June ratings: Carlsen in striking distance of all-time peak

by Macauley Peterson
6/3/2019 – Our monthly look at the FIDE ratings for June 2019 starts with World Champion Magnus Carlsen, who has a chance to break his own all-time rating record this month. That would go a long way towards cementing a claim on the greatest-of-all-time honours. Pictured, however, is Cuban-born Leinier Dominguez, who now plays for the USA, and after a long hiatus is now knocking on the door of the Top 10 at 2760, just 8 points shy of his personal peak rating. That was set back in May 2014, when he briefly hit 2768. Do you know who else was at his peak that month five years ago? Magnus Carlsen! | Photo: Justin Kellar / Saint Louis Chess Club

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June 2019 FIDE Ratings

Chess fans are eagerly waiting to see if World Champion Magnus Carlsen can exceed his career peak of 2882, set in May 2014. At 2875, and getting set to take on his peers at the 7th Altibox Norway Chess tournament, this goal is certainly within reach.

Top 100 players

Carlsen has extended his lead over Fabiano Caruana to 56 Elo points and Vladislav Artemiev has entered the Top 10 for the first time, now at 2761 — his new peak all time — after an undefeated 7/9 performance in the Russian Team Championship.

Hungarian Grandmaster Benjamin Gledura has entered the Top 100 for the first time in his career.

Artemiuev

Vladislav Artemiev (far right) | Photo: Vladimir Barsky

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
 1  Carlsen, Magnus  g  NOR  2875  9  1990
 2  Caruana, Fabiano  g  USA  2819  9  1992
 3  Ding, Liren  g  CHN  2805  0  1992
 4  Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime  g  FRA  2779  14  1990
 5  Giri, Anish  g  NED  2779  2  1994
 6  Grischuk, Alexander  g  RUS  2775  11  1983
 7  Nepomniachtchi, Ian  g  RUS  2775  8  1990
 8  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  g  AZE  2774  2  1985
 9  Anand, Viswanathan  g  IND  2767  9  1969
 10  Artemiev, Vladislav  g  RUS  2761  9  1998
 11  Dominguez Perez, Leinier  g  USA  2760  7  1983
 12  Radjabov, Teimour  g  AZE  2759  2  1987
 13  Nakamura, Hikaru  g  USA  2754  6  1987
 14  So, Wesley  g  USA  2754  4  1993
 15  Kramnik, Vladimir  g  RUS  2753  0  1975
 16  Aronian, Levon  g  ARM  2752  11  1982
 17  Karjakin, Sergey  g  RUS  2748  2  1990
 18  Wei, Yi  g  CHN  2741  4  1999
 19  Topalov, Veselin  g  BUL  2740  0  1975
 20  Yu, Yangyi  g  CHN  2738  2  1994
 21  Svidler, Peter  g  RUS  2737  13  1976
 22  Wojtaszek, Radoslaw  g  POL  2737  6  1987
 23  Wang, Hao  g  CHN  2737  3  1989
 24  Rapport, Richard  g  HUN  2735  3  1996
 25  Harikrishna, Pentala  g  IND  2734  15  1986
 26  Navara, David  g  CZE  2734  9  1985
 27  Duda, Jan-Krzysztof  g  POL  2729  2  1998
 28  Bu, Xiangzhi  g  CHN  2729  0  1985
 29  Vitiugov, Nikita  g  RUS  2727  7  1987
 30  Andreikin, Dmitry  g  RUS  2727  2  1990
 31  Shankland, Sam  g  USA  2717  0  1991
 32  Jones, Gawain C B  g  ENG  2709  12  1987
 33  Amin, Bassem  g  EGY  2707  10  1988
 34  Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi  g  IND  2707  0  1994
 35  Jakovenko, Dmitry  g  RUS  2704  5  1983
 36  Tomashevsky, Evgeny  g  RUS  2702  0  1987
 37  Matlakov, Maxim  g  RUS  2701  7  1991
 38  Dubov, Daniil  g  RUS  2700  4  1996
 39  Li, Chao b  g  CHN  2698  2  1989
 40  Le, Quang Liem  g  VIE  2694  3  1991
 41  Wang, Yue  g  CHN  2694  0  1987
 42  Inarkiev, Ernesto  g  RUS  2693  6  1985
 43  Howell, David W L  g  ENG  2692  3  1990
 44  Sadler, Matthew D  g  ENG  2692  3  1974
 45  Ivanchuk, Vassily  g  UKR  2691  10  1969
 46  Grandelius, Nils  g  SWE  2691  7  1993
 47  Kryvoruchko, Yuriy  g  UKR  2691  0  1986
 48  Adams, Michael  g  ENG  2690  5  1971
 49  McShane, Luke J  g  ENG  2688  3  1984
 50  Vallejo Pons, Francisco  g  ESP  2687  9  1982
 51  Almasi, Zoltan  g  HUN  2687  0  1976
 52  Korobov, Anton  g  UKR  2687  0  1985
 53  Cori, Jorge  g  PER  2686  0  1995
 54  Rodshtein, Maxim  g  ISR  2685  18  1989
 55  Ragger, Markus  g  AUT  2684  12  1988
 56  Xiong, Jeffery  g  USA  2684  12  2000
 57  Firouzja, Alireza  g  IRI  2682  0  2003
 58  Naiditsch, Arkadij  g  AZE  2681  22  1985
 59  Sargissian, Gabriel  g  ARM  2681  0  1983
 60  Saric, Ivan  g  CRO  2680  17  1990
 61  Fedoseev, Vladimir  g  RUS  2680  3  1995
 62  Anton Guijarro, David  g  ESP  2678  10  1995
 63  Najer, Evgeniy  g  RUS  2678  7  1977
 64  Nabaty, Tamir  g  ISR  2678  0  1991
 65  Sevian, Samuel  g  USA  2677  10  2000
 66  Adhiban, B.  g  IND  2676  10  1992
 67  Gelfand, Boris  g  ISR  2676  0  1968
 68  Berkes, Ferenc  g  HUN  2675  4  1985
 69  Areshchenko, Alexander  g  UKR  2675  0  1986
 70  Ponomariov, Ruslan  g  UKR  2675  0  1983
 71  Leko, Peter  g  HUN  2674  0  1979
 72  Kamsky, Gata  g  USA  2673  9  1974
 73  Sasikiran, Krishnan  g  IND  2673  0  1981
 74  Salem, A.R. Saleh  g  UAE  2672  0  1993
 75  Bacrot, Etienne  g  FRA  2671  13  1983
 76  Kuzubov, Yuriy  g  UKR  2671  2  1990
 77  Demchenko, Anton  g  RUS  2671  0  1987
 78  Rausis, Igors  g  CZE  2669  18  1961
 79  Ni, Hua  g  CHN  2668  3  1983
 80  Swiercz, Dariusz  g  USA  2667  9  1994
 81  Sjugirov, Sanan  g  RUS  2667  8  1993
 82  Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter  g  GER  2667  7  1976
 83  Cheparinov, Ivan  g  GEO  2666  3  1986
 84  Malakhov, Vladimir  g  RUS  2665  15  1980
 85  Maghsoodloo, Parham  g  IRI  2665  7  2000
 86  Kovalev, Vladislav  g  BLR  2661  9  1994
 87  Laznicka, Viktor  g  CZE  2660  0  1988
 88  Hou, Yifan  g  CHN  2659  3  1994
 89  Melkumyan, Hrant  g  ARM  2658  0  1989
 90  Bruzon Batista, Lazaro  g  CUB  2657  9  1982
 91  Kasimdzhanov, Rustam  g  UZB  2657  9  1979
 92  Dreev, Aleksey  g  RUS  2657  8  1969
 93  Piorun, Kacper  g  POL  2656  9  1991
 94  Eljanov, Pavel  g  UKR  2655  9  1983
 95  Motylev, Alexander  g  RUS  2654  7  1979
 96  Gledura, Benjamin  g  HUN  2654  6  1999
 97  Guseinov, Gadir  g  AZE  2654  0  1986
 98  Robson, Ray  g  USA  2652  0  1994
 99  Kovalenko, Igor  g  LAT  2651  9  1988
 100  Shirov, Alexei  g  ESP  2651  9  1972

