Top 10 Best Chess Players of All Time

WatchMojo

These chess champs are the cream of the crop. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the best chess wizzes ever and ranking based on their records, matchplay, and overall legacy.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the best chess whizzes ever and ranking

00:09based on their records, match play, and overall legacy.

00:12The greatest pleasure, when you break his ego, this is where it's at.

00:17Number 10.

00:18Vladimir Kramnik

00:19Best known for ending Garry Kasparov's reign as world champion, Vladimir Kramnik was the

00:23leading player of the 2000s.

00:25So he designed a strategy, a great strategy, to drag me from the territories where I felt

00:30most comfortable into the territories where I felt shaky."

00:35At his peak, Kramnik's game was flawless, reviving multiple openings and mastering endgame

00:39tactics to finish the decade as the hardest player to beat in world chess.

00:43After reuniting the classical and FIDE titles in 2006, the Russian player also became the

00:48first undisputed world champion since Kasparov in 1993.

00:52To become world champion, you need to make the best, absolutely best of you, of what

00:58you have, because you have limitation, all of us."

01:01Though he lost the title a year after earning it, Kramnik's personal game only improved,

01:05and he would later reach the eighth highest ELO rating in 2016.

01:09"...you need to be a certain, to become a certain psychologist yourself, and then with

01:15time, mistakes, you learn from mistakes, with time you finally get to this golden middle,

01:21to this kind of structure, which is yours."

01:23Number 9.

01:24Mikhail Tal

01:25Mikhail Tal lit up the world of chess with his creative style and risky sacrifices.

01:29"...this guy was an absolute genius, crazy genius, but genius."

01:35Tal is also one of the most quoted players of all time, with classics such as You Must

01:39Take Your Opponent into a Deep Dark Forest where 2 plus 2 equals 5, and The Path Leading

01:43Out is only wide enough for one.

01:45Eccentricity aside, the Soviet-Latvian's playing career was no joke.

01:48So what on earth was his idea after Rook to G8?

01:52And of course he saw this move in advance.

01:54Can you play in a similar brilliant style to Tal?

01:59Tal won the World Championship in 1960 at just 23 years old, defeating the methodical

02:04Mikhail Butvinnik with an unpredictable attacking display.

02:07He also boasted a positive score against Bobby Fischer, and had an unbeaten streak of 95

02:12competitive games, a record that stood for 44 years.

02:15"...there's so many blooming good Tal moves."

02:188.

02:19Immanuel Lasker

02:20At 27 years, Immanuel Lasker's reign as world chess champion is still the longest

02:24in history.

02:25"...now the difference between Lasker and other world champions is Lasker was very good

02:29at other stuff."

02:30Although Lasker avoided a championship showdown against Jose Raul Capablanca, six title defenses

02:36in three years shows he was not there by fluke.

02:38"...Lasker's journey to chess greatness was a unique one.

02:42He initially pursued a career in mathematics and earned a doctorate in this subject, demonstrating

02:48his remarkable intelligence."

02:50Though he did eventually lose the top spot to Capablanca, Lasker beat his rival in tournaments

02:54both before and after their title match.

02:56He also had a longer and more consistent career, keeping up with the likes of Mikhail Butvinnik

03:01well into his 60s.

03:02A renowned mathematician, Lasker had a psychological edge that inspired generations, whether or

03:07not you believe the rumors that he played bad moves on purpose.

03:10"...Einstein called Lasker one of the most interesting and independent people he had

03:15ever met."

03:167.

03:18Morphy

03:19There's dominance in chess, and then there's Paul Morphy.

03:20"...For Morphy, there was no one who could even beat him, probably."

03:24There's little data on where to rank Morphy alongside modern grandmasters, seeing as he

03:28played so long before engines, theory, and even world championships.

03:31All we know is that he swept the first American Chess Congress in 1857, sailed to Europe to

03:36challenge the world's best, and beat everyone he played on the continent.

03:39"...But they didn't expect this.

03:42Queen to B8, sacrificing the entire queen to deliver this beautiful checkmate."

03:47The US native was so far ahead of his contemporaries that he remains relevant almost two centuries

03:52later, described by Garry Kasparov as the forefather of modern chess and lending his

03:56name to one of the most popular defenses in today's game.

03:59"...He was never officially crowned as the world chess champion, but for many, he is

04:04considered the first unofficial champion of the world."

04:076.

04:08Mikhail Butvinnik

04:09Mikhail Butvinnik has a place in any best-of-all-time conversation, and not only for his achievements

04:14as a player.

04:15"...Butvinnik has been the world champion for around 13 years.

04:20Certainly there is something we can learn from his experience."

04:22The sixth world chess champion held the title on and off for 15 years, losing out to Tal

04:27and Vasily Smyslov before overwhelming his opponents with superior preparation in both

04:31rematches.

04:32A computer scientist and electrical engineer by trade, Butvinnik led the way in utilizing

04:37logic and strategy, an approach that inspired the Soviet Union to dominate the game for

04:41years to come.

04:42"...The first key takeaway for you is to play in the center whenever it is possible."

04:47His impact is perhaps best summed up by the names to pass through his world-famous chess

04:51school, which include future champions Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov, and Vladimir Kramnik.

04:575.

04:58Anatoly Karpov

04:59One half of the greatest-ever rivalry in chess, Anatoly Karpov would have enjoyed three decades

05:04alone at the top of the game if not for a certain Garry Kasparov.

05:08"...Karpov deploys his bishop to b4 on move 11, and Kasparov tells us why he's so happy

05:13with his next move."

05:14Their first title match was abandoned, with Karpov in a narrow lead.

05:18Kasparov won the second and defended three more times against his Soviet rival, but the

05:22records will never show how evenly matched the pair actually were.

