The 12 Best Chess Players of All Time

There are so many incredible chess players throughout the history of the past. However, most of them never became world champion-depending on how you count it, around 20. But who are the greatest? Who are the best players in chess history who were never able to achieve the supreme title in chess--being world champion. My list here is not perfect, but it's the 10 best chess players to never become world champion in my opinion. Let me know in the comments if I forgot someone who should be on the list! Disclaimer: this applies to the classical world championship only.

12. Mark Taimanov

Taimanov is a legend of the game, best known for multiple opening variations being named after him, most notably in the Sicilian defense. While he received the Grandmaster title in 1952, he was still a prolifically strong player as late as the early 70s. Players he beat during his career included 6 world champions, namely Tal, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Karpov, Spassky, and Petrosian. While he did get punished by the Soviet government in 1971 after losing to Bobby Fischer with the score of 6-0, after other notable players lost to Fischer with similar scores, the Soviet government "forgave" him. Taimanov was also a concert pianist, and he kept writing chess books for years after his career ended.

Image Credit: The New York Times

11. Géza Maróczy

One of the initial recipients of the GM title, Maroczy is remembered for the Maroczy bind in the Sicilian, and the Maroczy Gambit as well. Primarily playing during the very early 1900s Maroczy retired in 1908 to make a better living as a clerk. However, in the 1920s he came back with notable success, winning the Olympiad with Hungary in 1927. During his playing career he was able to beat Steinitz once and have a plus score against many top players of his time, inlcuding Euwe, Chigorin, Bogoljubov, and Blackburne among others.

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10. Efim Bogoljubov

Efim Bogoljubov was an excellent chess player who was a top player in the 1920s. One of his greatest accomplishments included winning the 1925 Soviet Chess Championship, ahead of a brilliant field including Lasker and Capablanca. While having struggles in his life and fleeing the Soviet Union in 1926, he still managed to play two world championships, both against Alekhine in 1929 and 1934. Of course, he also had other victories, such as his victory in the Kissingen 1928 Chess Tournament ahead of Nimzowitsch, Capablanca, and Tartakower among others. While politically controversial as he became a Nazi to help his daughters get into college, opinions differ on whether he actually agreed with Nazi opinions. His high level of play continued until the early 1940s, after when he started to decline after passing the age of 50. Though he died in 1952--one year after receiving the grandmaster title--his legacy of the Bogo-Indian Defense remains to this day.

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9. Mikhail Chigorin

Chigorin was one of the most influential players of his time, still remembered today for the Chigorin Defense. While he was able to challenge Steinitz for the World Championship twice, he suffered a defeat both times. He was the primary inspiration for the so called "Russian Chess School" and decades later if any Russian chess player criticized the Chigorin they would be shunned. His most stellar performance could probably be pointed out as the 1895 Hastings Tournament which was arguably the strongest chess tournament in history up to that point. In it, he placed second behind Pillsbury, but ahead of Lasker (3d), Tarrasch (4th), and Steinitz (5th). Chigorin impacted the younger generation at that time and inspired many to play chess.

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8. Siegbert Tarrasch

Tarrasch was an excellent chess player who had the unfortune, like many other players, of living at the same time as someone even more incredibly excellent. While Tarrasch was superior to almost all other players at the time, World Champion Emmanuel Lasker surpassed him repeatedly. Their rivalry was fierce, but in the 1908 World Championship Tarrasch was soundly defeated. While he lost another World Championship even more convincingly in 1916 (again against Lasker), his legacy remains in multiple openings being named after this legend.

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7. Levon Aronian

Still active today, many forget what a beast Levon was in earlier years. Not only is did he achieve the fourth highest rating in history, but has also been World Blitz, Rapid, and Chess960 champion. Though older than Carlsen, for much of his later career he was constantly overshadowed by Magnus, despite being No. 2 constantly for multiple years. However, he was unfortunately unable to ever qualify to a World Championship match. His best achievements outside of the above include winning the Olympiad and also winning the World Cup twice.

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6. Paul Keres

One of the unluckiest chess players from a certain standpoint, Keres was one of the best players in the world for nearly three decades. He missed out on the world championship by the slimmest margins five different times--a match with Alekhine falling through because of WW2 and placing second in the Candidates Tournament four different times! However, he still had many notable achievements including winning the Soviet chess championship three different times, ahead of players such as Petrosian, Botvinnik, Bronstein, Taimanov, and Smyslov. Keres remained a prominent player until his death in 1975 at the age of 59.

