In the last list of the top Grandmasters in each country series, we went over the best Filipino Chess players. Now in this article, we’re going through the ten best Hungarian Chess players from Hungary, starting with the tenth highest FIDE rated player to the number one spot.
10) Tamas Banusz
Full name: Banusz, Tamas
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2011
International Master (IM) 2005
FIDE Master (FM) 2003
Born: 1989
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 196
Rapid: 2554
Blitz: 2602
Classical (Std): 2610
Profiles
In 2005, Banusz earned his international master title, grandmaster title in 2011, and a FIDE Trainer approval in 2019. Banusz was born in Hungary in 1989. He is a top-five Hungarian player, according to February 2018 rankings, and a top-ten player in October 2021.
9) Alexander Chernin
Full name: Chernin, Alexander
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1985
International Master (IM) 1980
Born: 1960
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 211
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2614
Profiles
In Ukraine, Alexander Chernin was born. He is currently residing in Hungary. In 1984 and 1985, he received the IM and GM titles, respectively. Chernin was a three-time European Junior Champion (1979–80) and a two-time USSR Champion (1985) with Gavrikov and Mikhail Gurevich. He was first in Irkutsk 1983, Copenhagen 1984, and Reggio Emilia 1986-87. He is also a FIDE Senior Trainer. In 1985, he was a Candidate at Montpellier but lost to Viktor Gavrikov (3 1/2 – 2 1/2) and didn’t advance any further, finishing eighth at Montpellier Candidates.
8) Viktor Erdos
Full name: Erdos, Viktor
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2007
Grandmaster (GM) 2007
Born: 1987
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 180
Rapid: 2599
Blitz: 2601
Classical (Std): 2619
Profiles
In 2011, he won the Hungarian Chess Championship. In 2007, he was given the grandmaster title. He qualified for the Chess World Cup 2017, where he defeated Bassem Amin in the opening round.
7) Benjamin Gledura
Full name: Gledura, Benjamin
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2016
International Master (IM) 2014
FIDE Master (FM) 2009
Born: 1999
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 150
Rapid: 2619
Blitz: 2326
Classical (Std): 2628
Profiles
Gledura was born in 1999 and has a FIDE Master (2009), international master title (2014), and grandmaster title (2016). As of February 2019, he is the No. 6 ranked Hungarian player and No. 7 in October 2021. He is a member of the Hungarian national team, who won his title at the European U10 Championship in 2009. He is also a member of Hungary’s National Junior Chess Team. At the 2014 World youth team chess Olympiad, he scored 7 out of 10 for his country’s top board. He received an 8 out of 10 at the 2015 World Youth Chess Olympiad.
6) Peter Leko
Full name: Leko, Peter
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1994
International Master (IM) 1992
Born: 1979
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 70
Rapid: 2710
Blitz: 2738
Classical (Std): 2663
Profiles
Péter Lékó was born in Subotica, Serbia’s North. At the age of 14 years, four months, and 22 days, he became a grandmaster in 1994. He was also one of the youngest people to become a grandmaster (GM) in history, doing so when he was 14 years old, outlasting records set by Robert James Fischer in 1958 and Judit Polgar in 1991. In 1996, he won the World U16 Championship. In 2004, he played Vladimir Kramnik in the Classical World Championship. Since he was 15, he has been a frequent participant in the World Championship cycle and significant events.
5) Ferenc Berkes
Full name: Berkes, Ferenc
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2002
International Master (IM) 2001
Born: 1985
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 60
Rapid: 2637
Blitz: 2676
Classical (Std): 2671
Profiles
He was World Under 18 Champion in 2002, thereby achieving grandmaster. In 2004, he finished fourth-sixth at the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, tying for fourth with Garry Kasparov and S Jianchao. He is a Hungarian chess champion, having won the title eight times: in 2004, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2018. He took part in the Chess World Cup 2011, but Zahar Efimenko beat him in the second round. In 2019, he took 3rd to 11th place in the European Individual Championship.
