(FIDE)–Armenian grand master–Levon Aronian who clenched the 2005 World Chess Cup in December–has moved up 5 slots in the World Chess Federation rankings for 2006 to hold the fifth spot with 2752 points. Ranked first is the now-retired Garry Kasparov (2812 points) who has held the position for a record 23 times. Bulgarian Veselin Topalov (2801 points) holds the second position–while India’s Viswanathan Anand (2792) slipped to third from his second spot in 2005. The fourth spot is held by Russian Peter Svidler who gained 25 points to reach 2765. Among the top 100 world players–Armenia’s Vladimir Akopian holds the 18th spot–while Karen Asrian is 61st.
For the top 100 women–Hungary’s Judit Polgar is first–followed by India’s Humpy Koneru and Sweden’s Pia Cramling. Armenia’s Litit Mkrtchian holds the 22nd position–and Elina Danielian–the 33rd.