Ranking the Magnus-era GMs: an analysis from a 1200
The chess world has been subjected to a restless succession of fluctuations and changes ever since the 2013 World Chess Championship; we’ve had the likes of Aronian, Topalov, Kramnik, Nakamura, Caruana, Vachier-Lagrave, So, Mamedyarov, Liren and Firouzja each completing their ascents to world number-two, only to be dethroned and outranked by each other weeks later. We’ve had four candidates tournaments, with three different winners. We’ve had bags of drama, with promises for the future of the game in Praggnanandhaa, Wei Yi, Duda and Firouzja; computational conflict with AlphaZero and it’s victory over Stockfish; and we’ve even had the likes of Hikaru and Gothamchess leading the streaming front for the next generation. However, one thing has remained clear throughout this chaotic battleground: Magnus’s irrefutable and unchallenged domination of the number-one spot. The World Champion has been the regnant force in chess ever since Anand’s loss at the aforementioned 2013 World Championship, and only Caruana has ever gotten to within twenty rating points of the Norwegian no.1 since Viswanathan Anand’s defeat (he actually managed to get within three, in November, 2018).
So, who has been Magnus’s closest challenger since that time? Well, I am going to examine the playing style, peak rating, peak ranking and “closeness to Carlsen” of each top GM from 2013 onwards, and hopefully come up with a suitable answer (and yes, Caruana seems to be the favourite even before we’ve started, but it may not be that simple).
Ok, thank you ever so much for staying with me, our first review is:
20. Anish Giri
Anish Giri in 2021
Born to a Russian mother (Olga Giri) and a Nepali father (Sanjay Giri), the Russo-Dutch GM has enjoyed a successful career in the world of chess, having disrupted the campaigns of many legendary players along the way, including his close rival, Magnus Carlsen.
Giri is renowned for being a very difficult and drawish player, whose repertoire extends from the eccentricities of the Najdorf-Sicilian-defence, to the sound solidity of the Ruy Lòpez. He proved his susceptibility to drawing games in his debut Candidates tournament (2016), where he drew every single game. He and Jordan Van Foreest have enjoyed a dominion over Dutch chess since Giri’s taking up-of-residence there in 2008, and the two have a combined total of five Dutch championships to their names, which helped elevate the two’s careers, Van Foreest to the top 30 in the World, and Giri to the top 10. Amongst Giri’s many achievements, the Russo-Dutchman managed to beat Carlsen in 22 moves (with the black pieces!!), which has started a long-lasting rivalry between the two; he has achieved runner-up in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament twice; he has attended two Candidates tournaments, finishing above sixth place (out of eight) in each one; and he has represented the Netherlands in six different chess olympiads, including yet another sixth place performance in 2012.
Top rating: 2802 (15th best OAT)
Top ranking: #3
Closeness to Carlsen: #10/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
19. Alexander Grischuk
Grischuk preparing his pieces for a game
A Soviet prodigy who joined the World’s top 100 at the age of just sixteen, Grischuk has established his place in Russian chess history with a consistent range of performances at the highest level of chess. He has competed in five Candidates tournaments: 2007, 2011, 2013, 2018 and 2020; participated in numerous chess olympiads (winning two gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal in the process); reached the semifinals of the 2000 FIDE World Championship, losing only to Alexei Shirov (who in turn lost to Anand in the final); won three Blitz Chess Championships; and has won countless classical chess tournaments, such as the FIDE Grand Prix and the Russian Chess Championship.
Top rating: 2810 (13th best OAT)
Top ranking: #3
Closeness to Carlsen: #16/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
18. Teimour Radjabov
Radjabov considering his next move
The second greatest Azeri chess grandmaster in history, Radjabov is yet another player that has contributed to the competitiveness of the Carlsen era (2013-). He achieved GM status at the age of 14, and soon attracted the attention of the chess world with victories over Kasparov, Anand and Ponomariov (all in 2003), not unlike Carlsen, who himself would draw with and beat Kasparov and Karpov respectively a year later.
Radjabov saw great progress as a GM in his early twenties, and has grown into one of the toughest GMs to defeat in the modern game. With victories in the 2019 Chess World Cup, the 2021 Airthings Masters and the Geneva tournament of the 2017 FIDE Grand Prix, he consolidated his reputation as one of the great players in history. He has made three appearances in the Candidates tournament, and gained third place in the recentest edition (2022 Candidates) after wins against Hikaru Nakamura, Richard Rapport and Ding Liren. He has a 2-10 record against Magnus as of August, 2022.
