Yuffa takes Olympiad silver, Santos Latasa enters the world top 100
By Louis · October 1, 2026 · 4 min read
Photo: FIDEDavid Antón, Spain's No. 1, won the Legends & Prodigies round-robin in Madrid unbeaten with 7.5/10, 1.5 points clear, ahead of Faustino Oro in third; the event is not yet rated on this list. Daniil Yuffa took silver on board five at the Chess Olympiad with 7.5/9 and gains 14 points to 2584. Jaime Santos Latasa, the only unbeaten Spanish player in Samarkand (7.5/10), gains 11 points to 2626, enters the world top 100 at No. 100 (No. 113 in September) and becomes Spain's No. 2. Spain finished 10th in the open and 24th in the women's section, and have 2 players in the world top 100. Eduardo Iturrizaga slips from No. 6 to No. 9 in the Spanish top 10 at 2580 after a -15 month, -14.9 at the Sestao Open with 5/8.
Spain top 10
Alexei Shirov slips from No. 4 to No. 5 in the Spanish top 10 at 2592 after a -11 month, -10.8 at the Chess Olympiad (open) with 4/7. Maksim Chigaev slips from No. 2 to No. 3 in the Spanish top 10 at 2621 after a -8 month, -9.3 at the Chess Olympiad (open) with 4.5/9.
| # | Player | World | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  GMDavid Antón | 86 | 2634 | +2 |
| 2 |  GMJaime Santos Latasa | 100 | 2626 | +11 |
| 3 |  GMMaksim Chigaev | 105 | 2621 | -8 |
| 4 |  GMMiguel Santos Ruiz | 149 | 2600 | 0 |
| 5 |  GMAlexei Shirov | 167 | 2592 | -11 |
| 6 |  GMIvan Salgado Lopez | 171 | 2591 | 0 |
| 7 |  GMMiguel Illescas | 178 | 2587 | 0 |
| 8 |  GMDaniil Yuffa | 185 | 2584 | +14 |
| 9 |  GMEduardo Iturrizaga | 196 | 2580 | -15 |
| 10 |  GMAlan Pichot | 237 | 2565 | 0 |
Spain women's top 10
Sara Khadem remains the top-rated Spanish woman at 2414. Tatiana Grabuzova slips from No. 8 to No. 10 in the Spanish women's top 10 at 2189 after a -13 month, -8.1 at the Torrelodones Open with 3.5/7. Adhara Rodríguez climbs from No. 11 to No. 7 in the Spanish women's top 10 at 2200 after a +11 month, +11.4 at the Oropesa del Mar U2400 IRT with 4.5/5.
| # | Player | World | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  IMSara Khadem | 37 | 2414 | 0 |
| 2 |  IMSabrina Vega Gutierrez | 102 | 2340 | -23 |
| 3 | IMMarta Garcia Martin | 118 | 2325 | -24 |
| 4 |  IMAna Matnadze | 152 | 2305 | +3 |
| 5 | WFMInés Prado | 243 | 2252 | +30 |
| 6 | WFMHelena Joana Li Chen | 372 | 2203 | 0 |
| 7 | WFMAdhara Rodríguez | 377 | 2200 | +11 |
| 8 | FMNatalia Parés | 402 | 2190 | 0 |
| 8 | WFMLulu Zhou Li | 402 | 2190 | 0 |
| 10 | WGMTatiana Grabuzova | 408 | 2189 | -13 |
| # | Player | Federation | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | WIMPatricia Llaneza | ESP | 2126 | 0 |
Full Spain women's ranking →
Beyond the top 10
The biggest gain among Spanish players rated 2200+ belongs to Oier Sarasketa, 16, with +106 to 2256, +64.0 at the Virgen de Valencia Trophy with 5/7. Carlos Pardo Ruiz (17) crosses 2300 for the first time on FIDE lists since 2001, now at 2301. Miguel Lázaro (18) crosses 2300 for the first time on FIDE lists since 2001, now at 2301. Mauro Alvarez, 17, rated 1911, beat Nicolas Martin Cabeza (2330) at the Asturias U18 Team Championship, a 419-point gap.
New titles
The October list brings 2 new candidate masters.
Juniors — under 20
Diego Macias Pino remains the top-rated Spanish player under 20 at 2497 (-6 this month). Álvaro Torres (14) climbs from No. 15 to No. 10 in the Spanish U20 top 10 at 2395 after a +46 month, +46.0 at the Moratalaz Open with 9/9. Marta Elena Jiménez (16) climbs from No. 8 to No. 4 in the Spanish U20 girls' top 10 at 2057 after a +40 month, +39.6 at the Collado Villalba Open with 5.5/8. Helena Joana Li Chen remains the top-rated Spanish girl under 20 at 2203. 32 active Spanish players aged 20 or under are rated 2300+, against 34 of the same age a year ago.
