His first FIDE rating was published three weeks ago. He is…
0 reactions
His first FIDE rating was published three weeks ago. He is now Zimbabwe's highest rated player
Shepherd Kukudzarema https://radarchess.com/players/11037105-kukudzarema-shepherd appeared on his first FIDE rating list on August 1, at 2162. Three weeks and two tournaments later, his live rating is 2347.6, the highest in Zimbabwe.
His whole rated career is 23 games. He scored 5.5/6 at the CUCSA Individual Championship in July https://radarchess.com/events/80190-2026-cucsa-individual-chess-championship-open-section?player=11037105 , 6.5/8 at the JR Mawere International earlier this month https://radarchess.com/events/164289-jr-mawere-international-chess-tournament-6th-edition-2026-0p?player=11037105 , and 8/9 at the Minerva Open https://radarchess.com/events/191926-2026-minerva-international-open-section-a?player=11037105 , which finished yesterday.
The fields he beat averaged about 2060 and 2120, so this is one strong player clearing a modest pool in a hurry. The man he passed is IM Rodwell Makoto, Zimbabwe's strongest player for most of the last decade, whose rating has sat at 2325 since February.
The part I keep coming back to is the sample size. I know Zimbabwe isn't a federation you'd typically think of, but 23 rated games are fewer than a lot of club players get in a season, and it was enough to go from unrated to the top of a federation.
Has anyone got a shorter route from unrated to national number one?
#games
Shepherd Kukudzarema https://radarchess.com/players/11037105-kukudzarema-shepherd appeared on his first FIDE rating list on August 1, at 2162. Three weeks and two tournaments later, his live rating is 2347.6, the highest in Zimbabwe.
His whole rated career is 23 games. He scored 5.5/6 at the CUCSA Individual Championship in July https://radarchess.com/events/80190-2026-cucsa-individual-chess-championship-open-section?player=11037105 , 6.5/8 at the JR Mawere International earlier this month https://radarchess.com/events/164289-jr-mawere-international-chess-tournament-6th-edition-2026-0p?player=11037105 , and 8/9 at the Minerva Open https://radarchess.com/events/191926-2026-minerva-international-open-section-a?player=11037105 , which finished yesterday.
The fields he beat averaged about 2060 and 2120, so this is one strong player clearing a modest pool in a hurry. The man he passed is IM Rodwell Makoto, Zimbabwe's strongest player for most of the last decade, whose rating has sat at 2325 since February.
The part I keep coming back to is the sample size. I know Zimbabwe isn't a federation you'd typically think of, but 23 rated games are fewer than a lot of club players get in a season, and it was enough to go from unrated to the top of a federation.
Has anyone got a shorter route from unrated to national number one?
#games
| 1,000 mlx | |
| 1 | |
| 0 |