This list of top-ranked chess grandmasters is ordered by their peak Elo rating. The cut-off value is 2700 for men (players with a rating at or above this value are colloquially known as super grandmasters) and 2500 for women.
Notably, only six players achieved their over-2700 peak before the year 2000 and twenty-one players achieved their respective peak between the years 2000 and 2009 (inclusive).
Country | Player | Peak rating | Achieved | Birth year | Death year | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2800+ | |||||||
1 | Norway | Magnus Carlsen | 2882 | 2014-05 | 1990 | Highest-ranked player (2013–), world no. 1 (2010, 2011, 2011–), former World Chess Champion (2013–2023), highest-ranked Norwegian player (2006–) | |
2 | Soviet Union Russia | Garry Kasparov | 2851 | 1999-07 | 1963 | Highest-ranked Russian player, formerly world no. 1 (1984–1993, 1995–2006), former world champion (1985–2000), first player to achieve 2800+ rating, formerly highest-ranked player (1990–2012), highest-ranked Soviet-born player (since 1986) | |
3 | Italy United States | Fabiano Caruana | 2844 | 2014-10 | 1992 | Highest-ranked American player (since 2015), formerly highest-ranked Italian player (2007–2015) | |
4 | Armenia Germany United States | Levon Aronian | 2830 | 2014-03 | 1982 | Formerly highest-ranked Armenian player (2005–2021) | |
5 | Philippines United States | Wesley So | 2822 | 2017-02 | 1993 | Highest-ranked Filipino-born player, formerly highest-ranked Filipino player (2009–2014) | |
6 | Azerbaijan | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2820 | 2018-09 | 1985 | Highest-ranked Azerbaijani player (2006, 2007–2008, 2010–2011, 2017–) | |
7 | France | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2819 | 2016-08 | 1990 | Highest-ranked French player (2013, since 2014) | |
8 | India | Viswanathan Anand | 2817 | 2011-03 | 1969 | Highest-ranked Indian player (since 1987), former world champion (2007–2013, FIDE 2000–2002), formerly world no. 1 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2011) | |
Soviet Union Russia | Vladimir Kramnik | 2817 | 2016-10 | 1975 | Former world champion (2000–2007), formerly world no. 1 (1996, 2008), formerly youngest player to achieve 2800+ rating | ||
10 | Bulgaria | Veselin Topalov | 2816 | 2015-07 | 1975 | Highest-ranked Bulgarian player (since 1993), former world champion (FIDE 2005–2006), formerly world no. 1 (2006–2007, 2008–2009) | |
United States | Hikaru Nakamura | 2816 | 2015-10 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked American player (2011–2015) | ||
China | Ding Liren | 2816 | 2018-11 | 1992 | Highest-ranked Chinese player (since 2015), current World Chess Champion (since 2023) | ||
13 | Russia | Alexander Grischuk | 2810 | 2014-12 | 1983 | ||
14 | Iran France | Alireza Firouzja | 2804 | 2021-12 | 2003 | Highest-ranked Iranian-born player, formerly highest-ranked Iranian player (2019), highest-ranked junior, youngest player to achieve 2800+ rating | |
2775–2799 | |||||||
15 | India | Arjun Erigaisi | 2799 | 2024-11 | 2003 | ||
16 | Russia Netherlands | Anish Giri | 2798 | 2015-10 | 1994 | Highest-ranked Dutch player (since 2011) | |
17 | Russia | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2795 | 2023-03 | 1990 | ||
18 | India | Dommaraju Gukesh | 2794 | 2024-10 | 2006 | ||
19 | Azerbaijan | Teimour Radjabov | 2793 | 2012-11 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked Azerbaijani player (2002–2005, 2006, 2009–2010, 2011–2017) | |
20 | Russia | Alexander Morozevich | 2788 | 2008-07 | 1977 | ||
Ukraine Russia | Sergey Karjakin | 2788 | 2011-07 | 1990 | Highest-ranked Ukrainian-born player, formerly youngest grandmaster (2002–2021) | ||
