Men & Women Chess World No. 1 - Carlsen, Judit Polgar with similar FIDE rating?

Hello Everyone,

The July 1, 2010 FIDE rating list has been released. And, as expected, Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and Grandmaster Judith Polgar top the men's and women's lists respectively.

But a one in a million coincidence: Their rating is 'similar' (because only the digits are shuffled)!!!

Carlsen has notched up the second highest FIDE rating in history at 2826. Just re-arrange those digits and you get Polgar's highest rating of 2682! Thirteenth World Champion Gary Champion has held the highest rating in chess history of 2851 eleven years ago.

The top 15 players in the open category are:

1. Carlsen, Magnus g NOR 2826

2. Topalov, Veselin g BUL 2803

3. Anand, Viswanathan g IND 2800

4. Kramnik, Vladimir g RUS 2790

5. Aronian, Levon g ARM 2783

6. Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2761

7. Grischuk, Alexander g RUS 2760

8. Eljanov, Pavel g UKR 2755

9. Shirov, Alexei g ESP 2749

10. Radjabov, Teimour g AZE 2748

11. Karjakin, Sergey g RUS 2747

12. Ivanchuk, Vassily g UKR 2739

13. Gelfand, Boris g ISR 2739

14. Ponomariov, Ruslan g UKR 2734

15. Svidler Peter g RUS 2734

The top 15 players in the women's category are:

1. Polgar, Judit g HUN 2682

2. Koneru, Humpy g IND 2600

3. Hou, Yifan g CHN 2577

4. Kosintseva, Tatiana g RUS 2562

5. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2560

6. Kosintseva, Nadezhda m RUS 2551

7. Lahno, Kateryna g UKR 2535

8. Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2527

9. Cmilyte, Viktorija m LTU 2527

10. Sebag, Marie g FRA 2519

11. Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2519

12. Cramling, Pia g SWE 2517

13. Chiburdanidze, Maia g GEO 2514

14. Harika, Dronavalli m IND 2504

15. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2501

You can check other statistics and ratings at the official FIDE website.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's

www.chessblog.com

Also see her personal blog at

www.chessqueen.com

May 2010 FIDE Chess Women's Rating List

Hello everybody!

FIDE published the new rating list for top chess players.

Below you can find the top ladies. Again Judit leads the list, with Humpy second, although they did not play any games in the period in question, that will gladly change in next period, as both have been playing in competitions.

There are now 15 women with ratings above 2500, which are formidable competition for all men Grandmasters out there.

Congrats to the two Kosintseva sisters, who are both in the top 10. Together with me and Natalia Pogonina, that's 4 Russian players in the top 15, all 4 above 2500, that should be one of the strongest teams in the upcoming Chess Olympiads in Khanty Mansiysk!

