In the last list of the top Chess players we published, we went over the best Blitz Chess players. Now in this article, we’re going through the best Classical Chess players in the world ranked from FIDE.
Every player in this a grandmaster, and is also on the short list of chess super grandmasters.
10. Anish Giri
Full name: Anish Giri
Title: Grandmaster
Born: June 28, 1994
Federation: Netherlands
Ratings
World ranking: 9
Rapid: 2730
Blitz: 2766
Classical: 2761
Profiles
Anish Giri achieved the title of Grandmaster and FIDE Master in 2009 and 2008 respectively. He is currently listed as the top Dutch chess player since 2021. He has a FIDE rating of 2761 and a Peak rating of 2798.
Giri won the Dutch Chess Championship on four occasions- 2009, 2011, 2012, and 2015. Also, in 2010, he managed to clinch the B group of Corus chess. During 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018, Chess Olympiads, Giri successfully represented his country.
Among other tournaments, Giri has emerged victorious include; the 2012 Emilia Reggio championship 2012, and the 2017 Reykjavik Open. His victory in the 3rd edition of the Shenzea Masters (2019) was regarded by many as his first-ever super-tournament al achievement.
9. Richard Rapport
Full name: Richard Rapport
Title: Grandmaster
Born: March 25, 1996
Federation: Hungary
Ratings
World ranking: 8
Rapid: 2802
Blitz: 2613
Classical: 2764
Profiles
Richard earned the award of Grandmaster title in 2010 at the age of 13 years, becoming the youngest chess grandmaster in Hungary’s history. Before then, he had been accorded the International Master and FIDE Master title in 2009 and 2008 respectively.
He emerged victorious in the European Championship under-10, in 2006. In 2017, Richard became the Hungarian chess victor and the fifth top most ranked sportsman in the globe as of May 2022. His FIDE rating stands at 2764 while his Peak rating is at 2776- both as of 2022.
8. Ian Nepomniachtchi
Full name: Ian Nepomniachtchi
Title: Grandmaster
Born: July 14, 1990
Federation: Russia
Ratings
World ranking: 7
Rapid: 2821
Blitz: 2740
Classical: 2766
Profiles
In 2007, Nepomniachtchi was awarded the FIDE Grandmaster title and the title of International Master in 2004. He has a FIDE rating of 2792 and a Peak rating of 2792. He clinched the 2010 & 2020 Russian Superfinal, 2010 European Individual Titles, 2016 Tai memorial, and 2008 &2015 Aeroflot Open Events. He triumphed together with his Russian teammates in the World Team Chess tournament in 2013 and 2019 and also the 2015 European Team Chess Tournament. In the global ranking of both Rapid and Blitz Chess, Nepomniachtchi came fourth place.
He is a two-time silver medalist in the global rapid tournament as well as a silver medalist in the global blitz tournament. Apart from clinching the 2008 Ordix Open, he also managed to qualify for the 2020-2021 Candidates Championship after being a runner-up in the 2019 FIDE Grand Prix. In addition, Nepomniachtchi became victorious in the 2021 FIDE Candidates championship.
7. Levon Aronian
Full name: Levon Aronian
Title: Grandmaster
Born: October 6, 1982
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World ranking: 5
Rapid: 2728
Blitz: 2850
Classical: 2775
Profiles
He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 2005 when he was 17 years old. His FIDE rating and Peak rating are 2775 and 2830 respectively. He is the 2005 and 2017 winner of the FIDE World Cup. The national team which he was part of in 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2012 managed to win the gold medal in the Chess Olympiads, and the world Chess Team tournament. After being victorious in 2008, 2009, and 2010 FIDE Grand Prix, he attained qualification for the Candidates Championship for the 2012 World Chess tournament.
6. Wesley So
Full name: Wesley Barbossa So
Title: Grandmaster
Born: October 9, 1993
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World ranking: 6
Rapid: 2779
Blitz: 2742
Classical: 2775
Profiles
Welsey became a Grandmaster title holder in 2008, International Master in 2006, and FIDE Master in 2004. He has a FIDE rating of 2775 and a Peak rating of 2822. He has also been crowned the U.S.A Chess Champion three times – 2017, 2020, and 2021. His Elo rating of 2822 in 2017 placed him the second-best chess player on the globe and thus also positioned him as the number five most rated player in chess history.
