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While Magnus Carlsen’s victory is a victory for youth, with his numerous records in precociousness, such as the title of youngest number one ever, to becoming world champion one week shy of his 23rd birthday, it is unfair and incorrect to suggest that excellence and success are the exclusive domain of the young.
As a follow-up to our look at the wonders of those in the springtime of life, here is a list of the players for whom age is just a number, fighting to the end, and sometimes showing that maturity can bring majesty.
Once again, we have resorted to the calculations and results published by Chessmetrics, allowing us to take into consideration players whose careers preceded the Elo system. Even if the ratings do not agree with FIDE's, they still calculate quite well who the best performing players are at a given moment.
It is easy and natural to know who the youngest world number one is, and the reason for this is that the younger they achieve this, the greater the chance they have of surpassing the feats of their predecessors. Sometimes however, those geezers just won't stay down and can frustrate the aspriing green rivals with their tenacity and resilience. Here is a list of the oldest no.1 players.
|
Rank
|
Name
|
Age
|
When
|
|
1
|
Emanuel Lasker | 58 years 0 months | December 1926 |
|
2
|
Wilhelm Steinitz | 54 years 0 months | May 1890 |
|
3
|
Alexander Alekhine | 51 years 9 months | July 1944 |
|
4
|
José Raul Capablanca | 48 years 8 months | July 1937 |
|
5
|
Mikhail Botvinnik | 46 years 9 months | May 1958 |
Emanuel Lasker was still unstoppable at 58
It would be easy to dismiss Emanuel Lasker's no.1 spot as a mistake or mathematical glitch, but he earned it and in spades. After facing penury, he came out of retirement, having to face his rivals while closing in on 60 years of age. Players such as Capablanca, Alekhine, and Bogoljubow who were 20 years his junior and at the height of their powers, yet in the super tournament New York 1924 he came clear first, and the very next year took second in Moscow 1925, ahead of Capablanca.
Capablanca with Lasker
Some players roll over gracefully as they age, others become tougher than hardened leather, treating each wrinkle on their face as a battle scar, proof of their ruggedness. Here is a list of the players who held on to the title of world champion the latest. The ages are calculated upon the day before they surrendered their title.
|
Rank
|
Name
|
Age
|
|
1
|
Wilhelm Steinitz | 58 years 0 months 8 days |
|
3
|
Alexander Alekhine | 53 years 4 months 21 days |
|
2
|
Emanuel Lasker | 52 years 4 months 3 days |
|
4
|
Mikhail Botvinnik | 51 years 9 months 2 days |
|
5
|
Viswanathan Anand | 43 years 11 months 10 days |
Wilhelm Steinitz was 58 years old when he lost his title
Alexander Alekhine died as world champion in 1946, though he had not defended his title in nine years after winning it back from Max Euwe in 1937. After Mikhail Botvinnik lost his title in 1963, Vishy Anand has been the most age-resistant world champion in 50 years.
Although there have been many champions fighting off opponents both younger or older, and some faced a greater challenge in terms of age, than others. Here are the matches between players with the greatest age difference.
Emanuel Lasker was 32 years younger than Wilhelm Steinitz when they played
for the title. It is by far the greatest age difference in a match, and unlikely to
ever be surpassed.
|
Rank
|
Players
|
Age difference
|
Year
|
|
1
|
Lasker-Steinitz |
32 years 7 months 7 days
|
1894
|
|
2
|
Botvinnik-Tal |
25 years 2 months 23 days
|
1960/1961
|
|
3
|
Anand-Carlsen |
20 years 11 months 19 days
|
2013
|
|
4
|
Karpov-Korchnoi |
20 years 2 months 0 days
|
1978/1981
|
|
5
|
Lasker-Capablanca |
19 years 10 months 26 days
|
1921
|
Anatoly Karpov first faced Viktor Korchnoi in a match in 1974. Seven years later,
Korchnoi was back.
Viktor Korchnoi is the only player in history to have become the massively older challenger, inverting the usual story of older champion and younger hopeful. Officially, Mikhail Botvinnik beat his much younger rival Mikhail Tal as the challenger, but it bears remembering he skipped the entire qualification process thanks to the 'rematch' clause.
In the grand tales of experience and maturity fending off youth and verve,
Mikhail Botvinnik is the greatest as he beat Tal in 1961 to regain his title
