Chess is one of the most analytical games, one that has captured the imagination of nobility and commoners alike. Within the game, there are many who have etched their names and immortalised themselves with their exceptional playing prowess.
The game of chess has had many legends, champions, challengers, world-class players, and grandmasters. They have delighted and inspired people for generations.
Without further ado, let’s have a look at some of the top chess players in the world today:
Magnus Carlsen
Magnus is a genius chess grandmaster from Norway. He is the reigning world chess champion, world rapid chess champion and the world blitz chess champion.
Magnus became a grandmaster in the year 2004 when he was a little over 13 years old and was one of the youngest to become one.
With a peak FIDE rating of 2882 which is the highest in history, he is considered one of the greatest chess players ever, if not the best.
Viswanathan Anand
Anand is arguably the greatest chess grandmaster from India and one of the legends of the sport in the world itself.
He is in the top ten list currently but was the world champion between 2000 and 2002 and then between 2007 and 2013.
Anand is considered by many the greatest rapid chess champion of his generation and he is one of the very few to have crossed the Elo rating of 2800, a feat he first achieved in the year 2006.
Gary Kasparov
A mention of chess greats is incomplete without the mention of Gary Kasparov. Considered the greatest chess champion of his time, Gary held the FIDE world championship title until 1993, until a dispute with the governing body led him to set up a rival organisation, the Professional Chess Association, which eventually dissolved in the year 1996.
His peak Elo rating was 2851 which was the highest ever until it was surpassed by the current champion Magnus Carlsen.
Kasparov was also the first grandmaster to have played against Deep Blue, a powerful chess computer built by IBM. In the first match held in 1996, Gary won but in the rematch held the following year, Deep Blue was able to get the better of him after a comprehensive upgrade.
Anatoly Karpov
An absolute legend of the game, Karpov was the world champion for ten years between 1975 to 1985. His winning streak was ended by the great Gary Kasparov.
Karpov was the official challenger to US grandmaster Bobby Fischer in 1975, however, Fischer refused to play citing the conditions set by FIDE and Karpov got the title.
He had a peak rating of 2780 in his career and his reign as the world chess champion for 102 months has been eclipsed only by Gary Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen.
Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer became the first American grandmaster and the youngest in history when he got the title in 1958.
Known for his intemperance, he quickly grabbed the attention of people in his country and helped to popularise the game there. Fischer won the world chess championship in 1972 against Russian Boris Spassky. At the height of the cold war, this match was portrayed as a confrontation between the USA and the erstwhile USSR.
Fischer refused to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov in 1975 as he was not happy with the conditions laid out by FIDE. As a result, the title was given by default to Karpov.
Conclusion
Chess is a game of patience and grit, and If you are inspired to become a grandmaster yourself, get your hands on a chessboard made for champions by checking out Square Off Pro. It is a tournament sized, rollable e-chessboard which is easily portable.
One of the pro’s notable features is that it can record games played in person on the board, and analyse the game by exporting it in PGN format. You could then analyse this with the Square Off app.
Get your set now and pave the way for your dreams to become the next chess grandmaster.
