is a Hungarian chess grandmaster, generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, at the time the youngest to have done so, breaking the rec...
was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions (1948, 1950, 1953, 1956, 1959, 1965, 1983, and 1985). Smyslov twice tied for first p...
was a famous South Asian chess player, and later a citizen of Pakistan, who is thought to have been the strongest chess master of his time from Asia. The son of a Muslim landlord and preacher, he travelled with Colonel Nawab Sir Umar Hayat Khan (S...
was a Soviet chess player, chess writer, and checkers player. Though he never attained the title of Grandmaster, he was a renowned tactician and created several brilliant games. Biographer Alex Pishkin compares him to Chigorin, Réti and Spielmann.
was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, at age 14 he won the 1958 U.S. Championship. In 1964, he won the same tournament with a perfect score (11 wins). Qualifying for the 1972 World Championship, ...
was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess. Botvinnik was the first world-class player to develop within the Sovi...
was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in ...
was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play. Capablanca was born in 1888 in Havana. He beat Cuban champion Juan Corzo in a mat...
was a Soviet Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and one of the best players of all time. Tal played in an attacking and daring combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvis...
was a Soviet Armenian Grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style, which emphasized safety above all else. Petrosian is often credited with populari...
