Both Hammer and Tari might hit top ten in less than seven years from now.
I see Hammer is #44 in the world in live rankings.
How many top 10 players (of any era) were #44 at age 25?
I don't know the answer, but my guess is zero.
I couldnt find Topalovs place when he was 25, but his rating was ca 2700. Aronian and Kramnik was ca 2750 at 25.
Both Hammer and Tari might hit top ten in less than seven years from now.
I see Hammer is #44 in the world in live rankings.
How many top 10 players (of any era) were #44 at age 25?
I don't know the answer, but my guess is zero.
Maybe Hammer will be the first then? He is definitively still improving, and is ready for playing up there at this moment. Eating the ratingpoints is very difficult, because everytime he draws a superkid, even with perfect play, he loses rating.
I hope Hammer proves me wrong, but he's going in the wrong direction this month. He's lost to Turov (2577) and Ragger (2694) in successive days and has even dropped out of the top 50 in live ratings as of today (March 10). I still don't think he'll ever break the top 10.