With the top players mainly playing online and freestyle, there has been little change at the top of the rankings. Magnus Carlsen, the current World Champion in Rapid and Blitz, is still the world number one, as he has been since July 2011. Fabiano Caruana follows in second place and is the only other player besides Carlsen with a rating of 2800+.
On 1st January FIDE published its new ranking list. Firouzja, who tried hard in the last days of December to gain a few more rating points, has achieved his goal: he has overtaken Wesley So and qualified for the Candidates by rating. Magnus Carlsen is still the clear number one, ahead of Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura in second and third, while Vincent Keymer and Praggnanandhaa are the world's best juniors. Hou Yifan continues to top the women's list and Bibisara Assaubayeva is the world's best female junior.
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With only two rounds to go on the Isle of Man, six players are sharing the lead in the open section of the FIDE Grand Swiss. The latest additions to the leading pack are Hikaru Nakamura and Parham Maghsoodloo, who scored crucial victories on Friday, over Ivan Cheparinov and Alexey Sarana respectively. Meanwhile, Vaishali Rameshbabu defeated Antoaneta Stefanova to become the sole leader in the women’s tournament. A half point back, Anna Muzychuk and Tan Zhongyi are sharing second place. | Photo: Anna Shtourman
A win over Javokhir Sindarov with black allowed Vidit Gujrathi to emerge as sole leader in the open section of the FIDE Grand Swiss. The Indian grandmaster is the only player in the open to have scored five wins, as he began the event with a loss against Erwin l’Ami. Eleven players stand a half point back, including top seeds Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura. Meanwhile, in the women’s tournament, Vaishali Rameshbabu and Antoaneta Stefanova collected full points to join Anna Muzychuk in the lead. | Photo: Anna Shtourman