Who is the best chess player of all time.

There are a lot of candidates when it comes to the best chess player of all time, but it mostly boils down to three main people Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, and Bobby Fischer we will be looking at them in more detail below.

1. Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov is one of the most well-known chess players and is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time. He dominated the chess world for over 20 years and was the reigning world champion from 1985 to 2000. 

Kasparov claimed his title as World Champion in 1985 by defeating Anatoly Karpov, one of the best chess players ever. At 22 and a half, he became the youngest world champion of all time. 

Although Kasparov lost his title in 2000, he remained the number-one ranked player for most of his career until his retirement in 2006. He retired as the number one player in the world.

2. Magnus Carlsen
While Kasparov is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time, Carlsen is the most versatile player. He is the only player to be the world champion in standard, rapid, and blitz. He even held all three titles simultaneously in 2019.

Carlsen has been the number-one player in the world since 2011 and has been a dominant force since. He became the world champion in 2013, just before turning 23. This made him the second youngest world champion in history.

He also was the youngest player to reach the 2800 rating threshold, achieving the feet in 2009. Additionally, he has achieved the highest rating in history at 2889. In addition, he set a record for the longest undefeated streak in standard time controls in February 2020 at 125 games.

3. Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer is arguably the most well-known chess player of all time because he is the only American world champion. He won 20 consecutive games against world-class opposition in 1970 and 1971 and became the world champion in 1972. However, he did not defend his title because he failed to reach an agreement with FIDE.

Fischer is known for his originality and creativity. He showed an absurd understanding of positioning and inspired a generation of chess players in the United States. Many consider Fischer the strongest chess player at his peak, but his reign was short-lived.

After looking at these players in much more detail it is obvious that Garry Kasparov is the best chess player of all time.