|
A popular game among chess history enthusiasts is to name the
strongest world champion, the weakest, and the strongest player who
never became world champion.
Let's consider this game in a new way.
Chess Informant has identified the '200 greatest tournaments in
history'.
These are invitational events not including world championship
qualifiers like interzonals and candidate tournaments.
The 200 events cover 18406 games contested by 535 different players.
Let's compute some statistics based on the results of the
games played in these 200 events.
We can limit our statistics to include only those games where a past,
present, or future world champion -- not necessarily the reigning
titleholder -- played White or Black.
Of course, we'll also include games where world champions played each
other, like the many Kasparov - Karpov tournament encounters of the
late 1980s and early 1990s.
Our 200 tournaments give us 4778 games with a world champion playing
either White or Black.
First, here's a count of events in which the champions participated,
followed by their scores against all opponents.
Events
| Plyr |
Ct |
| Karpov, An |
65 |
| Anand, V. |
43 |
| Kasparov, G. |
41 |
| Spassky, B. |
38 |
| Kramnik, V. |
32 |
| Petrosian, T. |
32 |
| Smyslov, V. |
28 |
| Tal, M. |
26 |
| Alekhine, A. |
20 |
| Lasker, Em |
15 |
| Botvinnik, M. |
14 |
| Capablanca, J. |
14 |
| Khalifman, A. |
10 |
| Euwe, M. |
9 |
| Fischer, R. |
6 |
| Steinitz, W. |
5 |
The world champions against all opponents
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Lasker, Em |
W |
+78-9=40 |
B |
+66-19=42 |
185.0 |
254 |
72.83% |
| Kasparov, G. |
W |
+124-9=96 |
B |
+89-17=137 |
329.5 |
472 |
69.81% |
| Alekhine, A. |
W |
+81-19=59 |
B |
+71-15=68 |
215.5 |
313 |
68.85% |
| Capablanca, J. |
W |
+55-4=48 |
B |
+42-12=55 |
148.5 |
216 |
68.75% |
| Botvinnik, M. |
W |
+55-9=46 |
B |
+44-13=48 |
146.0 |
215 |
67.91% |
| Fischer, R. |
W |
+23-4=18 |
B |
+15-7=25 |
59.5 |
92 |
64.67% |
| Karpov, An |
W |
+175-18=179 |
B |
+87-40=249 |
476.0 |
748 |
63.64% |
| Kramnik, V. |
W |
+68-6=92 |
B |
+32-21=104 |
198.0 |
323 |
61.30% |
| Petrosian, T. |
W |
+93-12=140 |
B |
+51-30=159 |
293.5 |
485 |
60.52% |
| Anand, V. |
W |
+83-13=84 |
B |
+31-30=112 |
212.0 |
353 |
60.06% |
| Tal, M. |
W |
+62-15=103 |
B |
+40-29=115 |
211.0 |
365 |
57.81% |
| Euwe, M. |
W |
+25-12=31 |
B |
+24-18=26 |
77.5 |
136 |
56.99% |
| Spassky, B. |
W |
+91-18=162 |
B |
+48-46=174 |
307.0 |
539 |
56.96% |
| Steinitz, W. |
W |
+25-17=18 |
B |
+28-20=11 |
67.5 |
119 |
56.72% |
| Smyslov, V. |
W |
+71-24=110 |
B |
+36-33=134 |
229.0 |
408 |
56.13% |
| Khalifman, A. |
W |
+14-8=32 |
B |
+9-10=33 |
55.5 |
106 |
52.36% |
The names at the top of the list are candidates for the strongest
world champion of all time; the names at the bottom of the list are
candidates for the weakest.
Using the same games, here's how the challengers fared against the champs.
