Ranking Great Players (Champions) of the Past and Present

I've created a system that uses a 20 points system to grade certain aspect of a player's game using the elements to represent the particular aspects.

AIR - Imagination, strategic foresight, initiative, lightness of movement. 

Over the Board: Deep planning with long-range ideas. Mastery of open positions, rapid piece activity, and diagonal or file control. Frequent use of prophylaxis and indirect threats. Prefers mobility over material.

EARTH - Stability, structure, positional logic, and long-term security.

Over the Board: Builds solid pawn structures and defends with precision. Excels in endgames, blockades, and building “fortresses.” Emphasizes piece coordination and rule-based, principle-driven chess. Rarely overextends; plays with measured, grounded calculation.

FIRE - Aggression, intuition, sacrifice, tempo, and initiative.

Over the Board: Looks for dynamic imbalances, fast attacks, and piece sacrifices. Prefers sharp, tactical complications and time-sensitive decisions. Often plays on instinct backed by explosive creativity. Loves unclear, double-edged positions.

WATER - Adaptability, emotional control, resourcefulness, and subtle pressure.

Over the Board: Maneuvers smoothly through any type of position. Responds rather than initiates—redirecting momentum and exploiting overreach. Possesses refined defensive skills and finds hidden resources. Often wins lost positions or equalizes in worse ones.

When I asked for certain players to be graded base on their known record, this is what I got; tell me if you agree or not but the point system gives justification on why a player received the score they did. Here are the results.

*I decided to add Gukesh just because he is the current champion.

What caught me by surprise is the score for Anand. I do believe him to be a great player but he scored just one point shy of Magnus Carlsen.

Highest Score in each category:

AIR - Tal and Morphy top the list

EARTH - Capablanca is top and is not surprising.

FIRE - Fischer has the highest followed by Tal and Morphy.

WATER - Spassky, Lasker and Anand top the list.

Good! It must have been hours of work