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    LWSed research · FIDE rating list, November 2026 · updated monthly

    The world's top 10 chess players

    On FIDE's November 2026 standard list, Magnus Carlsen leads at 2823, 31 points clear of Hikaru Nakamura. Below: the ten, each player's rating on every FIDE list since 2003, and a page on each career, from first moves to the top, with every fact linked to its source.

    The ranking, November 2026

    RankPlayerFederationRatingPeak
    1Magnus CarlsenNorway28232882 · May 2014
    2Hikaru NakamuraUSA27922816 · Oct 2015
    3Fabiano CaruanaUSA27832844 · Oct 2014
    4Javokhir SindarovUzbekistan27822782 · Oct 2026
    5Nodirbek AbdusattorovUzbekistan27722783 · Oct 2024
    6Wesley SoUSA27712822 · Feb 2017
    7R PraggnanandhaaIndia27632785 · Sep 2025
    8Vincent KeymerGermany27612776 · Dec 2025
    8Wei YiChina27612763 · Oct 2024
    10Alireza FirouzjaFrance27572804 · Dec 2021

    Active players only, as on FIDE's own top list; tied ratings share a rank. Peak = highest official monthly rating since April 2003, when FIDE's online records begin.

    How each of them got here

    Each line is the player's FIDE rating on every monthly list, all on the same scale (1340 to 2882). Open a player for the full chart and the career, turn by turn.

    Numbers 11 to 20

    1. 11Giri, Anish · Netherlands2747
    2. 12Arjun Erigaisi · India2746
    3. 13Duda, Jan-Krzysztof · Poland2741
    4. 14Viswanathan Anand · India2739
    5. 15Dominguez Perez, Leinier · USA2732
    6. 15Le, Quang Liem · Vietnam2732
    7. 17Ding, Liren · China2723
    8. 18Nihal Sarin · India2720
    9. 18Tabatabaei, M. Amin · Iran2720
    10. 20Aronian, Levon · USA2719

    India's own top players, from Viswanathan Anand to Divya Deshmukh, each have a page in India's chess grandmasters. Which countries have the most grandmasters is in chess grandmasters by country.

    Every one of them started as a beginner

    How long the road to grandmaster usually takes, and at what age, is in our study of how long it takes to become a grandmaster.

    Book a free trial classFree report on your child's games

    Quick answers

    Who is the No. 1 chess player in the world?

    Magnus Carlsen (Norway), rated 2823 on FIDE's November 2026 standard list. Carlsen has been No. 1 on every FIDE list since 1 July 2011, the longest unbroken run.

    Who has the highest chess rating ever?

    Magnus Carlsen: 2882, on FIDE's May 2014 list. It is the highest rating since FIDE introduced ratings in 1970.

    Which Indian players are in the world's top 20?

    On FIDE's November 2026 list: R Praggnanandhaa (No. 7, 2763), Arjun Erigaisi (No. 12, 2746), Viswanathan Anand (No. 14, 2739) and Nihal Sarin (No. 18, 2720).

    How often do the world chess rankings change?

    Every month. FIDE publishes a new standard rating list on the 1st, and we update this page from it. Players FIDE flags as inactive (no rated game for a year) are left off the ranking, as on FIDE's own top list.

    Method

    Ranks and ratings are from FIDE's rating list for November 2026: standard (classical) ratings, active players only. Rating histories are FIDE's own monthly records for each player, which start in April 2003. Career facts on the player pages are copied from the pages they cite, with the quote shown. We update this page every month, after FIDE publishes its list on the 1st.

    More from LWSed research

    Indian grandmaster profiles: Gukesh D · Praggnanandhaa R · Arjun Erigaisi · Viswanathan Anand · Divya Deshmukh · Koneru Humpy · Vaishali R · Vidit Gujrathi · Harika Dronavalli · Pentala Harikrishna