10 new Grandmaster titles approved
The second FIDE Council Meeting of 2025 took place on July 18 in Batumi, Georgia, alongside the ongoing FIDE Women’s World Cup. Held in a hybrid format, the meeting addressed a range of important topics, including development projects, budget matters, the FIDE calendar, fair-play measures, and the approval of new player titles.
One of the key highlights of the meeting was the approval of 10 new Grandmasters. Among them is 21-year-old Bibisara Assaubayeva of Kazakhstan, who becomes the second Kazakhstani woman (after Zhansaya Abdumalik) and the 43rd female player in history to earn the prestigious GM title. See the how she achieved the title and the calendar of Bibisara Assaubayeva here
List of Grandmasters approved
Bibisara Assaubayeva
Leonardo Costa
Julian Kramer
Edgar Mamedov
Christopher Noe
Tao Pang
L R Srihari
Milosz Szpar
Artem Uskov
Matthew J. Wadsworth
Just now: Lei Tingjie overtakes Ju Wenjun and is now second in the world
The Council confirmed the dates for several major upcoming events on the FIDE calendar:
* FIDE World Cup 2025 India / World Chess Cup 2025 participants
* Women’s World Team Championship 2025 – November 2025, Linares, Spain
* 2nd FIDE Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities – October 2025, Kazakhstan
For more events, check out The Chess Calendar and the Top players calendars