Erdogmus, 15, takes Olympiad silver and climbs to world No. 17
By Louis · October 1, 2026 · 4 min read
Photo: FIDETurkey's No. 1, Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 15, took silver on board one at the Chess Olympiad, unbeaten with 8/10. He gains 15 points to 2731, the highest rating of any player in the year he turned 15 on FIDE lists since 2001, ahead of Wei Yi (2668) and Sergey Karjakin (2658), and climbs from No. 26 to No. 17 in the world. Turkey's women finished 11th, their best Olympiad result, ahead of 24th in 2006 and 2018; the open team was 13th. Baver Yilmaz, 14, gains 30 points to 2474 and is No. 1 among players born in 2012 worldwide. Atilla Kuru (15) climbs from No. 14 to No. 9 in the Turkish top 10 at 2514 after a +20 month, +19.6 at the Sants Open with 8/10.
Turkey top 10
Emre Can slips from No. 7 to No. 8 in the Turkish top 10 at 2528 after a -6 month, -5.7 at the Chess Olympiad (open) with 4.5/8.
| # | Player | World | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  GMYagiz Kaan Erdogmus | 17 | 2731 | +15 |
| 2 |  GMEdiz Gurel | 74 | 2642 | +6 |
| 3 |  GMDragan Solak | 172 | 2590 | 0 |
| 4 | GMIsik Can | 250 | 2560 | -9 |
| 5 |  GMMustafa Yilmaz | 287 | 2553 | 0 |
| 6 |  GMVahap Sanal | 331 | 2544 | 0 |
| 7 |  GMMuhammed Batuhan Dastan | 381 | 2533 | 0 |
| 8 |  GMEmre Can | 409 | 2528 | -6 |
| 9 | IMAtilla Kuru | 478 | 2514 | +20 |
| 10 |  GMCemil Can Ali Marandi | 497 | 2511 | 0 |
| 10 |  GMCem Kaan Gokerkan | 497 | 2511 | 0 |
Top 20 — who moved
| # | Player | Federation | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | IMAtilla Kuru | TUR | 2514 | +20 |
Turkey women's top 10
Ekaterina Atalik remains the top-rated Turkish woman at 2350 (-4 this month). Beren Kalyoncu (15) climbs from No. 9 to No. 8 in the Turkish women's top 10 at 2053 after a +19 month, +19.2 at the Chess Olympiad (women) with 4/6.
| # | Player | World | Elo | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  IMEkaterina Atalik | 90 | 2350 | -4 |
| 2 |  WGMKubra Ozturk Orenli | 294 | 2230 | 0 |
| 3 |  WIMGulenay Aydin | 333 | 2217 | +4 |
| 4 | WIMSila Caglar | 339 | 2215 | +1 |
| 5 | WFMCeren Tirpan | 484 | 2167 | +4 |
| 6 | WFMElif Zeren Yildiz | 548 | 2146 | 0 |
| 7 | WFMHatice Asli Mustu | 715 | 2111 | 0 |
| 8 | WFMBeren Kalyoncu | 1036 | 2053 | +19 |
| 9 | WIMHayale Isgenderova | 1156 | 2033 | -2 |
| 9 | WCMArya Aydogan | 1156 | 2033 | 0 |
Full Turkey women's ranking →
Beyond the top 10
The biggest gain among Turkish players rated 2200+ belongs to Cinar Bayrakoglu, 16, with +71 to 2204, +70.8 at the Istanbul International Open (group A) with 5/8. Kaan Ozkan (16) crosses 2300 for the first time on FIDE lists since 2001, now at 2302. Poyraz Efe Asici, 12, rated 2218, beat Brandon Jacobson (2644) at the Sestao Open, a 426-point gap.
New titles
The October list brings 4 new FIDE masters and 7 new candidate masters.
Juniors — under 20
Gulenay Aydin remains the top-rated Turkish girl under 20 at 2217 (+4 this month). 29 active Turkish players aged 20 or under are rated 2300+, against 18 of the same age a year ago.
Full Turkey U20 ranking →
Alexander Ipatov has held Turkey's No. 1 the longest
Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus has been No. 1 since Sep 2025. Alexander Ipatov holds the record for most time at the top: 6 years and 9 months in total. 12 players have led Turkey since 2001.
All 33 reigns with dates
- SoyluJan 2001 → Apr 20016m
- SendurJul 2001 → Jan 20029m
- PetrovApr 2002 → Jan 20031y
- SoyluApr 2003 → Oct 20039m
- SendurJan 2004 → Jan 20043m
- SoyluApr 2004 → Oct 20049m
- HaznedarogluJan 2005 → Apr 20056m
- AtakisiJul 2005 → Jul 20053m
- GurevichOct 2005 → Sep 20105y 1m
- AtalikNov 2010 → Mar 20116m
- GurevichMay 2011 → May 20112m
- AtalikJul 2011 → Jul 20112m
- GurevichSep 2011 → Sep 20112m
- SolakNov 2011 → Jan 20124m
- GurevichMar 2012 → Mar 20122m
- AtalikMay 2012 → Sep 20125m
- IpatovOct 2012 → Oct 20121m
- SolakNov 2012 → Nov 20121m
- AtalikDec 2012 → Dec 20121m
- SolakJan 2013 → Sep 20139m
- IpatovOct 2013 → Jan 20144m
- SolakFeb 2014 → Feb 20141m
- IpatovMar 2014 → Mar 20141m
- SolakApr 2014 → Oct 20147m
- IpatovNov 2014 → Nov 20141m
- SolakDec 2014 → Mar 20154m
- IpatovApr 2015 → Apr 20151m
- SolakMay 2015 → Dec 20158m
- IpatovJan 2016 → Jan 20226y 1m
- YilmazFeb 2022 → May 20242y 4m
- SolakJun 2024 → Jul 20242m
- GurelAug 2024 → Aug 20251y 1m
- ErdogmusSep 2025 → Oct 20261y 2m
Ekaterina Atalik has been No. 1 since Jan 2006, and no one has spent longer at the top: 20 years and 10 months in total. 4 players have led Turkey's women since 2001.
All 4 reigns with dates
- Cinar CorluluJan 2001 → Jul 20021y 9m
- TopelOct 2002 → Jan 20036m
- Yildiz KadiogluApr 2003 → Oct 20052y 9m
- AtalikJan 2006 → Oct 202620y 10m
Where Turkey played
Turkey is No. 18 among federations by the average of its 10 best active players (2570.6, +0.9 since September). The event with the most Turkish players rated 2300+ was the Chess Olympiad (open) (5 Turkish players, 5 of them rated 2300+). 54 Turkish players received their first FIDE standard rating on the October list.
| Event | TUR players |
|---|---|
| Chess Olympiad (open) · Samarkand | 5 |
| Gazi Open in Gaziantep · Gaziantep | 31 |
| Istanbul International Open (group A) · Istanbul | 31 |
| Bosnian Premier League · Bihac | 3 |
| Medway Congress · Chatham | 1 |
| Dutch Meesterklasse · various | 1 |
| Walldorf Open (group A) · Walldorf | 1 |
| Oberliga Nord (North) · verschiedene | 1 |
Top games of the month · Turkey players
The standout games of the month involving Turkey 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.