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2682	0	1976
2	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2622	0	1987
3	Hou, Yifan	g	CHN	2589	12	1994
4	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2560	16	1979
5	Kosintseva, Nadezhda	m	RUS	2553	11	1985
6	Cramling, Pia	g	SWE	2536	21	1963
7	Kosintseva, Tatiana	g	RUS	2534	11	1986
8	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2529	22	1990
9	Lahno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2527	3	1989
10	Sebag, Marie	g	FRA	2524	14	1986
11	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2519	6	1984
12	Cmilyte, Viktorija	m	LTU	2514	24	1983
13	Chiburdanidze, Maia	g	GEO	2514	0	1961
14	Pogonina, Natalija	wg	RUS	2501	6	1985
15	Ju, Wenjun	wg	CHN	2500	0	1991
16	Zhukova, Natalia	wg	UKR	2499	17	1979
17	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2493	8	1985
18	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2491	9	1991
19	Galliamova, Alisa	m	RUS	2487	0	1972
20	Paehtz, Elisabeth	m	GER	2485	30	1985
21	Socko, Monika	g	POL	2485	21	1978
22	Xu, Yuhua	g	CHN	2484	2	1976
23	Hoang Thanh Trang	g	HUN	2482	11	1980
24	Javakhishvili, Lela	m	GEO	2482	11	1984
25	Dzagnidze, Nana	g	GEO	2478	11	1987
26	Mkrtchian, Lilit	m	ARM	2477	11	1982
27	Zhu, Chen	g	QAT	2476	0	1976
28	Ruan, Lufei	wg	CHN	2474	1	1987
29	Danielian, Elina	m	ARM	2473	12	1978
30	Zatonskih, Anna	m	USA	2470	27	1978
31	Dembo, Yelena	m	GRE	2470	11	1983
32	Ushenina, Anna	m	UKR	2468	15	1985
33	Melia, Salome	m	GEO	2466	20	1987
34	Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman	m	IND	2466	0	1979
35	Gaponenko, Inna	m	UKR	2465	20	1976
36	Skripchenko, Almira	m	FRA	2464	17	1976
37	Tan, Zhongyi	wg	CHN	2464	2	1991
38	Rajlich, Iweta	m	POL	2460	22	1981
39	Gunina, Valentina	wf	RUS	2457	15	1989
40	Polgar, Sofia	m	HUN	2457	0	1974
41	Krush, Irina	m	USA	2455	23	1983
42	Tairova, Elena	m	RUS	2455	0	1991
43	Muzychuk, Mariya	m	UKR	2452	32	1992
44	Shen, Yang	wg	CHN	2452	3	1989
45	Hunt, Harriet V	m	ENG	2452	0	1978
46	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan	g	SCO	2449	16	1968
47	Khurtsidze, Nino	m	GEO	2448	11	1975
48	Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2447	16	1974
49	Atalik, Ekaterina	m	TUR	2444	5	1982
50	Moser, Eva	m	AUT	2440	32	1982
51	Huang, Qian	wg	CHN	2437	3	1986
52	Repkova, Eva	m	SVK	2434	29	1975
53	Zhang, Xiaowen	wg	CHN	2426	4	1989
54	Khukhashvili, Sopiko	m	GEO	2421	0	1985
55	Ovod, Evgenija	m	RUS	2418	20	1982
56	Houska, Jovanka	m	ENG	2417	17	1980
57	Peptan, Corina-Isabela	m	ROU	2416	9	1978
58	Zawadzka, Jolanta	wg	POL	2415	11	1987
59	Munguntuul, Batkhuyag	m	MGL	2413	13	1987
60	Savina, Anastasia	wg	RUS	2412	15	1992
61	Romanko, Marina	m	RUS	2411	17	1986
62	Khotenashvili, Bela	m	GEO	2410	20	1988
63	Bodnaruk, Anastasia	wg	RUS	2410	15	1992
64	Cori T., Deysi	wm	PER	2409	27	1993
65	Matnadze, Ana	m	GEO	2409	10	1983
66	Galojan, Lilit	wg	ARM	2402	11	1983
67	Jackova, Jana	m	CZE	2402	2	1982
68	Tsereteli, Tamar	wg	GEO	2402	0	1985
69	Foisor, Cristina-Adela	m	ROU	2401	21	1967
70	Stockova, Zuzana	m	SVK	2400	18	1977
71	Vasilevich, Tatjana	m	UKR	2399	23	1977
72	Tania, Sachdev	m	IND	2398	9	1986
73	Peng, Zhaoqin	g	NED	2397	13	1968
74	Turova, Irina	m	RUS	2394	9	1979
75	Michna, Marta	wg	GER	2393	18	1978
76	Madl, Ildiko	m	HUN	2393	17	1969
77	Zaiatz, Elena	m	RUS	2392	11	1969
78	Pokorna, Regina	wg	SVK	2388	8	1982
79	Maric, Alisa	m	SRB	2387	0	1970
80	Gara, Anita	m	HUN	2385	11	1983
81	Zdebskaja, Natalia	wg	UKR	2383	11	1986
82	Molchanova, Tatjana	wm	RUS	2381	16	1980
83	Alexandrova, Olga	m	ESP	2381	11	1978
84	Matveeva, Svetlana	m	RUS	2379	16	1969
85	Milliet, Sophie	m	FRA	2378	23	1983
86	Karavade, Eesha	wg	IND	2377	9	1987
87	Stepovaia, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2375	0	1965
88	Kononenko, Tatiana	m	UKR	2374	11	1978
89	Shadrina, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2374	2	1974
90	Cosma, Elena-Luminita	wg	ROU	2370	20	1972
91	Lomineishvili, Maia	m	GEO	2370	11	1977
92	Bojkovic, Natasa	m	SRB	2368	11	1971
93	Kovanova, Baira	wg	RUS	2366	15	1987
94	Goletiani, Rusudan	m	USA	2366	0	1980
95	Lanchava, Tea	m	NED	2364	1	1974
96	Vajda, Szidonia	m	HUN	2363	17	1979
97	Gvetadze, Sopio	m	GEO	2363	11	1983
98	Fierro Baquero, Martha L.	m	ECU	2363	9	1977
99	Kulovana, Eva	wg	CZE	2362	22	1987
100	Gu, Xiaobing	wg	CHN	2361	2	1985

