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The October FIDE Rating list is now available for download at the FIDE website. GM Garry Kasparov continues a downward spiral dropping three points to 2814, but still holds the #1 position. Viswanathan Anand (2781, -1) drops, but he January rating ought to put him at the 2800-barrier. Vladimir Kramnik (2760, -10) dropped due to his "drawfest" at Dortmund and is currently embroiled in a match with Peter Leko. Alexander Morezevich (2758, +15) has been on a torrid path to join the top three and is only two ELO points behind Kramnik)! Veselin Topalov (2757, +20) storms past Peter Leko (2743,+2) by virtue of his scintillating performance in the FIDE Knockout Championship. Michael Adams (2740, +2), Peter Svidler (2735, +8), Judit Polgar (2728), and Alexij Shirov (2726, +1) round out the top ten.
No change in the top two women's positions…Judit Polgar (2728) and Xie Jun (2569, +5) who recently resumed her play. Women's World Champion Antoaneta Stefanova holds the 3rd position and Alexandra Kosteniuk (2508, -3) and Koneru Humpy (2503, -8) are #4 and #5. Georgian legend Maia Chiburdanidze is joint 5th at 2503. Kosteniuk and Koneru remain the highest rated girls.
Azerbaijan's Teimour Radjabov (2663, -1) holds the #1 position ahead of compatriot Shakhriyaz Mamedyarov (2660, -2). The Ukraine's Andrei Volokitin (2652, +14) powers into the top three after a scintillating performance in the Ukrainian Championship. Hungary's Ferenc Berkes (2630, +14) and England's Luke McShane (2629, -14) round out the top five. Perhaps the biggest story is Hikaru Nakamura (2620, +19) of the USA. The 16-year old continues his rapid ascent and has gained a massive 40 ELO points in last two FIDE lists. He is now the #3 player in the U.S. behind Alexander Onischuk (2655) and Yasser Seirawan (2631). Despite his rapid improvement, he will not make the U.S. Olympiad team which is largely fielded by relatively inactive players.
In Africa, Morocco's Hichem Hamdouchi continues his upward swing as Africa's #1. Last quarter (2575, +19), his performance in the FIDE Knockout Championship was stunning. Egyptian trio of Essam El-Gindy (2501, +4), Ahmed Adly (2482, +7) and Fouad El-Taher (2482, -2) represent the nucleus of a strong Egyptian side. Adly is Africa's top junior. South of the Sahara, Amon Simutowe (2424, -14) of Zambia drops to #2 while George Michelakis (2438) of South Africa and Watu Kobese (2408) are #1 and #3 respectively.
In the Caribbean, Cuba's Lenier Domínguez (2645, +16) put on a spectacular performance in the FIDE Knockout Championship. He and his compatriot Lázaro Bruzon (2637, +9) are improving rapidly and will lead the Cuban side in the Mallorca Olympiad. Barbados' Kevin Denny (2319) remains the highest-rated player from the English-speaking Caribbean and will man the top table for Barbados.
In North America, the top player of African descent is Maurice Ashley (2465) followed by Stephen Muhammad continues to approach 2400 (2387, +9) while Emory Tate (2334, -6) and William Morrison (2354, -10) attempt to round into form. Michael Schleifer of Canada (2340) and Sweden's Pontus Carlsson (2360) are steady.
FIDE Ratings (October 2004)
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