Best Chess Players in the World

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Champions | Quotes | Records

A common question that comes into any begginer's mind is: How many players play chess in the world?

According to various studies, 70% (!) of adults have played chess at some point in their lives. Chess players make up one of the largest communities in the world, numbering more than 605 million. Of course, no one can say for sure exactly how many play chess, because it is not possible to count all of them, since they neither actively participate in tournaments nor registered members of the World Chess Federation.

The Best Players - Make your Hero!

In every human activity there are some personalities that stand out from the rest. In other words, he is a man, man or woman, who appears as the protagonist of a legend or epic and possesses abilities greater than those possessed by the average person. These skills help him perform unusual acts, heroic acts, for which he becomes known! These forces can be physical and mental, but they emanate from the soul of each hero.

In the field of sports, the heroes attract the attention of ordinary people and make the sport in which they are involved more famous. How do you feel when you hear names like Michael Jordan, Pelé, Lionel Messi, Roger Federer or Gary Kasparov?

Kasparov is the most famous chess player of all times. He became very famous all over the world when he played the famous match with the super-computer "Deep Blue". The time period fit perfectly since people at that time were very curious about the computers evolution. This match boosted Gary's popularity as well as the game of chess. Today, people who maight don't know the movments of the pieces the could know Kasparov.

Heroes can motivate up-and-coming players to perform better in chess. Every little kid can be enchanted by the white and black pieces, creating a model player, Gary. Even a World Chess Champion can be mobilized by another Superhero Chess Player. For example, the astounding Magnus Carlsen, who just won the World Cup for the second time in a row, wrote on Twitter "I won two, there are five left". Gary replied that Magnus referring to his own seven successful World Championships.

Make your Hero!

It is very important to have a hero, a role model that we want to look like and achieve similar things to him-her. So, through www.rules-chess-strategies.com to learn a lot about the best players in the world and get your own model, your own hero!

World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is being held to promote the World Chess Champion. The title can be claimed by players regardless of gender. Also, there is a special event only for women, which gives the title of "World Chess Champion". There are separate tournaments for corresponding titles in different age categories, but also in categories where only computer chess programs participate. Apart from these programs, everyone else (regardless of age) has the right to claim titles of higher categories. You can read more by clicking here.

 World Chess Champions

Chess is constantly evolving and this is mainly due to some players who "put their own signature" in the years they lived. Among the millions of players, there were always some who stood out and some who managed to win the World Chess Title!

1. Wilhelm Steinitz (1886 - 1894)

2. Emanuel Lasker (1894 - 1921)

3. José Raúl Capablanca (1921 - 1927)

4. Alexander Alekhine (1927 - 1935 and 1937 - 1946)

5. Max Euwe (1935 - 1937)

6. Mikhail Botvinnik (1948 - 1957 and 1958 - 1960 and 1961 - 1963)

7. Vasily Smyslov (1957 - 1958)

8. Mikhail Tal (1960 - 1961)

9. Tigran Petrosian (1963 - 1969)

10. Boris Spassky (1969 - 1972)

11. Robert J. Fischer (1972 - 1975)

12. Anatoly Karpov (1975 - 1985)

13. Garry Kasparov (1985 – 1993 and 1993 - 2000)

Read about the 1993 crisis by clicking here: The 1993 crisis

FIDE World Chess Champions (1993 - 2006)

1. Anatoly Karpov (1993 – 1999)

2. Alexander Khalifman (1999 – 2000)

3. Viswanathan Anand (2000 – 2002)

4. Ruslan Ponomariov (2002 – 2004)

5. Rustam Kasimdzhanov (2004 – 2005)

6. Veselin Topalov (2005 – 2006)

Read about the reunion of the World Championship by clicking here: Reunion 2006

14. Vladimir Kramnik (2000 – 2006 and 2006 – 2007)

15. Viswanathan Anand (2007 – 2013)

16. Magnus Carlsen (2013– Today)

 Quotes

Wilhelm Steinitz (1886–1894) Austria || "Unfortunately, many regard the critic as an enemy, instead of seeing him as a guide to the truth."