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com

March 2010 FIDE Chess Women's Rating List

Hello everybody!

FIDE today published the new rating list for top players. Below are the top ladies:

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2682	0	1976
2	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2622	10	1987
3	Hou, Yifan	g	CHN	2570	18	1994
4	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2555	10	1979
5	Kosintseva, Nadezhda	m	RUS	2554	18	1985
6	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2533	13	1990
7	Kosintseva, Tatiana	g	RUS	2524	18	1986
8	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2524	10	1984
9	Cramling, Pia	g	SWE	2523	21	1963
10	Lahno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2518	0	1989
11	Chiburdanidze, Maia	g	GEO	2514	0	1961
12	Sebag, Marie	g	FRA	2506	9	1986
13	Mkrtchian, Lilit	m	ARM	2503	0	1982
14	Javakhishvili, Lela	m	GEO	2500	19	1984
15	Ju, Wenjun	wg	CHN	2500	9	1991
16	Pogonina, Natalija	wg	RUS	2496	7	1985
17	Zhukova, Natalia	wg	UKR	2492	10	1979
18	Danielian, Elina	m	ARM	2491	2	1978
19	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2490	18	1985
20	Galliamova, Alisa	m	RUS	2487	9	1972
21	Hoang Thanh Trang	g	HUN	2487	0	1980
22	Paehtz, Elisabeth	m	GER	2486	9	1985
23	Cmilyte, Viktorija	m	LTU	2485	10	1983
24	Dzagnidze, Nana	g	GEO	2479	20	1987
25	Ruan, Lufei	wg	CHN	2479	0	1987
26	Xu, Yuhua	g	CHN	2478	0	1976
27	Zhu, Chen	g	QAT	2476	7	1976
28	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2473	24	1991
29	Gaponenko, Inna	m	UKR	2472	5	1976
30	Melia, Salome	m	GEO	2467	31	1987
31	Vijayalakshmi, Subbaraman	m	IND	2466	11	1979
32	Qin, Kanying	wg	CHN	2466	0	1974
33	Socko, Monika	g	POL	2465	8	1978
34	Tan, Zhongyi	wg	CHN	2464	0	1991
35	Krush, Irina	m	USA	2461	24	1983
36	Zatonskih, Anna	m	USA	2461	10	1978
37	Rajlich, Iweta	m	POL	2459	8	1981
38	Gunina, Valentina	wf	RUS	2457	18	1989
39	Dembo, Yelena	m	GRE	2457	0	1983
40	Polgar, Sofia	m	HUN	2457	0	1974
41	Skripchenko, Almira	m	FRA	2456	0	1976
42	Tairova, Elena	m	RUS	2455	0	1991
43	Hunt, Harriet V	m	ENG	2452	0	1978
44	Ushenina, Anna	m	UKR	2452	0	1985
45	Khotenashvili, Bela	m	GEO	2448	13	1988
46	Korbut, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2448	0	1985
47	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan	g	SCO	2447	10	1968
48	Atalik, Ekaterina	m	TUR	2445	0	1982
49	Muzychuk, Mariya	m	UKR	2444	13	1992
50	Shen, Yang	wg	CHN	2444	0	1989
51	Huang, Qian	wg	CHN	2439	0	1986