Thirty-eight of the top 100 players are rated 2700 or over (unchanged from May). To enter the Top 100 you need an Elo rating of 2651. That figure has remained surprisingly stable in recent years — in June 2018 it was 2652.

By the way, you can click on any name to reach that player's ChessBase PlayerBase page, complete with rating graphs and all his or her latest games!


Top climbers and descenders

The world champion gained the most points in May, tied with Vassily Ivanchuk, who won the Capablanca Memorial...that is, except for Czech GM Igors Rausis, whose mystifying rating rise in recent years was fueled in May by apparently going 18:0 against players mostly rated in the 2000s or under. Go figure!

Adhiban Baskaran left 25 points in Havana, as he scored just 3½/10 in the Capablanca Memorial as the top seed.

New Old Name FED Title Rating Old rating Games
  1 1 Carlsen, Magnus NOR GM 2875 +14 2861 9
 11 17 Dominguez Perez, Leinier USA GM 2760 +10 2750 7
  12 12 Radjabov, Teimour AZE GM 2759   2759 2
 16 10 Aronian, Levon ARM GM 2752 -10 2762 11
 21 20 Svidler, Peter RUS GM 2737 -2 2739 13
 22 29 Wojtaszek, Radoslaw POL GM 2737 +13 2724 6
 37 42 Matlakov, Maxim RUS GM 2701 +4 2697 7
 38 48 Dubov, Daniil RUS GM 2700 +10 2690 4
 40 34 Le, Quang Liem VIE GM 2694 -10 2704 3
 45 66 Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR GM 2691 +14 2677 10
 54 39 Rodshtein, Maxim ISR GM 2685 -14 2699 18
  59 59 Sargissian, Gabriel ARM GM 2681   2681 0
 60 43 Saric, Ivan CRO GM 2680 -14 2694 17
 62 79 Anton Guijarro, David ESP GM 2678 +11 2667 10
 65 81 Sevian, Samuel USA GM 2677 +11 2666 10
 66 38 Adhiban, B. IND GM 2676 -25 2701 10
 78 98 Rausis, Igors CZE GM 2669 +16 2653 18
 86 64 Kovalev, Vladislav BLR GM 2661 -17 2678 9
 87 91 Laznicka, Viktor CZE GM 2660   2660 0
 99 85 Kovalenko, Igor LAT GM 2651 -12 2663 9

Comparison of the current Top 100 players old and new world rank after rating changes >/= 10 Elo points


Top 100 Women

Hou Yifan continues to keep her rating active by playing a few rated games now and then as she pursues her studies at Oxford University. Her compatriot Zhu Jiner jumped 10 places to #27 on a gain of 15 points largely thanks to her win at the Chinese Championship for women, which was held from May 10th to 22nd in Xinghua, a "small town" (by Chinese standards) of 1.2 million people.

Zhu Jiner

Zhu Jiner | Photo: cca.imsa.cn

In the Top 100, Russia currently has the most players with 16, followed by China with 13 players currently above the Elo threashold of 2364.