22 | Soviet Union Ukraine | Vasyl Ivanchuk | 2787 | 2007-10 | 1969 | Highest-ranked Ukrainian player (1992–2002, since 2005) | |
23 | United States | Bobby Fischer | 2785 | 1972-07 | 1943 | 2008 | Former world champion (1972–1975), formerly highest-ranked player (1971–1989), formerly highest-ranked American player (1971–2008), formerly world no. 1 (1971–1975), formerly youngest grandmaster (1958–1991), first player to achieve 2700+ rating |
24 | Uzbekistan | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2783 | 2024-10 | 2004 | Highest-ranked Uzbekistani player (since 2023) | |
25 | Soviet Union Russia | Anatoly Karpov | 2780 | 1994-07 | 1951 | Former world champion (1975–1985, FIDE 1993–1999), formerly world no. 1 (1976–1983, 1985, 1994), formerly highest-ranked Soviet player (1974–1986) | |
26 | Soviet Union Belarus Israel | Boris Gelfand | 2777 | 2013-11 | 1968 | Highest-ranked Israeli player (since 1999), formerly highest-ranked Belarusian player (1993–1998) | |
27 | Hungary Romania | Richárd Rapport | 2776 | 2022-04 | 1996 | Highest-ranked Hungarian player (2021–2022, since 2024), formerly highest-ranked Romanian player (2022-2024) | |
2750–2774 | |||||||
28 | India | Pentala Harikrishna | 2770 | 2016-12 | 1986 | ||
29 | Soviet Union Russia | Peter Svidler | 2769 | 2013-05 | 1976 | ||
30 | Cuba United States | Leinier Domínguez | 2768 | 2014-05 | 1983 | Highest-ranked Cuban-born player, formerly highest-ranked Cuban player (1998–2001, 2001–2003, 2004–2005, 2007–2018) | |
31 | Ukraine | Pavel Eljanov | 2765 | 2016-03 | 1983 | ||
China | Yu Yangyi | 2765 | 2018-09 | 1994 | |||
33 | Ukraine | Ruslan Ponomariov | 2764 | 2011-07 | 1983 | Former world chess champion (FIDE 2002–2004), formerly youngest grandmaster (1997–1999), formerly highest-ranked Ukrainian player (2002–2005) | |
34 | Hungary | Peter Leko | 2763 | 2005-04 | 1979 | Formerly youngest grandmaster (1994–1997), formerly highest-ranked Hungarian player (1999–2021, 2022–2024) | |
Soviet Union United States | Gata Kamsky | 2763 | 2013-07 | 1974 | Formerly highest-ranked American player (2008–2010) | ||
China | Wang Hao | 2763 | 2020-04 | 1989 | |||
China | Wei Yi | 2763 | 2024-10 | 1999 | Youngest player to achieve 2700+ rating | ||
38 | Azerbaijan | Vugar Gashimov | 2761 | 2012-01 | 1986 | 2014 | |
England | Michael Adams | 2761 | 2013-09 | 1971 | Highest-ranked English player (since 1998) | ||
Russia | Vladislav Artemiev | 2761 | 2019-06 | 1998 | |||
41 | Russia | Dmitry Jakovenko | 2760 | 2009-01 | 1983 | ||
Poland | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2760 | 2021-12 | 1998 | Highest-ranked Polish player (since 2019) | ||
43 | Russia | Evgeny Tomashevsky | 2758 | 2015-09 | 1987 | ||
China | Li Chao | 2758 | 2016-06 | 1989 | |||
45 | India | Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa | 2757 | 2024-07 | 2005 | ||
46 | China | Wang Yue | 2756 | 2010-11 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked Chinese player (2007–2008, 2008–2015) | |
47 | Soviet Union Latvia Spain | Alexei Shirov | 2755 | 2008-01 | 1972 | Highest-ranked Spanish player (1995–2011, since 2018), formerly highest-ranked Latvian player (1992–1994, 2011–2018) | |
48 | Georgia Czech Republic Slovakia Armenia | Sergei Movsesian | 2751 | 2009-01 | 1978 | Formerely highest-ranked Czech player (1999–2002), formerly highest-ranked Slovak player (2002–2010), highest-ranked Armenian player (since 2021) | |
Czech Republic | David Navara | 2751 | 2015-05 | 1985 | Highest-ranked Czech player (since 2005) | ||
Russia England | Nikita Vitiugov | 2751 | 2019-11 | 1987 | |||
