Chess Grandmasters, Ranked

Holder of the record peak FIDE rating of 2882 and world champion from 2013 to 2023, Carlsen has dominated across classical, rapid, and blitz like no one before.

World number one for nearly 20 years and champion from 1985 to 2000, he reached a then-record 2851 rating and is widely rated among the greatest ever.

His 1972 title win broke Soviet dominance, and his run to the crown — including a streak of 20 straight wins against elite opposition — remains one of chess's greatest feats.

World champion from 1975 to 1985, Karpov amassed over 160 first-place tournament finishes with a positional, suffocating style few could withstand.

Held the world title for a record 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, combining deep strategy with unmatched practical fighting spirit.

Famed for near-flawless technique, the Cuban champion (1921-1927) lost only a handful of games in his prime and made mastery look effortless.

The first to defeat Capablanca for the title in 1927, he was a dazzling attacking player and the only champion to die while still holding the crown.

India's first grandmaster and undisputed world champion from 2007 to 2013, a five-time champion across formats who helped globalize elite chess.

A three-time champion across 1948-1963 and founder of the Soviet chess school, he mentored future champions Karpov, Kasparov, and Kramnik.

Ended Kasparov's reign in 2000 without losing a game, then unified the title in 2006 — a supreme technician known for airtight preparation.

The youngest world champion at the time in 1960, Tal's audacious sacrificial attacks made him the most thrilling player of his generation.

The first official world chess champion in 1886, he founded modern positional theory and fundamentally changed how the game is understood.

World champion from 1963 to 1969, his prophylactic, near-unbeatable defensive style made him one of the hardest players ever to beat.

World champion from 1969 to 1972, a versatile master whose title loss to Fischer became the most famous chess match in history.

World champion in 1957-58 and a title contender across five decades, admired for a smooth, harmonious style and remarkable endgame skill.

Unofficial world's best around 1858, Morphy crushed Europe's leading masters with modern-looking play generations ahead of his time.

Reached a peak rating of 2844, the third-highest ever, and pushed Carlsen to a tie-break in the 2018 World Championship match.

Became the first Chinese world chess champion in 2023, a milestone for the game in Asia, though his reign was brief and turbulent.

A five-time US champion and perennial world top-five who dominates blitz and bullet, though he never won the classical world title.

Twice a world-title challenger against Karpov and often called the strongest player never to become champion, competitive into his eighties.

A title contender for decades who finished runner-up in the Candidates a record number of times without ever getting a championship match.

A former world number two and multiple World Cup and rapid champion, celebrated for imaginative play though he fell short of the classical crown.