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
 1  Hou, Yifan  g  CHN  2659  3  1994
 2  Ju, Wenjun  g  CHN  2592  3  1991
 3  Muzychuk, Mariya  g  UKR  2563  0  1992
 4  Koneru, Humpy  g  IND  2558  3  1987
 5  Lagno, Kateryna  g  RUS  2554  0  1989
 6  Muzychuk, Anna  g  UKR  2539  0  1990
 7  Cmilyte, Viktorija  g  LTU  2538  0  1983
 8  Goryachkina, Aleksandra  g  RUS  2537  8  1998
 9  Kosteniuk, Alexandra  g  RUS  2530  5  1984
 10  Dzagnidze, Nana  g  GEO  2511  3  1987
 11  Tan, Zhongyi  g  CHN  2507  3  1991
 12  Gunina, Valentina  g  RUS  2506  0  1989
 13  Lei, Tingjie  g  CHN  2505  3  1997
 14  Harika, Dronavalli  g  IND  2492  0  1991
 15  Kashlinskaya, Alina  m  RUS  2492  0  1993
 16  Zhao, Xue  g  CHN  2485  0  1985
 17  Khotenashvili, Bela  g  GEO  2480  3  1988
 18  Khademalsharieh, Sarasadat  m  IRI  2478  3  1997
 19  Stefanova, Antoaneta  g  BUL  2474  3  1979
 20  Paehtz, Elisabeth  m  GER  2473  6  1985
 21  Cramling, Pia  g  SWE  2465  14  1963
 22  Abdumalik, Zhansaya  m  KAZ  2464  0  2000
 23  Javakhishvili, Lela  m  GEO  2458  5  1984
 24  Saduakassova, Dinara  m  KAZ  2458  3  1996
 25  Girya, Olga  wg  RUS  2457  8  1991
 26  Pogonina, Natalija  wg  RUS  2457  8  1985
 27  Zhu, Jiner  wm  CHN  2454  14  2002
 28  Atalik, Ekaterina  m  TUR  2452  5  1982
 29  Sebag, Marie  g  FRA  2451  13  1986
 30  Gaponenko, Inna  m  UKR  2450  5  1976
 31  Cornette, Deimante  m  LTU  2444  14  1989
 32  Galliamova, Alisa  m  RUS  2444  0  1972
 33  Socko, Monika  g  POL  2443  9  1978
 34  Ushenina, Anna  g  UKR  2443  8  1985
 35  Bodnaruk, Anastasia  m  RUS  2440  7  1992
 36  Bulmaga, Irina  m  ROU  2435  5  1993
 37  Huang, Qian  wg  CHN  2434  14  1986
 38  Batsiashvili, Nino  g  GEO  2433  3  1987
 39  Ding, Yixin  wg  CHN  2430  2  1991
 40  Mammadzada, Gunay  m  AZE  2427  9  2000
 41  Tsolakidou, Stavroula  m  GRE  2426  5  2000
 42  Szczepkowska, Karina  m  POL  2425  12  1987
 43  Zatonskih, Anna  m  USA  2424  0  1978
 44  Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim  wg  UZB  2422  13  1999
 45  Zawadzka, Jolanta  wg  POL  2422  9  1987
 46  Houska, Jovanka  m  ENG  2422  3  1980
 47  Krush, Irina  g  USA  2422  0  1983
 48  Munguntuul, Batkhuyag  m  MGL  2420  0  1987
 49  Shen, Yang  m  CHN  2419  14  1989
 50  Shuvalova, Polina  wm  RUS  2418  8  2001
 51  Turova, Irina  m  RUS  2418  0  1979
 52  Danielian, Elina  g  ARM  2417  0  1978
 53  Ni, Shiqun  wg  CHN  2416  14  1997
 54  Salimova, Nurgyul  f  BUL  2416  0  2003
 55  Milliet, Sophie  m  FRA  2415  14  1983
 56  Divya Deshmukh  wm  IND  2414  0  2005
 57  Hoang, Thanh Trang  g  HUN  2414  0  1980
 58  Hunt, Harriet V  m  ENG  2414  0  1978
 59  Kovalevskaya, Ekaterina  m  RUS  2413  7  1974
 60  Guichard, Pauline  wg  FRA  2409  16  1988
 61  Cori T., Deysi  wg  PER  2405  0  1993
 62  Arabidze, Meri  m  GEO  2402  0  1994
 63  Soumya, Swaminathan  wg  IND  2402  0  1989
 64  Skripchenko, Almira  m  FRA  2401  16  1976
 65  Tania, Sachdev  m  IND  2401  9  1986
 66  Assaubayeva, Bibisara  f  KAZ  2399  13  2004
 67  Nomin-Erdene, Davaademberel  m  MGL  2399  0  2000
 68  Brunello, Marina  f  ITA  2396  9  1994
 69  Mkrtchian, Lilit  m  ARM  2395  0  1982
 70  Rajlich, Iweta  m  POL  2394  9  1981
 71  Ordaz Valdes, Lisandra Teresa  m  CUB  2393  0  1988
 72  Badelka, Olga  wm  BLR  2391  9  2002
 73  Bivol, Alina  wg  RUS  2391  9  1996
 74  Osmak, Iulija  m  UKR  2387  0  1998
 75  Wang, Pin  wg  CHN  2387  0  1974
 76  Arakhamia-Grant, Ketevan  g  SCO  2386  1  1968
 77  Abrahamyan, Tatev  wg  USA  2385  9  1988
 78  Padmini, Rout  m  IND  2385  0  1994
 79  Vega Gutierrez, Sabrina  m  ESP  2385  0  1987
 80  Gritsayeva, Oksana  wf  RUS  2381  8  1980
 81  Gong, Qianyun  wg  SGP  2381  0  1985
 82  Guramishvili, Sopiko  m  GEO  2381  0  1991
 83  Kulkarni Bhakti  c  IND  2380  0  1992
 84  Guseva, Marina  m  RUS  2379  17  1986
 85  Buksa, Nataliya  m  UKR  2379  0  1996
 86  Sukandar, Irine Kharisma  m  INA  2378  0  1992
 87  Melia, Salome  m  GEO  2376  0  1987
 88  Aulia, Medina Warda  wg  INA  2375  0  1997
 89  Peptan, Corina-Isabela  m  ROU  2375  0  1978
 90  Bojkovic, Natasa  m  SRB  2374  0  1971
 91  Munkhzul, Turmunkh  wf  MGL  2371  0  2002
 92  Zimina, Olga  m  ITA  2370  5  1982
 93  Karavade, Eesha  m  IND  2370  0  1987
 94  Pham, Le Thao Nguyen  m  VIE  2370  0  1987
 95  Yu, Jennifer  f  USA  2369  0  2002
 96  Majdan, Joanna  wg  POL  2368  9  1988
 97  Guo, Qi  m  CHN  2367  14  1995
 98  Gara, Anita  m  HUN  2366  0  1983
 99  Peng, Zhaoqin  g  NED  2364  1  1968
 100  Wang, Jue  wg  CHN  2364  0  1995

Top 100 Rapid

Rapid and blitz chess was back on the elite menu thanks to Grand Chess Tour's Côte d'Ivoire Rapid & Blitz won by Magnus Carlsen, as he flirted with the 2900 mark. He and Hikaru Nakamura, who matched Carlsen's rating gain, put further distance between themselves and world rapid #3 Fabiano Caruana.

Anton Korobov has had a strong couple of months of rapid play and becomes the seventh player on the list over 2800. He dominated the IMSA rapid in Hengshui, China last month.

Korobov in China

Korobov in action against Gelfand in Hengshui, China | Photo: hengshui2019.fide.com