51 | Poland | Radosław Wojtaszek | 2750 | 2017-01 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked Polish player (2010–2019) | |
2725–2749 | |||||||
52 | France | Étienne Bacrot | 2749 | 2013-11 | 1983 | Formerly highest-ranked French player (2004–2013, 2013–2014), formerly youngest grandmaster (1997) | |
53 | India | Vidit Gujrathi | 2747 | 2024-02 | 1994 | ||
54 | Russia | Dmitry Andreikin | 2743 | 2016-06 | 1990 | ||
Germany | Vincent Keymer | 2743 | 2024-01 | 2004 | Highest-ranked German player (since 2023) | ||
56 | Iran | Parham Maghsoodloo | 2742 | 2023-12 | 2000 | Highest-ranked Iranian player (2018–2019, since 2019) | |
57 | Vietnam | Lê Quang Liêm | 2741 | 2024-08 | 1991 | Highest-ranked Vietnamese player (since 2009) | |
58 | Soviet Union Russia Canada | Evgeny Bareev | 2739 | 2003-10 | 1966 | Highest-ranked Canadian player (since 2015) | |
59 | Russia | Maxim Matlakov | 2738 | 2017-11 | 1991 | ||
60 | Latvia Germany Azerbaijan Bulgaria | Arkadij Naiditsch | 2737 | 2013-12 | 1985 | Formerly highest-ranked German player (2006–2008, 2009–2015) | |
61 | Hungary | Judit Polgár | 2735 | 2005-07 | 1976 | Highest-ranked female player; first and only female player to achieve 2700+ rating, only female player to be ranked in the world's top 10, formerly youngest grandmaster (1991–1994), formerly highest-ranked Hungarian player (1996–1998) | |
62 | Soviet Union Moldova | Viktor Bologan | 2734 | 2012-08 | 1971 | Highest-ranked Moldovan player | |
Georgia | Baadur Jobava | 2734 | 2012-09 | 1983 | Highest-ranked Georgian player (since 2010) | ||
United States | Hans Niemann | 2734 | 2024-11 | 2003 | |||
65 | Russia Slovenia | Vladimir Fedoseev | 2733 | 2017-10 | 1995 | Highest-ranked Slovenian player (since 2023) | |
66 | Russia | Vladimir Malakhov | 2732 | 2010-07 | 1980 | ||
Kyrgyzstan Russia | Ernesto Inarkiev | 2732 | 2016-09 | 1985 | |||
68 | China | Bu Xiangzhi | 2731 | 2019-02 | 1985 | Formerly youngest grandmaster (1999–2002), formerly highest-ranked Chinese player (2008) | |
United States | Samuel Shankland | 2731 | 2019-02 | 1991 | |||
70 | Hungary | Zoltán Almási | 2726 | 2011-07 | 1976 | ||
Ukraine | Alexander Moiseenko | 2726 | 2011-09 | 1980 | |||
72 | Russia Israel | Evgeny Alekseev | 2725 | 2009-09 | 1985 | ||
Ukraine | Andrei Volokitin | 2725 | 2013-03 | 1986 | |||
2700–2724 | |||||||
74 | China | Ni Hua | 2724 | 2009-04 | 1983 | ||
Spain | Francisco Vallejo Pons | 2724 | 2011-07 | 1982 | Formerly highest-ranked Spanish player (2012–2018) | ||
76 | Ukraine | Anton Korobov | 2723 | 2014-01 | 1985 | ||
Russia | Andrey Esipenko | 2723 | 2022-03 | 2002 | |||
78 | India | Krishnan Sasikiran | 2720 | 2012-05 | 1981 | ||
Russia | Alexander Riazantsev | 2720 | 2012-07 | 1985 | |||
Ukraine | Alexander Areshchenko | 2720 | 2012-12 | 1986 | |||
France | Laurent Fressinet | 2720 | 2015-06 | 1981 | |||
Russia | Daniil Dubov | 2720 | 2021-12 | 1996 | |||
83 | Bulgaria Georgia | Ivan Cheparinov | 2718 | 2018-08 | 1986 | ||
Iran | Amin Tabatabaei | 2718 | 2024-07 | 2001 | |||
85 | Cuba United States | Lázaro Bruzón | 2717 | 2012-10 | 1982 | Formerly highest-ranked Cuban player (2001, 2003–2004, 2005–2007, 2018–2020) | |
Ukraine | Yuriy Kryvoruchko | 2717 | 2015-11 | 1986 | |||
Russia Serbia | Alexey Sarana | 2717 | 2024-07 | 2000 | Highest-ranked Serbian player (since 2023) | ||
88 | Soviet Union Russia | Valery Salov | 2715 | 1995-01 | 1964 | ||
Uzbekistan | Rustam Kasimdzhanov | 2715 | 2015-05 | 1979 | Former world chess champion (FIDE 2004–2005), formerly highest-ranked Uzbekistani player (2000–2023) | ||
Russia Austria | Kirill Alekseenko | 2715 | 2019-11 | 1997 | Highest-ranked Austrian player (since 2023) | ||
