Grandmaster Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, hailed by Magnus Carlsen as the strongest 14-year-old in chess history, gained 11 points to reach a rating of 2669 in the February 2026 FIDE classical ratings list. This marks the highest gain among the world's top-100 players for January. His performance in recent events positions him to challenge records for youngest to reach 2700.
The February 1, 2026, FIDE classical ratings list highlights the rapid ascent of 14-year-old Turkish grandmaster Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus. Erdogmus added 11 points from his December match against GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, propelling him to 2669 and the 46th spot worldwide. He was the only top-100 player to gain more than 10 points in January.
Erdogmus's momentum continued at the Tata Steel Masters tournament, where he achieved a live rating of 2687, though official updates will appear in March. At age 14.67, his 2669 rating places him 61 points ahead of the next best player at that age, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (2608). According to the Prodigy Watch metric, Erdogmus holds the number-one prodigy rank for 21 straight months and is the 10th highest-rated player ever before age 17. He has over a year to surpass GM Wei Yi's record as the youngest to reach 2700.
Other notable top-100 changes include GM Kirill Alekseenko gaining nine points to 2648, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda adding eight to 2739 (14th place), and American GM Awonder Liang reaching a career-high 2719 to enter the top 25. Losses affected some, like Vachier-Lagrave dropping 14 points to 2720, exiting the top 20, partly due to his match with Erdogmus; GM Jose Martinez fell 11 to 2656; and GM Alexander Donchenko lost 10 to 2655.
Among juniors, Erdogmus ranks second behind world champion Gukesh D, 19, who leads in classical, rapid, and blitz. Israeli GM Yahli Sokolovsky gained 30 points to 2567 after winning the national championship. In women's ratings, GM Hou Yifan dropped 17 points below 2600 for the first time since 2013, while GM Tan Zhongyi rose 11 to 2535, and WIM Rachael Li surged 36 to 2358.
Lower-rated players saw dramatic rises, such as Indian Ragul Arul Dass with 293 points to 1704 and Filipino Joemel Narzabal with 276 to 2115. Young prodigies like 10-year-old Aarit Kapil jumped 138 to 2271, earning an 11th prodigy rank after beating multiple 2300+ opponents.
