The Top Chess Players in the World

GM Magnus Carlsen 2830 | #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...

GM Fabiano Caruana 2804 | #2

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...

GM Hikaru Nakamura 2788 | #3

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....

GM Ding Liren 2780 | #4

China

Ding Liren is the reigning FIDE World Chess Champion after defeating GM Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 World Championship. Like most world champions, a combination of dominance and close calls have defined Ding's career leading up to winning the title. Ding won his first Chinese Chess Championship at...

GM Ian Nepomniachtchi 2769 | #5

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...

GM Wesley So 2757 | #6

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,...

GM Leinier Dominguez Perez 2756 | #7

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...

GM Alireza Firouzja 2751 | #8

France

Alireza Firouzja is an Iranian-born grandmaster who now plays for France. He is a 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 Champion...

GM Sergey Karjakin 2750 | #9

Russia

Sergey Karjakin is an elite chess player who broke the record of youngest-ever GM at 12 years and seven months of age in 2003. Karjakin held his record until 2021 when GM Abhimanyu Mishra broke his record. Most notably, he pushed GM Magnus Carlsen—typically considered one of the two...

GM Anish Giri 2749 | #10

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...

GM Viswanathan Anand 2748 | #11

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...

GM Vincent Keymer 2743 | #12

Germany

Vincent Keymer is a German grandmaster and the youngest from his country to earn the title. At the 2018 Grenke Open, the 13-year-old prodigy won the event ahead of 49 GMs (including four rated 2700+) with an 8/9 score, which secured his first GM norm and shocked the chess world. Keymer’s performance...

GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu 2743 | #12

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...

GM Parham Maghsoodloo 2743 | #12

Iran

Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo has achieved an impressive chess career in a short amount of time. He’s a two-time Iranian national champion and the highest-rated player in the country. In 2018, he won the World Junior Chess Championship. Now no longer a junior, Maghsoodloo seems poised to make...

GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi 2741 | #15

India

The name Gujrathi is a patronymic, and the player should be referred to by his name, Vidit. Vidit Gujrathi is an Indian super GM who has won the under-14 world championship, 2018 Tata Steel Challengers, and the 2019 Biel tournament. In 2023 he became a candidate for the world championship for the first...

GM Wei Yi 2739 | #16

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...

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2733 | #17

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. Vachier-Lagrave is a...

GM Alexander Grischuk 2732 | #18

Russia

Alexander Grischuk is a Russian super grandmaster who is consistently among the world’s best players. While he’s an elite professional chess player, Grischuk is well-known for being one of the top blitz players. He’s a three-time World Blitz Champion, making him only one of two players...

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 2732 | #18

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...

GM Le Quang Liem 2731 | #20

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...

GM Arjun Erigaisi 2730 | #21

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. The name Erigaisi is a patronymic, and...

GM Gukesh Dommaraju 2728 | #22

India

The name Dommarju is a patronymic, and the player should be referred to by his name, Gukesh. Indian GM Gukesh Dommaraju is a young chess prodigy. He’s best known for becoming the second-youngest grandmaster in history. The accomplishment came in January 2019, when Gukesh earned the GM title at...

GM Veselin Topalov 2727 | #23

Bulgaria

GM Veselin Topalov is a Bulgarian super-grandmaster and was the FIDE world champion in 2005. He was the world number-one player from April 2006 through January 2007 and again from October 2008 until January 2010. According to 2700chess.com, he reached his peak rating of 2826 on August 24, 2015—the...

GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov 2727 | #23

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. Abdussatorov's first major success was the...

GM Levon Aronian 2726 | #25

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...