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5. Vasyl Ivanchuk

While still strong today, Ivanchuk, or Chuky as he is known, used to be one of the very best. He placed world No. 2 multiple times on the rating list and became both World Rapid and Blitz champion during his illustrious career. He also managed to win nearly every major tournament in modern times, including Wijk an Zee (Tata Steel), Linares, and Gibraltar, often ahead of players such as Kasparov. He managed to reach the final in the 2002 and 2004 FIDE World Championship but lost both times. Ivanchuk also showed incredible speed chess abilities (to this day even!) but has often struggled with nerves such as in the famous moment of missing mate in 1 against Anand. However, he is still one of the most incredible players of this century.

Image credit: The Chess Journal (chessjournal.com)

4. Akiba Rubinstein

Also plagued by unfortunate events, Rubinstein was likely the strongest player in the early 1910s. However, his World Championship Match with Emannuel Lasker that was scheduled for 1914 fell through due to World War 1. After the war was over, he was not able to play at his previous level, suffering personal and mental issues.

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3. David Bronstein

Bronstein was one of the strongest players in the world for nearly three decades, reaching a pinnacle in his World Championship match against Botvinnik in 1951. It was a very close match, with Bronstein up one point going into the last two rounds. However, he lost of the remaining games, and since the match was tied in the end, the current regulations ruled that Botvinnik would remain champion. Though Bronstein remained a very strong player for many years afterward, he never achieved that same level again. Bronstein also popularized increment in chess, a major part of chess today.

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2. Fabiano Caruana

While Fabi is still incredibly strong today, his list of accomplishments may amaze some. His achievements include qualifying for the Candidates tournament in 2016, 2018, 2020/2021, 2022, 2024, and 2026. He has also won the Olympiad, Tata Steel, Sinquefield Cup, and the Grenke Chess Classic. Out of his multiple Singuefield Cup victories, his victory in 2014 is the well-known highest performance rating at a top-level tournament at 3098-arguably the best tournament performance of all time. Notably, he also won the Candidates Tournament in 2018, becoming the first American to play for the undisputed World Championship since Bobby Fischer. Although he tied the match with Carlsen over 14 games, eventually losing the tiebreak, he had multiple opportunities and was pressing arguably more times than Carlsen was. His peak rating is the third highest of all time, after Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen, two of the greatest players of all time. However, Fabi still has a chance at clinching the title, which distinguishes him from others on this list except for maybe Aronian.

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1. Viktor Korchnoi

There are few athletes, not to speak of chess players, as inspiring as Korchnoi. Whatever you might think of the Soviet Union in its time, Korchnoi we can all admit that Korchnoi was up against a force much greater than himself and still managed to thrive. While he lost three different matches against Karpov, he qualified to the Candidates on 10 (!!) different occasions. Four-time Soviet champion, six-time Olympiad winner, (although it was the Soviet Union, so it doesn't really count lol) Korchoni became the oldest player ever to be in the top 100 by rating. He was still a very strong and active player in his seventies, winning the Swiss championship at the age of 78 and 80. In 2011 (at the age of 80), he managed to defeat up and coming Fabiano Caruana as black, despite being 61 years his elder. (At the time Fabi was already 2700+) In 2015, Korchnoi played a match with (also on this list) Mark Taimanov, with their combined ages being 174. Outside of his longevity, Korchnoi was also incredible in his younger days. Since he was a Soviet defector, and Karpov was the pride of Soviet chess, he faced incredible opposition. His matches with Karpov were hardly fair, as (similar to Fischer) all the Soviet Grandmasters were prohibited from helping him, so while Karpov had incredible teams, Korchnoi had to settle with British and American players-often not even GM's. Despite this, death threats, and psychological tricks, it's incredible he managed to keep the matches competitive at all! Whatever you think of the politics, Korchnoi was an incredible player--the best in my opinion, to never become world champion.

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Conclusion

There have been many incredible players throughout history who have not became world champion, and there are many who are not on here who could. Efim Geller, Lajos Portisch, Joseph Blackburne, Hikaru Nakamura, and many more could be here but are not. However, these were my personal favorites. What did you think? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed, a like and follow would be highly appreciated! If you want to improve your chess, even if not to the level of these players, check out this free GM Masterclass! Thanks for reading, until later!