All Time Rankings
The Keene-Divinsky list is far from being perfect but is a honest
attempt to make an all time ranking list and, most important of
all, is based on objective data: games. It also consider some players
who may not be very famous in the West but are very good players indeed
(Stein nr.15; Kholmov nr.24; Furman nr.26; Szabo nr.46).
All the other lists I've seen are based on personal opinions or
nationalistic supporting with the one possible exception of Dr. Elo's
list based on his famous, and currently used, ranking system. However,
it is designed to rank current players, not as a historical test. It has a
big drawback, too: Elo inflation, quite evident these days.
This is the complete Keene-Divinsky list based on 64
(previuosly subjectively selected) players' one another games
from 18th century to mid-1987.
1. Kasparov
2. Karpov
3. Fischer
4. Botvinnik
5. Capablanca
6. Lasker
7. Korchnoi
8. Spassky
9. Smyslov
10. Petrosian
11. Morphy
12. Polugaevsky
13. Geller
14. Tal
15. Stein
16. Keres
17. Bronstein
18. Alekhine
19. Sokolov
20. Boleslavsky
21. Portisch
22. Reshevsky
23. Yusupov
24. Kholmov
25. Averbakh
26. Furman
27. Belyavsky
28. Timman
29. Larsen
30. Taimanov
31. Vaganian
32. Kotov
33. Flohr
34. Ljubojevic
35. Najdorf
36. Szabo
37. Gligoric
38. Fine
39. Huebner
40. Andersson
41. Seirawan
42. Euwe
43. Hort
44. Rubinstein
45. Mecking
46. Maroczy
47. Steinitz
48. Vidmar
49. Bernstein
50. Nimzovitsch
51. Bogoljubov
52. Short
53. Tarrasch
54. Pillsbury
55. Schlechter
56. Marshall
57. Anderssen
58. Charousek
59. Chigorin
60. Teichmann
61. Janowski
62. Duras
63. Blackburne
64. Zukertort
This list was published in "Warriors of the Mind" by Raymond Keene
and Nathan Divinsky, Harding Simpole Publishing, 1989.
Here are Top 10 lists from 1970 (when Elo ranking was first applied) to
1997.
Kasparov and Short are considered in 1994 lists even if they were
officially delisted. Doubtful rankings are marked with a (?).
1970 FIDE rating list. Top 7 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2720
2-3 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2670
Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2670
4-5 Geller, Efim...................... URS 2660
Keres, Paul....................... URS 2660
6-7 Larsen, Bent...................... DEN 2650
Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2650
January 1971 FIDE rating list. Top 9 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2740
2 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2690
3-4 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2660
Larsen, Bent...................... DEN 2660
5 Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2640
6-9 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2630
Botvinnik. Mikhail................ URS 2630
Geller, Efim...................... URS 2630
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2630
July 1971 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2760
2 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2690
3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2670
4 Larsen, Bent...................... DEN 2660
5-6 Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2640
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2640
July 1972 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2785
2 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2660
3-4 Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2645
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2645
5-6 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2640
Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2640
July 1973 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2780
2-3 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2660
Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2660
4 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2655
5-6 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2650
Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2650
May 1974 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2780
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2700
3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2670
4 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2650
5 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2645
6 Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2640
January 1975 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Fischer Robert James.............. USA 2780
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2705
3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2655
4-6 Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2645
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2645
Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2645
January 1976 FIDE rating list. Top 7 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2695
2 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2670
3-4 Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2635
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2635
5 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2630
6-7 Larsen, Bent...................... DEN 2625
Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2625
January 1977 FIDE rating list. Top 8 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2690
2-3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2645
Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2645
4 Mecking, Enrique.................. BRA 2635
5 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2625
6-8 Hort, Vlastimil................... CZE 2620
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2620
Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2620
January 1978 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2725
2 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2665
3-5 Mecking, Enrique.................. BRA 2630
Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2630
Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2630
6 Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2625
January 1979 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2705
2 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2695
3-4 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2640
Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2640
5-6 Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2625
Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2625
January 1980 FIDE rating list. Top 8 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2725
2 Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2705
3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2695
4 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2655
5 Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2635
6-8 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2615
Petrosian, Tigran................. URS 2615
Mecking, Enrique.................. BRA 2615
July 1981 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2690
2-3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2650
Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2650
4-5 Huebner, Robert................... FRG 2635
Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2635
6 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2625
January 1982 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2700
2 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2655
3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2645
4 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2640
5 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2630
6 Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2625
July 1982 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2700
2 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2675
3 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2635
4 Huebner, Robert................... FRG 2630
5 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2625
6 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2620
January 1983 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2710
2 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2690
3 Ljubojevic, Ljubomir.............. YUG 2645
4 Andersson, Ulf.................... SWE 2635
5-6 Huebner, Robert................... FRG 2625
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2625
July 1983 FIDE rating list. Top 8 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2710
2 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2690
3 Ljubojevic, Ljubomir.............. YUG 2645
4 Andersson, Ulf.................... SWE 2640
5-8 Huebner, Robert................... FRG 2620
Vaganian, Rafael.................. URS 2620
Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2620
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2620
January 1984 FIDE rating list. Top 11 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2710
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2700
3-4 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2635
Ljubojevic, Ljubomir.............. YUG 2635
5-6 Andersson, Ulf.................... SWE 2630
Vaganian, Rafael.................. URS 2630
7 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2625
8-9 Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2620
Huebner, Robert................... FRG 2620
10-11 Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2615
Hort, Vlastimil................... URS 2615
July 1984 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2715
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2705
3 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2650
4 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2640
5 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. URS 2635
6 Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2625
January 1985 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2715
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2705
3 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2650
4 Vaganian, Rafael.................. URS 2640
5-6 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2635
Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2635
7 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2630
8 Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2625
9-10 Nunn, John........................ ENG 2615
Ribli Zoltan...................... HUN 2615
July 1985 FIDE rating list. Top 7 players
1 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2720
2 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2700
3-4 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2640
Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2640
5 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2630 (?)