52	Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2438	9	1974
53	Moser, Eva	m	AUT	2437	7	1982
54	Zhang, Xiaowen	wg	CHN	2437	0	1989
55	Cori T., Deysi	wm	PER	2434	27	1993
56	Khurtsidze, Nino	m	GEO	2434	13	1975
57	Repkova, Eva	m	SVK	2434	0	1975
58	Foisor, Cristina-Adela	m	ROU	2433	9	1967
59	Munguntuul, Batkhuyag	wg	MGL	2428	9	1987
60	Li, Ruofan	m	SIN	2423	0	1978
61	Ovod, Evgenija	m	RUS	2421	24	1982
62	Khukhashvili, Sopiko	m	GEO	2421	16	1985
63	Vasilevich, Tatjana	m	UKR	2414	0	1977
64	Peptan, Corina-Isabela	m	ROU	2411	0	1978
65	Romanko, Marina	m	RUS	2409	27	1986
66	Matnadze, Ana	m	GEO	2406	9	1983
67	Zawadzka, Jolanta	wg	POL	2404	8	1987
68	Jackova, Jana	m	CZE	2403	0	1982
69	Tsereteli, Tamar	wg	GEO	2402	12	1985
70	Peng, Zhaoqin	g	NED	2401	19	1968
71	Stockova, Zuzana	m	SVK	2401	0	1977
72	Tania, Sachdev	m	IND	2393	26	1986
73	Houska, Jovanka	m	ENG	2392	19	1980
74	Savina, Anastasia	wg	RUS	2391	27	1992
75	Milliet, Sophie	m	FRA	2391	21	1983
76	Zaiatz, Elena	m	RUS	2391	8	1969
77	Alexandrova, Olga	m	ESP	2391	0	1978
78	Zdebskaja, Natalia	wg	UKR	2390	17	1986
79	Maric, Alisa	m	SRB	2387	0	1970
80	Turova, Irina	m	RUS	2386	0	1979
81	Lomineishvili, Maia	m	GEO	2385	12	1977
82	Kovanova, Baira	wg	RUS	2385	9	1987
83	Madl, Ildiko	m	HUN	2385	0	1969
84	Bodnaruk, Anastasia	wg	RUS	2384	27	1992
85	Bojkovic, Natasa	m	SRB	2384	0	1971
86	Pokorna, Regina	wg	SVK	2382	0	1982
87	Shadrina, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2382	0	1974
88	Galojan, Lilit	wg	ARM	2380	9	1983
89	Stepovaia, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2375	8	1965
90	Matveeva, Svetlana	m	RUS	2373	9	1969
91	Michna, Marta	wg	GER	2373	7	1978
92	Gara, Anita	m	HUN	2370	0	1983
93	Molchanova, Tatjana	wm	RUS	2369	16	1980
94	Vajda, Szidonia	m	HUN	2369	0	1979
95	Karavade, Eesha	wg	IND	2366	25	1987
96	Goletiani, Rusudan	m	USA	2366	0	1980
97	Majdan, Joanna	wg	POL	2364	8	1988
98	Lanchava, Tea	m	NED	2364	2	1974
99	Girya, Olga	wg	RUS	2362	9	1991
100	Gaprindashvili, Nona	g	GEO	2360	0	1941

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com

November 2009 FIDE Rating List

Hello everybody!

The FIDE (International Chess Federation) just published the November 2009 rating list. Below you can find the top 100 women. My rating is at 2517, but that does not count my good performance in Novi Sad, where I earned a little over 10 ELO points. You can see that there are 15 ladies above the 2500 mark, that's great, 3 years ago there were only 7 above 2500.

