In the last list of the top Chess players we published, we went over the best Brazilian Chess players. Now in this article, we’re ranking the best Swiss Chess players from Switzerland rated by FIDE. All of the players in the top ten are International Masters with an Elo rating over 2400 and Grandmasters with Elo ratings over 2500. For more information on ratings, see the guide on how to get a FIDE rating.
10. Fabian Baenziger
Full name: Fabian Baenziger
Title: International Master
Born: January 1, 2002
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 1173
Rapid: 2219
Blitz: 2324
Classical: 2450
Profiles
Fabian Baenziger was given the title of International Master in 2018 and the FIDE Master in 2016. He was a chess player from 2016 to 2022, playing 334 games for which, he won 92, drew 50, and lost 92, cumulating to an average score of 50 percent. Fabian has played in various tournaments like; TCh-AUT 2021-2022, 5th Sharjah Masters 2022, TCh-SUI 2022, and Mitropa Cup 2022.
9. Richard Forster
Full name: Richard Forster
Title: International Master
Born: January 18, 1975
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 1064
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: N/A
Classical: 2461
Profiles
In 1997, Richard Forster was accorded the title of International Master. The highest Peak rating he ever achieved was 2496 in 2006. Forster has been playing chess from 1990 until 2021, equaling 636 games in total. In those games, he has won 163, drawn 184, and lost 184, resulting in an average score of 49.61 percent. Forster has played in several tournaments, including TCh-SUI 2022, 2021, and 2019 and the 34th ECC Open of 2018.
8. Oliver Kurmann
Full name: Oliver Kurmann
Title: International Master
Born: February 22, 1985
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 977
Rapid: 2396
Blitz: 2475
Classical: 2468
Profiles
Oliver Kurmann was presented with the International Master title in 2007. From 1999 to 2022, Oliver has played 664 games; 209 wins, 243 draws, and 212 losses accumulating to an average score of 49.77percent. He has since played in various matches, including TCh- SUI 2022, Bundesliga 2021-22, 8th Sunway Sitges 2021, and 23rd European Teams 2021.
7. Clovis Vernay
Full name: Clovis Vernay
Title: Grandmaster
Born: January 1, 1989
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 558
Rapid: 2476
Blitz: 2474
Classical: 2520
Profiles
In 2022, Clovis Vernay was granted the title of Grandmaster. Before that, he had been awarded the International Master title and the FIDE Master title in 2008 and 2006, respectively. He has played a couple of games from 2002 to 2022 totaling 488; 190 wins, 162 draws, and 136 losses account for 55.05 percent.
6. Robert Fontaine
Full name: Robert Fontaine
Title: Grandmaster
Born: November 18, 1980
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 426
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: N/A
Classical: 2541
Profiles
Robert Fontaine has crowned the title of Grandmaster in 2002 and the International Master in 1997. He has a FIDE rating of 2541 and a Peak rating of 2572. At the 36th chess Olympiad in 2004, Fontaine participated in the tournament on the French national team. In the 976 games he has played, he has won 358, 368 draws, and 250 losses, thus earning a score of 55.53 percent.
5. Sebastian Bogner
Full name: Sebastian Bogner
Title: Grandmaster
Born: January 17, 1991
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 415
Rapid: 2552
Blitz: 2500
Classical: 2543
Profiles
Sebastian Bogner has conferred the title of Grandmaster in 2009 and the International Master title in 2005. He has a FIDE rating of 2543 and a Peak rating of 2619. He played for Germany at the 39th chess Olympiad before switching to play for Switzerland at the 42nd Chess Olympiad in 2013. In addition, Bogner participated in the European Individual chess tournament and attained victory in the Swiss chess tournament in 2018. However, he failed to proceed to the second round of the FIDE World cup after being eliminated in the first round by Iniyan P.
4. Yannick Pelletier
Full name: Yannick Pelletier
Title: Grandmaster
Born: September 22, 1976
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 379
Rapid: 2643
Blitz: N/A
Classical: 2552
Profiles
Yannick Pelletier was granted the title of Grandmaster in 2001 and International Master in 1995 and was recognized as a FIDE trainer in 2016. He has a FIDE rating of 2549 and a Peak rating of 2624. He is a six-time victor of the Swiss chess championship, including the years 2017, 2014, 2010, 2002, 2000, and 1995. Pelletier is also the winner of other titles at the Swiss team tournaments.
3. Nico Georgiadis
Full name: Nico Georgiadis
Title: Grandmaster
Born: January 22, 1996
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 286
Rapid: 2494
Blitz: 2428
Classical: 2578
Profiles
Nico Georgiadis was accorded the title of Grandmaster in 2017, the International Master title in 2013, and the FIDE Master title in 2011. He has a FIDE rating of 2578 and a Peak rating of 2553. The most notable chess games he has participated in include the 2012 and 2014 Gilbraltar Masters, 2015 Dubai Chess Open, 2013 World Junior Championship, 2016 Baku Olympiad, 2015 Dubai chess open, and 2015 World Junior championship, to name a few.
2. Noel Studer
Full name: Noel Studer
Title: Grandmaster
Born: October 18, 1996
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 277
Rapid: 2422
Blitz: 2450
Classical: 2582
Profiles
In 2017, Noel Studer was accorded the title of Grandmaster. Before then, he had been presented with the International Master title in 2014, and the FIDE Master title in 2012. He has a peak rating of 2588 and a FIDE rating of 2582 and was recognized as a FIDE trainer in 2015. In 2021, Noel was ranked the second best Swizz player in chess. He also competed in the Accentus Young Masters in 2019.
1. Vadim Milov
Full name: Vadim Milov
Title: Grandmaster
Born: August 1, 1972
Federation: Switzerland
Ratings
World ranking: 215
Rapid: 2631
Blitz: 2519
Classical: 2600
Profiles
Vadim Milov was given the title of Grandmaster in 1993. He has a FIDE rating of 2600 and a Peak rating of 2705. Milov and Karpov Anatoly co-won the GM Invitation tournament in 1996. In 1999, he clinched the Australian Open chess tournament. Furthermore, Milov topped the Aeroflot Open in 2002, Geneva in 2004, Santo Domingo in 2003, the US Open in 2005, and Gilbraltar in 2009. He also was victorious at the Corsica Masters International Rapid in 2005. The best of his chess game career was also achieved when he gained victory in the Swiss Chess Tournament. he took part in two chess Olympiads in 2015.
That concludes the list of the best Swiss Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Chinese Chess players or the best Classical Chess players.
Sources
- Bartelski, Wojciech. “Men’s Chess Olympiads: Vadim Milov”. OlimpBase. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
- “Tournament report April 2009: Gibraltar Master 2009”. World Chess Federation. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- Studer, Noël (4 August 2021). “Why I Retire From Competitive Chess”. Nextlevelchess.
- Staff writer(s) (October 2017). “Federations Ranking – Switzerland”. FIDE. Archived from the original on 2018-07-06. Retrieved 2017-10-07.
- Der 21-jährige “Nico Georgiadis (Schindellegi) ist Grossmeister!”. Swiss Chess Federation (in German). 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2019-10-27.
- Crowther, Mark (2007-08-06). “THE WEEK IN CHESS 665: 40th Biel Chess Festival”. London Chess Center. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- “9ème Open de Neuchâtel”. Neuchatel-Echecs.ch. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- “Going for Gold in Calvià”. Chess News. ChessBase. 2004-10-13. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
- GM Robert Fontaine joins Agon as chief of staff to Andrew Paulson