6-7 Portisch, Lajos................... HUN 2635 (?)
Vaganian, Rafael.................. URS 2635 (?)
January 1986 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2720
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2700
3-5 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2645
Vaganian, Rafael.................. URS 2645
Yusupov, Arthur................... URS 2645
6 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2635
July 1987 FIDE rating list. Top 8 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2740
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2705
3 Yusupov, Arthur................... URS 2660
4 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2650
5-8 Huebner, Robert................... FRG 2620
Sokolov, Andrei................... URS 2620
Spassky, Boris.................... URS 2620
Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2620
January 1987 FIDE rating list. Top 6 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2735
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2710
3-4 Sokolov, Andrei................... URS 2645
Yusupov, Arthur................... URS 2645
5 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2625
6 Ljubojevic, Ljubomir.............. YUG 2620
July 1987 FIDE rating list. Top 7 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2740
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2700
3-4 Yusupov, Arthur................... URS 2635
Sokolov, Andrei................... URS 2635
5-7 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2630
Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2630
Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2630
January 1988 FIDE rating list. Top 11 players
1 Kasparov, Gary................... URS 2750
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2715
3 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2675
4 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2645
5 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2640
6-8 Tal, Mikhail...................... URS 2630
Nikolic, Predrag.................. YUG 2630
Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2630
9-11 Yusupov, Arthur................... URS 2625
Speelman, Jonathan................ ENG 2625
Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2625
July 1988 FIDE rating list. Top 13 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2760
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2725
3-4 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2665
Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2665
5 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2660 (2640?)
6 Speelman, Jonathan................ ENG 2645
7 Portisch Lajos.................... HUN 2635
8-9 Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2630
Ribli, Zoltan..................... HUN 2630
10-13 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2625
Andersson, Ulf.................... SWE 2625
Salov, Valery..................... URS 2625
Nunn, John........................ ENG 2625 (2620?)
January 1989 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2775
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2750
3 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2650
4-5 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2640
Speelman, Jonathan................ ENG 2640
6 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2635
7 Salov, Valery..................... URS 2630
8 Ribli, Zoltan..................... HUN 2625
9-10 Andersson......................... SWE 2620
Nunn, John........................ ENG 2620
July 1989 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2775
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2755
3-4 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2660
Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2660
5 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2655
6 Salov, Valery..................... URS 2645
7 Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2640
8-10 Timman, Jan....................... NED 2635
Ljubojevic, Ljubomir.............. YUG 2635
Andersson, Ulf.................... SWE 2635
January 1990 FIDE rating list. Top 11 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2800 11
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2730 30
3 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2680 23
4 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2665 21
5-6 Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2645 38
Salov, Valery..................... URS 2645 17
7 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2640 32
8 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2635 36
9 Andersson, Ulf.................... SVE 2630 39
10-11 Kortchnoi, Viktor................. SWZ 2625 37
Ljubojevic, Ljubomir.............. JUG 2625 11
July 1990 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2800 11
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2730 30
3-4 Gelfand, Boris.................... URS 2680 31
Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2680 21
5 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2660 23
6-7 Ehlvest, Jaan..................... URS 2655 41
Salov, Valery..................... URS 2655 17
8 Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2650 51
9 Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2640 38
10 Seirawan, Yasser.................. USA 2635 46
January 1991 FIDE rating list. Top 13 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2800 0
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2725 14
3 Gelfand, Boris.................... URS 2700 47
4 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2695 48
5-7 Bareev, Evgeny.................... URS 2650 50
Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2650 24
Ehlvest, Jaan..................... URS 2650 13
8-9 Yudasin, Leonid................... URS 2645 44
Salov, Valery..................... URS 2645 7
10-13 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2640 44
Andersson, Ulf.................... SWE 2640 42
Khalifman, Alexander.............. GER 2640 37
Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2640 29
July 1991 FIDE rating list. Top 14 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2770 46
2 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2735 18
3 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2730 58
4 Bareev, Evgeny.................... URS 2680 14
5-6 Salov, Valery..................... URS 2665 35
Gelfand, Boris.................... URS 2665 34
7 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2660 29
8 Beliavsky, Alexander.............. URS 2655 38
9 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2650 43
10-14 Khalifman, Alexander.............. GER 2630 49
Gurevich, Mikhail................. URS 2630 38
Speelman, Jonathan................ ENG 2630 35
Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2630 35