Netherlands | Jorden van Foreest | 2715 | 2022-05 | 1999 | |||
92 | Netherlands | Loek van Wely | 2714 | 2001-10 | 1972 | Formerly highest-ranked Dutch player (2001–2011) | |
Russia | Denis Khismatullin | 2714 | 2014-03 | 1984 | |||
94 | Soviet Union Armenia United States | Vladimir Akopian | 2713 | 2006-07 | 1971 | Formerly highest-ranked Armenian player (1995–2005) | |
England | Luke McShane | 2713 | 2012-07 | 1984 | |||
96 | England | Nigel Short | 2712 | 2004-04 | 1965 | Formerly highest-ranked English player (1987–1998) | |
England | David Howell | 2712 | 2015-08 | 1990 | |||
Egypt | Bassem Amin | 2712 | 2019-01 | 1988 | Highest-ranked Egyptian player (since 2012), highest-ranked African player (since 2012) | ||
United States | Jeffery Xiong | 2712 | 2019-11 | 2000 | |||
Russia Hungary | Sanan Sjugirov | 2712 | 2022-11 | 1993 | |||
101 | Soviet Union Russia | Alexey Dreev | 2711 | 2011-07 | 1969 | ||
Armenia | Gabriel Sargissian | 2711 | 2022-09 | 1983 | |||
103 | Soviet Union Ukraine Slovenia | Alexander Beliavsky | 2710 | 1997-07 | 1953 | Formerly highest-ranked Slovenian player (1996–2023) | |
Russia Romania | Alexander Motylev | 2710 | 2009-07 | 1979 | |||
Israel | Maxim Rodshtein | 2710 | 2016-03 | 1989 | |||
Romania | Bogdan-Daniel Deac | 2710 | 2022-09 | 2001 | Highest-ranked Romanian player (2021–2022, since 2024) | ||
107 | Azerbaijan | Rauf Mamedov | 2709 | 2017-12 | 1988 | ||
England | Gawain Jones | 2709 | 2019-06 | 1987 | |||
109 | Ukraine | Zahar Efimenko | 2708 | 2011-03 | 1985 | ||
Armenia | Haik M. Martirosyan | 2708 | 2023-11 | 2000 | |||
111 | Romania Germany | Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu | 2707 | 2005-10 | 1976 | Formerly highest-ranked Romanian player (1998–2000, 2003–2014), formerly highest-ranked German player (2015–2023) | |
Russia | Evgeny Najer | 2707 | 2017-08 | 1977 | |||
113 | Yugoslavia Bosnia and Herzegovina Netherlands | Ivan Sokolov | 2706 | 2004-01 | 1968 | Formerly highest-ranked Bosnian-Herzegovinian player (1993–1994, 1996–2002, 2009–2010) | |
Hungary | Ferenc Berkes | 2706 | 2011-09 | 1985 | |||
Soviet Union Russia | Sergei Rublevsky | 2706 | 2013-11 | 1974 | |||
India | Aravindh Chithambaram | 2706 | 2024-11 | 1999 | |||
117 | Soviet Union Latvia | Mikhail Tal | 2705 | 1980-01 | 1936 | 1992 | Former world champion (1960–1961), formerly highest-ranked Latvian player (1992) |
Soviet Union Russia Israel Switzerland | Vadim Milov | 2705 | 2008-07 | 1972 | Highest-ranked Swiss player (since 2008) | ||
Russia | Boris Grachev | 2705 | 2012-03 | 1986 | |||
Norway | Jon Ludvig Hammer | 2705 | 2016-02 | 1990 | |||
121 | Czech Republic | Viktor Láznička | 2704 | 2012-01 | 1989 | ||
United States | Ray Robson | 2704 | 2023-04 | 1994 | |||
123 | Soviet Union Israel | Emil Sutovsky | 2703 | 2012-01 | 1977 | ||
Austria | Markus Ragger | 2703 | 2017-02 | 1988 | Formerly highest-ranked Austrian player (2010–2023) | ||
Belarus | Vladislav Kovalev | 2703 | 2019-02 | 1994 | Highest-ranked Belarusian player (since 2019) | ||
Croatia | Ivan Šarić | 2703 | 2019-03 | 1990 | Highest-ranked Croatian player (since 2011) | ||
Spain | David Antón Guijarro | 2703 | 2020-03 | 1995 | |||
United States | Samuel Sevian | 2703 | 2022-05 | 2000 | |||
129 | Soviet Union Russia Poland | Michał Krasenkow | 2702 | 2000-07 | 1963 | Formerly highest-ranked Polish player (1996–2010) | |
Soviet Union Israel | Ilya Smirin | 2702 | 2001-07 | 1968 | |||
Soviet Union Germany Russia | Alexander Khalifman | 2702 | 2001-10 | 1966 | Former world chess champion (FIDE 1999–2000), formerly highest-ranked German player (1991–1992) | ||