Top rating: 2793 (16th best OAT)
Top ranking: #4
Closeness to Carlsen: #15/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
17. Leinier Dominguez-Perez
Leinier Dominguez-Perez during a game
The Cuban-American GM has been a fixture in the top twenty since the late 2000s, and is currently one of the top five American chess players, alongside the likes of Fabiano Caruana, Levon Aronian, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura. Amongst his recent achievements, Dominguez-Perez won his pool in the first leg of the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix, thus securing a semifinal against Levon Aronian (which he went on to narrowly lose); he came third in the 2022 American Cup (once again being knocked-out by Aronian); in 2008, he drew with the black pieces against Magnus Carlsen; and he managed to attain a peak ranking of No.10 in 2014.
A fast-playing style combined with an extensive knowledge of many openings, including the Sicilian and French defences, has made Dominguez-Perez an intimidating opponent, both online and in over-the-board chess, and the Cuban-American will likely continue this impressive record in classical, rapid and blitz tournaments for years to come.
Top rating: 2768 (27th best OAT)
Top ranking: #10
Closeness-to-Magnus: #20/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Alexander Morozevich
One of Russia’s greatest players, and the Russian No.1 and World No.2 for most of the post-Kasparov era, Morozevich was a very strong player in his prime. Coming from an intermediary phase in chess, where the likes of Svidler, Anand, Kramnik and Topalov were still at large, and Caruana and Carlsen were just emerging on the World stage, Morozevich authored his own chapter in the history of the ancient game, showcasing the very best of attacking and strategic chess throughout his career.
Alexei Morozevich attempting to counteract and subsequently defeat Carlsen in his prime
Morozevich’s playing style constitutes lengthy, forceful attacks, combined with aggressive tactics and a masterful interpretation of complicated positions, and has led to a significantly low amount of draws in the GM’s chess career: the perfect antithesis to someone like Giri or Radjabov (both infamously solid/drawish players).
It's likely because of this unique playing style that the Russian has two Russian Chess Championships, three chess olympiads (with Team-Russia), a Tal Memorial (admittedly in blitz), and various other classical tournaments to his name. The former FIDE No.2 has also revelled in success at blindfold chess, having won and silver-medalled the blindfold-section of the Amber Melody tournament four and three times, respectively.
As to his rivalry with Magnus, well, the two have played each other many times, and despite having the edge over the Norwegian on faster time controls, Morozevich has never won against Carlsen in classical chess. To add to the two’s already-existent dynamic, the Russian GM was proven to be one of the main impediments in the ascent of the young Magnus, and was capable of succeeding where Anand and Kramnik failed, defeating Magnus in a game in 2013 (the year Magnus dethroned Vishy).
Top rating: 2788 (18th best OAT)
Top ranking: #2
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #11/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
15. Peter Svidler
Peter Svidler conceding no emotions in his chess match, likely against a fellow GM in the Russian Chess Championship
Another Russian GM whose prime was reached in the ‘post-Kasparov, pre-Carlsen’ era of chess, Svidler has enjoyed a wealth of results from across the competitive chess spectrum. Of these results, the most prestigious include: participation in three Candidates tournaments; participation in three FIDE World Chess Championships; a place in the Russian-chess-team, including in each of their five gold-medalist performances at the chess olympiad (1994 - 2002); eight wins in the Russian Chess Championship (more so than any other player, including women’s champions Tatiana Kosintseva and Valentina Gunina); a win in the Chess World Cup (2011) to complement his past and future success in the tournament, with the Russian going on to amass three quarterfinal appearances (2009, 2013 and 2017) and a final against compatriot Sergey Karjakin (2015); several strong showings in the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess ‘meeting’, including a joint-first place in 2006 (with Vladimir Kramnik); and numerous other wins in classical competitions and tournaments.
Svidler maintains an amicable rivalry with Carlsen, but the two have never really had any memorable encounters, with Magnus leading 21-8 (33 draws) in all forms of time control (although in purely classical matches, the two are actually tied 2-2 with 15 draws).
Top rating: 2769 (26th best OAT)
Top ranking: #4
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #17/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
14. Vladimir Kramnik
Kramnik during a match
If you thought Alexei Morozevich and Peter Svidler were the only great Russian players to have reached their primes in the purgatorial timespan between the reigns of Kasparov and Carlsen, then you would be mistaken: there was also one Vladimir Kramnik.