The challengers against the champions
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Schlechter, C. |
W |
+2-4=3 |
B |
+2-1=3 |
7.0 |
15 |
46.67% |
| Keres, P. |
W |
+5-6=16 |
B |
+3-6=20 |
26.0 |
56 |
46.43% |
| Reshevsky, S. |
W |
+1-0=10 |
B |
+3-6=6 |
12.0 |
26 |
46.15% |
| Bronstein, D. |
W |
+2-4=15 |
B |
+0-7=15 |
17.0 |
43 |
39.53% |
| Korchnoi, V. |
W |
+5-16=20 |
B |
+6-15=26 |
34.0 |
88 |
38.64% |
| Kamsky, G. |
W |
+4-2=10 |
B |
+1-11=7 |
13.5 |
35 |
38.57% |
| Short, N. |
W |
+7-7=23 |
B |
+1-18=17 |
28.0 |
73 |
38.36% |
| Tarrasch, S. |
W |
+3-7=6 |
B |
+2-5=3 |
9.5 |
26 |
36.54% |
| Timman, J. |
W |
+7-15=40 |
B |
+3-30=33 |
46.5 |
128 |
36.33% |
| Chigorin, M. |
W |
+3-5=2 |
B |
+3-8=3 |
8.5 |
24 |
35.42% |
| Janowsky, D. |
W |
+3-6=2 |
B |
+3-7=2 |
8.0 |
23 |
34.78% |
| Bogoljubov, E. |
W |
+1-6=9 |
B |
+1-9=7 |
10.0 |
33 |
30.30% |
| Marshall, F. |
W |
+1-8=10 |
B |
+0-11=6 |
9.0 |
36 |
25.00% |
| Gunsberg, I. |
W |
+0-3=0 |
B |
+0-2=0 |
0.0 |
5 |
0.00% |
This table gives us an idea who were the strongest and weakest
challengers.
Zukertort is missing because he had no games in our sample.
Keres and Reshevsky are listed as challengers because of their
participation in the 1948 title tournament.
Now let's restrict the games to those where world champions played
both White and Black.
This is a total of 366 games in 119 events where at least two world
champions participated.
Events with four or more world champions
| Year |
Site |
Ct |
Players |
| 1971 |
Moscow |
5 |
Karpov, Smyslov, Petrosian, Spassky, Tal |
| 1973 |
USSR (ch) |
5 |
Spassky, Karpov, Petrosian, Tal, Smyslov |
| 1936 |
Nottingham |
5 |
Botvinnik, Capablanca, Euwe, Alekhine, Lasker |
| 1967 |
Moscow |
4 |
|
| 1981 |
Moscow |
4 |
|
| 1976 |
USSR (ch) |
4 |
|
| 1988 |
USSR (ch) |
4 |
|
| 1991/92 |
Reggio Emilia |
4 |
|
| 1996 |
Las Palmas |
4 |
|
| 1983 |
Niksic |
4 |
|
| 1938 |
Amsterdam |
4 |
|
| 2000 |
Linares |
4 |
|
| 1993 |
Linares |
4 |
|
| 1994 |
Linares |
4 |
|
| 1955 |
USSR (ch) |
4 |
|
The champions against each other
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Lasker, Em |
W |
+8-1=9 |
B |
+5-3=6 |
20.5 |
32 |
64.06% |
| Fischer, R. |
W |
+3-0=3 |
B |
+1-1=5 |
8.0 |
13 |
61.54% |
| Kasparov, G. |
W |
+18-6=23 |
B |
+4-4=26 |
46.5 |
81 |
57.41% |
| Capablanca, J. |
W |
+4-0=13 |
B |
+5-5=8 |
19.5 |
35 |
55.71% |
| Botvinnik, M. |
W |
+4-1=7 |
B |
+3-3=13 |
17.0 |
31 |
54.84% |
| Tal, M. |
W |
+4-2=20 |
B |
+3-3=18 |
26.0 |
50 |
52.00% |
| Kramnik, V. |
W |
+8-2=24 |
B |
+2-6=21 |
32.5 |
63 |
51.59% |
| Karpov, An |
W |
+13-3=32 |
B |
+3-10=37 |
50.5 |
98 |
51.53% |
| Anand, V. |
W |
+9-3=17 |
B |
+5-12=25 |
35.0 |
71 |
49.30% |
| Petrosian, T. |
W |
+5-2=23 |
B |
+3-8=25 |
32.0 |
66 |
48.48% |
| Smyslov, V. |
W |
+5-4=18 |
B |
+1-5=19 |
24.5 |
52 |
47.12% |
| Alekhine, A. |
W |
+4-4=6 |
B |
+0-4=9 |
11.5 |
27 |
42.59% |
| Spassky, B. |
W |
+1-5=31 |
B |
+3-10=16 |
27.5 |
66 |
41.67% |
| Khalifman, A. |
W |
+1-1=6 |
B |
+0-6=5 |
6.5 |
19 |
34.21% |
| Euwe, M. |
W |
+2-1=5 |
B |
+0-7=3 |
6.0 |
18 |
33.33% |
| Steinitz, W. |
W |
+1-3=1 |
B |
+0-3=2 |
2.5 |
10 |
25.00% |
How about games by other players against the champs?
