This page was last updated on March 27, 2024
Here you can take a look at the list of notable players contained in the PGN database. I have tried to divide them into different categories.
World Chess Champions
| Name | Games | Ruling period1 | Year of birth/death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm Steinitz | 971 | 1886-1894 (Pre-FIDE) | 1836-1900 |
| Emanuel Lasker | 1116 | 1894-1921 (Pre-FIDE) | 1868-1941 |
| José Raúl Capablanca | 1387 | 1921-1927 (Pre-FIDE) | 1888-1942 |
| Alexander Alekhine | 2708 | 1927-1935 (Pre-FIDE) 1937-1946 (Pre-FIDE) | 1892-1946 |
| Machgielis “Max” Euwe | 1930 | 1935-1937 (Pre-FIDE) | 1901-1981 |
| Mikhail Botvinnik | 1307 | 1948-1957 1958-1960 1961-1963 | 1911-1995 |
| Vasily Smyslov | 2874 | 1957-1958 | 1921-2010 |
| Mikhail Tal | 3313 | 1960-1961 | 1836-1992 |
| Tigran Petrosian | 4032 | 1963-1969 | 1929-1984 |
| Boris Spassky | > 2900 | 1969-1972 | 1937 |
| Robert “Bobby” James Fischer | 957 | 1972-1975 | 1943-2008 |
| Anatoly Karpov | > 4000 | 1975-1985 1993-1999 (FIDE) | 1951 |
| Garry Kasparov | > 2000 | 1985-1993 (FIDE) 1993-2000 (PCA/Braingames) | 1963 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | > 4300 | 2000-2006 (PCA/Braingames) 2006-2007 (FIDE) | 1975 |
| Viswanathan Anand | > 3700 | 2000-2002 (FIDE) 2007-2013 | 1969 |
| Magnus Carlsen | > 5800 | 2013-2023 | 1990 |
| Ding Liren | > 2100 | 2023- | 1992 |
- Years without brackets are FIDE world champions. If FIDE is written in brackets, the world championship was split into a FIDE and a rival PCA one. ↩︎
World Top 10 (classic) – Live Rating
| Rank | Name | Games | Year of birth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnus Carlsen | > 6900 | 1990 |
| 2 | Fabiano Caruana | > 4800 | 1992 |
| 3 | Hikaru Nakamura | > 7600 | 1987 |
| 4 | Ding Liren | > 2100 | 1992 |
| 5 | Anish Giri | > 3700 | 1994 |
| 6 | Alireza Firouzja | > 3400 | 2003 |
| 7 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | > 4000 | 1990 |
| 8 | Wesley So | > 4100 | 1993 |
| 9 | Wei Yi | > 1700 | 1999 |
| 10 | Leinier Domínguez Pérez | > 2400 | 1983 |
Notable players of the 19th century
| Name | Games | Year of birth/death |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Morphy | 360 | 1837-1884 |
| Adolf Anderssen | 1064 | 1818-1879 |
| Johannes Hermann Zukertort | 597 | 1842-1888 |
| Siegbert Tarrasch | 1023 | 1862-1934 |
| Curt von Bardeleben | 329 | 1861-1924 |
Notable players of the 20th century
| Name | Games | Year of birth/death |
|---|---|---|
| Akiba Rubinstein | 1020 | 1880-1961 |
| Richard Réti | 873 | 1889-1929 |
| Efim Bogoljubow | 1481 | 1889-1952 |
| Frank Marshall | 1413 | 1877-1944 |
| Viktor Korchnoi | 5351 | 1931-2016 |
Notable Players of the 21st century
| Name | Games | Year of birth |
|---|---|---|
| Levon Aronian | > 4900 | 1982 |
| Vincent Keymer | > 2400 | 2004 |
| Judit Polgár | > 2100 | 1976 |
| Veselin Topalov | > 2700 | 1975 |
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