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
 1  Carlsen, Magnus  g  NOR  2895  15  1990
 2  Nakamura, Hikaru  g  USA  2853  13  1987
 3  Caruana, Fabiano  g  USA  2817  5  1992
 4  Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime  g  FRA  2812  9  1990
 5  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  g  AZE  2810  0  1985
 6  So, Wesley  g  USA  2806  13  1993
 7  Korobov, Anton  g  UKR  2804  11  1985
 8  Artemiev, Vladislav  g  RUS  2784  0  1998
 9  Ding, Liren  g  CHN  2779  15  1992
 10  Yu, Yangyi  g  CHN  2775  11  1994
 11  Onischuk, Vladimir  g  UKR  2775  0  1991
 12  Dubov, Daniil  g  RUS  2771  2  1996
 13  Dominguez Perez, Leinier  g  USA  2769  11  1983
 14  Giri, Anish  g  NED  2769  0  1994
 15  Wang, Hao  g  CHN  2758  11  1989
 16  Nepomniachtchi, Ian  g  RUS  2757  17  1990
 17  Kramnik, Vladimir  g  RUS  2756  0  1975
 18  Kamsky, Gata  g  USA  2755  0  1974
 19  Karjakin, Sergey  g  RUS  2750  15  1990
 20  Topalov, Veselin  g  BUL  2749  9  1975
 21  Andreikin, Dmitry  g  RUS  2746  11  1990
 22  Grischuk, Alexander  g  RUS  2744  4  1983
 23  Svidler, Peter  g  RUS  2737  0  1976
 24  Fedoseev, Vladimir  g  RUS  2736  11  1995
 25  Le, Quang Liem  g  VIE  2736  11  1991
 26  Anand, Viswanathan  g  IND  2735  6  1969
 27  Radjabov, Teimour  g  AZE  2733  2  1987
 28  Duda, Jan-Krzysztof  g  POL  2731  2  1998
 29  Jakovenko, Dmitry  g  RUS  2731  0  1983
 30  Zubov, Alexander  g  UKR  2731  0  1983
 31  Oparin, Grigoriy  g  RUS  2728  0  1997
 32  Anton Guijarro, David  g  ESP  2724  0  1995
 33  Matlakov, Maxim  g  RUS  2722  0  1991
 34  Brunello, Sabino  g  ITA  2721  9  1989
 35  Petrosian, Tigran L.  g  ARM  2721  0  1984
 36  Rapport, Richard  g  HUN  2719  11  1996
 37  Salem, A.R. Saleh  g  UAE  2717  9  1993
 38  Sargissian, Gabriel  g  ARM  2715  18  1983
 39  Wojtaszek, Radoslaw  g  POL  2715  4  1987
 40  Alekseenko, Kirill  g  RUS  2714  0  1997
 41  Wei, Yi  g  CHN  2713  11  1999
 42  Meier, Georg  g  GER  2710  4  1987
 43  Bu, Xiangzhi  g  CHN  2708  11  1985
 44  Adams, Michael  g  ENG  2708  0  1971
 45  Safarli, Eltaj  g  AZE  2708  0  1992
 46  Jobava, Baadur  g  GEO  2704  0  1983
 47  Tomashevsky, Evgeny  g  RUS  2704  0  1987
 48  Gelfand, Boris  g  ISR  2702  11  1968
 49  Zhigalko, Sergei  g  BLR  2702  0  1989
 50  Inarkiev, Ernesto  g  RUS  2701  0  1985
 51  Moiseenko, Alexander  g  UKR  2700  0  1980
 52  Aronian, Levon  g  ARM  2695  0  1982
 53  Shirov, Alexei  g  ESP  2694  0  1972
 54  Guseinov, Gadir  g  AZE  2692  17  1986
 55  McShane, Luke J  g  ENG  2691  0  1984
 56  Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi  g  IND  2689  11  1994
 57  Kokarev, Dmitry  g  RUS  2689  0  1982
 58  Ponomariov, Ruslan  g  UKR  2686  11  1983
 59  Ivanchuk, Vassily  g  UKR  2686  0  1969
 60  Kravtsiv, Martyn  g  UKR  2685  0  1990
 61  Navara, David  g  CZE  2684  0  1985
 62  Bocharov, Ivan  m  RUS  2679  0  1990
 63  Delgado Ramirez, Neuris  g  PAR  2679  0  1981
 64  Morozevich, Alexander  g  RUS  2679  0  1977
 65  Laznicka, Viktor  g  CZE  2678  0  1988
 66  Rakhmanov, Aleksandr  g  RUS  2678  0  1989
 67  Fressinet, Laurent  g  FRA  2677  0  1981
 68  Ziska, Helgi Dam  g  FAI  2676  0  1990
 69  Sadler, Matthew D  g  ENG  2673  0  1974
 70  Bacrot, Etienne  g  FRA  2671  18  1983
 71  Leko, Peter  g  HUN  2671  11  1979
 72  Amonatov, Farrukh  g  TJK  2671  0  1978
 73  Fedorchuk, Sergey A.  g  UKR  2670  18  1981
 74  Harikrishna, Pentala  g  IND  2670  0  1986
 75  Malakhov, Vladimir  g  RUS  2670  0  1980
 76  Motylev, Alexander  g  RUS  2670  0  1979
 77  Guliyev, Namig  g  AZE  2668  27  1974
 78  Akopian, Vladimir  g  ARM  2668  0  1971
 79  Almasi, Zoltan  g  HUN  2668  0  1976
 80  Ponkratov, Pavel  g  RUS  2668  0  1988
 81  Sjugirov, Sanan  g  RUS  2668  0  1993
 82  Iordachescu, Viorel  g  MDA  2666  9  1977
 83  Lenic, Luka  g  SLO  2666  9  1988
 84  Chigaev, Maksim  g  RUS  2666  0  1996
 85  Tiviakov, Sergei  g  NED  2666  0  1973
 86  Saric, Ivan  g  CRO  2663  0  1990
 87  Mamedov, Rauf  g  AZE  2661  11  1988
 88  Georgiev, Kiril  g  MKD  2660  0  1965
 89  Moussard, Jules  g  FRA  2659  9  1995
 90  Movsesian, Sergei  g  ARM  2659  0  1978
 91  Timofeev, Artyom  g  RUS  2658  10  1985
 92  Nikolic, Predrag  g  BIH  2658  9  1960
 93  Edouard, Romain  g  FRA  2655  0  1990
 94  Howell, David W L  g  ENG  2653  0  1990
 95  Lu, Shanglei  g  CHN  2653  0  1995
 96  Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter  g  GER  2652  0  1976
 97  Bauer, Christian  g  FRA  2650  27  1977
 98  Grigoryan, Karen H.  g  ARM  2650  17  1995
 99  Turov, Maxim  g  RUS  2650  6  1979
 100  Swiercz, Dariusz  g  USA  2649  0  1994

Top 100 Blitz

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave's blitz acumen is well-known, and he's now neck and neck with the world champion in this category, surpassing Hikaru Nakamura.

Further down, Gabriel Sargissian played 44 rated blitz games in the period posting a rating gain of 70 Elo points, re-entering the Top 100 at #59!

