The Top Chess Players in the World

SM Magnus Carlsen 2839 | #1

Norway

To many, GM Magnus Carlsen is the best to ever play the game, although GMs Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer remain in the conversation. At any rate, the clear and remarkable point is that before turning 30 years old, Carlsen had already earned a spot at the top, and he has continued to dominate into...

SM Hikaru Nakamura 2816 | #2

United States

Hikaru Nakamura was born December 9, 1987 in Hirakata, Japan. His family moved to the United States when he was just two years old, and the Stars and Stripes are the only national banner he has known as a chess player. Nakamura has been one of the world’s top players for well over a decade....

SM Fabiano Caruana 2789 | #3

United States

The prodigy who broke the record held by GM Hikaru Nakamura for America's youngest chess grandmaster, Fabiano Caruana, has climbed the mountain of chess and reached the summit. This grandmaster has had a ranking as high as number-two in the world and has won numerous tournaments in his career. In 2018...

SM Arjun Erigaisi 2773 | #4

India

Arjun Erigaisi is an Indian grandmaster, one of a quartet of star Indian players born between 2003 and 2006—the others being GMs Gukesh D, Praggnanandhaa R, and Nihal Sarin—who all made major leaps into the world elite in the 2022-23 time period. In October 2024, Arjun reached a live...

SM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu 2771 | #5

India

GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu is an Indian grandmaster who had one of the greatest youth careers in chess history. Praggnanandhaa, who only turned 18 years old in 2023, is one of the youngest grandmasters and world championship candidates ever. He is the first of a historic quartet of contemporary young...

SM Alireza Firouzja 2762 | #6

France

Alireza Firouzja is an Iranian-born grandmaster who now plays for France. He is a two-time world championship candidate and two-time Iranian champion. In late 2019 and early 2020, Firouzja electrified the chess world with his second place finish in the World Rapid Championship (one point behind World...

SM Anish Giri 2759 | #7

Netherlands

GM Anish Giri is a four-time Dutch champion and a world-class player. He has been ranked as high as number three in the world and reached his peak rating of 2802 on February 15, 2015. Giri has represented the Netherlands at the Olympiads since 2010. He won the 2012 Reggio Emilia tournament and the 2017...

SM Wesley So 2756 | #8

United States

Wesley So is a Filipino-American super grandmaster who is among the world’s best chess players. He began as a chess prodigy who entered tournaments at nine years old. At 14, he became the ninth youngest GM in history. The next year, he became the youngest player to pass the 2600 rating threshold,...

SM Vincent Keymer 2755 | #9

Germany

Vincent Keymer is a German grandmaster, the youngest player from Germany to earn the title, and one of the best players in the world. By 2015, when not yet even a teenager, he was already being hailed as Germany's greatest chess talent since Emanuel Lasker. At the 2018 Grenke Open, the 13-year-old...

SM Wei Yi 2754 | #10

China

Chinese GM Wei Yi is an elite player and one of the greatest chess prodigies in history. At the age of 15, he broke GM Magnus Carlsen’s record for the youngest player to reach a rating of 2700, which Wei still holds. Two years prior, he became the fourth-youngest GM in history at the time (now...

SM Gukesh Dommaraju 2752 | #11

India

The player's full name is Gukesh Dommaraju and they confirmed to Chess.com that they prefer to be called by their first name, Gukesh. Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju is the current world chess champion, defeating GM Ding Liren in the FIDE World Championship on December 12, 2024. He is the youngest undisputed...

SM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2750 | #12

Uzbekistan

Nodirbek Abdusattorov is an Uzbek grandmaster who won the 2021 World Rapid Championship and played on the first board for team Uzbekistan that won the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad. He did both when 17 years old, becoming the youngest player ever to do so. In March 2024, he climbed all the way to fourth...