Soviet Union Bosnia and Herzegovina Georgia | Zurab Azmaiparashvili | 2702 | 2003-07 | 1960 | Formerly highest-ranked Georgian player (1992–1994, 1996–2009) | ||
France | Romain Edouard | 2702 | 2014-06 | 1990 | |||
Ukraine Latvia | Igor Kovalenko | 2702 | 2015-08 | 1988 | Formerly highest-ranked Latvian player (2018–2021) | ||
135 | Soviet Union Ukraine United States | Alexander Onischuk | 2701 | 2010-07 | 1975 | ||
India | Adhiban Baskaran | 2701 | 2019-04 | 1992 | |||
Uzbekistan | Javokhir Sindarov | 2701 | 2023-12 | 2005 | |||
138 | Denmark | Peter Heine Nielsen | 2700 | 2010-07 | 1973 | Highest-ranked Danish player (since 2004) | |
Russia | Igor Lysyj | 2700 | 2015-01 | 1987 |
Country | Player | Peak rating | Achieved | Birth year | Death year | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2700+ | |||||||
1 | Hungary | Judit Polgár | 2735 | 2005-07 | 1976 | Highest-ranked female player (since 1992), highest-ranked Hungarian female player (since 1989), formerly youngest grandmaster (1991–1994), formerly youngest female grandmaster (1991–2002), formerly female world no. 1 (1989–2015) | |
2600-2699 | |||||||
2 | China | Hou Yifan | 2686 | 2015-03 | 1994 | Youngest female grandmaster (since 2008), female world no. 1 (since 2015), highest-ranked Chinese female player (since 2008) | |
3 | India | Koneru Humpy | 2623 | 2009-07 | 1987 | Highest-ranked Indian female player (since 2001), formerly youngest female grandmaster (2002–2008) | |
4 | Russia | Aleksandra Goryachkina | 2611 | 2021-08 | 1998 | Formerly highest-ranked Russian female player (2020–2023) | |
5 | Ukraine Slovenia | Anna Muzychuk | 2606 | 2012-07 | 1990 | Highest-ranked Ukrainian female player (since 2014), formerly highest-ranked Slovenian female player (2004–2014) | |
6 | China | Ju Wenjun | 2604 | 2017-03 | 1991 | ||
2500-2599 | |||||||
7 | Russia | Tatiana Kosintseva | 2581 | 2010-11 | 1986 | Highest-ranked Russian female player (2010–2020, since 2023) | |
8 | China | Zhao Xue | 2579 | 2013-09 | 1985 | ||
9 | Hungary United States | Susan Polgar | 2577 | 2005-01 | 1969 | Formerly youngest female grandmaster (1991), formerly female world no. 1 (1984–1985, 1986), formerly highest-ranked Hungarian female player (1984–1988), formerly highest-ranked American female player (2003–2019) | |
10 | Russia | Nadezhda Kosintseva | 2576 | 2010-11 | 1985 | ||
11 | China | Xie Jun | 2574 | 2008-01 | 1970 | Formerly highest-ranked Chinese female player (1990–2008) | |
12 | Georgia | Nana Dzagnidze | 2573 | 2015-06 | 1987 | Highest-ranked Georgian female player (since 2011) | |
13 | Ukraine | Mariya Muzychuk | 2563 | 2016-03 | 1992 | ||
Ukraine Russia | Kateryna Lagno | 2563 | 2022-10 | 1989 | Formerly highest-ranked Ukrainian female player (2003–2014) | ||
15 | Russia Switzerland | Alexandra Kosteniuk | 2561 | 2018-01 | 1984 | Highest-ranked Swiss female player (since 2023) | |
16 | Soviet Union Georgia | Maia Chiburdanidze | 2560 | 1988-01 | 1961 | Formerly highest-ranked female player (1985–1992), formerly youngest female grandmaster (1984–1991), formerly female world no. 1 (1980–1982, 1983, 1985–1986, 1987–1988), formerly highest-ranked Soviet female player (1985–1992), formerly highest-ranked Georgian female player (1992–2011) | |
Soviet Union Ukraine Russia | Alisa Galliamova | 2560 | 1998-07 | 1972 | Formerly highest-ranked Ukrainian female player (1992–1996), formerly highest-ranked Russian female player (1996–2010) | ||
Bulgaria | Antoaneta Stefanova | 2560 | 2003-01 | 1979 | Highest-ranked Bulgarian female player (1994, since 1995) | ||
19 | China | Lei Tingjie | 2554 | 2023-05 | 1997 | ||
20 | China | Tan Zhongyi | 2551 | 2024-09 | 1991 | ||