5. Fabiano Caruana
Full name: Fabiano Caruana
Title: Grandmaster
Born: July 30, 1992
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World ranking: 4
Rapid: 2766
Blitz: 2847
Classical: 2783
Profiles
He has crowned a Grandmaster in 2007 at the age of 14, making him the youngest Grandmaster in the U.S as well as Italy’s history. He became victorious in the Italian Chess Tournament in 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011. Among the other notable tournaments, she won include; the 2016 US Chess Championship, the 2017 London Chess Classic, and the 2018 Candidates Championship among others.
4. Alireza Firouzja
Full name: Alireza Firouzja
Title: Grandmaster
Born: June 18, 2003
Federation: France
Ratings
World ranking: 3
Rapid: 2670
Blitz: 2791
Classical: 2793
Profiles
Alireza Firouzja became a grandmaster in 2018 and an International Master in 2016. He has a FIDE rating of 2793 and a Peak rating of 2804. He clinched the silverware at the global rapid chess tournament (2019), the FIDE Grand Swiss Championship in 2021, and a gold medal at European Team Chess Tournament, together with Bronze during the global blitz chess tournament in 2021. He has a Peak rating of 2804 and a FIDE rating of 2793.
3. Ding Liren
Full name: Ding Liren
Title: Grandmaster
Born: October 24, 1992
Federation: China
Ratings
World ranking: 2
Rapid: 2836
Blitz: 2788
Classical: 2806
Profiles
Liren is the top most rated Chinese chess sportsperson in their history. He has a FIDE rating of 2806 and a Peak rating of 2816. He has been crowned the Chinese chess winner on three occasions. Also, Liren won the 2019 Grand Chess Tour and the Sinquefield Cup. He holds the record of being the first Chinese sportsperson to ever compete in the Candidate championship and surpass the 2800 Elo mark as per the FIDE World Rankings. Until 2019, Liren held the longest run of 100 matches undefeated in the top category of chess history when Carlsen Magnus bettered it.
2. Garry Kasparov
Full name: Garry Kasparov
Title: Grandmaster
Born: April 13, 1963
Federation: Russia
Ratings
World ranking: 2
Rapid: 2783
Blitz: 2644
Classical: 2812
Profiles
Garry received the title of Grandmaster in 1980 and the International Master title in 1979 from FIDE. His record of 2851 in Peak rating was the highest he set in 1999 up until 2013 when Carlsen Magnus broke it with a new record. His FIDE rating is 2812. On top of that, Garry holds outstanding records for the most sequential professional championship triumphs (fifteen), and chess awards (eleven). He is also the unopposed chess player to have become a world chess champion with the youngest age of 22 years.
1. Carlsen Magnus
Full names: Carlsen Magnus
Title: Grandmaster
Birth: November 30, 1990
Federation: Norway
Ratings
World ranking: 1
Rapid:2847
Blitz: 2832
Classical: 2864
Profiles
Magnus Carlsen earned the title of Grandmaster in 2004. He has a FIDE rating of 2864 and a Peak rating of 2882. The Norwegian is the holder of the global chess tournament for the fifth time, a triple global rapid chess winner, and a global blitz chess winner on five occasions.
Magnus is the highest rated chess player in the history of chess to have taken the longest time in the first slot in the Global FIDE Chess listing, only behind Kasparov Garry. He has set the top peak rating in the history of 2882. He also achieved top standards as the longest undefeated chess player at the classical chess top level.
That concludes the list of the best Classical Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Iranian Chess players or the best Canadian Chess players.
Sources
- “Magnus Carlsen”. In Bolstad, Erik (ed.).
- Sinquefield Cup: Three winners (one playoff)!
- Split in Democratic Party of Russia. Archived from the original.
- Chinese Championship – a pictorial review
- Goldmoney Asian Rapid (2021)
- 12-year-old Alireza Firouzja is Iranian Champion
- Asian Youth Chess Championship-2015 (Under-12 Open) – Archived at the Wayback Machine.
- Standings Grandmaster Group A
- Levon Aronian wins Norway Chess 2017
- FIDE October 2005 rating lists