The Top Chess Players in the World

GM Peter Leko 2663 | #76
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 Alexei Shirov 2662 | #79
Alexei Shirov is a Latvian grandmaster who plays for Spain. In 1994 he was the number-two player in the world. Shirov defeated GM Vladimir Kramnik in a match in 1998 to become the challenger to GM Garry Kasparov for the classical world championship, but this match never took place. Shirov has participated...

GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2662 | #79
The top representative of Uzbekistan, Rustam Kasimdzhanov is a Grandmaster whose best accomplishment was winning the 2004 FIDE World Championship. On his way to the title he defeated 7 top players including names such as Vasily Ivanchuk, Veselin Topalov and Michael Adams. Once he won the World Championship,...

GM Alexander Morozevich 2659 | #82
Alexander Morozevich has been a top player in the world for close to a decade. He never shies away from a challenge, always preferring complicated positions that force himself and his opponent to do a lot of deep thinking. He has used his risky, spectacular, draw-averse style in order to become a fan...

GM Hou Yifan 2658 | #84
Despite being in only her mid-20s, Hou Yifan is widely considered to be the second-strongest female chess player in history (behind Judit Polgar). Among her top accomplishments are the four Women’s World Chess Championships Hou won before declining to participate in the event. She’s also...

GM Dariusz Swiercz 2649 | #96
The beast of Poland, Dariusz Swiercz is a chess prodigy who has broken many records so far in a young career. One of the top 5 players from Poland, Swiercz became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years and 7 months. This made him one of the youngest Grandmasters in history and he has continually improved...