This is the list of top-ranked chess grandmasters, 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), inaugural, former and longest reigning FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Champion (2019–2022) | |
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 | Highest-ranked Japanese-born player, formerly highest-ranked American player (2011–2015), current FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Champion (since 2022) | ||
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 | Russia Netherlands | Anish Giri | 2798 | 2015-10 | 1994 | Highest-ranked Dutch player (since 2011) | |
16 | Russia | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2795 | 2023-03 | 1990 | ||
17 | Azerbaijan | Teimour Radjabov | 2793 | 2012-11 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked Azerbaijani player (2002–2005, 2006, 2009–2010, 2011–2017) | |
18 | 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) | ||
20 | Soviet Union Ukraine | Vasyl Ivanchuk | 2787 | 2007-10 | 1969 | Highest-ranked Ukrainian player (1992–2002, since 2005) | |
21 | 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 |
22 | 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) | |
23 | Soviet Union Belarus Israel | Boris Gelfand | 2777 | 2013-11 | 1968 | Highest-ranked Israeli player (since 1999), formerly highest-ranked Belarusian player (1993–1998) | |
24 | Hungary Romania | Richard Rapport | 2776 | 2022-04 | 1996 | Highest-ranked Romanian player (since 2022), formerly highest-ranked Hungarian player (2021–2022) | |
2750–2774 | |||||||
25 | India | Pentala Harikrishna | 2770 | 2016-12 | 1986 | ||
26 | Soviet Union Russia | Peter Svidler | 2769 | 2013-05 | 1976 | ||
27 | 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) | |
28 | Ukraine | Pavel Eljanov | 2765 | 2016-03 | 1983 | ||
China | Yu Yangyi | 2765 | 2018-09 | 1994 | |||
Uzbekistan | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2765 | 2024-04 | 2004 | Highest-ranked Uzbekistani player (since 2023) | ||
31 | 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) | |
32 | Hungary | Peter Leko | 2763 | 2005-04 | 1979 | Formerly youngest grandmaster (1994–1997), highest-ranked Hungarian player (1999–2021, since 2022) | |
Soviet Union United States | Gata Kamsky | 2763 | 2013-07 | 1974 | Formerly highest-ranked American player (2008–2010) | ||
China | Wang Hao | 2763 | 2020-04 | 1989 | |||
35 | 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 | |||
38 | Russia | Dmitry Jakovenko | 2760 | 2009-01 | 1983 | ||
Poland | Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2760 | 2021-12 | 1998 | Highest-ranked Polish player (since 2019) | ||
40 | Russia | Evgeny Tomashevsky | 2758 | 2015-09 | 1987 | ||
China | Li Chao | 2758 | 2016-06 | 1989 | |||
India | Dommaraju Gukesh | 2758 | 2023-09 | 2006 | Youngest player to achieve 2750+ rating | ||
43 | China | Wang Yue | 2756 | 2010-11 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked Chinese player (2007–2008, 2008–2015) | |
India | Arjun Erigaisi | 2756 | 2024-04 | 2003 | |||
45 | 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) | |
China | Wei Yi | 2755 | 2024-02 | 1999 | Youngest player to achieve 2700+ rating | ||
47 | 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 | |||
50 | Poland | Radosław Wojtaszek | 2750 | 2017-01 | 1987 | Formerly highest-ranked Polish player (2010–2019) | |
2725–2749 | |||||||
51 | France | Étienne Bacrot | 2749 | 2013-11 | 1983 | Formerly highest-ranked French player (2004–2013, 2013–2014), formerly youngest grandmaster (1997) | |
52 | India | Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa | 2747 | 2024-02 | 2005 | ||
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 | 2740 | 2023-08 | 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 | 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, 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) | ||
64 | Russia Slovenia | Vladimir Fedoseev | 2733 | 2017-10 | 1995 | Highest-ranked Slovenian player (since 2023) | |
65 | Russia | Vladimir Malakhov | 2732 | 2010-07 | 1980 | ||
Kyrgyzstan Russia | Ernesto Inarkiev | 2732 | 2016-09 | 1985 | |||
67 | 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 | |||
69 | Hungary | Zoltán Almási | 2726 | 2011-07 | 1976 | ||
Ukraine | Alexander Moiseenko | 2726 | 2011-09 | 1980 | |||
71 | Russia Israel | Evgeny Alekseev | 2725 | 2009-09 | 1985 | ||
Ukraine | Andrei Volokitin | 2725 | 2013-03 | 1986 | |||
2700–2724 | |||||||
73 | China | Ni Hua | 2724 | 2009-04 | 1983 | ||
Spain | Francisco Vallejo Pons | 2724 | 2011-07 | 1982 | Formerly highest-ranked Spanish player (2012–2018) | ||
75 | Ukraine | Anton Korobov | 2723 | 2014-01 | 1985 | ||
Russia | Andrey Esipenko | 2723 | 2022-03 | 2002 | |||
77 | 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 | |||
82 | Bulgaria Georgia | Ivan Cheparinov | 2718 | 2018-08 | 1986 | ||
83 | 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 | |||
85 | 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 | |||
89 | Netherlands | Loek van Wely | 2714 | 2001-10 | 1972 | Formerly highest-ranked Dutch player (2001–2011) | |
Russia | Denis Khismatullin | 2714 | 2014-03 | 1984 | |||
91 | 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 | |||
93 | 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 | |||
98 | Soviet Union Russia | Alexey Dreev | 2711 | 2011-07 | 1969 | ||
Armenia | Gabriel Sargissian | 2711 | 2022-09 | 1983 | |||