| # | Player | Federation | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IMDiego Macias Pino | ESP | 2497 | -6 |
| 2 | IMAlex Villa Tornero | ESP | 2466 | +3 |
| 3 | IMJavier Habans Aguerrea | ESP | 2456 | +15 |
| 4 |  IMDiego Vergara Anton | ESP | 2437 | +13 |
| 5 | FMDiego Cacheiro Blanco | ESP | 2431 | 0 |
| 6 | IMLorenzo Perea | ESP | 2416 | 0 |
| 7 |  FMXulio del Prado | ESP | 2406 | 0 |
| 8 |  FMDaniel Tabuenca | ESP | 2403 | +16 |
| 8 | FMMartín Krauchi | ESP | 2403 | -10 |
| 10 | FMÁlvaro Torres | ESP | 2395 | +46 |
Full Spain U20 ranking →
Francisco Vallejo Pons has held Spain's No. 1 the longest
David Antón has been No. 1 since Sep 2026. Francisco Vallejo Pons holds the record for most time at the top: 12 years and 10 months in total. 5 players have led Spain since 2001.
All 14 reigns with dates
- ShirovJan 2001 → Jan 201110y 2m
- Vallejo PonsMar 2011 → Jun 202211y 4m
- ShirovJul 2022 → Jul 20221m
- Vallejo PonsAug 2022 → Nov 20231y 4m
- Anton GuijarroDec 2023 → Aug 20249m
- ShirovSep 2024 → Sep 20241m
- Anton GuijarroOct 2024 → Mar 20256m
- ShirovApr 2025 → Apr 20251m
- YuffaMay 2025 → Sep 20255m
- Vallejo PonsOct 2025 → Oct 20251m
- Anton GuijarroNov 2025 → Jun 20268m
- ChigaevJul 2026 → Jul 20261m
- Vallejo PonsAug 2026 → Aug 20261m
- Anton GuijarroSep 2026 → Oct 20262m
Sara Khadem has been No. 1 since Jul 2023. Olga Alexandrova holds the record for most time at the top: 8 years in total. 10 players have led Spain's women since 2001.
All 23 reigns with dates
- Calzetta RuizJan 2001 → Apr 20021y 6m
- Llaneza VegaJul 2002 → Apr 20031y
- Garcia VicenteJul 2003 → Jul 20033m
- Delgado CrespoOct 2003 → Jan 20062y 6m
- Calzetta RuizApr 2006 → Apr 20071y 3m
- Vega GutierrezJul 2007 → Apr 20081y
- Pares VivesJul 2008 → Jul 20083m
- Calzetta RuizOct 2008 → Oct 20083m
- AlexandrovaJan 2009 → Jan 20123y 2m
- Matnadze BujiashviliMar 2012 → Sep 20127m
- AlexandrovaOct 2012 → Apr 20163y 7m
- Vega GutierrezMay 2016 → Apr 20171y
- Garcia MartinMay 2017 → Aug 20174m
- Matnadze BujiashviliSep 2017 → Sep 20171m
- Vega GutierrezOct 2017 → Apr 20187m
- AlexandrovaMay 2018 → Apr 20191y
- Vega GutierrezMay 2019 → Oct 20196m
- Matnadze BujiashviliNov 2019 → Aug 20211y 10m
- AlexandrovaSep 2021 → Nov 20213m
- Matnadze BujiashviliDec 2021 → Aug 20229m
- Vega GutierrezSep 2022 → Sep 20221m
- Matnadze BujiashviliOct 2022 → Jun 20239m
- KhademalshariehJul 2023 → Oct 20263y 4m
Where Spain played
Spain moves up from No. 14 to No. 13 among federations by the average of its 10 best active players (2598.0, -0.7 since September). The event with the most Spanish players rated 2300+ was the Spanish Primera División (29 Spanish players, 19 of them rated 2300+). 160 Spanish players received their first FIDE standard rating on the October list.
| Event | ESP players |
|---|---|
| Spanish Primera División · Linares (Jaen) | 29 |
| Sestao Open · Sestao (Vizcaya) | 70 |
| Sants Open · Barcelona | 147 |
| MyInvestor International GM round-robin · Zaragoza | 6 |
| MyInvestor Casablanca International Open · Zaragoza | 76 |
| Chess Olympiad (open) · Samarkand | 5 |
| Zaragoza MyInvestor IM Closed · Zaragoza | 6 |
| Chess Olympiad (women) · Samarkand | 5 |
Top games of the month · Spain players
The standout games of the month involving Spain players. Replay them move by move.
Starting position
Masters0 games
| Masters 2400+ · OTB only | You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Move | Games | Results | Games | Score | ≈ Elo |
Written by
Louis
Founder & product
Chasing 2300. Started Chess Second to train smarter and get there.
Methodology
Computed from the official FIDE standard rating list of October 2026, compared with the previous monthly list and the monthly archive since 2001. Active players only (no inactivity flag on the list). Federation = the federation shown on each list, not today's. Age = list year minus birth year. Tournament results come from rated event files (classical only); events not yet published by FIDE may be missing. Every figure in this report is generated from the data and checked automatically against it.