Chess Players – There are plenty of chess experts from whom you can draw some inspiration. Even though chess is an age-old board game, its popularity has enhanced over the last years since the pandemic hit the country. The Covid-19 pandemic has contributed a lot to the evolution of online chess. There are plenty of applications where you can play online chess easily. All you necessity to do is download the app and start playing.
This blog will talk about some of the most popular players. Read this blog if you are interested in playing offline or chess online.
Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900)
Wilhelm Steinitz is one of the best World Champions out there and is also the best. He is also the father of positional chess. Chess players of the 19th century were adept at aggressive and attacking play, while the defending ones were left for others. Steinitz’s revolutionary theory of positional play impacts the game and is relevant even now. Plenty of chess players, including the next World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, recognized him as their teacher. He won the World Champion label in 1886 and has a series of winnings in his bag.
He defended the title by winning matches versus Gunsberg and Chigorin.
Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941)
He became the World Champion in 1894 and held this title for 27 years. This is the longest reign of title in the history of this game. Flexibility was one of his pro features. Lasker was one of the 1st top players who were serious about the psychology of the game. The game was played in the year 1908 in the World Championship match. You should watch out for his moves if you want to win the game.
Jose Raul Capablanca (1888-1942)
He is 1 of the finest chess players in history and became the World Champion in 1921. He held his title until 1927. His endgame technique was brilliant!
Alexander Alekhine (1892-1946)
Alekhine’s style was aggressive, unlike Capablanca. He was one of the finest chess players with a very strong hand at openings. Alekhine was also great at positional & endgame play. Once he beat Capablanca in 1927, he became the World Champion and held his title until 1935. He took his last breath as the World Champion in 1946. One of his best sports was played in Baden-Baden in 1925 against Richard Reti.
Mikhail Botvinnik (@1911-1995)
He was a Soviet chess player who became the World Champion in 1948. He has put a lot of effort into researching and was extremely fond of the idea of computers playing chess. But, he also has got a doctoral degree in electrical engineering. He happening in the era of Soviet chess players dominating international competitions. He also has got a significant presence or impact on the game.
Robert James Fischer (1943-2008)
He was an American grandmaster and one of the most phenomenal chess players. So, he stopped Soviet domination in the world of chess. He has beaten Mark Taimanov by an outstanding score of 6-0 in the candidate match of 1971. Fischer went through some difficulties at the beginning of the game but prevailed at the end with a convincing score of 6,5 – 2,5. After defeating Boris Spassky in 1972, he became the World Champion. Chess players loved his books like “My 60 memorable games” and “Bobby Fischer teaches chess”. A chess variant called “Chess960” was also invented by him and known as Fischerandom.
Anatoly Karpov (b. 1953)
Another player with a significant contribution to the world of chess – was a consistent player. He has won more than 160 tournaments and even held the title of World Champion from 1975 to 1985. He also won the title of the FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999.
Garry Kasparov (b. 1963)
He is yet again one of the best chess players ever. He has a very aggressive style, and his imagination is amazing. His outstanding calculations and deep knowledge of opening theory drew many fans towards him. He was graded world No.1 for over 20 years.
His peak rating of 2851 seems to be unreachable for mere mortals. After defeating Anatoly Karpov, he became the World Champion in 1985. They played 144 games in 5 matches.
Viswanathan Anand (b. 1969)
Viswanathan Anand became the first grandmaster of India in the year 1988. His playing style was active, and he had a very fast speed of play. He faced Garry Kasparov in a game for the World Championship in 1995. So, he is the only chess player who bagged the World Champion title in all possible formats. He was also the highest-ranked player for 21 months. His peak rating was 2817.
Magnus Carlsen (b. 1990)
He is the present World Champion in classical, rapid, and blitz formats. He also has been the world’s No. 1 since the year 2011 and the one who also defeated Garry Kasparov’s rating record by reaching a high ELO of 2882.
So these are rare chess players that you must keep in mind while you are looking out to learn new tips and tricks. Read this Forbes blog to know more about this wonderful chess game.