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The 10 Strongest Chess Nations in the World |
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FIDE ranks chess nations by the average rating of their ten best players. On the September 2026 list, the United States leads India by 20 points. Norway, home of the world’s No. 1, ranks 16th. |
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Source: FIDE Top Federations, September 2026 rating list. Average standard rating of each federation’s top 10 players, open list. |
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| What's Surprising |
The United States averages 2725. Three of the world’s top five are American: Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana and Wesley So. Sixteen Americans sit in the world top 100, more than any other country.
Most of that team was recruited. Caruana played for Italy until 2015. So came from the Philippines in 2014, Leinier Dominguez from Cuba in 2018, Levon Aronian from Armenia in 2021.
Magnus Carlsen is rated 2823, the best in the world by 31 points. Norway ranks 16th. Its second-best player is 167 points behind him. One player does not make a chess nation.
| What's Not Surprising |
India is second at 2705, and it grew its own. Six of its top ten were born in 2003 or later. In 2016 India averaged 2674. In 2024 it won both Olympiad golds. Its world champion, Gukesh D, is 20.
India slipped this year, down 16 points from 2721. Gukesh fell from 2767 to 2703 and is now only India’s fifth-best. China is third at 2664, led by Wei Yi at 2752.
Russia is the expected decline. In 2016 its top ten averaged 2731, ahead of the United States. Today: 2641. FIDE suspended its federation in June over events in occupied Ukraine. It has no Olympiad team.
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16 Americans in the world’s top 100. India has 15. No other country has more than seven. |
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4 of 5 America’s top five who once played for another country: Italy, the Philippines, Cuba and Armenia. |
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2823 Magnus Carlsen’s rating, the world’s highest. His country, Norway, ranks 16th. |
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−90 Points Russia’s top-ten average has lost since 2016, when it led the United States. |
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20 Age of both Gukesh D and Javokhir Sindarov, who play for the world title in Geneva from November 22. FIDE calls it the youngest match ever. |
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The Olympiad ends in Samarkand on Sunday. Host Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov is world No. 4 at 2778, and those games feed the next rating lists. Then Geneva: Gukesh against Sindarov, November 22 to December 12, up to 14 games, $2.5 million. We’ll be watching. |
