The Top Chess Players in the World - Page 3

GM Bu Xiangzhi 2666 | #45

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 Nils Grandelius 2666 | #45

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...

GM Ivan Saric 2661 | #49

Croatia

Ivan Saric was born on August 17, 1990, in Split, Croatia. He is currently the highest-rated Croatian grandmaster (as of February 2021) and has been on Croatia's Olympic team since 2010. He reached his peak FIDE rating of 2703 in 2019. Saric won the Under-18 European Championship in 2007, a year before...

GM Pavel Eljanov 2659 | #50

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 Grigoriy Oparin 2658 | #51

United States

Grigoriy Oparin is a Russian chess player who earned his grandmaster title in 2013. He was Russia's 2014 junior champion. Oparin nearly qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament by tying GM Fabiano Caruana for second place at the 2021 Riga Grand Swiss. However, he finished in third place because...

GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara

Mexico

GM Jose Eduardo Martinez Alcantara is a Peruvian chess grandmaster and streamer. In 2017 he won the World Youth Championship in the under-18 division. Martinez is a regular presence in Chess.com's Titled Tuesday, usually finishing near the top of the standings, including a victory on October 6, 2020. Martinez...

GM Jeffery Xiong 2656 | #52

United States

American GM Jeffery Xiong has completed an impressive career as an elite junior chess player. For starters, he’s the third-youngest U.S. player to qualify for the grandmaster title. His array of accomplishments spans winning the world under-10 championship in 2010, taking the world junior championship...

GM Shant Sargsyan 2656 | #52

Armenia

Shant Sargsyan is an Armenian grandmaster and the 2018 World U16 Champion. The following year, he won silver in both the World U18 Championship and the World Junior Championship. Sargsyan is ranked within the top-12 players in Armenia (12th) and juniors in the world (11th) (as of April 2021).

GM Johan-Sebastian Christiansen

Norway

Bio coming soon.

GM Bogdan-Daniel Deac 2655 | #54

Romania

Bogdan-Daniel Deac is a Romanian grandmaster. He earned the title at 14 years, seven months, and 27 days of age, placing him on the list of the youngest grandmasters in history. At the 2017 Tradewise Gibraltar Tournament, the 15-year-old prodigy finished in the top 25 of the elite, 250-player open event....

GM Alexander Morozevich 2653 | #55

Russia

GM Alexander Morozevich is one of only a few chess players who can claim to have been the world’s number-two player. In July 2008, his rating of 2788 put him second behind only GM Viswanathan Anand and also made Morozevich Russia’s number-one player. Twice, in 1998 and 2007, he won...

GM Benjamin Gledura 2653 | #55

Hungary

Bio coming soon.

GM Ernesto Inarkiev

Russia

Ernesto Inarkiev is a Russian grandmaster who won the 2016 European Individual Chess Championship. Earlier in his career, he was European U16 Champion (2001) and Russian Junior (under-20) Champion (2002). Inarkiev earned his GM title in 2002, becoming the first-ever from Kalmykia, a republic of Russia....

GM Aydin Suleymanli

Azerbaijan

GM Aydin Suleymanli is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster who was the world under-14 champion in 2019.

GM Kirill Alekseenko 2652 | #57

Austria

Kirill Alekseenko is a young Russian GM who earned his wild card to the 2020 FIDE Candidates Tournament after taking third place at FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss in 2019. In 2023, he changed federations to Austria. Early Life And Career Adult Career The Road to Candidates Present And Future Early...

GM Sam Shankland 2651 | #58

United States

Samuel L. “Sam” Shankland was born October 1, 1991 in Berkeley, California. He has represented the country of his birth his entire chess career, a relative rarity for American grandmasters of the past 40 years. Making IM and GM 2016 Chess Olympiad 2018 U.S. Championship Other Tournaments Present...

GM Ray Robson 2650 | #59

United States

Ray Robson is an American grandmaster from Guam who had one of the country’s most successful youth careers, achieving his GM norms and 2500 rating in 2009 when he was still just 14 years old. As an adult, Robson’s tournament highlights include the 2015 U.S. Championship, where he finished...

GM Volodar Murzin

FIDE

Volodar Murzin is a Russian chess grandmaster who qualified for the 2021 FIDE World Cup. He is from Nizhny Tagil, a town 125 km north of Yekaterinburg, Russia but now lives in Khimki, in the Moscow region. He is the 2018 European U12 champion. In December 2024, Murzin won the World Rapid Championship...

GM Eltaj Safarli 2648 | #60

Azerbaijan

GM Eltaj Safarli is an Azerbaijani grandmaster who qualified for the 2023 FIDE World Cup.

GM Karthikeyan Murali 2648 | #60

India

Bio coming soonThe name Murali is his father's name, and the player should be referred to by his name, Karthikeyan

GM Alexander Grischuk 2645 | #62

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 Frederik Svane 2645 | #62

Germany

GM Frederik Svane is a German grandmaster who qualified for the 2023 FIDE World Cup. He is the brother of GM Rasmus Svane.

GM Francisco Vallejo Pons 2644 | #64

Spain

Francisco Vallejo Pons (nickname “Paco”) is a five-time Spanish chess champion. He won in 2006, 2009, and the three consecutive years of 2014-16. He was also a regular at the Linares super-tournament as the host national favorite. Vallejo is a member of the 2700-rating club and remains...

GM Alexander Donchenko 2643 | #65

Germany

Alexander Donchenko is a German grandmaster. His two best performances came in 2019, when he first shared second place with GM Gata Kamsky at Biel Masters, one-half point behind GM Amin Tabatabaei. A couple of months later, he went undefeated and won the Barcelona Open, ironically beating out Kamsky...

GM Aryan Tari 2642 | #66

Norway

GM Aryan Tari is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. As of July 2021, he is the second-highest rated player in Norway after world champion GM Magnus Carlsen. Tari, a two-time national champion, participated in the international Norway Chess tournament in 2020 and has been invited for the 2021 edition as...