Top ten by number of games
| Plyr |
Ct |
| Timman, J. |
128 |
| Ljubojevic, Lj |
99 |
| Portisch, L. |
95 |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
94 |
| Korchnoi, V. |
88 |
| Topalov, V. |
73 |
| Short, N. |
73 |
| Beliavsky, A. |
73 |
| Gelfand, B. |
68 |
| Shirov, A. |
67 |
Scored >50% over >5 games
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Fine, R. |
W |
+3-1=4 |
B |
+2-1=4 |
9.0 |
15 |
60.00% |
| Bagirov, V. |
W |
+0-0=2 |
B |
+1-0=3 |
3.5 |
6 |
58.33% |
| Christiansen, L. |
W |
+1-0=3 |
B |
+1-1=1 |
4.0 |
7 |
57.14% |
| Stein, L. |
W |
+2-0=8 |
B |
+0-0=5 |
8.5 |
15 |
56.67% |
| Pillsbury, H. |
W |
+6-3=3 |
B |
+3-5=4 |
12.5 |
24 |
52.08% |
| Polugaevsky, L. |
W |
+5-2=15 |
B |
+2-4=23 |
26.0 |
51 |
50.98% |
The most active
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Portisch, L. |
W |
+8-11=33 |
B |
+3-10=30 |
42.5 |
95 |
44.74% |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
W |
+10-9=27 |
B |
+3-15=30 |
41.5 |
94 |
44.15% |
| Gelfand, B. |
W |
+6-5=23 |
B |
+1-11=22 |
29.5 |
68 |
43.38% |
| Topalov, V. |
W |
+6-10=22 |
B |
+2-11=22 |
30.0 |
73 |
41.10% |
| Ljubojevic, Lj |
W |
+7-18=33 |
B |
+4-13=24 |
39.5 |
99 |
39.90% |
| Korchnoi, V. |
W |
+5-16=20 |
B |
+6-15=26 |
34.0 |
88 |
38.64% |
| Short, N. |
W |
+7-7=23 |
B |
+1-18=17 |
28.0 |
73 |
38.36% |
| Shirov, A. |
W |
+3-11=22 |
B |
+3-11=17 |
25.5 |
67 |
38.06% |
| Timman, J. |
W |
+7-15=40 |
B |
+3-30=33 |
46.5 |
128 |
36.33% |
| Beliavsky, A. |
W |
+7-16=14 |
B |
+3-21=12 |
23.0 |
73 |
31.51% |
Players who challenged the world champions
Now let's go back to the 200 greatest tournaments and consider all
games where one or both players was a challenger who never became
world champion.
This is a total of 3895 games for which we can compute the same kind
of statistics as for the champions.
Events
| Plyr |
Ct |
| Timman, J. |
60 |
| Korchnoi, V. |
46 |
| Short, N. |
37 |
| Keres, P. |
20 |
| Bronstein, D. |
18 |
| Bogoljubov, E. |
16 |
| Marshall, F. |
16 |
| Kamsky, G. |
15 |
| Tarrasch, S. |
15 |
| Janowsky, D. |
12 |
| Schlechter, C. |
12 |
| Chigorin, M. |
10 |
| Reshevsky, S. |
7 |
| Gunsberg, I. |
2 |
| Zukertort, J. |
1 |
World championship challengers against all opponents
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Zukertort, J. |
W |
+3-3=2 |
B |
+6-0=2 |
11.0 |
16 |
68.75% |
| Keres, P. |
W |
+64-16=76 |
B |
+43-28=83 |
186.5 |
310 |
60.16% |
| Bogoljubov, E. |
W |
+63-30=34 |
B |
+56-38=32 |
152.0 |
253 |
60.08% |
| Schlechter, C. |
W |
+55-20=53 |
B |
+38-24=58 |
148.5 |
248 |
59.88% |
| Reshevsky, S. |
W |
+17-3=31 |
B |