21 | Sweden | Pia Cramling | 2550 | 2008-10 | 1963 | Formerly female world no. 1 (1983, 1984), highest-ranked Swedish female player (since 1981) | |
22 | China Qatar | Zhu Chen | 2548 | 2008-01 | 1976 | Highest-ranked Qatari female player (since 2006) | |
Russia | Valentina Gunina | 2548 | 2015-06 | 1989 | |||
24 | India | Harika Dronavalli | 2543 | 2016-11 | 1991 | ||
25 | Lithuania | Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen | 2542 | 2017-06 | 1983 | Highest-ranked Lithuanian female player (since 1999) | |
26 | Ukraine United States | Anna Zatonskih | 2537 | 2011-05 | 1978 | Highest-ranked American female player (since 2019) | |
France | Marie Sebag | 2537 | 2013-03 | 1986 | Highest-ranked French female player (since 2007) | ||
28 | Georgia | Bella Khotenashvili | 2531 | 2013-06 | 1988 | ||
29 | Georgia | Nino Batsiashvili | 2528 | 2018-03 | 1987 | ||
30 | Armenia | Elina Danielian | 2521 | 2011-07 | 1978 | Highest-ranked Armenian female player (1994–2002, 2004–2005, since 2008) | |
31 | Soviet Union Georgia | Nana Ioseliani | 2520 | 1997-07 | 1962 | ||
32 | Kazakhstan | Dinara Saduakassova | 2519 | 2020-01 | 1996 | Highest-ranked Kazakhstani female player (2014–2016, 2017–2018, since 2018) | |
33 | China | Xu Yuhua | 2517 | 2006-04 | 1976 | ||
34 | Russia | Polina Shuvalova | 2516 | 2021-12 | 2001 | ||
35 | China | Zhu Jiner | 2514 | 2024-11 | 2002 | ||
36 | Germany | Elisabeth Pähtz | 2513 | 2018-09 | 1985 | Highest-ranked German female player (since 2008) | |
37 | China | Wang Lei | 2512 | 2001-10 | 1975 | ||
38 | Vietnam Hungary | Hoang Thanh Trang | 2511 | 2013-11 | 1980 | Formerly highest-ranked Vietnamese female player (1992–2006) | |
39 | Russia | Natalia Pogonina | 2508 | 2014-07 | 1985 | ||
40 | Russia | Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | 2507 | 2001-07 | 1974 | ||
Kazakhstan | Zhansaya Abdumalik | 2507 | 2021-10 | 2000 | Formerly highest-ranked Kazakhstani female player (2017, 2018) | ||
42 | Soviet Union Georgia Scotland | Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant | 2506 | 2009-07 | 1968 | Highest-ranked Scottish female player (since 2008) | |
China | Wang Pin | 2506 | 2000-10 | 1974 | |||
India | Rameshbabu Vaishali | 2506 | 2024-08 | 2001 | |||
45 | Hungary | Sofia Polgar | 2505 | 1998-07 | 1974 | ||
Poland | Monika Soćko | 2505 | 2008-04 | 1978 | Highest-ranked Polish female player (1999–2001, since 2005, shared since 2022) | ||
Russia | Olga Girya | 2505 | 2017-09 | 1991 | |||
Russia Poland | Alina Kashlinskaya | 2505 | 2022-06 | 1993 | Highest-ranked Polish female player (shared since 2022) | ||
49 | Armenia | Lilit Mkrtchian | 2503 | 2010-01 | 1982 | Formerly highest-ranked Armenian female player (2002–2003, 2005–2007) | |
China | Ruan Lufei | 2503 | 2014-01 | 1987 | |||
51 | Soviet Union Kyrgyzstan Russia | Svetlana Matveeva | 2502 | 2004-01 | 1969 | Formerly highest-ranked Russian female player (1992, 1994–1996), formerly highest-ranked Kyrgyzstani female player (1993) | |
Ukraine | Anna Ushenina | 2502 | 2007-07 | 1985 | |||
United States | Irina Krush | 2502 | 2013-10 | 1983 | Formerly highest-ranked American female player (2002) | ||
54 | China | Qin Kanying | 2501 | 2000-07 | 1974 | ||
Moldova France | Almira Skripchenko | 2501 | 2003-01 | 1976 | Formerly highest-ranked Moldovan female player (1995–2001), highest-ranked French female player (2002–2007) | ||
India | Divya Deshmukh | 2501 | 2024-10 | 2005 | |||
57 | Georgia | Lela Javakhishvili | 2500 | 2010-03 | 1984 |
This section lists the top 20 active [lower-alpha 1] players by peak FIDE rating achieved in every decade since 1971, when FIDE started officially publishing rating lists.
