The Greatest Chess Players

Checkmate: The Greatest Chess Players

They say every move you make on the chessboard should have a purpose. These players mastered the art of making your move at the right time and "staying silent, only speaking to say "Checkmate". Let's go over some of the greatest players of all time and how they became the best in the world.

Paul Morphy

The first professional American chess player, Paul Morphy won the first American Chess Congress in 1857. Morphy then travelled to Europe and defeated some of the European greats of the mid-19th century—including Germany's best, Adolf Anderssen. Shockingly, Morphy would retreat from public life entirely after just two years, never competing in professional chess tournaments again. 

VanWiel, Wikimedia Commons

Viswanathan Anand

India's very first chess grandmaster and five-time World Champion, Viswanathan Anand put India on the map, or chessboard, as it were, through the 1980s and 1990s. Anand was known as a child for his rapid playing speed and was nicknamed "Lightning Kid" by his fellows. He's considered to be the greatest rapid chess player of his generation. He won his first World Rapid Championship in 2003 and then again in 2017.

Wolfgang Jekel, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Vladimir Kramnik

Vladimir Kramnik was born in the USSR and studied chess at the school established by Russian chess legend Mikhail Botvinnik. He would win his first gold medal in the 1992 chess Olympiad in Manila. From there, Kramnik would go on to establish himself and became the world number one in 1996, and in 2000, he defeated reigning World Champion Garry Kasparov to become World Champion, his first of five titles. 

Andreas Kontokanis, CC BY-SA 2.0 Wikimedia Commons

Emanuel Lasker

For 27 years, Emanuel Lasker was the Chess World Champion, reigning from 1894 until 1921. Not only that, he would pioneer approaches to the game by playing inferior moves that would unsettle his opponents—a uniquely "psychological" way of approaching the game. He was friends with Einstein and would also make mathematical contributions to games such as bridge, showcasing the depth of his intellect. 

Cleveland Public Library, Wikimedia Commons

Mikhail Botvinnik

The patriarch of the Soviet Chess School, Mikhail Botvinnik was one of the greatest ever. As well as being a great chess player, he helped coach the younger generations, developing formidable talent like Kramnik, Karpov, and Kasparov. He was also an electrical engineer and computer scientist who pioneered computerized chess.

Harry Pot, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Karpov, another student of Mikhail Botvinnik, sneaks into the top five, but only because he outdid his master. The sixth Chess World Champion, who held the title for 10 years between 1975 and 1985, Karpov mastered aspects of chess such as positional, methodical play. He had 160 tournament wins to his name and spent 102 months as the world number one. 

Croes, R.C., CC0, Wikimedia Commons

José Rául Capablanca

A true chess prodigy in every semblance of the word, José Rául Capablanca hailed from Cuba and was rumored to not even have a chessboard in his childhood home. However, at the age of 13, he defeated the Cuban champion, before spending the next few years dominating regional championships. At 33, in 1921, he defeated then-world champion Emanuel Lasker for the title. He also went undefeated between 1916 and 1924. Capablanca is considered a pioneer of the endgame technique and his methods are still studied today.

Unknown Artist, Wikimedia Commons

Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer was the man who broke the Soviet chess hegemony wide open in the 1970s and 1980s, at the height of the Cold War, no less. In 1972, his showdown with Boris Spassky became a geopolitical event, which Fischer won. He won his first US Championship at only 14 and refused to defend his title in 1975, after a dispute with chess' international governing body.

Ulrich Kohls, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Bobby Fischer (Cont'd) 

In 1992, Bobby Fischer played an unsanctioned chess match against Anatoly Karpov, held in Yugoslavia. At the time, the match violated American sanctions against Yugoslavia, which caused the American government to issue an arrest warrant for its own citizen. He lived in self-exile between the Philippines and Japan for 12 years, until the United States government finally arrested him. Fischer sought refuge in Iceland and was granted emergency Icelandic citizenship, before passing away in 2008. 

Bert Verhoeff, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Magnus Carlsen

One of chess' greatest active players, Magnus Carlsen is the highest-rated chess player in history and holds a record for the longest unbeaten streak in chess at the highest level. In 2013, he defeated Anand to become the Chess World Champion, before vacating several years later, after becoming disinterested in the sport and his upcoming opponents. He's one of the greatest chess players of all time, even if his attitude toward the sport could have used some work.

Stefan64, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Garry Kasparov

And now we come to the greatest. Without question: Garry Kasparov is the GOAT of chess. He has been retired from the sport for 20 years, yet most of his records remain untouched. He was the world number one for 255 months, and won professional tournaments 15 consecutive times, with his only loss coming against a computer—who had originally lost to him before changing its tactics. The GOAT, the King, the one and only Kasparov.  

David.Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Sinquefield Cup Scandal Of 2022

In 2022, Hans Niemann was the lowest-ranked player in the Sinquefield Cup. Shockingly, he would beat World Champion Magnus Carlsen using a defense known as the Nimzo-Indian defense. This defeat would cause Carlsen to inexplicably withdraw from the rest of the tournament before taking to Twitter to all but accuse Niemann of cheating. Niemann fired back by proclaiming that he was willing to play without clothes to prove his innocence. Months later, when the two faced off again, Carlsen again inexplicably resigned after just one move, handing victory to Niemann, who subsequently filed a $100M defamation lawsuit, which was settled out of court.  

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Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Sources:

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