This Grandgrasp Is Closing In On 100 Video games With out A Loss, While His Ranking Is Dropping

GM Vadim Zvjaginsev is quietly constructing a powerful unbeaten streak. The 49-year-old grandmaster is as much as 92 video games with no single loss in classical chess, placing him in sight of the 100-game mark. Yet, as an alternative of climbing on the ranking listing, the grandmaster has really dropped 17 ranking factors!

Among all of the wonderful data in chess, GM Magnus Carlsen’s 125-undefeated streak from 2018 to 2020 is by many thought-about essentially the most spectacular. The Norwegian five-time world champion broke GM Ding Liren’s 100-game report by scoring 42 wins and 83 attracts in opposition to a median opposition ranking of 2745, primarily the world’s high 15 gamers. 

Other data additionally exist, however with some necessary context: GM Bogdan Lalic performed 155 video games with no loss between 2010 and 2011, although in opposition to a lot lower-rated opposition.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a simple option to monitor ongoing over-the-board streaks, so one should depend on analysis by way of databases. However, 26-year-old Stefano Ferrara from Italy has completed the job for Chess.com by extracting info by way of FIDE databases.

“I fell in love with following the top tournaments during the Candidates in Madrid in 2022, with fantastic Chess24 coverage at the time. I’ve been keeping up ever since,” he advised Chess.com.

Ferrara first began sharing his statistics on Reddit, however kindly supplied an up to date listing of the present streaks for Chess.com. While these streaks may very well be damaged at any time, they offer some fascinating perception into the gamers with greater than 35 video games with no loss. 

Unbeaten Streaks per September 1, 2025:

(Note: Inactive gamers are excluded from the desk.)

The listing is topped by Zvjaginsev, who presently sits on a outstanding run of 92 video games with no loss. While remaining undefeated for thus lengthy is a powerful feat, it is value noting that the 49-year-old grandmaster really carried out beneath expectations in accordance with the Elo ranking method throughout that interval, dropping 17 ranking factors from tournaments at residence in Russia.

The 49-year-old grandmaster has a peak ranking of 2688 from 2012, and he was ranked twenty third on this planet in 2003. He gained consideration for inventing the revolutionary 1.e4 c5 2.Na3!? in 2005, a variation that might later be employed by GMs equivalent to Carlsen, Ian Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura, Richard Rapport, and Peter Svidler.

While a few of his opponents are a number of hundred factors decrease rated than him, he is additionally confronted some high grandmasters throughout his streak, equivalent to GMs Maxim Matlakov, Evgenij Najer, and Arseniy Nesterov. All video games led to comparatively quick attracts.

Further down the listing, there are a few gamers that stand out. GMs Zhou Jianchao and Manuel Petrosyan are each on a 70-game run, in opposition to even lower-rated opposition, however gained ranking in that interval.

Another noteworthy entry is 16-year-old GM Abhimanyu Mishra, who’s presently on a 56-game run after ending the Fujairah Global Championsip 2025 with an undefeated 5.5/9. Another is GM Sean Cuhendi from Indonesia, who has gone 46 video games with out shedding, scoring 40 factors and gaining 84 ranking factors in that interval.

GM Daniil Dubov additionally stays undefeated in 2025 together with his 31/45 in opposition to a fairly sturdy opposition of 2583. The 2018 World Rapid Champion has performed six occasions since his final loss, in opposition to GM Xu Xiangyu within the Shenzhen Cup 2024, with no single loss. GM Samuel Sevian can also be on a “hot streak” with 35 video games with out shedding.

As Ferrara identified, streaks in opposition to weaker opposition could be dangerous:

If you play a match filled with gamers who’re 200 or extra ranking factors decrease than you, it is potential to lose ranking even should you rating 7/9, for instance, by simply drawing some video games. It occurs to older gamers who’re nonetheless above 2500, who normally face lower-rated gamers, they usually lose numerous factors even when they do not lose video games.

One instance is GM Yuri Kruppa, whose 38-game undefeated streak in opposition to a median opposition of simply 2079, scoring 35 factors, had led to a ranking drop of some factors.

In mild of GM Hikaru Nakamura’s much-debated run to the Candidates by taking part in “Mickey Mouse tournaments,” the listing additionally reveals that dealing with significantly weaker opposition isn’t any assure of ranking achieve. It additionally entails a danger as attracts could be expensive.

Plenty of gamers are in peril of shedding their streaks within the subsequent few weeks, because the FIDE Grand Swiss kicked off in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, at present.