The Top Chess Players in the World

GM Aravindh Chithambaram 2718 | #26

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 Veselin Topalov 2717 | #27

Bulgaria

GM Veselin Topalov is a Bulgarian super-grandmaster and was the FIDE world champion in 2005. He was the world number-one player from April 2006 through January 2007 and again from October 2008 until January 2010. According to 2700chess.com, he reached his peak rating of 2826 on August 24, 2015—the...

GM Vladimir Fedoseev 2709 | #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 Wang Hao 2703 | #29

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 Parham Maghsoodloo 2703 | #29

Iran

Iranian GM Parham Maghsoodloo has achieved an impressive chess career in a short amount of time. He’s a two-time Iranian national champion and the highest-rated player in the country. In 2018, he won the World Junior Chess Championship. Now no longer a junior, Maghsoodloo seems poised to make...

GM Vladislav Artemiev 2701 | #31

Russia

Russian GM Vladislav Artemiev is undoubtedly one of the best young chess players. Ranked fourth in the world for all players age 25 and younger at the time of publishing, the 22-year-old and former prodigy broke into the upper echelon of elite chess in 2019 when in June he became one of the top-10 ranked...

GM Ray Robson 2700 | #32

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 Peter Svidler 2698 | #33

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 Teimour Radjabov 2698 | #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 Sam Sevian 2696 | #35

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 Bogdan-Daniel Deac 2696 | #35

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 Harikrishna Pentala 2695 | #37

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 Dmitry Andreikin 2695 | #37

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 Amin Tabatabaei 2695 | #37

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 Daniil Dubov 2693 | #40

Russia

Daniil Dubov is a Russian grandmaster and world-class player. He finished tied for first place in the 2015 Aeroflot Open and broke onto the international chess scene when he won third place at the 2016 World Blitz Championship. Dubov was one of World Champion Magnus Carlsen's seconds for the 2018 World...

GM Alexander Grischuk 2689 | #41

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 Awonder Liang 2687 | #42

United States

Awonder Liang is an American grandmaster and the 2011 World U8 Champion. He’s well-known for being the youngest player ever to defeat a grandmaster in a standard tournament game when at the age of 9 years, three months, and 20 days, he beat GM Larry Kaufman. Liang is also the second-youngest grandmaster...

GM Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2685 | #43

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 Bu Xiangzhi 2684 | #44

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 Javokhir Sindarov 2682 | #45

Uzbekistan

GM Javokhir Sindarov is a grandmaster from Uzbekistan. One of the youngest grandmasters in history, in 2018 he earned his GM title at the age of 12 years, 10 months, and 5 days. He is one of just five players to earn the title before turning 13 years old (as of August 2022). Sindarov is also a two-time...

GM Andrey Esipenko 2682 | #45

FIDE

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 Shamsiddin Vokhidov 2681 | #47

Uzbekistan

Shamsiddin Vokhidov is an Uzbek chess grandmaster. He won the Under-14 World Youth Championship in 2015. In 2018, Vokhidov scored 8.5/15 at the World Rapid Championship, including a victory over GM Magnus Carlsen in round two. Vokhidov played the reserve board for Uzbekistan at the 2022 Chess Olympiad,...

GM Jorden van Foreest 2677 | #48

Netherlands

Jorden van Foreest is a Dutch grandmaster and the Dutch Chess Champion of 2016. He is best known for winning the Tata Steel Masters in 2021. He’s the youngest Dutch GM in history and currently ranked second in the country (March 2021). Early Chess Career (2005 To 2015) Dutch Champion (2016 To...

GM Nihal Sarin 2676 | #49

India

GM Nihal Sarin is an Indian chess prodigy who became a grandmaster at the age of 14. He won several youth championships on his way, including the the U-10 World Blitz Championship in 2013 and the U-10 World Youth Chess Championship in 2014, where he scored 9/11. He was also the world under-18 champion,...

GM Alexey Sarana 2674 | #50

Serbia

Alexey Sarana is a Russian grandmaster who has represented Serbia since April 2023. In 2018, the 18-year-old won the Russian Championship Higher League after sharing first place with GM Grigoriy Oparin and beating him on tiebreaks. Sarana shared first place at the same tournament yet again in 2019,...