Summary: 1840 - 2005 How to use this page
Duration: covering
Most Dominant Player between 1840 and 2005 See more details
   Emanuel Lasker: 24.3 years as #1 (between June 1890 and December 1926)
The player who was ranked #1 most often between 1840 and 2005 was Emanuel Lasker, with 292 different months as the top-ranked player (a total of 24.3 years). Next on the list were Garry Kasparov (21.9 years) and Wilhelm Steinitz (14.4 years).
Highest-Rated Player between 1840 and 2005 Summary only | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 | Top 50 | Top 100
   Bobby Fischer: 2895 (October 1971)
The player who achieved the highest peak rating between 1840 and 2005 was Bobby Fischer, with a rating of 2895 on the October 1971 list. The next-highest peak ratings between 1840 and 2005 were achieved by Garry Kasparov (2886 on the March 1993 list) and Mikhail Botvinnik (2885 on the October 1945 list).
     Player Name       Peak Rating       World Rank (at time of Peak Rating)       Age (at time of Peak Rating)   
 #1    Bobby Fischer      2895      #1 on October 1971 rating list      28y7m   
 #2    Garry Kasparov      2886      #1 on March 1993 rating list      29y11m   
 #3    Mikhail Botvinnik      2885      #1 on October 1945 rating list      34y2m   
 #4    Emanuel Lasker      2878      #1 on May 1894 rating list      25y5m   
 #5    José Capablanca      2877      #1 on May 1921 rating list      32y6m   
Strongest Tournament between 1840 and 2005 See more details
   Vienna, 1882: Class 21 (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #10)
The strongest tournament held between 1840 and 2005 was Vienna 1882. This was a Class 21 tournament, including nine of the top ten players in the world (from the May 1882 rating list). The next-strongest tournaments were Linares 1993 (Class 21) and Nottingham 1936 (Class 20).
Strongest Match between 1840 and 2005 See more details
   Karpov-Kasparov V (World Championship, Lyon/New York), 1990: #1 vs #2
The strongest match held between 1840 and 2005 was Karpov-Kasparov V (World Championship, Lyon/New York), 1990. This was a matchup of #1 vs #2, including #1 Garry Kasparov (2877) and #2 Anatoly Karpov (2827) from the October 1990 rating list. Next on the list were Karpov-Kasparov III (World Championship, London/Leningrad), 1986 (#1 vs #2) and Karpov-Kasparov IV (World Championship, Sevilla), 1987 (#1 vs #2).
Best Individual Event Performance between 1840 and 2005 Summary only | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 | Top 50 | Top 100
   Anatoly Karpov: 2899 in Linares, 1994
The best individual event performance between 1840 and 2005 was achieved by Anatoly Karpov with a Chessmetrics Performance Rating of 2899 in Linares, 1994. The next-best individual event performances were achieved by Bobby Fischer (2887 performance) in Fischer-Larsen Match (Candidates semifinal, Denver), 1971, and by Emanuel Lasker (2882 performance) in Lasker-Steinitz II (World Championship, Moscow), 1896.
      Player Name       Chessmetrics Performance Rating    Event
 #1    Anatoly Karpov      2899 performance: 11/13 (85%) vs 2729   Linares, 1994
 #2    Bobby Fischer      2887 performance: 6/6 (100%) vs 2752   Fischer-Larsen Match (Candidates semifinal, Denver), 1971
 #3    Emanuel Lasker      2882 performance: 12.5/17 (74%) vs 2754   Lasker-Steinitz II (World Championship, Moscow), 1896
 #4    Garry Kasparov      2881 performance: 12/14 (86%) vs 2692   Tilburg, 1989
 #5    Emanuel Lasker      2878 performance: 18/22 (82%) vs 2667   London, 1899
NOTE: "Chessmetrics Performance Rating" is a Chessmetrics formula used to estimate the performance level of a player, based solely on the evidence of their results in one event. It only considers games against rated opposition, so the above summary excludes any games against unrated opponents.