Players

Nowadays there are approximately 605 million people who know how to play chess. That’s almost 8,6% of the total population. However, even though many people know how to play chess, very few manage to stand out and make history.

Magnus Carlsen

He was trained by Garry Kasparov for a while, and his reputation kept on growing. He reached the peak in 2010 by becoming the world’s number one player, and he hasn’t lost the title since. In 2013, at the age of 22, he won Viswanathan Anand, who was the former world champion and became the youngest world chess champion in history, before Gukesh Dommaraju became world chess champion at the age of 18 in 2024.

His style of play is characterized by his strategic focus and capacity to exploit his opponents' weaknesses. He is very patient and able to find lots of tactical resources, even in seemingly lost positions, which has made him a very respected player.

Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen was born in Norway on November 30th, 1990. He started playing chess when he was just 5 years old and soon showed an innate talent for this game. He already participated in tournaments at the age of 8. At 13 years old, in 2004, his fame skyrocketed after almost knocking off Garry Kasparov in a speed chess tournament. In addition, that same year he became the youngest Grand Master in chess history.

Hikaru Nakamura

He started playing chess at the age of 5, at the age of 10 he won the title of National Master, and at 13 the International Master one, becoming the youngest American to achieve those titles. In 2003 he became Grand Master, being the second American player to obtain the title, after Bobby Fischer. In 2005 he became Champion of the United States and ever since, he hasn’t stopped winning titles and tournaments, earning him the fame and prestige he now possesses in the world of chess.

He is the player with the most blitz and bullet Elo in chess.com, and he has represented the USA from a very young age. Besides playing tournaments, he also plays chess online, especially at chess.com. He also has a YouTube channel and streams his games on Twitch.

Hikaru Nakamura is the world’s number 3 player. Born in Hirakata, Japan, on December 9th, 1987, he moved to the USA at the age of two. He is very well known for his skills in blitz games.

Judit Polgar

She was born in Budapest on July 23rd, 1976. Her parents, Lazslo and Clara Polgar, were pedagogues and both were passionate about chess. They decided to homeschool Judit and her two sisters, with chess as a subject. They grew up surrounded by this game, and it’s no surprise that they became such great players.

After her great career, she retired in 2014 and took over the masculine Hungarian chess team. She has helped introduce chess in schools as an educational tool and has helped disprove the false belief that women are not able to compete in the same level as men.

Judit Polgar is the best female chess player in history, standing out not only from women but also from men. At the age of 12, she won gold representing Hungary along with her sisters in the Chess Olympiads, and at the age of 15, she was already a Grand Master.

Bobby Fischer

His passion for chess started at the age of 6 thanks to his sister, and he soon caught the eye of famous chess players. In 1957 he became the youngest player to win the Youth Chess Championship of the United States.

He kept on winning titles and beating the most experienced players. In 1972 he beat Boris Spassky, winning the World Chess Champion title, but three years later, he decided not to fight for it, becoming the first player in all of history to do that. Afterward, he disappeared from the public eye for 17 years.

His games have been and are still being very thoroughly studied because of his innovations, opening brilliance, and outstanding middle and endgames. He was without doubt one of the best players history has ever seen.

Robert James Fischer was born on March 9th, 1943, in Chicago, and he passed away the 17th of January of 2008 in Iceland. He was the only American world chess champion, and for many, the best player in all of history.

Garry Kasparov

He started playing chess in Mikhail Botvinnik’s school, another one of the greatest soviet players, where his talent started to shine. In 1980 he won the title of Youth World Champion. At the age of 22, he became the world’s chess champion after beating Anatoly Karpov in a tough match. During his career, he also trained Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. He managed to keep the title of World Chess Champion for 20 years until he retired from competitive chess in 2005.

In 1996 he played a historical game against Deep Blue, a machine able to play chess on it own, thanks to the technology, which at that time was one of the most revolutionary machines. Even though he lost the first game, he won 4-2, but in the 1997 rematch, he lost.

Though he doesn’t compete, Kasparov stays active and has left a big mark in chess history.

Garri Kímovich Kaspárov is considered one of the best chess players of all time. Born in Azerbaijan on April 13th, 1963, Garry Kasparov is the world’s number 13 player.