The Best Chess Nations in the World
As we know, chess is a game played all around the world. However, some places are historically better at it than others. There are most likely reasons for this, the most obvious being training intensity. Today, we will be looking at the strongest chess nations, along with some stats and maybe why they are so good.
Now in days, tons of people (lots from different countries) battle it out in the prestigious tournaments, but we will find out which countries have consistently dominated the game.
Note: I used 2 criteria to determine these rankings, the average of each countries top 10 players, and the amount of GM's, combined with my opinions.
Let's begin!
Honorable Mentions: Azerbaijan
The modernity of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It has recently turned into one of the most enthusiastic chess countries in the world. They have less titled players than most of the other countries at chess, but more of them are highly rated. However, a lot of the nation's best players are well into their careers and approaching veteran status.
Although many people in the chess community do not know much about Azerbaijan, their program will most likely be getting in the mix of world class chess, like it is currently doing so. I expect Azerbaijan to continue being one of the top performing chess countries.
- Best player: Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (World No. 19 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: 26
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: 2652
- # of players in top 100: 3
- Flag: Blue (top), Red (middle), Green (bottom), Crescent and star in middle
Honorable Mentions: Uzbekistan
Majestic buildings in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is a country located in Central Asia. While judging on its size it might not be the largest, recently they have seen lots of young talents evolve. It is now one of the best chess playing countries in the world. We could see this country becoming one of the dominant forces of chess if we see these processes continue.
I added Uzbekistan to this list because while there may be other countries on this list that have more high ranked players, almost all of their players are very young (below 25 at the moment), which calls for more improvement as their careers progress.
- Best player: Nodirbek Abdusattorov (World No.6 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: UNKNOWN
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: Around 2640
- # of players in top 100: 5
- Flag: Blue (top), White (middle), Green (bottom), Crescent in top left.
#5: Ukraine
A beautiful scenery in Kyiv, Ukraine
Like many other European countries, Ukraine has a strong passion for chess. It is the second largest country in Europe, only Russia having greater mass. They don't have any players at the very top level, but they are one of the most consistent countries in terms of top 100. A lot of their players are approaching age 40 right now, but if this streak continues, we could see a formidable next generation of Ukrainian players.
- Best player: Pavel Eljanov (World No. 57 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: 93
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: 2663
- # of players in top 100: 6
- Flag: Blue (top), Yellow (bottom)
#4: China
The Great Wall of China stands over the mountains
Recently, China has been making its way into the elite chess nations of the world. For example, Ding Liren won the 2023 World Championships (but since then has been struggling, he will be defending his title this year). Similar to India, China's top players are all young, not as young as India, however. All of the top 10 players in China were born in either the late 1980's, or early 90's. There still is some uncertainty about what the future of chess in China holds, but so far it looks like it might be positive.
- Best player: Wei Yi (World #10 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: 48
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: 2705
- # of players in top 100: 9
- Flag: Red with yellow stars
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#3: India
Very busy streets at the moment in Chennai, India
Since the Vishy Anand era has officially ended, that doesn't mean that he is still making an impact on the people there. Many youth players have continued to have been inspired by Anand, one of the best players of all time. We are now seeing talents under 22 years old sweep the chess world by surprise. India has a whooping four players in the top 11, 3 of them being below 25 years old. All of their top 10 grandmasters are inside of the top 100 in the world. At this rate, we may be seeing India chess swoop to the top of the chess world, like it felt like during the 2010's. While China does have a higher average rating of their top players, I put India ahead because their players are much younger and have room to grow.
- Best player: Arjun Erigaisi (World No. 4 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: 64
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: 2668
- # of players in top 100: 10
- Flag: Orange (top), White (middle), Green (bottom)
#2: United States of America
The Statue of Liberty
The United States has a rich history in chess. It has produced some of the greatest players of all time such as Bobby Fischer. Now in days, it's top players consist of Nakamura, So, and Caruana. All 3 of them are currently in the top 10 worldwide. The top players here are not the youngest, but have had decorated careers. The future looks bright for the Americans, with plenty of young talent flourishing, such as Tani Adewumi. We could soon see them gaining on the Russians as the best chess nation in the world, along with potentially India.
- Best player: Hikaru Nakamura (World No. 2 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: 101
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: 2715
- # of players in top 100: 12
- Flag: Red, White, and Blue, 50 stars at top left
#1: Russia
Incredible architecture in Moscow, Russia
Russia has been known to be dominating chess for a very long period of time, and they still are the best at chess, with over 2,000 titled players, more than double of any of the other countries on this list. However, the percentage of GM's out of those titled players is lower than any other country here. While Russians are still the best at this game, other countries are slowly catching up, which is good for the game. We are now seeing tournaments with people from diverse countries, not just Russia or the USA back in the 20th century.
Russia only has one player in the top 5 at the moment. They have the quantity, but the quality of their top players are lowering. It will be interesting to see what happens in the future for them.
- Best player: Ian Nepomniachtchi (World #5 as of 7/5/24)
- Total GM's: 256
- Average Rating of top 10 GM's: 2739
- # of players in top 100: 7
- Flag: White (top), Blue (middle), Red (bottom)
Outro
So, what can we learn from this? One thing is that chess is becoming more diverse of a game than ever before. More countries are intensifying the competition and making chess a game where people from different places can be a threat to the top players (perhaps a blog teaser).
This brings questions for the future. Who will be the best at chess eventually; will things stay the same? Only time will tell.
Now that we have finished, thank you for taking the time to read, and make sure to leave a comment in the blog. More will be coming soon!
This is a blog for the Qualifiers of BlogChamps S7. I decided to use my worst blog for the qualifiers (not sure if it was a good idea)
