The Top Chess Players in the World - Page 2

GM Yu Yangyi 2717 | #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...

GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov 2715 | #25

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...

GM Dmitry Andreikin 2710 | #26

FIDE

Dmitry Andreikin is a Russian super GM and a two-time Russian champion. He had a highly successful early career and became a GM at age 17. Andreikin’s top success, as of 2020, came at the 2013 World Cup where he was a finalist and qualified as a candidate for the world championship. A top-30 player...

GM Vidit Gujrathi 2708 | #27

India

The player's full name is Vidit Santosh Gujrathi and they confirmed to Chess.com that they preferred to be called by their first 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...

GM Vladimir Fedoseev 2703 | #28

Slovenia

Vladimir Fedoseev is a Russian chess grandmaster and one of the world’s 100 highest-rated players by FIDE. In 2022, he stopped representing Russia as part of the fallout of the invasion of Ukraine. He transferred federations to Slovenia in July 2023. Early Life And Career Grandmaster Greatest...

GM Amin Tabatabaei 2700 | #29

Iran

Amin Tabatabaei is an Iranian grandmaster and the winner of the 2019 Biel Master Open tournament. His win came by half a point over a group of seven players in second place, including GMs Jeffery Xiong and Gata Kamsky. Earlier in his career, Tabatabaei won silver at the 2014 World U14 Championship....

GM Andrey Esipenko 2698 | #30

Russia

Andrey Esipenko is a Russian grandmaster. He won the European U10 Chess Championship in 2012. In 2017, he won the European U16 Chess Championship and the World U16 Chess Championship. At the 2021 Tata Steel Chess Tournament, the 18-year-old beat World Champion Magnus Carlsen in their first encounter,...

GM Sam Sevian 2696 | #31

United States

Samuel Sevian is an American grandmaster who gained notoriety as a chess prodigy. In 2014, he became the youngest ever-American to earn his GM title at 13 years, 10 months, and 27 days—and still retains a top spot on the list of the youngest chess grandmasters overall. He’s also the youngest...

GM Matthias Bluebaum 2695 | #32

Germany

Matthias Bluebaum is a German grandmaster, two-time European Champion, and the 2020 German Chess Champion. Earlier in his career, he had several top-10 finishes in major tournaments, including the 2011 German U18 Chess Championship, 2011 World U14 Chess Championship, 2014 World U18 Chess Championship,...

GM Aravindh Chithambaram

India

The player's full name is Aravindh Chithambaram V R and they confirmed to Chess.com that they preferred to be called by their first name, Aravindh.Aravindh Chithambaram is an Indian grandmaster. He won the national championship in consecutive years, 2018 and 2019. In August 2023, he entered the top...

GM Teimour Radjabov 2689 | #33

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 Nodirbek Yakubboev 2689 | #33

Uzbekistan

Nodirbek Yakubboev is an Uzbek grandmaster and three-time national champion. His Uzbekistani Chess Championships came in 2016, 2018, and 2020. At the 2018 World Youth Chess Olympiad, Yakubboev won gold with Uzbekistan and took individual gold as well for his performance on the second board. In...

GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus 2687 | #35

Türkiye

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus is a Turkish chess grandmaster, one of the youngest grandmasters ever, and the youngest player ever to reach a 2600 FIDE rating. Erdogmus won the U-8 European Chess Championship in 2019, a year before he had to stop playing over-the-board chess due to the COVID-19 pandemic....

GM Igor Kovalenko

Ukraine

Igor Kovalenko is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He earned his title in 2011 and from 2013-21 represented Latvia, where he won the national championship in 2013 and 2014. Kovalenko has been volunteering in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2022.

GM Wang Hao 2684 | #36

China

GM Wang Hao is a super grandmaster who was a candidate for the world championship in 2020, which he achieved by winning the 2019 FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss. He had a fantastic youth career that culminated in winning the seventh Dubai Open at the age of 16, when he topped several dozen GMs and IMs as...

GM Peter Svidler 2682 | #37

FIDE

Peter Svidler is an eight-time chess champion of Russia and a three-time candidate for the world championship. He came closest to becoming world champion with a second-place finish in FIDE’s 2005 championship tournament. Early Life And Career The Next Decade (2000-09) The 2010s Legacy Early...

GM Pavel Eljanov 2682 | #37

Ukraine

Pavel Eljanov is a Ukrainian grandmaster who has served as a second (assistant) for many elite players, including GMs Magnus Carlsen, Boris Gelfand, and Mariya Muzychuk. Early in his career, Eljanov was on the team that won the U16 Chess Olympiad in 1999. Years later, he won two team...

GM Peter Leko 2676 | #39

Hungary

GM Peter Leko is a Hungarian super grandmaster who played for the classical world championship in 2004, losing to GM Vladimir Kramnik (under the terms of the match, despite drawing it by score). Born in 1979, he was already an IM by 1992. GM came two years later, making him the youngest ever. Early...

GM Harikrishna Pentala 2676 | #39

India

The player's full name is Harikrishna Pentala and they confirmed to Chess.com that they preferred to be called by their first name, Harikrishna. Harikrishna Pentala is an Indian grandmaster and one of the best chess players in that nation’s history. Early Life And Career Grandmaster 2700 Club Recent...

GM Nikita Vitiugov 2667 | #41

England

Nikita Vitiugov is a Russian-born grandmaster who plays under the English flag. He was the Russian chess champion in 2021 and coach of GM Ian Nepomniachtchi at two FIDE World Championship matches. He is a two-time winner of World Team Chess Championships and a three-time European Club Cup winner. He...

GM Bu Xiangzhi 2666 | #42

China

Bu Xiangzhi is a Chinese chess champion and was for a time the youngest GM in history; as of June 2020, he is still the 10th-youngest player to ever become GM. He was also China’s 10th-ever GM. Bu has been a member of the 2700-rating club off and on since April 2008 and every month since June...

GM David Howell 2665 | #43

England

David Howell is an English grandmaster and three-time British chess champion. He set several records as a chess prodigy, including being the youngest Briton to earn the GM title. Howell remains active as a player, columnist, and commentator. Early Chess Career (1996 To 2008) Multiple-Time British Champion...

GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2662 | #44

Uzbekistan

Uzbek GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov is perhaps best known as the 2004 FIDE world champion, earning the title in a knockout tournament. Despite being seeded 28th, Kasimdzhanov defeated number-five seed GM Vassily Ivanchuk in round three, number-four GM Alexander Grischuk in the quarterfinal, number-one GM Veselin...

GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek 2662 | #44

Poland

GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek is a super GM and six-time Polish chess champion (2005, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024). He worked closely with GM Viswanathan Anand during Anand’s world championship matches. Wojtaszek is married to fellow chess player IM Alina Kashlinskaya. Early Career Polish Champion...

GM Nils Grandelius 2662 | #44

Sweden

Nils Grandelius is a Swedish grandmaster and the top-ranked player in that country (as of February 2021). He won the Swedish Chess Championship in 2015 and as a junior took the under-18 World Youth Chess Champions in 2010. In 2019, Grandelius spent several months ranked among the world’s top-50...