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Chess grandmaster list: Top 10 best players
Mastery in chess has always been incredibly respected, and pretty hard to earn a place among the chess elite. This is a chess grandmaster list, where you will find the best chess players in the world, the ones still active.
These players have achieved an excelling chess level and demonstrated an understanding of chess above average. There is no order for these masters, and, of course, they are not the only ones, but some of the best for sure.
They conform to the chess elite, and are the most famous, skilled, and peculiar chess grandmasters:
1. Maxime vachier Lagrave
This is France’s number one player, being extremely skillful since he was a kid, is one of the best chess players in the world now. He has participated in the highest-class tournaments all around the world, having a great skill for the game. A chess grandmaster list would be incomplete without this player.
His fanatics named him MVL, as a short way to pronounce his name, which is a little difficult. He has a very positional style, he’s an interesting kind of chess player. He never takes action too quickly and tends to play quietly, but at some point, he starts attacking you like crazy!
2. Alireza Firouzja
This is the Iranian promise of this era, and, assured by himself, he will be the next chess world champion. He is a keen player, who has openly declared that he will beat Carlsen someday, and will be the one to take the title!
His story is an inspiring one, and he stopped representing his country in chess tournaments, where he displays the international FIDE flag. He has been more active on social media lately; you should follow him.
3. Wesley So
Wesley was a prodigy, that deserves to be on the best chess grandmaster list, and has well-earned respect among the chess elite. The Philippines doesn’t have many chess players, this is one of the most complete and multiple.
He has a wide and incredible knowledge about chess openings and is extremely good at blitz. He is the youngest player in the world to surpass the 2600 ELO rating barrier. He has been on the frame of the best for a long time and has won important tournaments.
He likes to attack, a lot, if your king gets loose in the center against Wesley, he will not leave you a chance to survive.
4. Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Grischuk needed to be on this chess grandmaster list, despite not being as famous as other players, he has great talent. This is a Russian player who had an incredible performance in chess since he was a teenager.
Escalading in chess in Russia is not an easy task, he was known (and is still) as one of the best blitz players in the world. The calculation skills of this master have gone further beyond lots of others grandmasters.
Many people attribute this awesome skill to the fact that Alexander likes to play blindfold chess too much.
5. Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura is a Japanese player who moved to America when he was two years old. And he has been one of the best chess players in the world consistently for more than ten years.
He also disputed the best place in the U.S chess championship with his American rival Fabiano Caruana. However, he has been the U.S chess champion many times and is in the top 20 best players of the world.
He also is very charismatic and charming, one of the best chess streamers you can watch on Twitch.
6. Levon Aronian
This is an Armenian player, and he has his place inside the chess grandmaster list well-earned. He is known for being one of the world’s best blitz players and has a particularly aggressive playstyle.
A curious fact about this player is that he has been in the top 10 best chess players for more than 15 years! It’s incredible ho this grandmaster has maintained his level consistently, and not losing any playing strength. Soon, he will be given American nationality.
7. Ian Nepomniachtchi
We must mention Ian now in any chess grandmaster list, he is the fourth-best chess player in the world. He is also the one who earned the opportunity to play Carlsen in the next chess world champion match.
He has been playing chess for a long time now, and he has shown his brilliancy in front of the board more than one time. A fun fact is that Nepo also enjoys playing Dota 2 in Twitch streams.
8. Ding Liren
Ding was a Chinese prodigy since he was just a little kid, and, as a prodigy, had a fascinating story. He started to play chess at the age of 3 and started playing in one of China’s best chess clubs.
He had a natural talent for chess, and people loved watching him play. He scored many points in his first tournament, and when he was given his starting ELO rating it was above 2000 ELO.
9. Fabiano Caruana
Fabiano Caruana is one of the strongest chess grandmasters of the elite these days, we must mention him in a chess grandmaster list. He was the 2018 world chess championship challenger against Magnus Carlsen, with an incredible playstyle as well.
He doesn’t like to talk too much, but his strength and amazing positional play can defeat anyone.
10. Magnus Carlsen
Finally, Magnus Carlsen is the world chess champion currently, and some say is the best chess player of the entire history. He was the first person to surpass the 2800 ELO barrier, and he was already a grandmaster when he was 15 years old.
Carlsen has been the world champion for more than a decade, and no one knows when the Carlsen era will end. For sure, this is one of the best chess players we have seen in a long time.
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