The Chess Mind

Those are two different ratings: the "real" ones are the ones that count, those of the international chess federation (FIDE). The live ones are those generated by 2700s and up on a daily basis, here. They have always been accurate, as far as I've seen, but FIDE is more deliberate about making these things official. So, here are the top 10s for FIDE, as of November 1, followed by the Live List's top 10.

FIDE's Top 10:
1. Topalov 2810
2. Carlsen 2801
3. Anand 2788
4. Aronian 2786
5. Kramnik 2772
6. Gashimov 2758
7. Gelfand 2758
8. Svidler 2754
9. Leko 2752
10. Morozevich 2750

(The full top 100 list is here.)

The Live Top List's Top 10:
1. Topalov 2804.7
2. Carlsen 2800.8
3. Anand 2788
4. Aronian 2779.5
5. Kramnik 2772
6. Gashimov 2766.7
7. Gelfand 2758.4
8. Morozevich 2755.3
9. Svidler 2753.4
10. Leko 2752

The two big stories here are Carlsen's being the youngest player ever - by far - to hit 2800 and Gashimov's remarkable rise to #6. Among the young Azeris, Radjabov and Mamedyarov have been known quantities for years, and they remain highly placed on the rating lists. But while I've known of Gashimov, and even noticed some time ago that he was over 2700, he had never caught my eye as a member of the super-elite. We'll see if he stays up there; even if he doesn't, though, it's still a remarkable achievement.