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2680	6	1976
2	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2603	6	1987
3	Hou, Yifan	g	CHN	2588	30	1994
4	Dzagnidze, Nana	g	GEO	2547	20	1987
5	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2541	15	1979
6	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2532	28	1990
7	Cramling, Pia	g	SWE	2525	6	1963
8	Kosintseva, Tatiana	g	RUS	2522	20	1986
9	Kosintseva, Nadezhda	m	RUS	2518	21	1985
10	Sebag, Marie	g	FRA	2518	11	1986
11	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2517	6	1984
12	Chiburdanidze, Maia	g	GEO	2514	13	1961
13	Ju, Wenjun	wg	CHN	2509	48	1991
14	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2506	41	1985
15	Pogonina, Natalija	wg	RUS	2501	0	1985
16	Danielian, Elina	m	ARM	2499	24	1978
17	Lahno, Kateryna	g	UKR	2499	6	1989
18	Mkrtchian, Lilit	m	ARM	2492	20	1982
19	Hoang Thanh Trang	g	HUN	2487	6	1980
20	Xu, Yuhua	g	CHN	2483	28	1976
21	Javakhishvili, Lela	m	GEO	2482	23	1984
22	Cmilyte, Viktorija	m	LTU	2480	8	1983
23	Paehtz, Elisabeth	m	GER	2480	6	1985
24	Ruan, Lufei	wg	CHN	2475	11	1987
25	Dembo, Yelena	m	GRE	2468	20	1983
26	Harika, Dronavalli	m	IND	2467	15	1991
27	Zatonskih, Anna	m	USA	2466	16	1978
28	Ushenina, Anna	m	UKR	2466	15	1985
29	Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan	g	SCO	2466	13	1968
30	Qin, Kanying	wg	CHN	2466	0	1974
31	Zhukova, Natalia	wg	UKR	2465	9	1979
32	Zhu, Chen	g	QAT	2463	17	1976
33	Tan, Zhongyi		CHN	2460	25	1991
34	Gaponenko, Inna	m	UKR	2457	30	1976
35	Rajlich, Iweta	m	POL	2457	20	1981
36	Socko, Monika	g	POL	2457	14	1978
37	Skripchenko, Almira	m	FRA	2456	5	1976
38	Tairova, Elena	m	RUS	2455	7	1991
39	Khotenashvili, Bela	m	GEO	2454	25	1988
40	Shen, Yang	wg	CHN	2452	35	1989
41	Hunt, Harriet V	m	ENG	2452	0	1978
42	Krush, Irina	m	USA	2451	17	1983
43	Romanko, Marina	m	RUS	2449	11	1986
44	Korbut, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2448	0	1985
45	Muzychuk, Mariya	m	UKR	2447	12	1992
46	Gunina, Valentina	wf	RUS	2446	13	1989
47	Atalik, Ekaterina	m	TUR	2445	0	1982
48	Huang, Qian	wg	CHN	2442	26	1986
