The Top Chess Players in the World - Page 4

GM Igor Kovalenko

Ukraine

Igor Kovalenko is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He earned his title in 2011 and from 2013-21 represented Latvia, where he won the national championship in 2013 and 2014. Kovalenko has been volunteering in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2022.

GM Robert Hovhannisyan

Armenia

Robert Hovhannisyan is an Armenian grandmaster and the 2011 national champion. In 2008 and 2009, Hovhannisyan won the national Under-18 championship. He won the national championship in 2011 and was a runner-up three more times, in 2012, 2014, and 2016. Hovhannisyan won the...

GM Boris Gelfand 2641 | #62

Israel

Soviet-born Israeli GM Boris Gelfand is a longtime elite chess player. His staying power as a top player is legendary, as he has spent most of his life ranked among the top-20 players in the world. He was ranked in the top 30 for nearly 27 years (January 1990 to October 2017). Gelfand nearly defeated...

GM Alexander Onischuk

United States

Alexander Onischuk is a Ukrainian-born American grandmaster and chess coach. He won the Ukrainian Championship in 2000, a year before moving to the United States. He then won the U.S. Championship in 2006 and placed second on three other occasions. Onischuk reached his peak FIDE rating of 2701 in 2010....

GM Aram Hakobyan 2638 | #63

Armenia

Aram Hakobyan is an Armenian grandmaster and the 2012 World U12 Champion. He also won the Armenian Youth Championship in four different age groups (U10, U12, U14, and U18) and became vice-champion of the 2014 U14 European Chess Championship. Hakobyan is ranked in the top-15 players in Armenia (13th)...

GM Grigoriy Oparin 2638 | #63

United States

Grigoriy Oparin is a Russian chess player who earned his grandmaster title in 2013. He was Russia's 2014 junior champion. Oparin nearly qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament by tying GM Fabiano Caruana for second place at the 2021 Riga Grand Swiss. However, he finished in third place because...

GM Lu Shanglei

China

Bio coming soon

GM Ernesto Inarkiev

Russia

Ernesto Inarkiev is a Russian grandmaster who won the 2016 European Individual Chess Championship. Earlier in his career, he was European U16 Champion (2001) and Russian Junior (under-20) Champion (2002). Inarkiev earned his GM title in 2002, becoming the first-ever from Kalmykia, a republic of Russia....

GM Ediz Gurel

Türkiye

Bio coming soon.

GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen 2633 | #65

Czech Republic

Thai Dai Van Nguyen is a Czech chess grandmaster who qualified for the 2021 FIDE World Cup.

GM Leon Luke Mendonca

India

GM Leon Luke Mendonca is an Indian chess grandmaster. He earned the title in 2021. In 2024, Leon won the Tata Steel Challengers Tournament. The name Mendonca is a patronymic, Luke is his father's name, and the player should be referred to by his name, Leon.

GM Nikolas Theodorou 2633 | #65

Greece

Nikolas Theodorou is a Greek grandmaster. According to the St. Louis Chess Club, he won his age group five times at the Greek Chess Championships. On July 22, 2022, Theodorou qualified for the 2022 Chess.com Global Championship Knockout.

GM Gawain Maroroa Jones 2633 | #65

England

Gawain Jones is an English grandmaster and two-time British Chess Champion. He had an illustrious youth career. At nine years old, he became the youngest player ever at the time to defeat an international master in an official tournament game. A few years later, at the age of 12, he won the British...

GM David Anton Guijarro 2632 | #68

Spain

David Anton Guijarro is a grandmaster and one of the best players in Spain. In March 2020 he crossed the 2700-rating mark, a feat that only a few players ever achieve. Anton Guijarro won the bronze medal at the 2012 U-16 European Championship and silver at the 2013 U-18 World Championship. He has won...

GM Ruslan Ponomariov 2632 | #68

Ukraine

Ukrainian GM Ruslan Ponomariov is a former FIDE world champion and one of the greatest chess prodigies in history. He earned the world title at the age of 18 and in 1997 became the youngest person at the time to become a grandmaster—only 17 days after turning 14 years old. The same year, he won...

GM Xu Xiangyu

China

Full bio coming soon.

GM Rauf Mamedov 2631 | #70

Azerbaijan

Rauf Mamedov is an Azerbaijani grandmaster. Early in his career, Mamedov's most notable success came when he won first place in the U16 European Youth Championship in 1999. Five years later, he became a grandmaster in 2004 and won the Dubai Open. Mamedov went on to win the Azerbaijani Chess Championship...

GM Ivan Cheparinov 2631 | #70

Bulgaria

Ivan Cheparinov is a Bulgarian grandmaster who has represented Georgia since 2018. He is a four-time Bulgarian champion. In 2018, he reached both his peak rating (2718) and peak world ranking (32) for his career (as of February 2021). Other notable performances came when he won the junior...

GM Abhimanyu Mishra

United States

GM Abhimanyu "Abhi" Mishra is an American chess prodigy. In July 2021, Mishra earned his third norm required to become a grandmaster. With his FIDE rating already above 2500, he became the youngest grandmaster in history at the age of 12 years, four months, and 25 days. Early Milestones Youngest...

GM Shant Sargsyan 2630 | #72

Armenia

Shant Sargsyan is an Armenian grandmaster and the 2018 World U16 Champion. The following year, he won silver in both the World U18 Championship and the World Junior Championship. Sargsyan is ranked within the top-12 players in Armenia (12th) and juniors in the world (11th) (as of April 2021).

GM Vasyl Ivanchuk 2630 | #72

Ukraine

Vasyl Ivanchuk is a Ukrainian grandmaster and world-class player. He was the number-two player in the world on three separate occasions (1991, 1992 and 2007) and made it to the 2002 FIDE World Championship Finals. He has won many international tournaments, including the Tal Memorial, Linares, Biel,...

The Top Chess Players in the World - Page 4

GM Igor Kovalenko

GM Robert Hovhannisyan

GM Boris Gelfand 2641 | #62

GM Alexander Onischuk

GM Aram Hakobyan 2638 | #63

GM Grigoriy Oparin 2638 | #63

GM Lu Shanglei

GM Ernesto Inarkiev

GM Ediz Gurel

GM Thai Dai Van Nguyen 2633 | #65

GM Leon Luke Mendonca

GM Nikolas Theodorou 2633 | #65

GM Gawain Maroroa Jones 2633 | #65

GM David Anton Guijarro 2632 | #68

GM Ruslan Ponomariov 2632 | #68

GM Xu Xiangyu

GM Rauf Mamedov 2631 | #70

GM Ivan Cheparinov 2631 | #70

GM Abhimanyu Mishra

GM Shant Sargsyan 2630 | #72

GM Vasyl Ivanchuk 2630 | #72

GM Abhimanyu Puranik

GM Maksim Chigaev 2629 | #74

GM Mikhail Al Antipov

GM Konstantin Landa