100 | 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 | Formerly highest-ranked Romanian player (2021–2022) | ||
104 | Azerbaijan | Rauf Mamedov | 2709 | 2017-12 | 1988 | ||
England | Gawain Jones | 2709 | 2019-06 | 1987 | |||
106 | Ukraine | Zahar Efimenko | 2708 | 2011-03 | 1985 | ||
United States | Hans Niemann | 2708 | 2023-05 | 2003 | |||
Armenia | Haik M. Martirosyan | 2708 | 2023-11 | 2000 | |||
109 | 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 | |||
Iran | Amin Tabatabaei | 2707 | 2024-04 | 2001 | |||
112 | 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 | |||
115 | 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 | |||
119 | Czech Republic | Viktor Láznička | 2704 | 2012-01 | 1989 | ||
United States | Ray Robson | 2704 | 2023-04 | 1994 | |||
121 | 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 | |||
Russia Serbia | Alexey Sarana | 2703 | 2024-04 | 2000 | Highest-ranked Serbian player (since 2023) | ||
128 | 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) | ||
134 | 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 | |||
137 | 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 | Sweden | Pia Cramling | 2550 | 2008-10 | 1963 | Formerly female world no. 1 (1983, 1984), highest-ranked Swedish female player (since 1981) | |
21 | China Qatar | Zhu Chen | 2548 | 2008-01 | 1976 | Highest-ranked Qatari female player (since 2006) | |
Russia | Valentina Gunina | 2548 | 2015-06 | 1989 | |||
23 | India | Harika Dronavalli | 2543 | 2016-11 | 1991 | ||
24 | Lithuania | Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen | 2542 | 2017-06 | 1983 | Highest-ranked Lithuanian female player (since 1999) | |
25 | 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) | ||
27 | Georgia | Bella Khotenashvili | 2531 | 2013-06 | 1988 | ||
28 | China | Tan Zhongyi | 2530 | 2018-08 | 1991 | ||
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 | Germany | Elisabeth Pähtz | 2513 | 2018-09 | 1985 | Highest-ranked German female player (since 2008) | |
36 | China | Wang Lei | 2512 | 2001-10 | 1975 | ||
37 | Vietnam Hungary | Hoang Thanh Trang | 2511 | 2013-11 | 1980 | Formerly highest-ranked Vietnamese female player (1992–2006) | |
38 | Russia | Natalia Pogonina | 2508 | 2014-07 | 1985 | ||
39 | Russia | Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | 2507 | 2001-07 | 1974 | ||
Kazakhstan | Zhansaya Abdumalik | 2507 | 2021-10 | 2000 | Formerly highest-ranked Kazakhstani female player (2017, 2018) | ||
China | Zhu Jiner | 2507 | 2019-10 | 2002 | |||
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 | |||
44 | 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) | ||
48 | Armenia | Lilit Mkrtchian | 2503 | 2010-01 | 1982 | Formerly highest-ranked Armenian female player (2002–2003, 2005–2007) | |
China | Ruan Lufei | 2503 | 2014-01 | 1987 | |||
50 | 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) | ||
53 | 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) | ||
55 | 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 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | 2795 | 2023-03 | |
6 | Hikaru Nakamura | 2789 | 2024-03 | |
7 | Levon Aronian | 2785 | 2022-03 | |
8 | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 2784 | 2020-10 | |
9 | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 2782 | 2021-07 | |
10 | Anish Giri | 2780 | 2021-05 | |
11 | Alexander Grischuk | 2778 | 2021-07 | |
Wesley So | 2778 | 2021-09 | ||
13 | Richard Rapport | 2776 | 2022-04 | |
14 | Teimour Radjabov | 2765 | 2020-01 | |
Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 2765 | 2024-04 | ||
16 | Wang Hao | 2763 | 2020-04 | |
17 | Leinier Domínguez | 2760 | 2021-09 | |
Jan-Krzysztof Duda | 2760 | 2021-12 | ||
19 | Viswanathan Anand | 2758 | 2020-01 | |
Sergey Karjakin | 2758 | 2021-09 | ||
Dommaraju Gukesh | 2758 | 2023-09 |
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 2019-08 |
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. 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.
Christopher Hikaru Nakamura is an American chess grandmaster, streamer, YouTuber, five-time U.S. Chess Champion, and the reigning World Fischer Random Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 15, the youngest American at the time to do so. With a peak rating of 2816, Nakamura is the tenth-highest-rated player in history.
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 an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster who previously represented Latvia and Germany (1998–2015).
Wang Yue is a Chinese chess player. In 2004, he became China's 18th grandmaster at the age of 17. He is China's first player ever to break into the top 10 of the FIDE world rankings and was the highest-ever rated Chinese player, with a peak rating of 2756, until August 2015, when this record was broken by Ding Liren.
Below is a list of events in chess in 1996, 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.
Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to chess Grandmaster and former 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand.
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.
Vincent Keymer is a German chess grandmaster, and a young chess prodigy. He was the No.1 in the FIDE World Chess Ratings for Juniors in January 2024.
Artiom Tsepotan is a Ukrainian chess player holding the title of International master.
Bharath Subramaniyam is an Indian chess grandmaster.