Legendary players
The great chess players
From Philidor to Carlsen: their careers, their style, their openings and the positions that made them legends.
The pioneers
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François-André Philidor 1726–1795 The strongest player in the world for nearly fifty years, opera composer and author of "pawns are the soul of chess": Philidor's career and doctrine. -
Paul Morphy 1837–1884 The strongest player in the world of his day, author of the Opera Game and inventor of modern chess: Paul Morphy's career, style and openings.
The classical age
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Wilhelm Steinitz 1836–1900 First official world champion in 1886 and founder of modern positional chess: Wilhelm Steinitz's career, theory and openings. -
Emanuel Lasker 1868–1941 World champion for twenty-seven years, mathematician and friend of Einstein: Emanuel Lasker's career, style and openings. -
José Raúl Capablanca 1888–1942 World champion from 1921 to 1927, unbeaten for eight years and the supreme master of endgames: Capablanca's career, style and openings. -
Alexander Alekhine 1892–1946 World champion from 1927 to 1946, the first player to regain the title and a master of combination: Alekhine's career, style and openings.
The Soviet school
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Mikhail Botvinnik 1911–1995 Three-time world champion, electrical engineer and founder of the Soviet school: Botvinnik's career, method and openings. -
Tigran Petrosian 1929–1984 World champion from 1963 to 1969, nicknamed Iron Tigran and the supreme master of prophylaxis: Petrosian's career, style and openings. -
Mikhail Tal 1936–1992 World champion in 1960 at twenty-three, known as the magician from Riga: Mikhail Tal's career, style and sacrifices. -
Boris Spassky 1937–2025 World champion from 1969 to 1972 and Fischer's opponent at Reykjavik: Boris Spassky's career, universal style and openings. -
Anatoly Karpov Born 1951 World champion from 1975 to 1985, record holder for tournament wins and master of positional pressure: Karpov's career and style.
The moderns
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Bobby Fischer 1943–2008 World champion in 1972 against Spassky, inventor of Chess960 and the increment clock: Bobby Fischer's career, playing style and openings. -
Garry Kasparov Born 1963 World champion from 1985 to 2000, world number one for 255 months and the man who played Deep Blue: Garry Kasparov's career, style and openings. -
Viswanathan Anand Born 1969 Five-time world champion, India's first grandmaster and founder of the academy that produced Gukesh: Anand's career and style. -
Vladimir Kramnik Born 1975 World champion from 2000 to 2007, the man who beat Kasparov and revived the Berlin Wall: Kramnik's career, style and openings. -
Judit Polgár Born 1976 Grandmaster at 15, the only woman ever to reach the world top 10 and the player who beat eleven world champions: Judit Polgár's career and style.
The contemporaries
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Hikaru Nakamura Born 1987 Five-time US champion, Fischer Random world champion and the player who moved chess onto Twitch: Nakamura's career and style. -
Magnus Carlsen Born 1990 World champion from 2013 to 2023, world number one since 2011 and holder of the highest rating ever: Magnus Carlsen's career, style and openings. -
Hou Yifan Born 1994 Four-time women's world champion, youngest female grandmaster in history and university professor: Hou Yifan's career and choices. -
Gukesh Dommaraju Born 2006 Youngest world champion in history at eighteen in 2024: Gukesh Dommaraju's career, style and the game that won him the title.
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