The live chess ratings for US players show some interesting developments. While Caruana is still the world number two (2818), there is a bit of a shake-up occurring elsewhere.
Wesley So, after his strong second place finish in Croatia, is now number four in the world (2783). Meanwhile, Dominguez’ strong play of late has moved him up to number 11 in the world (2759), while Nakamura, who didn’t fare well in Croatia, has dropped to number 18 (2744). Rounding out the US players in the top 35, Shankland is 32nd (2713), and Xiong has joined the rankings at 2703 (35).
That’s a pretty strong ‘top six.’ Really the only country that can rival that is Russia (whose top six are ranked 6, 7, 12, 16, 24, 27). No other country has more than 5 players in the top 35 (China, ranked numbers 3, 19, 21, 30, 31). Of course, these rankings are constantly changing, but the additions of Dominguez and Xiong to the US ‘over 2700’ club is encouraging (and more young GMs are on the way).