+17-12=19 |
59.0 |
99 |
59.60% |
| Tarrasch, S. |
W |
+53-22=45 |
B |
+38-34=49 |
138.0 |
241 |
57.26% |
| Bronstein, D. |
W |
+58-18=78 |
B |
+30-33=92 |
173.0 |
309 |
55.99% |
| Marshall, F. |
W |
+51-26=56 |
B |
+43-41=54 |
149.0 |
271 |
54.98% |
| Janowsky, D. |
W |
+56-36=22 |
B |
+50-50=19 |
126.5 |
233 |
54.29% |
| Korchnoi, V. |
W |
+110-69=132 |
B |
+93-80=146 |
342.0 |
630 |
54.29% |
| Chigorin, M. |
W |
+45-40=16 |
B |
+42-42=22 |
106.0 |
207 |
51.21% |
| Timman, J. |
W |
+116-55=189 |
B |
+62-107=185 |
365.0 |
714 |
51.12% |
| Kamsky, G. |
W |
+28-11=43 |
B |
+15-30=38 |
83.5 |
165 |
50.61% |
| Short, N. |
W |
+61-46=90 |
B |
+37-68=97 |
191.5 |
399 |
47.99% |
| Gunsberg, I. |
W |
+4-9=3 |
B |
+3-9=3 |
10.0 |
31 |
32.26% |
The world champions against the challengers
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Lasker, Em |
W |
+18-2=5 |
B |
+13-4=8 |
37.5 |
50 |
75.00% |
| Capablanca, J. |
W |
+12-1=8 |
B |
+8-1=8 |
28.0 |
38 |
73.68% |
| Kasparov, G. |
W |
+19-0=11 |
B |
+14-3=21 |
49.0 |
68 |
72.06% |
| Alekhine, A. |
W |
+11-2=11 |
B |
+11-0=12 |
33.5 |
47 |
71.28% |
| Anand, V. |
W |
+16-1=7 |
B |
+2-3=6 |
24.5 |
35 |
70.00% |
| Karpov, An |
W |
+22-2=23 |
B |
+15-6=22 |
59.5 |
90 |
66.11% |
| Kramnik, V. |
W |
+8-0=5 |
B |
+4-2=13 |
21.0 |
32 |
65.63% |
| Fischer, R. |
W |
+2-0=4 |
B |
+0-0=1 |
4.5 |
7 |
64.29% |
| Botvinnik, M. |
W |
+2-0=5 |
B |
+6-3=5 |
13.0 |
21 |
61.90% |
| Petrosian, T. |
W |
+2-0=19 |
B |
+2-0=18 |
22.5 |
41 |
54.88% |
| Spassky, B. |
W |
+6-1=22 |
B |
+4-5=19 |
30.5 |
57 |
53.51% |
| Euwe, M. |
W |
+1-2=4 |
B |
+3-1=7 |
9.5 |
18 |
52.78% |
| Tal, M. |
W |
+6-5=12 |
B |
+1-2=10 |
18.0 |
36 |
50.00% |
| Khalifman, A. |
W |
+1-1=1 |
B |
+0-0=1 |
2.0 |
4 |
50.00% |
| Smyslov, V. |
W |
+6-4=8 |
B |
+1-6=13 |
17.5 |
38 |
46.05% |
| Steinitz, W. |
W |
+4-7=3 |
B |
+5-8=2 |
11.5 |
29 |
39.66% |
How did the challengers do among themselves?
Our data yields 231 games with a world champion challenger playing
both White and Black; this is over 82 events with at least two challengers.
Events with four or more challengers
| Year |
Site |
Ct |
Challengers |
| 1907 |
Ostend |
5 |
Chigorin, Janowsky, Marshall, Schlechter, Tarrasch |
| 1895 |
Hastings |
5 |
Chigorin, Gunsberg, Janowsky, Schlechter, Tarrasch |
| 1914 |
Petersburg (prelim) |
4 |
|
| 1911 |
San Sebastian |
4 |
|
| 1991 |
Tilburg |
4 |
Kamsky, Korchnoi, Short, Timman |
| 1907 |
Karlsbad |
4 |
|
| 1904 |
Cambridge Springs |
4 |
|
| 1900 |
Paris |
4 |
|
| 1898 |
Vienna |
4 |
|
| 1896 |
Nuremberg |
4 |
|
There has been only one such event since 1914.