A prodigy who made the Russian Chess team whilst still a 17-year-old FM, Kramnik would go on to be one of the greatest players in history, and indeed is never far away from the conversation of which chess player was the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time - for those of you that have been living under a rock for the past decade). Kramnik has participated in five World Chess Championship matches, three of which he won: 2000 (vs Kasparov), 2004 (vs Leko), and 2006 (vs Topalov); four Candidates tournaments (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018 — he was appointed for both WCCs where he was the challenger, thus explaining why he didn’t win a candidates in 2000 or 2008 to qualify for the event); numerous Dortmund Sparkassens (winning on ten occasions); several Linares tournaments (winning on two occasions); two Tal Memorials (winning both of them); the Chess World Cup (including a win in 2013); seven London Chess Classics (with three runner-up performances, and one win); and an immeasurable amount of other tournaments and competitions.
Despite having started to undergo what was arguably the twilight of his career by 2013, Garry Kasparov’s successor still proved to be a serious hindrance in the path of the newly-coronated Carlsen, attaining second-place a number of times in the early 2010s and taking the fight to Magnus in the FIDE rating-list. An almost unparalleled level of experience, an extensive knowledge of the game, and an infamously “pragmatic” and “tenacious” style of play — the very style which helped him dethrone Kasparov — has enabled the Russian to reestablish his platform in today’s chess world, and with it, his chances of success in a long-lasting struggle with the Scandinavian champion (albeit after Carlsen had already shown his talents in dispatching Kasparov, Anand and Karpov). Kramnik’s record against Carlsen has remained 5-6 (with 16 draws) in classical chess, with their latest encounter being the four games they played in the “Legends of Chess” tournament, in 2020. Kramnik initially held for two draws, until the reigning WC went up several gears to ruthlessly inflict a 2-0 defeat upon the former champion.
Top rating: 2817 (8th best OAT)
Top ranking: #1
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #12/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
13. Veselin Topalov
Topalov enjoying himself post-match
In the early 2000s, Russia had Kramnik, Azerbaijan had Mamedyarov, Ukraine had Ivanchuk, Hungary had Polgár, and Bulgaria had Veselin Topalov. A former World No.1, Topalov has played in three WCCs to-date, winning one (2005), and losing to Kramnik and Anand in 2006 and 2010, respectively. His achievements in an era where Kramnik, Anand, Carlsen, Morozevich, Svidler, Shirov, Gelfand and Kamsky were all almost fully fledged (and when Kasparov had not yet retired) speak for themselves, but perhaps most impressively, Topalov is still winning tournaments today.
A skilled counterattacker and defender, Topalov’s abilities on the board helped to produce two of the greatest chess games in history (albeit games he both lost): Garry Kasparov’s ‘Immortal game’, and the Shirov vs Topalov (1998) game.
The Bulgarian super-GM has illustrated his prowess into the late 2010s/early 2020s as well, winning the London and Zug tournaments of the 2012 FIDE Grand Prix to become the series' overall winner; winning the 2015 Norway chess (classical); coming third in the Sinquefield Cup on two occasions; and coming joint-second in the Gibraltar Masters (2017).
Top rating: 2816 (9th best OAT)
Top ranking: #1
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #14/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
12. Jan Krzysztof-Duda
Duda during the 2021 World-Cup Final against Sergey Karjakin
Coming from a country with a very rich chess history, in which some of chess's most extraordinary talents (such as Rubinstein, Zukertort, Winower, Janowski, Tartakower, Najdorf and Kuligowski) have consummated their reputations on the worldstage, Krzysztof-Duda has proven instrumental in resurrecting Poland's identity as a strong chess-nation, and indeed is a very exciting talent in his own right.
The 24-year-old has already won an admirable variety of strong chess tournaments, including several events in the classical time-control: the Polish Chess Championship (in 2018); the Chess World Cup (2021), a competition he won after overwhelming the titanic forces of chess that were Carlsen and Karjakin (both of whom were arguably in-form, having each progressed to the knock-out stage of the cup with impressive victories over the other participating GMs); the Oslo Esports cup, which he prevailed over as a part of the 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour; and the Superbet Rapid and Blitz (2022), which, albeit not classical, is a prestigious tournament to have won nonetheless.
The Polish super-GM was also the runner-up in two blitz world chess championships (2018 and 2021); a participant in the 2022 Candidates tournament, which he qualified for at only 23 years-old; a bronze-medallist at the 2020 online Chess Olympiad, a feat he achieved alongside the rest of the Poland team; and a bronze-medallist in the European Team Chess Championships.