Country | Player | Peak rating in 1970s | Achieved | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bobby Fischer | 2785 | 1972-07 | |
2 | Anatoly Karpov | 2725 | 1978-01 | |
3 | Viktor Korchnoi | 2695 | 1979-01 | |
4 | Boris Spassky | 2690 | 1971-07 | |
5 | Bent Larsen | 2660 | 1971-07 | |
Mikhail Tal | 2660 | 1973-07 | ||
7 | Lajos Portisch | 2650 | 1973-07 | |
8 | Tigran Petrosian | 2645 | 1972-07 | |
Lev Polugaevsky | 2645 | 1972-07 | ||
10 | Henrique Mecking | 2635 | 1977-01 | |
11 | Mikhail Botvinnik | 2630 | 1971-07 | |
12 | Lubomir Kavalek | 2625 | 1974-05 | |
Jan Timman | 2625 | 1979-01 | ||
14 | Vassily Smyslov | 2620 | 1971-07 | |
Leonid Stein | 2620 | 1972-07 | ||
Ljubomir Ljubojević | 2620 | 1976-01 | ||
Efim Geller | 2620 | 1976-01 | ||
Vlastimil Hort | 2620 | 1977-01 | ||
19 | Paul Keres | 2615 | 1971-07 | |
Robert Hübner | 2615 | 1974-05 | ||
Jan Smejkal | 2615 | 1976-01 |
Country | Player | Peak rating in 1980s | Achieved | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Garry Kasparov | 2775 | 1989-01 | |
2 | Anatoly Karpov | 2755 | 1989-07 | |
3 | Mikhail Tal | 2705 | 1980-01 | |
4 | Viktor Korchnoi | 2695 | 1980-01 | |
5 | Jan Timman | 2675 | 1988-01 | |
6 | Nigel Short | 2665 | 1988-07 | |
7 | Artur Yusupov | 2660 | 1986-07 | |
Vasyl Ivanchuk | 2660 | 1989-07 | ||
9 | Lajos Portisch | 2655 | 1980-01 | |
Alexander Beliavsky | 2655 | 1988-07 | ||
11 | Ljubomir Ljubojević | 2645 | 1983-01 | |
Rafael Vaganian | 2645 | 1986-01 | ||
Andrei Sokolov | 2645 | 1987-01 | ||
Jonathan Speelman | 2645 | 1988-07 | ||
Valery Salov | 2645 | 1989-07 | ||
16 | Robert Hübner | 2640 | 1981-07 | |
Ulf Andersson | 2640 | 1983-07 | ||
Mikhail Gurevich | 2640 | 1989-07 | ||
19 | Lev Polugaevsky | 2635 | 1980-01 | |
Boris Spassky | 2635 | 1981-01 |
Country | Player | Peak rating in 1990s | Achieved | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Garry Kasparov | 2851 | 1999-07 | |
2 | Viswanathan Anand | 2795 | 1998-07 | |
3 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2790 | 1998-01 | |
4 | Anatoly Karpov | 2780 | 1994-07 | |
5 | Alexander Morozevich | 2758 | 1999-07 | |
6 | Veselin Topalov | 2750 | 1996-07 | |
7 | Gata Kamsky | 2745 | 1996-07 | |
8 | Alexei Shirov | 2740 | 1994-07 | |
Vasyl Ivanchuk | 2740 | 1995-07 | ||
10 | Michael Adams | 2716 | 1999-01 | |
11 | Valery Salov | 2715 | 1995-01 | |
12 | Peter Svidler | 2713 | 1999-01 | |
Boris Gelfand | 2713 | 1999-07 | ||
14 | Alexander Beliavsky | 2710 | 1997-07 | |
15 | Peter Leko | 2701 | 1999-07 | |
16 | Evgeny Bareev | 2698 | 1999-07 | |
17 | Nigel Short | 2697 | 1999-01 | |
18 | Sergei Rublevsky | 2685 | 1998-07 | |
19 | Zurab Azmaiparashvili | 2681 | 1999-01 | |
20 | Jan Timman | 2680 | 1990-01 | |
Artur Yusupov | 2680 | 1995-07 |
Country | Player | Peak rating in 2000s | Achieved | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Garry Kasparov | 2851 | 2000-01 | |
2 | Veselin Topalov | 2813 | 2006-07 | |
3 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2811 [lower-alpha 2] | 2002-01 | |
4 | Viswanathan Anand | 2803 | 2006-04 | |
5 | Magnus Carlsen | 2801 | 2009-11 | |
6 | Alexander Morozevich | 2788 | 2008-07 | |
7 | Vasyl Ivanchuk | 2787 | 2007-10 | |
8 | Levon Aronian | 2786 | 2009-11 | |
9 | Peter Svidler | 2765 | 2006-01 | |
10 | Peter Leko | 2763 | 2005-04 | |
11 | Teimour Radjabov | 2761 | 2009-01 | |
12 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2760 | 2008-01 | |
Dmitry Jakovenko | 2760 | 2009-01 | ||
14 | Vugar Gashimov | 2758 | 2009-11 | |
Boris Gelfand | 2758 | 2009-11 | ||
16 | Alexei Shirov | 2755 | 2008-01 | |
Michael Adams | 2755 | 2000-07 | ||
18 | Sergei Movsesian | 2751 | 2009-01 | |
19 | Alexander Grischuk | 2748 | 2009-04 | |
20 | Ruslan Ponomariov | 2743 | 2002-04 |
Country | Player | Peak rating in 2010s | Achieved | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2882 | 2014-05 | |
2 | Fabiano Caruana | 2844 | 2014-10 | |
3 | Levon Aronian | 2830 | 2014-03 | |
4 | Wesley So | 2822 | 2017-02 | |
5 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2820 | 2018-09 | |
6 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2819 | 2016-08 | |
7 | Viswanathan Anand | 2817 | 2011-03 | |
Vladimir Kramnik | 2817 | 2016-10 | ||
9 | Veselin Topalov | 2816 | 2015-07 | |
Hikaru Nakamura | 2816 | 2015-10 | ||
Ding Liren | 2816 | 2018-11 | ||
12 | Alexander Grischuk | 2810 | 2014-12 | |
13 | Anish Giri | 2798 | 2015-10 | |
14 | Teimour Radjabov | 2793 | 2012-11 | |
15 | Sergey Karjakin | 2788 | 2011-07 | |
16 | Vasyl Ivanchuk | 2779 | 2011-03 | |
17 | Boris Gelfand | 2777 | 2013-11 | |
18 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2776 | 2019-09 | |
