Format
NN
Ninov, Nikolai
GM🇧🇬FIDE 2900424· Male· Bulgaria· Born in 1969
Follow Nikolai NinovTrack his monthly FIDE ratings, games, tournaments and more.
Nikolai Ninov, a 57-year-old Bulgarian Grandmaster, is rated 2324 and ranked 26th among Bulgarian players, and in the top 2% worldwide. He has held steady between 2300 and 2350 for 15 months. 38 rated games in the past year (≈62/year long-term). Recent standard appearances include Team 2026 - Nationale 1 r6-7, LVI Festival- under the aegis of BSCF, and Druga liga Centralne Srbije - Istok 2025. Also played 3 rapid events (including Bulgarian Men Individual Rapid Chess Championship 2025) recently. He took a 17-month break between Jul 2001 and Jan 2003. His peak of 2562 was reached at age 40 (Jul 2009, World #335 at the time); he spent 17 months in Bulgarian top 10.
Competes for Bulgaria since Oct 2018. Awarded GM in 2012 (age 43) and IM in 2001 (age 32).
Current rating
2324
Standard
Rpd2384·Blz2388
All-time high
2562
−238 pts below
Jul 2009 · age 40
Jul 2009 · age 40
Activity
43
games / yr avg. · ≈4/mo
31 past 12 mo · ≈3/mo
classical only
Active
classical only
Active
Signature stat
#26
#26 · Bulgarian players · of 675
17 months in National top 10 (2005–2011)
17 months in National top 10 (2005–2011)
Career timeline
22 entries2025
2nd Bulgarian 55-60 player
at age 56 · rated 2355
Feb 2025
2021
48th 50-55 player worldwide
at age 52 · rated 2467
Dec 2021
2018
Switched federation: FID → BUL
at age 49
Oct 2018
2017
Switched federation: BUL → FID
at age 48
Oct 2017
2016
68th 45-50 player worldwide
at age 47 · rated 2472
Oct 2016
2014
1,000 career games
at age 45
Apr 2014
Standard rating history
Peak
FIDE title
Threshold
First rated
Inactive period
COVID-19
Activity & highlights
Evolution
+4
2320 → 2324
Tournaments
8
33 games
Score
23.5/ 3371.2%
17W13D3L
Top 3 wins
Top 3 losses
Last 12 months — tournaments
8 events| Event | Date | Score | Rank | Perf | Δ Elo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | Jan 2026 | 1/2 | #158 | 2264 | -1.7 |
Team | Dec 2025 | 1.5/2 | #85 | 2432 | +2.7 |
Team | Nov 2025 | 1/2 | #171 | 2228 | -2.7 |
Team | Oct 2025 | 0.5/2 | #246 | 2241 | -2.0 |
Swiss | Oct 2025 | 4.5/5 | #2 | 2404 | +4.3 |
Team | Sep 2025 | 7/11 | #5 | 2336 | +3.1 |
Swiss | Aug 2025 | 3/1 | #24 | 2314 | +0.8 |
Swiss | Jul 2025 | 5/6 | #1 | 2219 | +0.4 |
Most-Played Opponents
vsAleksander DelchevGM
🇷🇸SRB·2412
+0 −1 =10
11 games·last met May 2024
View head-to-head →
vsKrasimir RusevGM
🇧🇬BUL·2457
+0 −0 =10
10 games·last met Sep 2020
View head-to-head →
vsVladimir PetkovGM
🇧🇬BUL·2414
+0 −2 =6
8 games·last met Sep 2015
View head-to-head →
vsRadoslav DimitrovGM
🇧🇬BUL·2482
+0 −2 =5
7 games·last met Aug 2025
View head-to-head →
vsDimitar MarholevIM
🇧🇬BUL·2101
+4 −0 =3
7 games·last met Jul 2025
View head-to-head →
Rankings
/
Bulgaria
#26
out of 1,136 players
Europe
#2,198
in continent
World
#3,352
out of 400,000+
National ranking
Europe & World
Europe
World
Bulgaria
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| ... | ||
| 26 | 2,324 | |
Europe
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| ... | ||
| 2198 | 2,324 | |
World
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| 7 | 🇳🇱Follow Anish GiriTrack their monthly FIDE ratings, games, tournaments and more. | 2,764 |
| 8 | 🇮🇳Follow Erigaisi ArjunTrack their monthly FIDE ratings, games, tournaments and more. | 2,761 |
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| ... | ||
| 3352 | 2,324 | |