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
 1  Carlsen, Magnus  g  NOR  2923  18  1990
 2  Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime  g  FRA  2921  18  1990
 3  Nakamura, Hikaru  g  USA  2902  18  1987
 4  Aronian, Levon  g  ARM  2827  0  1982
 5  Nepomniachtchi, Ian  g  RUS  2815  18  1990
 6  Karjakin, Sergey  g  RUS  2813  18  1990
 7  Svidler, Peter  g  RUS  2805  0  1976
 8  Caruana, Fabiano  g  USA  2804  0  1992
 9  Adams, Michael  g  ENG  2796  0  1971
 10  Andreikin, Dmitry  g  RUS  2781  22  1990
 11  Artemiev, Vladislav  g  RUS  2779  0  1998
 12  Duda, Jan-Krzysztof  g  POL  2778  0  1998
 13  Ding, Liren  g  CHN  2773  18  1992
 14  Korobov, Anton  g  UKR  2771  22  1985
 15  Giri, Anish  g  NED  2770  0  1994
 16  Bu, Xiangzhi  g  CHN  2767  22  1985
 17  Morozevich, Alexander  g  RUS  2765  0  1977
 18  So, Wesley  g  USA  2759  18  1993
 19  Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar  g  AZE  2757  0  1985
 20  Grischuk, Alexander  g  RUS  2750  0  1983
 21  Kramnik, Vladimir  g  RUS  2748  0  1975
 22  Anand, Viswanathan  g  IND  2747  0  1969
 23  Leko, Peter  g  HUN  2743  22  1979
 24  Rapport, Richard  g  HUN  2736  22  1996
 25  Wang, Hao  g  CHN  2725  22  1989
 26  Vitiugov, Nikita  g  RUS  2725  0  1987
 27  Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi  g  IND  2724  22  1994
 28  Matlakov, Maxim  g  RUS  2720  11  1991
 29  Maghsoodloo, Parham  g  IRI  2719  0  2000
 30  Bauer, Christian  g  FRA  2714  15  1977
 31  Zubov, Alexander  g  UKR  2714  0  1983
 32  Yu, Yangyi  g  CHN  2705  22  1994
 33  Dominguez Perez, Leinier  g  USA  2703  22  1983
 34  Ponomariov, Ruslan  g  UKR  2703  22  1983
 35  Gretarsson, Hjorvar Steinn  g  ISL  2702  0  1993
 36  Meier, Georg  g  GER  2701  0  1987
 37  Gelfand, Boris  g  ISR  2700  22  1968
 38  Zhigalko, Sergei  g  BLR  2700  0  1989
 39  Jobava, Baadur  g  GEO  2698  0  1983
 40  Nyzhnyk, Illya  g  UKR  2698  0  1996
 41  Guseinov, Gadir  g  AZE  2695  60  1986
 42  Adly, Ahmed  g  EGY  2693  0  1987
 43  Bacrot, Etienne  g  FRA  2692  0  1983
 44  Navara, David  g  CZE  2692  0  1985
 45  Wei, Yi  g  CHN  2686  18  1999
 46  Fedoseev, Vladimir  g  RUS  2685  22  1995
 47  Sjugirov, Sanan  g  RUS  2682  0  1993
 48  Kravtsiv, Martyn  g  UKR  2677  0  1990
 49  L'Ami, Erwin  g  NED  2676  27  1985
 50  Anton Guijarro, David  g  ESP  2675  0  1995
 51  Wojtaszek, Radoslaw  g  POL  2675  0  1987
 52  Le, Quang Liem  g  VIE  2674  22  1991
 53  Kovalenko, Igor  g  LAT  2673  9  1988
 54  Jakovenko, Dmitry  g  RUS  2673  0  1983
 55  Fressinet, Laurent  g  FRA  2671  0  1981
 56  Iturrizaga Bonelli, Eduardo  g  VEN  2671  0  1989
 57  Kamsky, Gata  g  USA  2670  0  1974
 58  Tiviakov, Sergei  g  NED  2670  0  1973
 59  Sargissian, Gabriel  g  ARM  2669  44  1983
 60  Topalov, Veselin  g  BUL  2667  18  1975
 61  Melkumyan, Hrant  g  ARM  2667  0  1989
 62  Sarana, Alexey  g  RUS  2666  0  2000
 63  Bok, Benjamin  g  NED  2665  0  1995
 64  Lenic, Luka  g  SLO  2665  0  1988
 65  Balog, Imre  g  HUN  2663  0  1991
 66  Bogdanovich, Stanislav  g  UKR  2663  0  1993
 67  Paravyan, David  g  RUS  2663  0  1998
 68  Grigoryan, Karen H.  g  ARM  2662  10  1995
 69  Demidov, Mikhail  m  RUS  2661  0  1992
 70  Michalik, Peter  g  CZE  2661  0  1990
 71  Drozdovskij, Yuri  g  UKR  2660  0  1984
 72  Firouzja, Alireza  g  IRI  2660  0  2003
 73  Shankland, Sam  g  USA  2660  0  1991
 74  Svane, Rasmus  g  GER  2659  0  1997
 75  Amin, Bassem  g  EGY  2658  18  1988
 76  Dreev, Aleksey  g  RUS  2658  0  1969
 77  Nguyen, Ngoc Truong Son  g  VIE  2658  0  1990
 78  Miladinovic, Igor  g  SRB  2657  21  1974
 79  Efimenko, Zahar  g  UKR  2657  0  1985
 80  Hammer, Jon Ludvig  g  NOR  2657  0  1990
 81  Tsydypov, Zhamsaran  m  RUS  2654  9  1996
 82  Hovhannisyan, Robert  g  ARM  2654  0  1991
 83  Malakhov, Vladimir  g  RUS  2654  0  1980
 84  Nihal Sarin  g  IND  2654  0  2004
 85  Ziska, Helgi Dam  g  FAI  2651  0  1990
 86  Howell, David W L  g  ENG  2650  0  1990
 87  Salem, A.R. Saleh  g  UAE  2649  46  1993
 88  Jones, Gawain C B  g  ENG  2649  22  1987
 89  Sychev, Klementy  g  RUS  2649  0  1996
 90  Cheparinov, Ivan  g  GEO  2648  22  1986
 91  Golubov, Saveliy  m  RUS  2648  0  2000
 92  McShane, Luke J  g  ENG  2648  0  1984
 93  Megaranto, Susanto  g  INA  2647  0  1987
 94  Sutovsky, Emil  g  ISR  2647  0  1977
 95  Swiercz, Dariusz  g  USA  2647  0  1994
 96  Gharamian, Tigran  g  FRA  2646  0  1984
 97  Perez Ponsa, Federico  g  ARG  2646  0  1993
 98  Sadler, Matthew D  g  ENG  2646  0  1974
 99  Oparin, Grigoriy  g  RUS  2644  0  1997
 100  Yudin, Sergei  g  RUS  2643  0  1986

Top 100 Juniors

There were few changes among the top juniors' world rankings, although notably, Nihal Sarin broke 2600 for the first time and is currently the youngest player in the world to have achieved that rating, and the third youngest ever.

