Top 10 Chess Grandmasters of 2006

The tradition of competitive chess began in the 16th century and continues to attract participants the world over. The first official World Chess Champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, claimed his title in 1886; his modern equivalent, Vladimir Kramnik, is the 14th champion in the lineage. There are also biennial world team events called Chess Olympiads. Since the 20th century, two international organizations, the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and the International Correspondence Chess Federation, have organized and overseen the top chess competitions and international titles, including the Chess Olympiads.

Chess Now

Contemporary chess is an organized sport with structured international and national leagues, tournaments, and congresses. Chess' international governing body is FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs). Most countries have a national chess organization as well (such as the U.S. Chess Federation and English Chess Federation), which in turn is a member of FIDE. FIDE is a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), but the game of chess has never been part of the Olympic Games.

The current World Chess Champion is Vladimir Kramnik, and the reigning Women's World Champion is Xu Yuhua from China. However, the world's highest rated female player, Judit Polgar, has never participated in the Women's World Chess Championship, instead preferring to compete with the leading men.

Presently, the highest rated male is Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, who lost to Vladimir Kramnik at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2006. Despite Kramnik's victory, Topalov is ranked the number one player in the world, according to FIDE.

The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. "Elo" is often written in capital letters (ELO), but it is not an acronym. It is the family name of the system's creator, Arpad Elo (1903-1992), a Hungarian-born American physics professor.

Titles and Rankings

The best players can be awarded specific lifetime titles by the world chess organization FIDE. Following are the titles awarded:

• International Grandmaster (shortened: Grandmaster, GM or IGM) is awarded to world-class chess masters. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Before FIDE will confer the title on a player, the player must have an ELO chess rating of at least 2500 at one time and two favorable results in tournaments involving other Grandmasters, including some from countries other than the applicant's. There are also other milestones a player can achieve to attain the title, such as winning the World Junior Championship.
• International Master (shortened: IM). The conditions are similar to GM, but less demanding. The minimum rating for the IM title is 2,400.
• FIDE Master (shortened: FM). The usual way for a player to qualify for the FIDE Master title is by achieving a FIDE Rating of 2,300 or more.
• Candidate Master (shortened: CM). Similar to FM, but with a FIDE Rating of at least 2,200.

The Best in the World of Chess

The following are brief bios and a list of the top 10 Grandmasters of 2006 based on FIDE's January 2007 ratings.

1. Veselin Topalov - Topalov became a Grandmaster in 1992. He was born in Rousse, Bulgaria on March 15, 1975 and has been the leader of the Bulgarian national team since 1994. After taking over the team as captain, Topalov has won a number of tournaments and has been invited to "Supergrandmaster" events for the world's elite players. Topalov's current Elo ranking is 2,783.

2. Viswanathan Anand - A remarkable player, the "Lightning Kid" is an Indian chess Grandmaster and former FIDE world champion. Born on Dec. 11, 1969, Anand is only one of four players in history to break the 2,800 mark on the FIDE rating list and has been ranked in the top three consistently since 1994. His current Elo rating is 2,779.

3. Vladimir Kramnik - Kramnik was born on June 25, 1975, and is the current undisputed World Chess Champion, having defeated Topalov in October 2006. This Russian chess Grandmaster has a 2,766 Elo rating. From 1990 to the present, Kramnik has won over 40 tournaments and is considered one of the game's best players.

4. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov - Born in Sumgait, Azerbijan, on April 12, 1985, Mamedyarov is an international chess Grandmaster with an Elo rating of 2,754. One of Mamedyarov's most incredible accomplishments to date is achieving a 2,953 performance rating at the World Junior Chess Championship.

5. Vassily Ivanchuk - This Ukrainian chess Grandmaster was born on March 18, 1969, in Berezhany, Ukraine. "Big Chucky," as he's known to his colleagues, is considered to be an eccentric in the chess world with his unpredictable and highly original style of play. Ivanchuk has an Elo rating of 2,750.

6. Peter Leko - Born on Sept. 8, 1979, Leko, a Yugoslav born Hungarian chess player became a Grandmaster in 1994 at the age of 14. Leko has an Elo rating of 2,749 and is considered one of the most important theorists in the professional circuit.

7. Levon Aronian - Aronian is Armenia's number one player, with an Elo rating of 2,744. Born on Oct. 6, 1982, Aronian has been making a name for himself since 2002 on the chess circuit.

8. Alexander Morozevich - Morozevich, a Russian born chess player, was born on July 18, 1977. Known for an unusual style of play, especially during openings, Morozevich seems to prefer complicated rather than clear positions. His Elo rating is 2,741.

9. Michael Adams - This International Grandmaster of chess was born in Cornwall, England, on Nov. 17, 1971. He's England's number one player, with an Elo rating of 2,735. From 1993 to the present, Adams has been a great and formidable competitor on the chess circuit.

10. Boris Gelfand - Gelfand is a member of the Israeli national chess team, having immigrated to Israel in 1998 from Minsk, Belarus. Gelfand's Elo rating is 2,733. In 1989, Gelfand earned the title of Grandmaster.