The Top Chess Players in the World

GM Evgeniy Najer 2637 | #101

Evgeniy Najer is a Russian grandmaster who became the European champion in 2015. In August 2017, he achieved his peak rating of 2707 and peak world ranking of 39. He’s had several open tournament wins, perhaps most notably back-to-back victories at the World Open in Philadelphia in 2008 and 2009....

GM Karthikeyan Murali 2637 | #101

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

GM Aryan Chopra 2637 | #101

Bio coming soonThe name Chopra is a patronymic, and the player should be referred to by his name, Aryan.

GM Alan Pichot 2637 | #101

Alan Pichot is an Argentine-Spanish grandmaster who was Argentina's number-one player until moving federations to Spain in 2023. A chess prodigy, Pichot broke Argentina's records for youngest to achieve the titles of FM (2008), IM (2013), and GM (2016). As a very successful young player, Pichot won...

GM Jeffery Xiong 2636 | #105

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 Hrant Melkumyan 2636 | #105

Hrant Melkumyan is an Armenian grandmaster who won the European Blitz Championship in 2011. After a strong showing in the 2014 European Individual Championship (7.5/11), he competed in the 2015 World Cup and defeated GM Gata Kamsky in the first round before losing in the next round. Melkumyan placed...

GM Arkadij Naiditsch 2636 | #105

Arkadij Naiditsch is a German-Azerbaijani grandmaster and a former top-20 player in the world. He won the Dortmund Sparkassen 2005 tournament ahead of GMs like Veselin Topalov, Peter Svidler, and Vladimir Kramnik. In 2007, Naiditsch won the German Chess Championship while playing for the country. He...

GM Li Chao 2635 | #108

Li Chao is a Chinese grandmaster. He won the 2013 Asian Chess Championship and has had several top finishes in high-level tournaments around the world, such as his undefeated win at the Reykjavik Open in 2014. Li spent a considerable amount of time in 2015 and 2016 ranked in the world’s top-15...

GM Alexandr Predke 2634 | #109

Alexandr Predke is a Russian grandmaster who won the U16 Russian Youth Chess Championship in 2010. He placed third in the 2014 Russian Junior Championship (U20), and then in 2017, finished second in the Lev Polugaevsky Memorial tournament. In September 2019, he made his first appearance in the world’s...

GM Ruslan Ponomariov 2633 | #110

Ukrainian GM Ruslan Ponomariov is a former FIDE world champion and one of the greatest chess prodigies in history. He earned the world title at the age of 18 and in 1997 became the youngest person at the time to become a grandmaster—only 17 days after turning 14 years old. The same year, he won...

GM Hou Yifan 2633 | #110

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 Yuriy Kryvoruchko 2633 | #110

Yuriy Kryvoruchko is a Ukrainian grandmaster and the 2013 Ukrainian Chess Champion. That victory came after he defeated GM and former FIDE world champion Ruslan Ponomariov on tiebreaks. The same year, Kryvoruchko made it to the third round of the World Cup after a surprising win against GM Michael Adams...

GM Vasyl Ivanchuk 2630 | #113

Vasyl Ivanchuk is a Ukrainian grandmaster and world-class player. He was the number-two player in the world on three separate occasions (1991, 1992 and 2007) and made it to the 2002 FIDE World Championship Finals. He has won many international tournaments, including the Tal Memorial, Linares, Biel,...

GM Anton Korobov 2629 | #114

Anton Korobov is a Ukrainian grandmaster and four-time national champion. He won individual gold at the 43rd Chess Olympiad as the best player on the reserve board, won the 2013 European Blitz Chess Championship, and is an exceptional rapid player—ranked fifth in the world (as of February 2021)....

GM Aryan Tari 2629 | #114

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...

GM Gabriel Sargissian 2628 | #116

Gabriel Sargissian is an Armenian grandmaster who won three Olympic gold medals with his national team.  As a young player, Sargissian won the Under-14 World Youth Chess Championship in 1996. He won bronze at the European Junior Chess Championship in 1998 and the individual European championship...

GM Konstantin Landa

Bio coming soon

GM Rasmus Svane 2628 | #116

Rasmus Svane is a German chess grandmaster who qualified for the 2021 FIDE World Cup.

GM Jaime Santos Latasa 2628 | #116

GM Jaime Santos Latasa is a Spanish grandmaster who earned the title in 2018. His peak in the world rankings as of February 2024 is 59th, set in September 2022.

GM Robert Hovhannisyan 2626 | #119

Robert Hovhannisyan is an Armenian grandmaster and the 2011 national champion.     In 2008 and 2009, Hovhannisyan won the national Under-18 championship. He won the national championship in 2011 and was a runner-up three more times, in 2012, 2014, and 2016.  Hovhannisyan won the...

GM Ioannis Papaioannou 2626 | #119

GM Luka Lenic 2626 | #119

Luka Lenic is a Slovenian grandmaster.

GM Maxim Matlakov 2625 | #122

Maxim Matlakov is a Russian grandmaster and currently one of the top-15 players in his country (as of February 2021). He also acted as GM Peter Svidler's second during the Candidates Tournaments of 2013, 2014, and 2016. Matlakov won the U18 section of the World Youth Chess Championship in 2009. That...

GM Aram Hakobyan 2625 | #122

Aram Hakobyan is an Armenian grandmaster and the 2012 World U12 Champion. He also won the Armenian Youth Championship in four different age groups (U10, U12, U14, and U18) and became vice-champion of the 2014 U14 European Chess Championship. Hakobyan is ranked in the top-15 players in Armenia (13th)...

GM Ediz Gurel 2624 | #124

Bio coming soon.