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
 1  Wei, Yi  g  CHN  2741  4  1999
 2  Xiong, Jeffery  g  USA  2684  12  2000
 3  Firouzja, Alireza  g  IRI  2682  0  2003
 4  Sevian, Samuel  g  USA  2677  10  2000
 5  Maghsoodloo, Parham  g  IRI  2665  7  2000
 6  Gledura, Benjamin  g  HUN  2654  6  1999
 7  Sarana, Alexey  g  RUS  2641  9  2000
 8  Martirosyan, Haik M.  g  ARM  2635  0  2000
 9  Tari, Aryan  g  NOR  2623  3  1999
 10  Deac, Bogdan-Daniel  g  ROU  2623  0  2001
 11  Esipenko, Andrey  g  RUS  2611  17  2002
 12  Van Foreest, Jorden  g  NED  2610  13  1999
 13  Nihal Sarin  g  IND  2606  18  2004
 14  Bai, Jinshi  g  CHN  2606  14  1999
 15  Tabatabaei, M.amin  g  IRI  2601  8  2001
 16  Abdusattorov, Nodirbek  g  UZB  2598  9  2004
 17  Aravindh, Chithambaram VR.  g  IND  2598  0  1999
 18  Karthikeyan, Murali  g  IND  2593  9  1999
 19  Liang, Awonder  g  USA  2592  7  2003
 20  Yakubboev, Nodirbek  m  UZB  2587  9  2002
 21  Xu, Xiangyu  g  CHN  2583  13  1999
 22  Martinez Alcantara, Jose Eduardo  g  PER  2583  0  1999
 23  Smirnov, Anton  g  AUS  2567  0  2001
 24  Rambaldi, Francesco  g  ITA  2565  9  1999
 25  Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel  g  CUB  2563  10  2000
 26  Burke, John M  g  USA  2562  9  2001
 27  Moroni, Luca Jr  g  ITA  2561  9  2000
 28  Kollars, Dmitrij  g  GER  2561  0  1999
 29  Hakobyan, Aram  g  ARM  2559  0  2001
 30  Santos Ruiz, Miguel  g  ESP  2557  11  1999
 31  Aryan Chopra  g  IND  2553  0  2001
 32  Puranik, Abhimanyu  g  IND  2548  0  2000
 33  Li, Ruifeng  g  USA  2546  0  2001
 34  Gukesh D  g  IND  2543  8  2006
 35  Theodorou, Nikolas  m  GRE  2543  0  2000
 36  Lomasov, Semyon  m  RUS  2542  7  2002
 37  Shevchenko, Kirill  g  UKR  2539  0  2002
 38  Shtembuliak, Evgeny  g  UKR  2538  18  1999
 39  Praggnanandhaa R  g  IND  2537  8  2005
 40  Sorokin, Aleksey  f  RUS  2536  9  2000
 41  Li, Di  m  CHN  2535  3  1999
 42  Gholami, Aryan  m  IRI  2530  0  2001
 43  Khanin, Semen  m  RUS  2529  18  1999
 44  Nguyen, Thai Dai Van  g  CZE  2529  9  2001
 45  Yeoh, Li Tian  m  MAS  2528  0  1999
 46  Erigaisi Arjun  g  IND  2526  0  2003
 47  Iniyan, P  m  IND  2525  0  2002
 48  Afanasiev, Nikita  f  RUS  2524  0  2000
 49  Thybo, Jesper Sondergaard  m  DEN  2523  0  1999
 50  Kelires, Andreas  g  GRE  2522  11  1999
 51  Keymer, Vincent  m  GER  2522  9  2004
 52  Van Foreest, Lucas  g  NED  2522  7  2001
 53  Chandra, Akshat  g  USA  2522  0  1999
 54  Dragnev, Valentin  g  AUT  2521  0  1999
 55  Gazik, Viktor  m  SVK  2520  0  2001
 56  Ivic, Velimir  m  SRB  2518  0  2002
 57  Visakh N R  g  IND  2518  0  1999
 58  Kantor, Gergely  m  HUN  2516  0  1999
 59  Vokhidov, Shamsiddin  m  UZB  2515  9  2002
 60  Triapishko, Alexandr  m  RUS  2512  18  2000
 61  Engel, Luis  m  GER  2512  0  2002
 62  Sargsyan, Shant  m  ARM  2512  0  2002
 63  Kuybokarov, Temur  g  AUS  2511  0  2000
 64  Nguyen, Anh Khoi  m  VIE  2507  0  2002
 65  Checa, Nicolas  g  USA  2506  0  2001
 66  Lobanov, Sergei  m  RUS  2505  7  2001
 67  Liu, Yan  g  CHN  2504  12  2000
 68  Xu, Zhihang  m  CHN  2504  0  2001
 69  Bjerre, Jonas Buhl  m  DEN  2503  5  2004
 70  Asadli, Vugar  m  AZE  2502  19  2001
 71  Preotu, Razvan  g  CAN  2502  6  1999
 72  Karthik Venkataraman  g  IND  2499  9  1999
 73  Fakhrutdinov, Timur  f  RUS  2499  0  2001
 74  Zajic, Milan  g  SRB  2497  5  1999
 75  Cori Quispe, Kevin Joel  g  PER  2497  0  1999
 76  Tang, Andrew  g  USA  2496  8  1999
 77  Gumularz, Szymon  m  POL  2495  18  2001
 78  Matviishen, Viktor  m  UKR  2495  0  2002
 79  Drygalov, Andrey  m  RUS  2494  18  1999
 80  Sonis, Francesco  m  ITA  2494  8  2002
 81  Quesada Perez, Luis Ernesto  g  CUB  2492  27  1999
 82  Drygalov, Sergey  m  RUS  2492  16  1999
 83  Nigmatov, Ortik  m  UZB  2488  18  2000
 84  Makhnev, Denis  m  KAZ  2487  11  2000
 85  Lorparizangeneh, Shahin  g  IRI  2487  0  1999
 86  Jacobson, Brandon  m  USA  2486  14  2003
 87  Livaic, Leon  m  CRO  2486  6  2000
 88  Harsha Bharathakoti  g  IND  2486  0  2000
 89  Arjun Kalyan  m  IND  2484  0  2002
 90  Janik, Igor  m  POL  2483  9  2000
 91  Radovanovic, Mihajlo  m  SRB  2483  5  2001
 92  Sadhwani, Raunak  m  IND  2482  0  2005
 93  Pultinevicius, Paulius  m  LTU  2481  0  2001
 94  Petrov, Martin  m  BUL  2480  10  2000
 95  Dai, Changren  m  CHN  2480  3  1999
 96  Sindarov, Javokhir  g  UZB  2479  8  2005
 97  Vrolijk, Liam  m  NED  2478  8  2002
 98  Fernandez De La Vara, Arnaldo  m  CUB  2476  38  1999
 99  Fawzy, Adham  m  EGY  2476  0  2000
 100  Warmerdam, Max  m  NED  2475  8  2000
 101  Blohberger, Felix  m  AUT  2475  0  2002
 102  Gavrilescu, David  f  ROU  2475  0  2003

Top 100 Girls

Chinese Women's Champion Zhu shoved past Polina Shuvalova into the #2 spot behind Zhansaya Abdumalik.

