5 Big Movers In 2025 Who Look Ready To Do Great Things In 2026
Have you enjoyed the chess rollercoaster this year? We have, immensely. Here we look back at the performances that stood out in 2025 and promise big things for 2026. Here are our top five movers and shakers going forward:
Divya Deshmukh
What a year it's been for India's golden girl of chess, GM Divya Deshmukh from Nagpur, India.
The pinnacle was surely winning the Women's Chess World Cup 2025 in Batumi, Georgia, in July.
On her way to scooping the title, the 20-year-old beat India's greatest female player ever GM Humpy Koneru. Deshmukh also became India's 88th Grandmaster, just the fourth Indian woman to achieve that title, and qualified for the Women's Candidates Tournament 2026. All on one event.
"It definitely means a lot. There's a lot more to achieve. I'm hoping this is just the start," Deshmukh said on FIDE's official broadcast after she was crowned the champion.
Deshmukh's star rose so much she was handed a wild card to the open FIDE World Cup in Goa. Out of 206 competitors, Deshmukh was the only woman there, but sadly got knocked out in the first round.
She will do even better in 2026. We can't wait to see how far she goes.
Vincent Keymer
The young German GM Vincent Keymer won't be going to the FIDE Candidates in March. In November he suffered a disappointing "failure" at the FIDE World Cup to justify the growing hype around him and didn't grab a place. But that expectation was just a reflection of how stellar his 2025 has been.
Keymer is the undoubted standard-bearer for a big revival in German chess.
In February the 20-year-old made a career breakthrough when knocked GM Magnus Carlsen out of the freestyle Weissenhaus Grand Slam before defeating the U.S. champion and world number-three GM Fabiano Caruana in the final.
Keymer's statement win was followed up in August when he routed some of India’s best grandmasters at the Quantbox GM tournament in Chennai, the heartland of the Olympiad champions and the home of the world champion GM Gukesh D.
In doing so, Keymer also reached the world's top 10 FIDE-rated players for the first time, and his rating passed the 2750 mark. By November, Keymer had shot up to world number-four among the true elite.
The 2800-barrier is next. As his older compatriot GM Matthias Bluebaum contests the Candidates, Keymer will be focusing on that in 2026.
Look out for him at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament starting on January 16.
Javokhir Sindarov
Every chess fan will have heard the name of GM Javokhir Sindarov now. This is the 19-year-old Uzbek outsider who stormed out of nowhere to conquer all at the FIDE World Cup in Goa, thereby becoming the tournament's youngest ever winner, and booking himself a place at the FIDE Candidates starting in March.
It was a classic dark horse performance that proved, if he hasn't already, that Sindarov is on the verge of joining the elite.
Chess has a high profile in Uzbekistan and in Cyprus Sindarov will benefit from that. He will get the help he needs and has a cohort of other young Uzbek talents for support including GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov and GM Nodirbek Yakubboev.
Sindarov is another who will start 2026 with an outing at the prestigious Tata Steel Chess next month in the Netherlands.
Andrey Esipenko
While Russia's long-time number-one GM Ian Nepomniachtchi has fallen down the rankings throughout 2025, and is now at number 24, GM Andrey Esipenko has emerged as his likely successor.
In November, the 23-year-old from Novocherkassk in the Rostov region spared Russia's blushes by grabbing he final spot in the 2026 FIDE Candidates Tournament.
Esipenko bounced back from a heart-breaking loss to GM Wei Yi of China in a gripping semi-final at the 2025 FIDE World Cup to beat Yakubboev 2-0 and take third place.
It has been a rotten year for Russian chess, but a handful of young talents have shown there are green shoots of recovery. IM Roman Shogdzhiev is certainly one for the future at just 10-years-old, but Esipenko is currently leading Russia's new generation.
In the December rankings he jumped 10 places to 37. That's still a long way from the top-10, but Esipenko's year will be fully focused on the Candidates in Cyprus and fighting for a shot at the world title.
He will have help too, with the full backing of the Russian chess machine as his country eyes the chance to restore Soviet glories. Despite being an outsider, you can't bet against him.
Faustino Oro
Of all the prodigal talents in world chess right now, and there are many, IM Faustino Oro is the one whose star is shining the brightest.
The 12-year-old “chess Messi” from Argentina, has been breaking records on a regular basis throughout 2025 and his rise has been inexorable.
The target for 2026 has to be GM Abhimanyu Mishra's world record as the youngest ever GM.
Oro already set a new world record for his age when he achieved his first grandmaster norm (of three needed for the title) in October at the Legends and Prodigies tournament in Madrid.
He achieved his second at the Szmetan-Giardelli Masters 2025 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He has until March 11, 2026 to become the youngest grandmaster of all time.
Oro started the year with a FIDE rating of 2447 before it hit 2509 in October, making him the first under-12 in chess history to be rated 2500-plus.
Right now, he's ranked 575 in the world. He could be anywhere by this time next year.