With an often pragmatic but capricious playing-style, Krzysztof-Duda’s dedication at an early age is yet another telling factor of a future champion, and his potential is probably one of the largest assets any upcoming player can hope to have: it is, after all, the one thing which Firouzja, Wei Yi, Sam Sevian, Jeffrey Xiong and Duda all have in abundance (and in common with each-other).
In terms of his closeness to Magnus, NM @AnthonyLevin summed it up brilliantly in an article he wrote (Who will win the Candidates: the case for each player), describing the best-case for each of the candidates to win (retrospectively, we of course know that Ian Nepomniatchi would go on to comfortably win it with a round to spare):
Jan Krzysztof-Duda: Carlsen’s Kryptonite
GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda is the second-youngest player in this Candidates Tournament at age 24, the younger player being Firouzja. But he is not to be underestimated; the young Polish grandmaster qualified for this tournament by defeating Carlsen and then defeating Karjakin in the final of the 2021 World Cup. While he is the last seed in the event by rating, a rapidly improving young player like this one should never be written off, especially when he's been performing well in tournaments leading up to the Candidates.
(^^Once again, the credit goes to AnthonyLevin for this excelllent passage, which I think summarises Duda perfectly)
Firstly, “Carlsen’s kryptonite”!! This is absolutely befitting of Duda, whose 3-9 (8 draws) record against Magnus doesn’t do justice to the enormity of the three wins he scored: the first was admittedly during the insignificant (in comparison to other tournaments) Lindores Abbey chess tournament, but a win against Magnus by a 22-year old is a win against Magnus nonetheless; the second, which was achieved on the WC’s very own home turf (during the 2020 Norway Chess), brought a cessation to his 125 unbeaten match-streak in classical chess, thus preventing what was (and, as of August 2022, still is) a record-breaking run from growing any longer; and the third came in the Chess World Cup semifinal.
Top rating: 2760 (37th best OAT)
Top ranking: #12
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #13/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
11. Viswanathan Anand
Anand in deep concentration
The recently-elected Deputy President of FIDE, Anand is an extraordinary servant of chess, whose legacy in relation to the game is perhaps the largest there is. A five-time undisputed WCC, the predecessor to Magnus, the highest rated Indian player of all time, five-time winner of the Tata Steel tournament, three-time winner of the Linares, Dortmund and Indian (Chess Championship) tournaments, twice victor of the Chess World Cup (and only winner in two consecutive Cups), double rapid Chess Champion, and participant in four Candidates tournaments, look no further than the “Tiger of Madras” to find one of the most influential and benign grandmasters ever to set-up a chessboard.
Viswanathan “Vishy” Anand is notorious for tenanting a calm and gentle nature off the chessboard, and an efficient, ruthless one on it.
He is a universal player, but one who knows when to apply aggressive tactics instead of positional play if necessary. A great calculator and blitz/rapid player, in his youth Anand gained the epithet, “lightning kid” by virtue of his quick playing style — a world away from the solid but quietly callous super-grandmaster he would grow to be.
Anand, not unlike his close rival Kramnik, has seen success in recent years too, momentarily re-entering the World’s top ten during Norway Chess 2022 after securing immediate wins against Topalov and Vachier-Lagrave, and armageddon wins against Magnus, Giri, Tari, Radjabov and Wang.
The Indian GM played his WCC matches against Kasparov (1995), Karpov (1998), Shirov (2000), Kramnik (2008), Topalov (2010), Gelfand (2012) and Magnus Carlsen (2013 and 2014), which he lost, lost, won, won, won, won, lost and lost, respectively. There was no WCC match in 2007 (for those of you who are wondering) because the format was changed to a tournament — effectively squashing the Candidates and the Championship Match together into one contest, the winner of which (in 2007’s case, Vishy) would be crowned World Champion.
A man like Vishy has obviously undergone some serious contentions from the rivals of his career, including Nigel Short, Alexei Shirov, Alexander Morozevich, Vladimir Kramnik and Boris Gelfand. However, it was his eventual successor as WC, Carlsen, with whom Anand has had perhaps the most interesting relationship. The two have made 51 draws in classical chess, with Magnus edging out the “Tiger” by 12 wins to 8. Seven of these twenty decisive encounters were all waged in World Championship matches, either in Anand’s failed defence of 2013, or his attempted revenge in 2014. The two titans each have a great respect for the other to this day, with both players having had a long history of praising each other at different times in their careers.