05:25Across five world championship matches, Kasparov won 21 individual games, to Karpov's 19th.

05:30"...Both players have had all night to think things over.

05:33What conclusions have they come to?"

05:34In 1994, Karpov got his own back with the highest-rated tournament performance ever

05:39seen at the time, taking the Linares title ahead of Kasparov, as well as future world

05:46champs Kramnik, Anand, Topalov, and Polgar.

05:494.

05:50Jose Raul Capablanca

05:52Often described as one of the most naturally gifted players ever, Jose Raul Capablanca's

05:56legacy could have been even greater.

05:58"...So my Wikipedia page is this long.

06:01That's how long mine is, okay?

06:04Capablanca's doesn't end.

06:05We don't have enough time in class."

06:06In the early 1900s, the Cuban player was repeatedly denied a shot at the world title, first by

06:10then-champion Emmanuel Lasker's stingy conditions, and then by the First World War.

06:16Capablanca responded by going on an eight-year win streak, finally winning the championship

06:19in that time, and losing it six years later to Alexander Alejan.

06:23"...And the marathon match proved to be Capablanca's undoing."

06:26Alongside Alejan and Lasker, Capablanca was part of one of the strongest top threes in

06:31chess history, though he maintains positive win records against both his great rivals.

06:35"...Capablanca refused to study chess and he never read chess books or studied chess

06:39openings.

06:40Becoming the world champion despite this is evidence that he was possibly one of the greatest

06:44natural chess players that ever lived."

06:46In the words of Lasker himself,

06:48"...I have known many chess players but only one chess genius.

06:51Capablanca."

06:523.

06:53Bobby Fischer

06:54Bobby Fischer is one of the biggest names in the world, let alone the world of chess.

06:57"...What's the money in chess?"

06:59"...The money, you know, could be better.

07:02It's getting better."

07:04His views away from the game, refusal to attend matches, and sudden disappearance are well

07:08documented, but none more than his talent at the board.

07:11The youngest ever grandmaster of the time, Fischer's dominance en route to the World

07:15Championship remains unprecedented.

07:16"...Is chess a gift?

07:18Could a guy who doesn't have a gift for it learn to be a great chess player?"

07:22"...Great?

07:23No, he could be good, though."

07:24After winning eight of eight U.S. championships, Fischer whitewashed grandmaster after grandmaster

07:29to earn a shot against Boris Spassky.

07:31Dubbed the Match of the Century for its political context, the American took the lead in a remarkable

07:35sixth game, which earned him a standing ovation from his Soviet opponent.

07:39From there, Fischer cruised to the title, and a place in the history of American sport.

07:43"...You honestly think that you probably are the world's greatest chess player?

07:46I mean, there's no reason to be modest about it."

07:48"...Yeah, right."

07:49"...Yeah."

07:502.

07:51Magnus Carlsen

07:53World No. 1 for 14 years and counting, Magnus Carlsen is breaking chess records at an astonishing

07:58rate.

07:59"...You know, I'm still pretty good, so I still win some of the time, but I don't win

08:04all the times."

08:05The only player to hold the titles in classical, rapid, and blitz formats at the same time,

08:09the Norwegian whiz has utterly dominated in an era where ratings among the top players

08:13are at an all-time high.

08:15With his own peak of 28-82, Magnus crushed Wischwa Nott and Anand to take his first world

08:20title in 2013.

08:21"...It's not going to be easy any time soon."

08:25He held the post comfortably for a decade, only to withdraw from the 2023 event, citing

08:29I Don't Have a Lot to Gain.

08:31It's certainly hard to argue that a man who held Garry Kasparov to a draw at just 13 years

08:35old has anything left to prove.

08:36"...I hope to become world champion around 2020, if I'm to say so myself."

08:45Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

08:48Wischwa Nott and Anand dethroned Kramnik and defended three times, losing out only

08:52to Karlsson.

08:53"...Obviously I was very excited to be world champion."

08:55Judith Polgar, the greatest female player of all time, boasting competitive wins against

09:00Kasparov, Karlsson, Karpov, and Kramnik.

09:02"...I was training daily many hours and made a lot of efforts and everything in order that

09:09I get into the top elite between the male players."

09:12Alexander Alehin gives his name to many opening variations, defeated Capablanca, and died

09:17still holding the title.

09:19"...Before him, the modern chess didn't really exist."

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09:39Number 1.

09:40Garry Kasparov

09:41The best-of-all-time conversation usually comes down to the same three or four players,

09:45and none spent longer at the top or did more for the game of chess than Garry Kasparov.

09:49"...The most important task for me was to communicate my love and passion for the game,

09:55and also to demonstrate the beauty of the game."

09:58Though Karlsson has an edge and peak rating, the Russian player still claims the records

10:02for longest time spent at World No. 1, most tournament victories, and youngest to become

10:06world champion.

10:07"...Without passion, without full dedication, without concentration and sacrifice, you will

10:12never make it."

10:13Kasparov got the better of Karpov to reign supreme for over 15 years, as well as overseeing

10:17the rise of chess supercomputers.

10:20Kasparov also trained one in Magnus Karlsson, and Karlsson himself settles the GOAT debate

10:24by saying,

10:25"...Garry generally edges it because of the longevity and in the competitive era."

10:28"...You want to play well, you have to spend your time, you have to make it a priority."

10:32Who do you think is the chess GOAT?

10:33How long before Magnus takes the top spot?

10:36Let us know in the comments.

10:37"...Hey, that little boy is playing three games at once."

10:40"...Checkmate."

10:41"...Checkmate."

10:42"...Checkmate."

10:43Did you enjoy this video?

10:44Check out these other clips from WatchMojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell

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