SM Viswanathan Anand 2743 | #13

India

The name Viswanathan is a patronymic, and the player should be referred to by his name, Anand. Viswanathan Anand, the 15th undisputed chess champion and surely the greatest Indian chess player of all time, was born on December 11, 1969, in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, the southeasternmost state in...

SM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2742 | #14

Azerbaijan

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov is a super-grandmaster from Azerbaijan. He was the number-two ranked player in the world in the FIDE ratings list of February 2018. According to 2700chess.com, Mamedyarov reached his peak rating of 2826 on September 30, 2018—the sixth-highest rating of all time. Mamedyarov...

SM Hans Niemann

United States

Hans Niemann is an American grandmaster and chess streamer. Niemann quickly rose through the ranks of chess, earning his FIDE master title in 2016, only four years after his first rated tournament where he had received a provisional US Chess rating of just 1122. He tied for first in the U-18 North American...

SM Leinier Dominguez Perez 2738 | #15

United States

Leinier Dominguez Perez is a Cuban-American grandmaster who has been a top-10 player in the world and usually sits in the top 15. Born in Havana in 1983, he earned his GM title in 2001, won his first of five Cuban Chess Championships in 2002, and reached a 2700 rating in 2008. Dominguez was also Cuban...

SM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2737 | #16

France

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (also known as “MVL”) is a French super grandmaster who, since 2016, has spent plenty of time rated among the top five chess players in the world. His rating peaked at 2819 in August 2016, making him the seventh-highest rated player in history at the time. Vachier-Lagrave...

SM Ding Liren 2734 | #17

China

Ding Liren is a Chinese chess grandmaster and 17th FIDE world chess champion. He was the world champion from May 2023 to December 2024, earning the title after defeating GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 FIDE World Championship. Like most world champions, a combination of dominance and close calls have...

SM Ian Nepomniachtchi 2732 | #18

Russia

GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (“Nepo” for short) is a Russian super grandmaster who has twice won the Candidates Tournament to play for the world championship. After winning the 2020-21 Candidates Tournament, he challenged GM Magnus Carlsen for the 2021 World Championship and lost in 11 games. Nepomniachtchi...

SM Le Quang Liem 2729 | #19

Vietnam

Le Quang Liem is a Vietnamese grandmaster well known for his speed chess skills. He is best known for winning the World Blitz Chess Championship in 2013 ahead of several elite players. Liem is known to have an extremely sharp tactical eye and many notable games in that area. He has also won several...

SM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 2729 | #19

Poland

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda is one of the youngest members of the 2700 club of super grandmasters (reached in 2017), having turned 22 years old in April 2020. The latest in a history of strong GMs from Poland, he plays on Chess.com as Polish_fighter3000. Duda won the 2021 FIDE World Cup, earning himself a...

SM Richard Rapport 2724 | #21

Hungary

Richard Rapport is a Hungarian-Romanian grandmaster and a runner-up in the FIDE Grand Prix 2022, which secured him a place at the FIDE Candidates Chess Tournament 2022. This former chess prodigy also possesses a uniquely creative opening approach combined with an exquisite positional style. Style Early...

SM Levon Aronian 2722 | #22

United States

Levon Aronian is an Armenian-American super grandmaster who has long been among the world’s best players. He first entered the top 20 in 2005 and still hasn’t lost that distinction. Most of those 15 years or so have been spent in the top 10. In 2021, he switched federations from Armenia...

SM Javokhir Sindarov

Uzbekistan

GM Javokhir Sindarov is a grandmaster from Uzbekistan. One of the youngest grandmasters in history, in 2018 he earned his GM title at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 5 days. He is one of just five players to earn the title before turning 13 years old (as of August 2022). Sindarov is also a two-time...

SM Yu Yangyi 2720 | #23

China

Yu Yangyi is a Chinese super-grandmaster and world-class player. He was the World U-10 Champion (2004), the World Junior Champion (2013), the Chinese Champion (2013), as well as the Asian Continental Champion (2014). He has won multiple international events and is a particularly strong rapid and...