19 | Alexander Morozevich | 2770 | 2012-07 | |
Pentala Harikrishna | 2770 | 2016-12 |
Country | Player | Peak rating in 2020s | Achieved | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Magnus Carlsen | 2872 | 2020-01 | |
2 | Fabiano Caruana | 2842 | 2020-02 | |
3 | Ding Liren | 2811 | 2022-10 | |
4 | Alireza Firouzja | 2804 | 2021-12 | |
5 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2802 | 2024-07 | |
6 | Arjun Erigaisi | 2799 | 2024-11 | |
7 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2795 | 2023-03 | |
8 | Dommaraju Gukesh | 2794 | 2024-10 | |
9 | Levon Aronian | 2785 | 2022-03 | |
10 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2784 | 2020-10 | |
11 | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2783 | 2024-10 | |
12 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2782 | 2021-07 | |
13 | Anish Giri | 2780 | 2021-05 | |
14 | Alexander Grischuk | 2778 | 2021-07 | |
Wesley So | 2778 | 2021-09 | ||
16 | Richárd Rapport | 2776 | 2022-04 | |
17 | Teimour Radjabov | 2765 | 2020-01 | |
18 | Wang Hao | 2763 | 2020-04 | |
Wei Yi | 2763 | 2024-10 | ||
20 | Leinier Domínguez | 2760 | 2021-09 | |
Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2760 | 2021-12 |
Player | Rating | Achieved |
---|---|---|
Bobby Fischer | 2760 | 1971-07 |
2785 | 1972-07 | |
Garry Kasparov | 2800 | 1990-01 |
2805 | 1993-01 | |
2815 | 1993-07 | |
2820 | 1997-07 | |
2825 | 1998-01 | |
2851 | 1999-07 | |
Magnus Carlsen | 2861 | 2013-01 |
2872 | 2013-02 | |
2881 | 2014-03 | |
2882 | 2014-05 |
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the title can be revoked for cheating.
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess or esports. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor.
Michael Adams is an English chess grandmaster and is an eight-time British Chess Champion. His highest ranking is world No. 4, achieved several times from October 2000 to October 2002. His peak Elo rating is 2761, the highest achieved by an English chess player.
Alexander Sergeyevich Morozevich is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1994. Morozevich is a two-time World Championship candidate, two-time Russian champion and has represented Russia in seven Chess Olympiads, winning numerous team and board medals.
Krishnan Sasikiran is an Indian chess grandmaster.
Several methods have been suggested for comparing the greatest chess players in history. There is agreement on a statistical system to rate the strengths of current players, called the Elo system, but disagreement about methods used to compare players from different generations who never competed against each other.
Arkadij Naiditsch is Latvian-German chess grandmaster who currently represents Bulgaria after previously representing Latvia, Germany (1998–2015) and Azerbaijan (2015-2024).
Below is a list of events in chess in 1997, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players at the start of that year.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1996, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1995, as well as the top ten FIDE rated chess players of that year.
Ildar Ibragimov is a Russian chess player. He was ranked No. 72 in January 2000 with a rating of 2611, while his peak rating of 2637 was achieved in April 2006.
The FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010 was a series of six chess tournaments that formed part of the qualification for the World Chess Championship 2012. It was administered by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The event was won by Levon Aronian, with Teimour Radjabov second and Alexander Grischuk third.
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and norms. Once awarded, titles are held for life except in cases of fraud or cheating. Open titles may be earned by all players, while women's titles are restricted to female players. Many strong female players hold both open and women's titles. FIDE also awards titles for arbiters, organizers and trainers. Titles for correspondence chess, chess problem composition and chess problem solving are no longer administered by FIDE.
Samuel L. Shankland is an American chess grandmaster. He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 2018.
Elizbar Ubilava is a Spanish chess Grandmaster (1988) of Georgian origin. He is FIDE Senior Trainer (2004) and worked with Viswanathan Anand for nine years between 1994 and 2005. He achieved his highest Elo rating of 2561 in January 1999.
Artiom Tsepotan is a Ukrainian chess player holding the title of International master.
Bharath Subramaniyam is an Indian chess grandmaster (GM).