For a sense of the current gender gap, four of the Top 10 girls have the International Master title, but none is a Grandmaster, while 36 of the top 40 juniors are GMs and the #100 ranked junior outrates the #1 girl by 11 Elo points.

Rank Name Title Country Rating Games B-Year
 1  Abdumalik, Zhansaya  m  KAZ  2464  0  2000
 2  Zhu, Jiner  wm  CHN  2454  14  2002
 3  Mammadzada, Gunay  m  AZE  2427  9  2000
 4  Tsolakidou, Stavroula  m  GRE  2426  5  2000
 5  Tokhirjonova, Gulrukhbegim  wg  UZB  2422  13  1999
 6  Shuvalova, Polina  wm  RUS  2418  8  2001
 7  Salimova, Nurgyul  f  BUL  2416  0  2003
 8  Divya Deshmukh  wm  IND  2414  0  2005
 9  Assaubayeva, Bibisara  f  KAZ  2399  13  2004
 10  Nomin-Erdene, Davaademberel  m  MGL  2399  0  2000
 11  Badelka, Olga  wm  BLR  2391  9  2002
 12  Munkhzul, Turmunkh  wf  MGL  2371  0  2002
 13  Yu, Jennifer  f  USA  2369  0  2002
 14  Narva, Mai  wm  EST  2358  0  1999
 15  Balajayeva, Khanim  wm  AZE  2345  9  2001
 16  Marjanovic, Annamaria  wg  HUN  2343  0  2001
 17  Vaishali R  wg  IND  2338  9  2001
 18  Garcia Martin, Marta  f  ESP  2335  0  2000
 19  Wang, Annie  f  USA  2334  0  2002
 20  Solozhenkina, Elizaveta  wm  RUS  2324  9  2003
 21  Obregon Garcia, Roxangel  wf  CUB  2322  19  2003
 22  Maltsevskaya, Aleksandra  wg  RUS  2316  18  2002
 23  Song, Yuxin  wm  CHN  2308  3  2005
 24  Ning, Kaiyu  wf  CHN  2306  14  2004
 25  Dordzhieva, Dinara  wm  RUS  2306  9  1999
 26  Goltseva, Ekaterina  f  RUS  2304  17  2002
 27  Afonasieva, Anna  wf  RUS  2303  9  2001
 28  Obolentseva, Alexandra  wg  RUS  2303  0  2001
 29  Priyanka Nutakki  wm  IND  2302  0  2002
 30  Cervantes Landeiro, Thalia  wm  USA  2298  9  2002
 31  Injac, Teodora  wm  SRB  2295  9  2000
 32  Sargsyan, Anna M.  wf  ARM  2290  0  2001
 33  Unuk, Laura  wg  SLO  2284  6  1999
 34  Beydullayeva, Govhar  wf  AZE  2282  17  2003
 35  Mammadova, Narmin  wm  AZE  2282  10  1999
 36  Gajcin, Marina  wm  SRB  2280  9  2001
 37  Yip, Carissa  f  USA  2276  0  2003
 38  Dimitrova, Aleksandra  wm  RUS  2273  9  2000
 39  Protopopova, Anastasiya  wf  RUS  2272  8  2000
 40  Caglar, Sila  wf  TUR  2272  0  2004
 41  Aakanksha Hagawane  wm  IND  2271  0  2000
 42  Borisova, Ekaterina    RUS  2267  17  2000
 43  Muetsch, Annmarie  wm  GER  2266  0  2002
 44  Li, Yunshan  wf  CHN  2264  2  2002
 45  Sliwicka, Alicja  wm  POL  2261  9  2001
 46  Avramidou, Anastasia  f  GRE  2260  9  2000
 47  Krasteva, Beloslava  wc  BUL  2259  0  2004
 48  Antova, Gabriela  f  BUL  2257  13  2002
 49  Gueci, Tea  wf  ITA  2257  4  1999
 50  Potapova, Margarita  wf  RUS  2256  18  2000
 51  Alinasab, Mobina  wm  IRI  2256  9  2000
 52  Yakubbaeva, Nilufar    UZB  2255  18  2000
 53  Sieber, Fiona  wm  GER  2250  0  2000
 54  Gorti, Akshita  f  USA  2249  0  2002
 55  Garifullina, Leya  wc  RUS  2246  6  2004
 56  Tejaswini, Sagar  wm  IND  2246  0  2000
 57  Antolak, Julia  wf  POL  2245  0  2000
 58  Shafigullina, Zarina  wf  RUS  2240  17  2001
 59  Kiolbasa, Oliwia  wm  POL  2239  0  2000
 60  Hojjatova, Aydan  wg  AZE  2238  0  1999
 61  Schneider, Jana  f  GER  2235  0  2002
 62  Khokhlova, Daria    RUS  2234  9  1999
 63  Zhang, Xiao    CHN  2234  0  2003
 64  Di Benedetto, Desiree  f  ITA  2230  9  2000
 65  Lysenko, Margarita  wf  RUS  2224  17  1999
 66  Polterauer, Chiara  wf  AUT  2223  0  2000
 67  Vantika Agrawal  wm  IND  2223  0  2002
 68  Eswaran, Ashritha  wm  USA  2221  6  2000
 69  Altantuya, Boldbaatar  wf  MGL  2220  0  2005
 70  Jain Nityata  wc  IND  2219  19  2004
 71  Kochukova, Anna  wf  RUS  2215  9  2001
 72  Radeva, Viktoria  wf  BUL  2214  0  2001
 73  Zhou, Qiyu  f  CAN  2213  0  2000
 74  Kalaiyalahan, Akshaya  f  ENG  2212  0  2001
 75  Nestorovic, Katarina    SRB  2204  26  2002
 76  Chu, Ruotong  wm  CHN  2204  12  2001
 77  Kanakova, Natalie  wm  CZE  2201  9  1999
 78  Fisabilillah, Ummi  wf  INA  2201  0  2000
 79  Lehaci, Miruna-Daria  wf  ROU  2201  0  2004
 80  Georgescu, Lena  wf  SUI  2200  2  1999
 81  Ciolacu, Alessia-Mihaela  wf  ROU  2199  0  2004
 82  Feng, Maggie  f  USA  2198  0  2000
 83  Martynkova, Olena  wm  UKR  2197  0  2000
 84  Diakonova, Ekaterina    RUS  2196  18  1999
 85  Trisha Kanyamarala    IRL  2196  17  2005
 86  Arpita, Mukherjee  wm  IND  2196  0  2001
 87  Zhang, Lanlin    CHN  2195  11  1999
 88  Sapale Saloni  wm  IND  2192  0  1999
 89  Hrescak, Ivana  wf  SLO  2190  0  2000
 90  Chitlange Sakshi  wm  IND  2187  8  2000
 91  Korchagina, Alena  wf  RUS  2186  9  2000
 92  Wu, Rochelle  wm  USA  2184  11  2006
 93  Erdenieva, Oyuna    RUS  2181  0  2001
 94  Broly, Mathilde    FRA  2177  0  2000
 95  Redondo Benavente, Ana  wf  ESP  2176  0  2001
 96  Limanovska, Elizabete  wf  LAT  2175  7  2000
 97  Filippova, Darya  wf  RUS  2174  17  2002
 98  Pychova, Nela  wf  CZE  2174  0  1999
 99  Mehmed, Elif  wf  BUL  2164  13  2004
 100  Ostojic, Katarina  wf  SRB  2164  8  2001