Top rating: 2817 (8th best OAT)
Top ranking: #1
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #9/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
10. Hikaru Nakamura
A super-GM, renowned streamer/chess celebrity, former World no.2, former American no.1, and a frontman of chess.com, Hikaru is one of the stars of modern chess, and one who has remained dominant over the faster time controls of chess, hindered only ever by one person: Magnus Carlsen.
A prodigy, Hikaru became the youngest ever American player at the time to beat an International Master (the IM in question being Jay Bonin), which he did at the age of ten. In the same year, he became the youngest US chess player in history to be awarded the Master title, a record which would remain in existence until 2008. The Japanese-born American underwent a tricky time in his youth, with his parents divorcing around the time of his third birthday. His stepfather, Sunil Weeramantry, a Sri-Lankan chess player and coach, offered to train with the young Nakamura a few years before beating Bonin, and thus was Hikaru’s first coach.
Hikaru awaiting an interview during the aftermath of a match
After obtaining the GM title, the “blitz-king” won five US Chess Championships (2005, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2019); reached the quarterfinals of the Chess World Cup (2015); won the Tata Steel Chess tournament (2011); won two London Chess Classics, initially in 2013, and then repeated the victory in 2018; won three Zurich Chess Challenges — an extremely strong tournament which saw the participation of Caruana, Carlsen, Kramnik, Anand, Aronian and Karjakin in one year alone, and Shirov and Giri in another; won the First Tournament of the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix, which ensured him an overall first-place when combined with his second-place performance in the Third/Final Tournament; qualified for two Candidates tournaments (2016 and 2022); became the overall runner-up in the 2014 FIDE Grand Prix; won two bronze medals (2006 and 2008), a silver (2018) and a gold (2016) with the US Chess Olympiad team; and held the no.1 ranking for World Rapid and Blitz on several occasions, which usually consisted of extensive, month-on-month periods of time before he was ever outranked by anybody.
Hikaru’s playing style is that of a solid defender and an opportunistic attacker, who will often play to the strengths of the position he finds himself in, as opposed to imposing his own style on the board. As shown by his innumerable achievements in the faster time-controls, the American super-GM flourishes in quick games (which can either be quick in a time-controlled sense, or quick in terms of the rapidity with which pieces are developed and provocative moves are played, etc), and can be expected to exploit all kinds of opening repertoires when playing “for fun”, including the tactical travesty that is the Bongcloud Opening/Attack.
Nakamura has also demonstrated various “masterclasses” throughout his career, including: his 2010 encounter with Boris Gelfand, which culminated in an impressive positional battle (and some clever zwischenzug manoeuvres from the American); an outstanding performance of innovative chess in his human-vs-machine match with the Czech computer, Rybka (See Hikaru vs Rybka); and his 2015 confrontation with Wesley So.
As far as his rivalry with Magnus goes, they have played each other on multiple occasions, with the Norwegian leading 14-1 (26 draws) in classical games, and 86-36 (102 draws) overall. Their greatest match was (disputably) the 2019 blitz world chess championship final, which Carlsen won. Their history is well-documented: 1, 2, 3, 4
Top rating: 2816 (10th best OAT)
Top ranking: #2
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #7/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
An incredibly strong chess player and qualified mathematician, "MVL" has earnt a place amongst Alekhine and Phillidor as one of France's greatest players
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, commonly known as "MVL", and intermittently as the "Lyon beast", is a super grandmaster and continual presence in the World's top fifteen.
The Frenchman has won many competitions and cups over the years, including: the blitz world chess championship (2021); the French Chess Championship, over which he has triumphed three times (in 2007, 2011 and 2012); the Biel chess festival (2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016); the Sinquefield Cup (in 2017 and 2021); the Sharjah chess tournament (as part of the 2017 FIDE Grand Prix); the Shenzhen Masters (in 2018); the blitz section of Norway Chess (in 2015 and 2019); and the European blitz chess championship (in 2010 and 2012).