49	Melia, Salome	m	GEO	2436	13	1987
50	Foisor, Cristina-Adela	m	ROU	2435	17	1967
51	Repkova, Eva	m	SVK	2434	8	1975
52	Khukhashvili, Sopiko	m	GEO	2432	15	1985
53	Moser, Eva	m	AUT	2431	0	1982
54	Khurtsidze, Nino	m	GEO	2430	15	1975
55	Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina	m	RUS	2427	13	1974
56	Li, Ruofan	wg	SIN	2423	0	1978
57	Zhang, Xiaowen	wg	CHN	2422	28	1989
58	Ovod, Evgenija	m	RUS	2415	20	1982
59	Vasilevich, Tatjana	m	UKR	2414	17	1977
60	Munguntuul, Batkhuyag	wg	MGL	2413	14	1987
61	Karavade, Eesha	wg	IND	2413	9	1987
62	Peptan, Corina-Isabela	m	ROU	2411	15	1978
63	Zawadzka, Jolanta	wg	POL	2410	19	1987
64	Zdebskaja, Natalia	wg	UKR	2408	22	1986
65	Peng, Zhaoqin	g	NED	2408	14	1968
66	Bojkovic, Natasa	m	SRB	2406	11	1971
67	Savina, Anastasia		RUS	2401	27	1992
68	Matnadze, Ana	m	GEO	2401	10	1983
69	Stockova, Zuzana	m	SVK	2401	0	1977
70	Tania, Sachdev	m	IND	2399	7	1986
71	Kovanova, Baira	wg	RUS	2397	20	1987
72	Maric, Alisa	m	SRB	2396	7	1970
73	Tsereteli, Tamar	wg	GEO	2393	15	1985
74	Houska, Jovanka	m	ENG	2391	10	1980
75	Alexandrova, Olga	m	ESP	2391	0	1978
76	Matveeva, Svetlana	m	RUS	2391	0	1969
77	Madl, Ildiko	m	HUN	2390	8	1969
78	Milliet, Sophie	m	FRA	2390	8	1983
79	Zaiatz, Elena	m	RUS	2390	0	1969
80	Nikolova, Adriana	wm	BUL	2389	17	1988
81	Jackova, Jana	m	CZE	2388	9	1982
82	Stepovaia, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2384	12	1965
83	Gomes, Mary Ann	wg	IND	2384	7	1989
84	Turova, Irina	m	RUS	2384	0	1979
85	Vajda, Szidonia	m	HUN	2382	19	1979
86	Pokorna, Regina	wg	SVK	2382	18	1982
87	Shadrina, Tatiana	wg	RUS	2381	17	1974
88	Cori T., Deysi	wm	PER	2374	9	1993
89	Calzetta Ruiz, Monica	wg	ESP	2373	25	1972
90	Bodnaruk, Anastasia	wg	RUS	2372	18	1992
91	Lomineishvili, Maia	m	GEO	2371	11	1977
92	Gara, Anita	m	HUN	2369	18	1983
93	Molchanova, Tatjana	wm	RUS	2368	18	1980
94	Iljushina, Olga	wg	RUS	2367	7	1981
95	Goletiani, Rusudan	m	USA	2366	18	1980
96	Michna, Marta	wg	GER	2366	0	1978
97	Wang, Yu A.	m	CHN	2362	13	1982
98	Dworakowska, Joanna	m	POL	2361	7	1978
99	Gara, Ticia	wg	HUN	2360	19	1984
100	Djingarova, Emilia	wg	BUL	2359	0	1978

