Maqsoudlou, Tabatabaei retain places, spearhead Iran in FIDE World Rankings
Parham Maqsoudlou and Seyed Mohammad-Amin Tabatabaei have remained Iran’s top two grandmasters, retaining their places inside the world’s top 50 in the February FIDE World Rankings released by the International Chess Federation.
Maqsoudlou, Iran’s No. 1 player, stayed 28th in the men’s standard rankings with a rating of 2708 – five places above compatriot Tabatabaei, who is ranked 33rd with a rating of 2700.
At the summit of the standings, Norwegian superstar Magnus Carlsen continues his reign as the world’s top player with a rating of 2840, followed by American duo Hikaru Nakamura (2810) and Fabiano Caruana (2795).
On the domestic front, Maqsoudlou and Tabatabaei are followed in Iran’s men’s rankings by Pouya Idani, Bardiya Daneshvar, Sina Movahed, Mahdi Gholami, Amirreza Pourramazanali, Reza Movahedi, Arash Tahbaz, Arian Gholami, Seyed Khalil Mousavi and Artin Ashraf.
China continues to dominate the women’s world rankings, with Hou Yifan leading on 2596. She is followed by compatriots Zhu Jiner in second place with 2578 and Li Tingjie in third on 2566.
Iran’s young talents have also held their positions in the world junior standard rankings. Daneshvar, rated 2597, remains 17th for the second consecutive month, while Movahed, on 2596, stays 18th. Reza Mahdavi dropped three places to 59th, while Ashraf remained unchanged in 76th position.
In the girls’ junior standard category, Melika Mohammadi slipped one place to 12th with a rating of 2342, while Sara Davari climbed one spot to 40th on 2250.
In the women’s national rankings, Mohammadi tops the list, followed by Mobina Alinasab, Davari, Anahita Zahedifar, Dorsa Mohammad-Ebrahimkhan, Mitra Asgharzadeh, Tannaz Azali, Rosha Akbari, Rezvaneh Haddadi and Zahra Parvin.
Iran, meanwhile, has retained its global position, remaining 17th in the latest FIDE national rankings with an average rating of 2572, unchanged from the previous month.