Emanuel Lasker (1894–1921) | Germany || "When you see a good move, look for a better one!"

José Raούl Capablanca (1921–1927) Cuba || "When you come up with certain plan, then you need to follow it with precision."

Alexander Alekhine (1927–1935, 1937–1946) | Russia || ""Of chess it has often been said that life is not long enough for it – but that is the fault of life, not chess!"

Max Euwe (1935–1937) | The Netherlands || "Winning a pawn also means winning the game."

Mikhail Botvinnik (1948–1957, 1958–1960, 1961–1963) | Soviet Union || "I think well when my mind is calm."

Vassily Smyslov (1957–1958) Soviet Union || "In chess, as in life, man's most dangerous adversary is himself."

Mikhail Tal (1960–1961) | Soviet Union || "You have to lead your opponent to a universe where 2 + 2 = 5 and only one of the two can find the way out ..."

Tigran Petrosian (1963–1969) Soviet Union || "Chess is a game, an art and a science at the same time! It can bring as much happiness as a good book or a piece of music. "

Boris Spassky (1969–1972) Soviet Union || "In my country at that time, being a World Champion was like being a king!"

Bobby Fischer (1972–1975) America || "You can only become good at chess if you love the game."

Anatoly Karpov (1975–1985) Soviet Union || "It is not enough just to be a good player to become a Champion; you must have a strong personality as well."

Garry Kasparov (1985–1993) Soviet Union || ""If you don't take risks, you don't drink champagne..."

Vladimir Kramnik (2006–2007) Russia || "In chess one cannot control everything. Sometimes a game takes an unexpected turn, in which beauty begins to emerge. Both players are always instrumental in this."

Viswanathan Anand (2007–2013) | India || "Victory is victory; but it only applies to the moment."

Magnus Carlsen (2013–) | Norway || "Without pleasure it is not worthwhile to develop into something." 

Remarkable records 

The only players who resign their games without play, in the World Chess Championship match, were Fischer in 1972 and Kramnik in 2006. Regarding the match Fischer - Spassky I suggest you see the movie "Pawn Sacrifice". Even if the film has a connection with chess, anyone can see it and have an entertaining time.

You can see the trailer of the movie below:

In the beginning, Fischer sets a lot of difficult and different requirements. After long discussions, the match started butter in the first round a lot of things annoying Fischer. He's soaked to the chess world by his sacrifice his only remaining piece, the Bishop, on h2. He had foreseen that his opponent can re-capture this Bishop but he did in any case in order to press for the win. In history we know it as one of the biggest mistakes, however, the position is complete after his sacrifice. In the end he lost the first game. In any case, we should congratulate his fantastic passion for a victory that helped him to win the match at the end.

Miniatures

The shortest chess game played in the 25th match for the World Chess Championship and the most specifically in the 21st game. Tigran Petrosian, with the White pieces, offered a draw and his opponent Mikhail Botvinnik accepted it. This specific variation against the Grunfeld defense is an extremely dangerous and surprising weapon. The first time that I played against it I didn't know what to do and my position became worse. Eventually, I managed to hold the draw thanks to my fighting spirit. The second time, after some months and against the same opponent, I didn't remember exactly what to play, I end up with a pawn down and almost resignable position. Finally, I managed to defend actively and "convinced" my opponent to make a mistake, so I kept the draw.

You can see the game below

Botvinnik – Petrosian

The 40ty World Chess Champion played in 2012 between Viswanathan Anand and Boris Gelfand. Anand is very experienced players who had played previously against Kasparov and Kramnik for the same match. Even if Gelfand is one of the top-rated players for many years he didn't have experience in a match situation. The best player from Israel managed to break down the World's Champion resistance a win an amazing game in the 8th round; leaving his opponent to create a new Queen, however, he managed to checkmate him first with his Rook and both Knights. However, in the very next game he didn't manage to consolidate his psychological emotions and pressure; losing the shortest game for the World Chess Champion history. In the end, he lost the match as well.

You can see the game below

Anand – Gelfand