matthias GM 2647 1997
- 99 / Bacrot, Etienne GM 2646 1983
- 100 / Donchenko, Alexander GM 2646 1998

Below we also present the top 50 of the new blitz ratings list, where we see that the 68 points Kasparov has received helped him to jump 37 places. Meanwhile, GM Hikaru Nakamura is back to the number-one spot, and Firouzja has made a 108-gain (all by himself) from the blitz in St. Louis.

FIDE Blitz Ratings | Oct. 1, 2022 

- # Fed Name Title Rating Born
1 / 2 Nakamura, Hikaru GM 2909 (+59) 1987
2 / 7 Firouzja, Alireza GM 2903 (+108) 2003
- 3 / 3 Caruana, Fabiano GM 2847 1992
- 4 / 4 Artemiev, Vladislav GM 2832 1998
- 5 / 5 Carlsen, Magnus GM 2830 1990
6 / 1 Aronian, Levon GM 2809 (-41) 1982
7 / 8 Giri, Anish GM 2792 1994
8 / 9 Dubov, Daniil GM 2791 1996
9 / 10 Nepomniachtchi, Ian GM 2781 (-10) 1990
10 / 11 Duda, Jan-Krzysztof GM 2779 1998
11 / 6 Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime GM 2771 (-41) 1990
- 12 / 12 So, Wesley GM 2763 1993
- 13 / 13 Grischuk, Alexander GM 2762 1983
- 14 / 14 Erigaisi Arjun GM 2745 2003
- 15 / 15 Martirosyan, Haik M. GM 2745 2000
- 16 / 16 Andreikin, Dmitry GM 2736 1990
17 / 23 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar GM 2734 (+24) 1985
18 / 17 Anand, Viswanathan GM 2734 1969
19 / 18 Bauer, Christian GM 2732 1977
20 / 19 Fedoseev, Vladimir GM 2726 1995
- 21 / 21 Xiong, Jeffery GM 2725 (+11) 2000
22 / 20 Svidler, Peter GM 2725 1976
23 / 60 Kasparov, Garry GM 2712 (+68) 1963
24 / 22 Kramnik, Vladimir GM 2712 1975
25 / 32 Radjabov, Teimour GM 2709 (+24) 1987
26 / 25 Nihal Sarin GM 2705 2004
27 / 26 Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo GM 2703 1999
28 / 27 Amin, Bassem GM 2699 1988
29 / 28 Kravtsiv, Martyn GM 2694 1990
30 / 29 Sevian, Samuel GM 2692 2000
- 31 / 31 Sarana, Alexey GM 2689 2000
32 / 33 Zubov, Alexander GM 2685 1983
33 / 34 Alekseenko, Kirill GM 2682 1997
34 / 36 Shirov, Alexei GM 2678 1972
- 35 / Maghsoodloo, Parham GM 2676 2000
36 / 37 Berkes, Ferenc GM 2676 1985
37 / 38 Navara, David GM 2676 1985
38 / 54 Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi GM 2675 (+21) 1994
- 39 / 39 Svane, Rasmus GM 2674 1997
40 / 41 Matlakov, Maxim GM 2669 1991
41 / 40 Robson, Ray GM 2668 (-2) 1994
42 / 43 Bacrot, Etienne GM 2666 1983
43 / 44 Kamsky, Gata GM 2666 1974
44 / 46 Abdusattorov, Nodirbek GM 2665 2004
45 / 47 Grigoryan, Karen H. GM 2664 1995
46 / 48 Gharamian, Tigran GM 2662 1984
47 / 42 Kobalia, Mikhail GM 2661 (-6) 1978
48 / 49 Bok, Benjamin GM 2658 1995
49 / 50 Topalov, Veselin GM 2658 1975
50 / 51 Kadric, Denis GM 2657 1995

All data courtesy FIDE.

PeterDoggers
Peter Doggers

Peter Doggers joined a chess club a month before turning 15 and still plays for it. He used to be an active tournament player and holds two IM norms. Peter has a Master of Arts degree in Dutch Language & Literature. He briefly worked at New in Chess, then as a Dutch teacher and then in a project for improving safety and security in Amsterdam schools. Between 2007 and 2013 Peter was running ChessVibes, a major source for chess news and videos acquired by Chess.com in October 2013. As our Director News & Events, Peter writes many of our news reports. In the summer of 2022, The Guardian’s Leonard Barden described him as “widely regarded as the world’s best chess journalist.”

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