This article was automatically translated from the original Turkish version.
Chess is a mind sport played by two players, one with white pieces and the other with black pieces.
In a chess tournament, the winner of a game receives 1 point while the loser receives no points; if the game ends in a draw, both players receive ½ point each. The most widely used pairing system in chess tournaments is the Swiss System. In the Swiss System, there is no elimination for players who lose a game; instead, players are ranked at the end of the tournament based on their total points. Pairings in the Swiss System begin with the highest-scoring players, and then proceed sequentially to lower-scoring players. For example, if after Round 4 there are two players with 4 points, they are paired first; then, if any exist, players with 3.5 points are paired among themselves, followed by those with 3 points. In the Swiss System, rules exist to prevent a player from playing the same color three times in a row, such as playing white in three consecutive rounds, and to ensure that a player does not face the same opponent more than once. Pairing software implements these rules when assigning opponents. This system ensures that a player’s success depends on facing other successful players in the tournament. The points referred to here are tournament points. At the end of the tournament, players are ranked by their total points; in the case of tied scores, they are ranked by their tiebreak scores. Tiebreak is calculated as the sum of the points earned by all opponents a player has faced during the tournament. The tiebreak system gives an advantage to players who have faced stronger opponents compared to others with the same total points. In addition to tournament points, rating systems exist that reflect players’ positions within their countries and globally.
Chess Board (Generated by artificial intelligence.)
The World Chess Federation (FIDE) uses a rating system called ELO. The ELO system was developed by Arpad Elo, a chess master and physics professor in the United States who worked to improve the method used by the United States Chess Federation to measure players’ skill levels. The ELO system provides information about a chess player’s standing worldwide. In addition, countries may maintain their own national rating systems. For example, in our country, an additional rating system called UKD (National Strength Rating) is used alongside ELO. Currently, most tournaments in our country are not part of the ELO system and are evaluated solely under the UKD system. After each round, players’ ratings change based on the rating of their opponent and the result of the game. A player gains rating points when winning, loses rating points when losing, and in the case of a draw, the player with the higher rating loses points while the player with the lower rating gains points. The amount of gain or loss is proportional to the difference between the player’s own rating and their opponent’s rating. For example, a player with 1500 ELO will gain more ELO points for defeating a player with 1800 ELO than for defeating a player with 1200 ELO.
Rating systems are submitted to the relevant authorities after each tournament, and a player’s rating is updated the following month. To better understand this rating system, it is helpful to examine its details and international equivalents. To earn the title of Candidate Master (CM), a player must exceed the 2200 ELO threshold; to become a FIDE Master (FM), they must exceed 2300 ELO; to become an International Master (IM), they must exceed 2400 ELO; and to become a Grandmaster (GM), they must exceed 2500 ELO. In addition to meeting these ELO thresholds, players must also achieve various norms to earn these titles. For example, to obtain the highest title in chess, GM, a player must not only exceed 2500 ELO but also earn three GM norms. To achieve a GM norm, a player must perform at a level exceeding 2600 ELO in a tournament and meet other norm requirements of the event. For the sake of maintaining coherence in this discussion, further details regarding tournament norm requirements will not be elaborated here. A player who earns a title retains it even if their ELO rating later declines. ELO performance is determined based on the results of games played against opponents and their respective ELO ratings, independent of the player’s own current rating. ELO performance is also a critical parameter when calculating the initial rating of a player with no previous rating. For example, if an unrated player achieves a performance of 1400 ELO in a tournament, their official ELO rating is set at 1400, and they begin participating in future tournaments with a 1400 ELO rating starting the following month.
Currently, the player with the highest ELO rating is Norwegian GM Magnus Carlsen. According to the April 2025 ELO list, Carlsen has an ELO rating of 2837. Since July 2011, Carlsen has maintained the world number one ranking and a rating above 2800. He also held the World Championship title from 2013 to 2023. In 2023, he chose not to defend his title, and the championship passed to Chinese GM Ding Liren, who defeated Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the World Chess Championship match. In 2024, Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju defeated Ding Liren in the World Chess Championship to become the new World Chess Champion and currently holds the title. Although not an official designation, players with an ELO rating above 2700 are commonly referred to as Super GMs. According to the April 2025 ELO list, there are 33 players worldwide with ratings above 2700 ELO. The most successful countries in chess are Russia, the United States, and India, which has shown significant recent progress. Russia, especially during the 20th century, was the dominant force in world chess and produced many world champions, including Kasparov and Karpov.
GM Magnus Carlsen (Anadolu Agency)
Interest in chess in our country is rapidly increasing. This interest has directly translated into the achievements of our players in tournaments. Although we do not yet have a player who has surpassed the 2700 ELO threshold, GM Mustafa Yılmaz reached 2665 ELO in the January 2024 ELO list, placing him 66th in the world ranking—the highest world ranking ever achieved by a Turkish player. According to the April 2025 ELO list, Türkiye’s top player is GM Ediz Gürel, born in 2008, with an ELO rating of 2636. He is followed by GM Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş, born in 2011, with an ELO rating of 2618. Both Ediz and Yağız have broken numerous records in their age groups and have already represented our country successfully at both the national team level and in international individual tournaments. According to the April 2025 ELO list, Ediz Gürel ranks 8th and Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş ranks 10th among players under 20 years of age (U20) worldwide.
GM Ediz Gürel (Anadolu Agency)
Both players rank 1st in the world in their respective age groups. Ediz Gürel became a GM at the age of 15 in 2024, earning the title of youngest Turkish GM. In the same year, Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş became a GM at the age of 12 years, 9 months, and 29 days, becoming the youngest Turkish GM. With this achievement, Yağız also became one of the four youngest players in chess history to earn the GM title. Yağız Kaan, by surpassing the 2600 ELO threshold in 2024, became the youngest player in the world to achieve this milestone. These two young talents have achieved significant results and high rankings not only in over-the-board tournaments but also in online chess platforms such as Lichess and Chess.com. In April 2025, Yağız Kaan won the Titled Tuesday tournament organized by Chess.com, becoming the first Turkish player to win this event, finishing ahead of prominent players such as GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Fabiano Caruana. Ediz Gürel represented Türkiye on board two at the 45th Chess Olympiad and finished the tournament with a board medal as the third-highest scorer on board two, adding another significant achievement to his record. These accomplishments have drawn considerable attention in world chess and have already led to invitations to major tournaments such as Tata Steel. Currently, there are 15 active GMs in Türkiye. Of these 15, four (including Ediz and Yağız) have earned the title since 2023. Similarly, there has been a significant increase in the number of our players holding IM and FM titles compared to previous years. Clearly, the growing interest in chess in our country has directly translated into the titles and achievements being won.
GM Yağız Kaan Erdoğmuş (Anadolu Agency)
Overview of Scoring and Pairing Systems in Chess Tournaments
Overview of Chess Rating Systems
Overview of World Chess
Overview of Türkiye’s Position in World Chess