The Top Chess Players in the World

GM Magnus Carlsen 2872 | #1

Norway

Magnus Carlsen is the current World Chess Champion. To many people, he’s the best to ever play the game, although 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 has already earned a spot at the...

GM Fabiano Caruana 2822 | #2

United States

The prodigy who broke the record for Hikaru Nakamura of America's youngest great master, Fabiano Caruana climbed the mountain of chess and reached the summit. This young great master has had a ranking as high as number 2 in the world and has won numerous tournaments in his career. In 2018, the American...

GM Ding Liren 2801 | #3

China

Ding Liren is a Chinese super grandmaster who many people consider to be a primary contender for Magnus Carlsen’s world title. Ding won his first Chinese Chess Championship at the age of 16, making him the youngest to ever do so. In the 2017 and 2019 Chess World Cup, he became the first player...

GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave 2780 | #4

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 2777 | #5

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 Levon Aronian 2775 | #6

Armenia

Levon Aronian learned to play chess from his sister at the age of 9. His first coach was Grandmaster Melikset Khachiyan and he helped him to become a much stronger chess player in a short amount of time. Aronian’s first notable success came when he won the 1994 World Youth Chess Championship Under-12....

GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2772 | #7

Azerbaijan

As Azerbaijan’s top player, Grandmaster Shakhriyar Mamedyarov has ascended to become one of the elite chess players in the world. He started off when he was young and became the only player ever to win the World Junior Championship twice. But he didn’t stop there. is incredible chess strength...

GM Anish Giri 2769 | #8

Netherlands

Anish Giri is the Netherlands premier chess prodigy. Giri started to play chess at the age of 6 years old and became a FIDE Master in 2008 at the age of 14. Within a year of becoming a FIDE Master he became an International Grandmaster at the young age of 14 years, 7 months and 2 days in 2009. When...

GM Ian Nepomniachtchi 2767 | #9

Russia

The Russian superstar Ian Nepomniachtchi is knocking on the door of the elite players in the world. Currently rated right inside of the top 30 players in the world, he has had great success in tournaments and did it in a fairly short amount of time. Having been born in the same year as elite super-GMs...

GM Teimour Radjabov 2765 | #10

Azerbaijan

Teimur Radjabov was born in Baku, Azerbaijan—the same city as former world champion Garry Kasparov—on March 12, 1987. Radjabov’s promising youth career translated into runs at the FIDE world championship in his teens and the reunified championship in the 2010’s. Radjabov’s...

GM Wesley So 2760 | #11

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 2758 | #12

United States

As Cuba’s top player right now, Leinier Domínguez Pérez has a lot to live up to. Playing in the same country as Jose Raul Capablanca leads to many comparisons between the two players, and only time will tell if Pérez has what it takes to stand up to the legend of Capablanca....

GM Richard Rapport 2758 | #12

Hungary

Richard Rapport is a chess prodigy who has taken the world by storm. He gained the Grandmaster title at the age of 13 years and 11 months old, breaking the world record for youngest Grandmaster in history. Using his unorthodox and aggressive style, he is always a fan-favorite at any tournament that he...

GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda 2758 | #12

Poland

Full bio coming soon...

GM Viswanathan Anand 2757 | #15

India

Viswanathan Anand, the 15th undisputed chess champion and surely the greatest Indian chess player of all time, was born on Dec. 11, 1969 in Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, the southeasternmost state in India. Anand, noted for playing quickly early in his career, competed for the classical championship...

GM Wang Hao 2756 | #16

China

The beast of the East, Wang Hao is the premiere player from China, one of the top 3 players from Asia, and one of the best players in the world. When he was 16 years old, before he even had a title attached to his name, he won a tournament ahead of 53 Grandmasters and 30 International Masters. He is...

GM Sergey Karjakin 2754 | #17

Russia

Sergey Karjakin is an elite chess player who became the youngest-ever GM at 12 years and seven months of age. Most notably, he pushed Magnus Carlsen—typically considered one of the two greatest chess players of all time (along with Garry Kasparov)—to tiebreakers in the 2016 World Chess Championship....

GM Nikita Vitiugov 2747 | #18

Russia

One of Russia’s rising young stars, Nikita Vitiugov has recently cracked the top 20 of chess player rankings and isn’t looking back. From a young age, it was already apparent that he was going to be a star. He won multiple age category championships before being awarded his Grandmaster title...

GM Yu Yangyi 2738 | #19

China

Yu Yangyi is one of the very few players in the world to jump into the Grandmaster title without ever having any previous title. One of the quickest rises to Grandmaster status ever, Yangyi earned his 3 Grandmaster norms within two(!) tournaments in less than two(!) weeks! Now that he’s the third...

GM Veselin Topalov 2737 | #20

Bulgaria

A super-GM who has consistently been among the world’s greatest players for over a decade, Veselin Topalov is one of a kind. He has played in three different World Championship matches, becoming the World Champion in 2005, and won countless tournaments featuring other top players. Always considered...

GM Hikaru Nakamura 2736 | #21

United States

Hikaru Nakamura was born December 7, 1987 in Hirakata, Japan. His family moved to the United States when Hikaru was just two years old, and the stars and stripes are the only national banner he has ever known as a chess player. Nakamura has been one of the world’s top players for over a...

GM Vladislav Artemiev 2731 | #22

Russia

One of the most consistent rises to the top of the chess world by a junior player, Vladislav Artemiev recently became a Grandmaster in 2014. The best U-16 player in the world, Artemiev has really shown that his methodical progress is paying dividends. Also an incredible rapid and blitz player, Artemiev...

GM Wei Yi 2725 | #23

China

Wei Yi has broken all kinds of rating and age records throughout his lifetime. The world’s youngest Grandmaster at the moment, and one of the youngest in history, Yi is also the youngest player in history to break the 2600 rating barrier. His quick progress is apparent, earning both the International...

GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2725 | #23

Poland

Full bio coming soon...

GM Pentala Harikrishna 2724 | #26

India

Following the lead of Viswanathan Anand, Pentala Harikrishna is India’s next biggest threat among the chess elite. A prodigy who gained worldwide attention with his numerous youth championship awards and becoming India’s youngest International Master and Grandmaster, Harikrishna has continued...