14 Years Old and at the Top: Seven-Year Reign Ends - RESEARCH

The best female chess player in Azerbaijan's FIDE ranking has changed.

The March FIDE ranking released last week revealed that Govhar Beydullayeva (2400) is now the country's top representative. She is ranked 43rd globally. Gunay Mammadzada (2396) is ranked 51st, while Ulviyya Fataliyeva (2387) is in 57th place, Idman.biz reports.

This marks a shift in leadership within Azerbaijani women's chess. For many years, Gunay Mammadzada held the top position, but now she has dropped to second place.

Mammadzada’s dominance in the FIDE rankings lasted for an impressive period. She claimed the title of Azerbaijan's "No. 1" chess player in March 2018, when she was still under 18 years old.

Since then, Gunay held the top spot for seven years and was consistently the best player in the country, occupying the No. 1 position for 84 consecutive rankings.

During this time, the closest challengers for the top spot changed frequently. Players like Zeynab Mammadyarova, Ulviyya Fataliyeva, Khanim Balajayeva, Gulnar Mammadova, Aydan Höjjatova, and Govhar Beydullayeva have all risen to second place. Only Govhar Beydullayeva was able to dethrone Gunay. Interestingly, Mammadzada took the top position from Ulviyya Fataliyeva in March 2018 and held it for seven years, never losing the title. Before that, Fataliyeva held the No. 1 spot for just three months.

In her seven-year reign, Gunay Mammadzada achieved her best ranking of 18th place in the October 2022 list. Between 2018 and 2020, she was frequently in the top three for the women’s ranking, with her highest being third place.

Although she lost her No. 1 FIDE ranking, Gunay had a significant achievement in February, winning the Azerbaijan Chess Championship. She defeated Govhar Beydullayeva in the final. After each player won one game, the match was decided in a tie-break, with Mammadzada emerging victorious.

It is worth noting that Mammadzada was often the best female chess player in Azerbaijan’s FIDE rankings before her 84-month reign. Even as young as 14 years old, she had reached the top of the national rankings several times before her 2018 streak began.

FIDE rankings of Azerbaijan's best female chess players (2018-2025)

Month	1st	2nd	3rd
January 2018	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova	Zeynab Mammadyarov
February 2018	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova	Zeynab Mammadyarov
March 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova
April 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova
May 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Zeynab Mammadyarov	Gulnar Mammadova
June 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Aydan Hojjatova	Gulnar Mammadova
July 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Aydan Hojjatova	Gulnar Mammadova
August 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Aydan Hojjatova	Gulnar Mammadova
September 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Zeynab Mammadyarov	Aydan Hojjatova
October 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Zeynab Mammadyarov	Gulnar Mammadova
November 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
December 2018	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
January 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
February 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
March 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
April 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
May 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
June 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
July 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
August 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Khanim Balajayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
September 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Khanim Balajayeva
October 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
November 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
December 2019	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova
January 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
February 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
March 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
April 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
May 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
June 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
July 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
August 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
September 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
October 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
November 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
December 2020	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
January 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
February 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
March 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
April 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
May 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
June 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
July 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
August 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
September 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
October 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
November 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
December 2021	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
January 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
February 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
March 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Khanim Balajayeva
April 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Govhar Beydullayeva
May 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Gulnar Mammadova	Govhar Beydullayeva
June 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
July 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Gulnar Mammadova
August 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova
September 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova
October 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Gulnar Mammadova
November 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
December 2022	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
January 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
February 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
March 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
April 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
May 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
June 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Khanim Balajayeva
July 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Khanim Balajayeva
August 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Khanim Balajayeva
September 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
October 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
November 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
December 2023	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
January 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
February 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
March 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva	Govhar Beydullayeva
April 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
May 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
June 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
July 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Khanim Balajayeva
August 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Khanim Balajayeva
September 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Khanim Balajayeva
October 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
November 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
December 2024	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
January 2025	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
February 2025	Gunay Mammadzada	Govhar Beydullayeva	Ulviyya Fataliyeva
March 2025	Govhar Beydullayeva	Gunay Mammadzada	Ulviyya Fataliyeva