January 2025 FIDE Ratings: Who Gained The Most In 2024?

India's incredibly successful year is also reflected in a comparison of the FIDE rating lists of January 2024 and January 2025. Top 100 GMs Aravindh Chithambaram (+64), Arjun Erigaisi (+63), and Gukesh Dommaraju (+52) had the biggest rating gains over 12 months, while IM Divya Desmukh did even better on the women's list with a 70-point increase.

FIDE's January 2025 rating list was published on New Year's Day, but needed a quick fix soon after. The reason was a rather blatant omission, discovered quickly and signaled on social media. A certain event held in November and December in which Gukesh and GM Ding Liren were involved, hadn't been included! Oops. 

The correct list is now available online, and this means that former world champion Ding is back into the world's top 20, now in 17th place, as he gained six rating points for what was only a marginal loss to the world's number five in the rankings, the now reigning world champion Gukesh.

Since very little classical (standard) chess was played in December at the top level, there are few other significant rating changes to report on. Instead, we will compare this month's ratings with last year's and see what the year 2024 looked like for the current top 100.

In terms of rating gains, Aravindh, Arjun, and Gukesh are closely followed by GMs Hans Niemann (+42) and Nodirbek Abdusattorov (+41). Three young grandmasters who have catapulted themselves into the world's top 10 will be active in two weeks from now in Wijk aan Zee: Arjun, Gukesh, and Abdusattorov.

Other players who can look back at quite a good year include GM Levon Aronian (+22 points, from 26th in the world back to 12th), Vladimir Fedoseev (+27 points), and another Indian youngster: GM Raunak Sadhwani (+21 points). 

Where there are winners, there must be losers as well (except for the World Blitz apparently, but that's another story). The players with rather disappointing results include GMs Parham Maghsoodloo (-66), Sanan Sjugirov (-52), Pavel Eljanov (-48), Ding (-46), Alexander Grischuk (-45), and Etienne Bacrot (-43).

FIDE Standard Ratings | January 1, 2025 (compared to: January 1, 2024)

Desmukh's impressive gain of 70 points makes her the most successful female player of 2024, at least in terms of rating and among the top 100 women. She climbed from #41 to #14 in the world over the past 12 months. Other big rating gains were for IM Olga Badelka (+52), GM Zhu Jiner (+47), GM Tan Zhongyi (+40, now ranked third), IM Stavroula Tsolakidou (+34), IM Polina Shuvalova (+33), and WGM Govhar Beydullayeva (+30).

Less successful were e.g. Velpula Sarayu (-96), IM Irina Bulmaga (-53), GM Bella Khotenashvili (-47), IM Deysi Cori (-45), IM Marsel Efroimski (-45), GM Irina Krush (-43), GM Monika Socko (-39), IM Gunay Mammadzada (-37), GM Elisabeth Paehtz (-33), and World Rapid winner GM Koneru Humpy (-31).

FIDE Standard Ratings (Women) | January 1, 2025 (compared to: January 1, 2024)

All data courtesy of FIDE.