If Van Cliburn is number 2...

I still don't know. If you click on the "Play" link at the top of the page (just the link; don't select anything from the Play menu), you'll find a "Top Rated Games" page. This page has all the high-ranking players on it, but there isn't anyone higher than Mr. VanCliburn (or is his first name Van?)
P.S.: That link is on everyone's "Online Chess Home" page.


I don't see that anywhere. But the average rating of all people on Chess.com will change over time, since all new players come in at 1200, but they rarely stay there.

I don't see that anywhere. But the average rating of all people on Chess.com will change over time, since all new players come in at 1200, but they rarely stay there.
How can the average rating change?After every game the one player goes up and the other goes down.Or,in case of a draw between equally rated players,nothing changes.I've been checking it for many days.The average was 1301 and no it is 1302,which is a matter of approximation and not a real change.

The change is very real, even though it is very slow. There are people constantly joining, which tends to move the average closer to 1200 all the time, but at the same time, there are people that quit playing when they are rated anywhere from 100 to 2500, but the "points" don't get added back into the system when they leave, they just stay at that level. This causes inflation and deflation of rating, which could be a real concern if it were not reviewed from time to time...
For more information, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_rating

The plot thickens...
Van Cliburn has just been passed by Rusudan Goletiani, who is now the new number two. Yes, you heard right, she is not number 1.
Apparently, the list is bugged. The highest player is always listed as #2, even though there is no one at the #1 spot. Statisical anomaly or computational error? I guess we'll have to wait for the official word on this.

This is a fairly old thread that I wrote when I was new to Chess.com. There are actually several people in the top 100 that have closed accounts (Kamasutra was closed for cheating). So yes, at the time, Van Cliburn was #2, but there was another player rated higher than him, but that account had been closed. Hope this helps to clear things up!
...then who is number 1?
(on Chess.com)