Source: FIDE


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Macauley served as the Editor in Chief of ChessBase News from July 2017 to March 2020. He is the producer of The Full English Breakfast chess podcast, and was an Associate Producer of the 2016 feature documentary, Magnus.

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Lilloso Lilloso 6/5/2019 06:46
@KevinC I again agree.
KevinC KevinC 6/5/2019 12:30
@Lilloso, One more thing you seem to discount is that with all the new tools, players ARE better today. I often hear the term "inflation" used, but with easy access to databases, which were in their infancy when Kasparov played, engines that are now well over 3500, and online access to top-flight competition at the click of a mouse, it is not simply inflation. Top to bottom, these super tournaments today have better prepared players than ever before.

As I said, and this is coming from someone, who has been a master himself for 34 years, I always considered Kasparov the greatest, but I may need to rethink that. Look at that link I posted with Carlsen's tournament record, and tell me that no matter how you look at it, the vast majority of those Category 19 and up events are not "super tournaments". The kid is impressive, and really might be the best ever. That said, it might be a toss up if you could move anyone from Capa to Alekhine to Botvinnik, to Fischer, Karpov, and Kasparov to today with all the same tools, who knows who would be the best head-to-head.
Lilloso Lilloso 6/4/2019 10:51
@KevinC I agree with you. I just answered Tom's statement that M. Carlsen won every tournament he participates in.
Of course no world champion did it.
I criticized the meanless habit of journalists consisting in nominating every new world champion "the greatest of all time". Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov (Capablanca once upon a time) were also considered invincible and "the greatest of all time" by their contemporaries. Half a point got by a top player against them was considered an achievement.

Statistical data are interesting but can we really say for example that Carlsen's contribution to the game we love is superior to Botvinnik's ? Is M. Carlsen ending display superior to Karpov's ? As regards pure strength and energy, is M. Carlsen superior to Fischer or Kasparov ? Does Carlsen share his knowledge like a generous Kasparov did ?
And it's not fair to judge a champion's true worth according to present criteria. His predecessors were playing under different conditions. Is Picasso superior to Leonardo da Vinci ? I don't think so.
KevinC KevinC 6/4/2019 09:22
@Lilloso, NONE of the greats you named previously won every tournament they participated in. Each had individual years they won everything, but not every year.

You might want to look more closely at each record for Karpov, Kasparov, and Carlsen because I think you are just going by "feeling", and your feeling is deceiving you.
Lilloso Lilloso 6/4/2019 01:03
tom_70 - "The guy wins every super tournament he participates in". That's true for 2019 but:
Wijk aan Zee 2016 won by W. So (Carlsen 2nd)
Grenke Classic 2016 won by L. Aronian (Carlsen 2th-3th)
Stavanger 2016 won by L. Aronian (Carlsen 7th-9th)
Sinquefield Cup 2017 won by MVL (Carlsen 2nd-3th)
London 2017 won by F. Caruana (Carlsen 3th-5th)
Stavanger 2018 won by F. Caruana (Carlsen 2nd-4th)
Biel 2018 won by S. Mamedyarov (Carlsen 2nd)
Did I suggest that Anand was better than Carlsen ? I was refering to chess popularization, one of the duties of a worldchampion.
KevinC KevinC 6/4/2019 11:20
@Lilloso They were all category 19 and above, the vast majority above. And as far as not winning the championships in the manner that you deem appropriate, one plays with the rules that are given. He won, and that is all there is to it.

http://www.chessfocus.com/tournament-history/magnus-carlsen
tom_70 tom_70 6/4/2019 06:36
To suggest that Anand or Karpov were better than Carlsen is patently ludicrous. Only Kasparov at his peak and Fischer at his peak were his equal. The guy wins every super tournament he participates in.
Lilloso Lilloso 6/3/2019 11:24
@KevinC - You are obviously entitled to think so and M. Carlsen is surely a great player. As the Romans said "De gustibus non disputandum est" but I dont think that the 32 tournaments you refer to were all supertournaments and I note that M. Carlsen was unable to win his last 2 world championships through classical games. In addition, contrary to A.Karpov, G.Kasparov and more recently V.Anand, he doesnt't contribute much to the popularization of chess.
KevinC KevinC 6/3/2019 10:40
@Lilloso, I don't know what you consider domination, but since 2009, 10 years, he has won 32 super tournaments (plus two more opens), won the World Championship, and defended it three more times. In addition, he has broken the all-time rating record. Yeah, he's a chump.

Just counting super tournaments, which they were all lower category back then, that is actually a lot more than Karpov won, and he is my personal chess hero.

Even Kasparov from 1979, when he won his first major tournament, until his retirement, won 40 tournaments, of which maybe 27 could be called "super tournaments", and again, I am not biased since I still consider Kasparov the greatest of all time based on his play.

That said, you might be convincing me that Carlsen has surpassed even Kasparov.
Lilloso Lilloso 6/3/2019 09:41
@macauley In any sport, journalists tend to claim that the last champion is "the greatest of all time". But M. Carlsen hasn't dominated the chess scene like A. Karpov (more than 10 years) or G. Kasparov (20 years). But fine ! You've rewritten the phrase I quoted !
macauley macauley 6/3/2019 06:59
@Lilloso - I didn't intend to imply it was *his* quote, but it's certainly been claimed by many others. You may disagree, but it's far from being "ridiculous".
Lilloso Lilloso 6/3/2019 06:52
Did M. Carlsen really said he was the "greatest of all time" ? If so, it is pretty ridiculous. With such a lack of lucidity and self crtiticism, his reign won't last.
Eugene MS Eugene MS 6/3/2019 06:22
In a year or two Magnus may be the oldest player in the top 10!
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