4) Zoltan Gyimesi
Full name: Gyimesi, Zoltan
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1996
International Master (IM) 1992
Born: 1977
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 62
Rapid: Not rated
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2674
Profiles
Gyimesi was a Hungarian chess grandmaster and national champion in 2005. He has attended four Chess Olympiads (1998, 2002, 2004, 2006). The Hungarian team placed second at the 35th Chess Olympiad in 2002, onboard four with Gyimesi. In the Cappelle-la-Grande Open in 2004, he tied for first through sixth with Evgeny Najer, Artyom Timofeev, Kaido Külaots, Sergey Grigoriants, and Oleg Korneev. In 2005, he won the Hungarian Chess Championship, the EU Individual Open Chess Championship, and the European Rapid Chess Championship. IM Nora Medvegy is Gyimesi’s spouse.
3) Judit Polgar
Full name: Polgar, Judit
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1992
International Master (IM) 1988
Born: 1976
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 61
Rapid: 2646
Blitz: 2736
Classical (Std): 2675
Profiles
Judit Polgar is widely regarded as the greatest female chess player of all time. She was the world’s top woman chess player for an uninterrupted spell of 26 years, starting at age 12 in 1989 and ending in 2014 when she stopped playing actively, and her rating still stood. She was born in Hungary in 1976 and became the youngest grandmaster in history at the age of 15 years and five months, breaking a record that Robert James Fischer had held for over 30 years.
Since FIDE’s January 1990 list, she has been the highest-rated woman in chess history, and she was ranked seventh on the 2003 overall top ten list. She became the first female to participate in an open world championship cycle final when she played in the FIDE World Championship Tournament (2005).
2) Zoltan Almasi
Full name: Almasi, Zoltan
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1993
Born: 1976
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 49
Rapid: 2599
Blitz: 2585
Classical (Std): 2687
Profiles
In 1993, Zoltán Almási was named GM at 17, after winning the U-18 World Junior Championship. He has won seven Hungarian Championships (1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2006). In 1999, Almassy qualified for the FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament after winning the Krynica Zonal Tournament 1.4, where he lost in the third round to Michael Adams. In 2005, he triumphed in the 3rd Marx Gyorgy (2005), with 6.5 points out of 10, his most tremendous success of the year. Later that year, he competed against Peter Svidler for the World Championship in Mainz but lost the encounter.
He was the 2008 International Champion in Reggio Emilia, Italy, with 6.0/9 and no losses. He qualified for the World Cup (2011) after winning the European Individual Championships (2010). He beat Egyptian GM Essam El Gindy in the first round but lost to Romanian GM Mircea-Emilian Parligras. In the European Team Championship in 2011, he won individual silver (for board 2) and team bronze. He scored 6/8 for 2809 in the European Team Championship (2011). Since 1994, he’s represented Hungary at every Olympiad, winning team silver in 2002 and 2014 and individual silver for board 2 in 2010.
1) Richard Rapport
Full name: Rapport, Richard
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2010
International Master (IM) 2009
FIDE Master (FM) 2008
Born: 1996
Federation: Hungary
World Ranking: 10
Rapid: 2750
Blitz: 2754
Classical (Std): 2770
Profiles
At the age of four, he began learning chess from his father. He was awarded his grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 11 months, and six days as a chess prodigy. This makes him Hungary’s youngest-ever grandmaster. In 2017, he was the Hungarian Chess Champion. In 2006, he won the European Championships U10. In 2008, Rapport became a National Master and an International Master in 2009. In March 2010, he completed the final norm and rating criteria for Grandmaster status at the Szentgotthárd. Even in over-the-board events, Rapport frequently employs unusual openings. The Nimzo–Larsen Attack is one of the most popular, commonly known as Larsen’s Opening.
That concludes the list of the ten best Hungarian Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Indian Chess players or the best Canadian Chess players.