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk
Women's World Chess Champion
www.chessblog.com

September 2009 FIDE RATING LIST

From September 1, 2009 FIDE started to publish the ELO rating-lists every two months.

On September 1, 2009 there are 14 women whose rating is higher than the men's GM level of 2500.

1. Polgar Judit - 2687
2. Koneru Humpy - 2595
3. Hou Yifan - 2585
4. Zhao Xue - 2542
5. Kosintseva Tatiana - 2536
6. Cramling Pia - 2535
7. Dzagnidze Nana - 2535
8. Muzychuk Anna - 2533
9. Stefanova Antoaneta - 2527
10. Sebag Marie - 2519
11. Kosteniuk Alexandra - 2516
12. Chiburdanidze Maia - 2506
13. Hoang Thanh Trang - 2501
14. Pogonina Natalia - 2501

The full rating-list can be found here.

Posted by: Alexandra Kosteniuk
Women's World Chess Champion
www.chessblog.com

NEW July 1, 2009 FIDE Rating list

Here is the top female chess-players who are rated above the "GM-mark" of 2500 on July 1, 2009 FIDE rating list.

Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year

1. Polgar, Judit g HUN 2687 1 1976
2. Koneru, Humpy g IND 2623 11 1987
3. Hou, Yifan g CHN 2584 21 1994
4. Zhao, Xue g CHN 2544 18 1985
5. Muzychuk, Anna m SLO 2542 14 1990
6. Kosintseva, Tatiana m RUS 2539 7 1986
7. Dzagnidze, Nana g GEO 2536 9 1987
8. Stefanova, Antoaneta g BUL 2535 8 1979
9. Sebag, Marie g FRA 2531 14 1986
10. Cramling, Pia g SWE 2525 5 1963
11. Kosteniuk, Alexandra g RUS 2516 0 1984
12. Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevang SCO 2506 12 1968
13. Chiburdanidze, Maia g GEO 2506 0 1961
14. Danielian, Elina m ARM 2502 2 1978
15. Pogonina, Natalija wg RUS 2501 6 1985
16. Hoang Thanh Trang g HUN 2501 5 1980

Women Chess FIDE Statistics

Thanks to Vladimir Kukaev for the following statistics about women chess players:

In 2009:

99,876 players in April 2009 FIDE rating list in total (men and women)

18,521 female players registered in FIDE database of chess players

7,826 female players have FIDE rating

So women account now for about 8% of all FIDE rated players.

5 years ago, in April 2004 there were:

51,909 players in FIDE Rating list total
3,592 female players on the FIDE list

So women represented about 7% of all FIDE rated players.

So we see there has been an improvement from 7% to 8% in 5 years, which is not bad, but we need to go much further.

What is more surprising is the doubling of FIDE rated chess players as a whole in 5 years, from about 50,000 to about 100,000 and that's very good for chess! The more rated players, the better!

And that means women players on the FIDE list more than doubled from 3,592 to 7,826, we're on the right track!

Please feel free to comment!

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion

www.chessblog.com

Are Women Stronger now than 5 years ago?

I had a look today at the FIDE Rating List for Top Women, both the most recent one, and the one for 5 years ago, in 2004. Have a look, there are now many more women above 2500 than 5 years ago (14 vs. 5).

Top Women on April 1, 2009.

There are 14 women players who are rated above the "2500" mark on April 1, 2009.

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Year
1	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2693	0	1976
2	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2612	17	1987
3	Hou, Yifan	g	CHN	2590	29	1994
4	Stefanova, Antoaneta	g	BUL	2549	21	1979
5	Dzagnidze, Nana	g	GEO	2541	24	1987
6	Muzychuk, Anna	m	SLO	2533	28	1990
7	Zhao, Xue	g	CHN	2531	22	1985
8	Cramling, Pia	g	SWE	2528	37	1963
9	Sebag, Marie	g	FRA	2527	11	1986
10	Kosintseva, Tatiana	m	RUS	2522	25	1986
11	Kosteniuk, Alexandra	g	RUS	2516	0	1984
12	Chiburdanidze, Maia	g	GEO	2506	11	1961
13	Danielian, Elina	m	ARM	2503	34	1978
14	Pogonina, Natalija	wg	RUS	2501	25	1985

Let's compare with the rating list of 5 years ago. On April 1, 2004 only 5 women were rated higher than 2500.

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Day
1	Polgar, Judit	g	HUN	2728	0	1976-07-23
2	Xie, Jun	g	CHN	2564	0	1970-10-30
3	Koneru, Humpy	g	IND	2513	44	1987-03-31
4	Chiburdanidze, Maia	g	GEO	2502	0	1961-01-17
5	Galliamova, Alisa	m	RUS	2502	0	1972-01-18

I think this shows that the top world's women play significantly stronger now than they did 5 years ago. It can't be due to "rating inflation", or at least not by such a big amount, only 5 years have passed.

Women in the last 5 years have had more chances to play in strong men and women's tournaments. Also, many top women now have grandmaster trainers who help them before and during tournaments.

When I was playing the final of the Women's World Championship in Nalchik last fall, my opponent Hou Yifan had a whole team from China to support her, with 4 male Grandmasters.

I also train on a regular basis with several GM's.

Top players in the world now also have access to Chess Database programs and can follow on the web games immediately as they are played.

This and other factors have contributed to the higher level of Women's Chess during the last years.

If you have any comments about the above, please write them in the comments below.

Posted by Alexandra Kosteniuk

Women's World Chess Champion