Polugaevsky, Lev.................. URS 2630 15
January 1992 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... URS 2780 14
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... URS 2725 37
3 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. URS 2720 32
4 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2685 22
5 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2670 22
6 Gelfand, Boris.................... URS 2665 19
7-10 Shirov, Alexei.................... LAT 2655 61
Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2655 43
Yusupov, Artur.................... URS 2655 32
Salov, Valery..................... URS 2655 17
July 1992 FIDE rating list. Top 11 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2790 31
2 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2720 37
3 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2715 41
4 Shirov, Alexei.................... LAT 2710 57
5 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2690 48
6 Gelfand, Boris.................... RUS 2685 46
7 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2680 38
8 Bareev, Evgeny.................... RUS 2670 61
9 Timman, Jan....................... NLD 2665 37
10-11 Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2655 53
Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2655 9
January 1993 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2805 18
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2725 23
3-4 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2710 37
Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2710 31
5 Gelfand, Boris.................... BLA 2690 19
6 Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2685 27
7-8 Shirov, Alexei.................... LAT 2670 38
Bareev, Evgeny.................... RUS 2670 8
9-10 Georgiev, Kiril................... BUL 2660 65
Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2660 9
July 1993 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2815 13
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2760 61
3 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2725 19
4 Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2710 61
5 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2705 13
6-7 Shirov, Alexei.................... LAT 2685 54
Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2685 23
8-9 Topalov, Veselin.................. BUL 2670 47
Gelfand, Boris.................... BLA 2670 35
10 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2665 19
January 1994 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2815 0
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2740 40
3-4 Shirov, Alexei.................... LAT 2715 49
Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2715 37
5-6 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2710 33
Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2710 32
7 Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2695 36
8-10 Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2685 31
Bareev, Evgeny.................... RUS 2685 29
Gelfand, Boris.................... BLR 2685 23
July 1994 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2815 0
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2780 24
3 Shirov, Alexei.................... LAT 2740 36
4 Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2725 43
5 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2720 22
6 Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2710 21
7-8 Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2695 39
Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2695 14
9 Gelfand, Boris.................... BLR 2680 20
10 Bareev, Evgeny.................... RUS 2675 32
January 1995 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2805 0
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2765 37
3-5 Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2715 20
Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2715 11
Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2715 8
6-7 Shirov, Alexei.................... ESP 2710 36
Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2710 17
8-9 Gelfand, Boris.................... BLR 2700 43
Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2700 21
10 Bareev, Evgeny.................... RUS 2675 35
July 1995 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2795 26
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2775 37
3 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2740 36
4 Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2735 16
5 Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2730 31
6 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2725 10
7 Shirov, Alexei.................... ESP 2695 61
8-9 Gelfand, Boris.................... BLR 2685 29
Salov, Valery..................... RUS 2685 25
10 Yusupov, Artur.................... GER 2680 53
January 1996 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1-2 Kramnik, Vladimir................ RUS 2775 42
Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2775 19
3 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2770 12
4-5 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2735 39
Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2735 0
6 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2725 0
7-8 Topalov, Veselin.................. BUL 2700 40
Gelfand, Boris.................... BLR 2700 24
9 Shirov, Alexei.................... ESP 2690 38
10 Polgar, Judit..................... HUN 2675 29
July 1996 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2785 18
2 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2775 12
3 Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2765 22
4 Topalov, Veselin.................. BUL 2750 40
5 Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2745 20
6 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2735 31
7 Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2730 22
8 Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2695 25
9-10 Adams, Michael.................... ENG 2685 65
Shirov, Alexei.................... ESP 2685 41
January 1997 FIDE rating list. Top 10 players
1 Kasparov, Gary.................... RUS 2795 11
2 Anand, Viswanathan................ IND 2765 9
3 Karpov, Anatoly................... RUS 2760 52
4-5 Kramnik, Vladimir................. RUS 2740 41
Ivanchuk, Vassily................. UKR 2740 32
6 Topalov, Veselin.................. BUL 2725 44
7 Kamsky, Gata...................... USA 2720 29
8 Gelfand, Boris.................... BLR 2700 52
9-10 Shirov, Alexei.................... ESP 2690 49
Short, Nigel...................... ENG 2690 22
Sources: FIDE Official WWW Site: http://www.fide.com/
New In Chess Magazine 1/1991
Scacco (Italian Magazine) Jan & Jul 1988, Feb & Sep 1989
L'Italia Scacchistica (Italian Magazine) Feb 1984, Mar 1985
[chess index]
[trivia index]
[previous]
[next]
[Edinburgh University Chess Club Home Page]