He also placed second in three London Chess Classics (2015, 2018 and 2019); came third overall in the 2019 FIDE Grand Prix — a position he obtained by securing a runner-up performance in the Second Tournament (Riga) and two semi-final performances in the Third and Final/Fourth tournaments (held in Hamburg and Jerusalem, respectively); won his pool in the Second Tournament of the 2022 Grand Prix, thus setting-up a semi-final with (and losing to) eventual tournament winner and overall runner-up, Richard Rapport; reached three Chess World Cup semifinals: in 2013, 2017 and 2019 (with his placement in the latter leading to a bronze-medal match against fellow semifinalist, Yu Yangyi, which he won to claim third place); participated in and achieved a second-place performance in the 2021 Candidates tournament; and obtained a first place result at the 2022 Superbet Chess Classic.
"MVL" is notorious for exhibiting a "two-opening" repertoire as black, his favourite openings being the Grünfeld Defense and the Sicilian Najdorf. Vachier-Lagrave is easily the best Grünfeld player in today's lineup of super-GMs (which includes fellow Grünfeld-user, Ian Nepomniatchi), and it's aggressive, long-term approach to white's attacking strategy suits the Frenchman's dynamic style of chess.
His closeness-to-Carlsen peaked in August-September, 2016 having just attained No.2 in the World and the seventh-highest rating of all time (2819). However, he has never quite returned to that level thereafter. On his head-to-head relationship with Magnus, MVL holds a 2-9 (19 draws) classical record with him, and an 18-38 (51 draws) record overall.
Top rating: 2819 (7th best OAT)
Top ranking: #2
Closeness-to-Carlsen: #18/20
______________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Sergey Karjakin
Karjakin transferred chess federations from Ukraine to Russia in 2009
When ranking the top "Magnus-era" GMs, the challengers in each of his defending WCC matches are obviously amongst the most deserving of their places; we have already seen Viswanathan Anand appear on this list, and it should come as no surprise to you that Nepomniatchi and Caruana will show up later on. However, what about Sergey Karjakin? Well, Karjakin is easily a top-tenner (if not top-fiver), and his variety of achievements in chess are rivalled by very few.
Karjakin began his chess career in scintillating fashion: he acquired the GM title in August, 2002 at just 12 years and 7 months old — a World record which has only ever been surpassed once (by Abhimanyu Mishra in 2021); he qualified for and reached a nine-way tie for second place in the 2003 Ukrainian Chess Championship, aged only 13; in the same year, the Ukrainian defeated future Women's World Champion and double Russian champion Alexandra Kosteniuk 4-2 in a six-game match; and he scored the humans' only victory against the computers in the 2004 "Man vs Machine" World Team Championship (despite losing the three other games he played).
As mentioned in the opening segment, the range and variety of Karjakin's achievements in chess are almost unparalleled; the above feats alone consist of several different categories, such as age-related records, wins over future world champions and wins against computers.
And so, having examined what were merely his feats as a junior player, let's see his feats in terms of tournament/competition results: in 2016, after finishing the 2009 and 2012 blitz world championships in third place, Karjakin became the blitz world chess champion, a title he would fall short of defending a year later when Magnus Carlsen beat him by 1.5 points in the 2017 championship; he won the rapid world chess championship in 2012, coinciding with his bronze medal performance in the blitz equivalent; he has participated in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament, which he won in 2009 and silver-medalled in 2014; he has participated in Norway Chess, winning the classical section twice (in 2013 and 2014), and winning and achieving third place in the blitz tournament for the same years, respectively; he won the 2010 Tal Memorial alongside Levon Aronian (having drawn on tiebreaks); he won the Second Tournament (Tashkent) of the 2012-2013 Grand Prix, thus securing him ninth place overall; he has qualified for four Candidates tournaments (although he was disqualified for the 2022 edition as a result of a certain tweet, and for repeatedly dispersing his pro-Putin sentiments in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine), coming second in his debut, and thereafter first and third in 2016 and 2018; and he has enjoyed an incredible amount of success in the Chess World Cup, having been a semifinalist (in 2007 and 2009), a runner-up (2021) and a champion (2015).
Sergey Karjakin is without doubt a talented and immensely experienced individual. Resultantly, he remains the closest anybody ever came to beating Norway's No.1 in a classical WCC match — his defeat was only ensured in the tiebreaks when Carlsen triumphed 3-1, wheres Caruana (the only other person to draw Magnus in the main section of a WCC) lost 3-0 on tiebreaks (or 9-6 overall).
The former Ukrainian is known as "Russia's Minister of Defence" because of his skill as a defensive chess player, which included his successful defence of an inferior endgame position against Carlsen amidst their World Chess Championship encounter.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2. Fabiano Caruana
An extremely adept and potemt
1.