The challengers against each other
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Reshevsky, S. |
W |
+1-0=1 |
B |
+3-1=1 |
5.0 |
7 |
71.43% |
| Marshall, F. |
W |
+11-3=8 |
B |
+5-7=11 |
25.5 |
45 |
56.67% |
| Keres, P. |
W |
+5-2=7 |
B |
+0-1=5 |
11.0 |
20 |
55.00% |
| Short, N. |
W |
+8-5=7 |
B |
+6-5=11 |
23.0 |
42 |
54.76% |
| Tarrasch, S. |
W |
+9-4=10 |
B |
+6-7=10 |
25.0 |
46 |
54.35% |
| Korchnoi, V. |
W |
+8-5=13 |
B |
+8-8=9 |
27.0 |
51 |
52.94% |
| Janowsky, D. |
W |
+12-8=4 |
B |
+12-13=4 |
28.0 |
53 |
52.83% |
| Schlechter, C. |
W |
+10-4=10 |
B |
+4-9=10 |
24.0 |
47 |
51.06% |
| Bogoljubov, E. |
W |
+3-4=2 |
B |
+3-3=3 |
8.5 |
18 |
47.22% |
| Kamsky, G. |
W |
+2-2=3 |
B |
+2-3=1 |
6.0 |
13 |
46.15% |
| Bronstein, D. |
W |
+2-2=4 |
B |
+1-3=5 |
7.5 |
17 |
44.12% |
| Timman, J. |
W |
+9-8=8 |
B |
+5-13=9 |
22.5 |
52 |
43.27% |
| Gunsberg, I. |
W |
+0-1=3 |
B |
+1-1=1 |
3.0 |
7 |
42.86% |
| Chigorin, M. |
W |
+5-11=6 |
B |
+3-12=6 |
14.0 |
43 |
32.56% |
Zukertort is missing because he played only one game, against
Chigorin, which he won.
Games by world champions and challengers
Now let's look at all games with a world champion or a challenger playing
either White or Black.
This is a total of 8062 games, including 1208 games with
champions and challengers playing both White and Black.
182 of our 200 events have had at least seen two world champions and
challengers.
The first USSR - World match had nine(!) champions and challengers,
but most of them didn't play each other. The Fischer - Petrosian &
Reshevsky - Smyslov matches were the exceptions.
The second USSR - World match had fewer champions and challengers.
USSR - World
| 1970 |
USSR - World |
9 |
| 1984 |
USSR - World |
6 |
Events with seven champions and challengers
| Year |
Site |
Ct |
| 1895 |
Hastings |
7 |
| 1914 |
Petersburg (prelim) |
7 |
| 1936 |
Nottingham |
7 |
| 1971 |
Moscow |
7 |
| 1973 |
USSR (ch) |
7 |
| 1991 |
Tilburg |
7 |
The champions and challengers against each other
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
|
| Lasker, Em |
W |
+26-3=14 |
B |
+18-7=14 |
58.0 |
82 |
70.73% |
* |
| Capablanca, J. |
W |
+16-1=21 |
B |
+13-6=16 |
47.5 |
73 |
65.07% |
* |
| Kasparov, G. |
W |
+37-6=34 |
B |
+18-7=47 |
95.5 |
149 |
64.09% |
* |
| Fischer, R. |
W |
+5-0=7 |
B |
+1-1=6 |
12.5 |
20 |
62.50% |
* |
| Alekhine, A. |
W |
+15-6=17 |
B |
+11-4=21 |
45.0 |
74 |
60.81% |
* |
| Karpov, An |
W |
+35-5=55 |
B |
+18-16=59 |
110.0 |
188 |
58.51% |
* |
| Botvinnik, M. |
W |
+6-1=12 |
B |
+9-6=18 |
30.0 |
52 |
57.69% |
* |
| Kramnik, V. |
W |
+16-2=29 |
B |
+6-8=34 |
53.5 |
95 |
56.32% |
* |
| Anand, V. |
W |
+25-4=24 |
B |
+7-15=31 |
59.5 |
106 |
56.13% |
* |
| Reshevsky, S. |
W |
+2-0=11 |
B |
+6-7=7 |
17.0 |
33 |
51.52% |
|
| Tal, M. |
W |
+10-7=32 |
B |
+4-5=28 |
44.0 |
86 |
51.16% |
* |
| Petrosian, T. |
W |
+7-2=42 |
B |
+5-8=43 |
54.5 |
107 |
50.93% |
* |
| Schlechter, C. |
W |
+12-8=13 |
B |
+6-10=13 |
31.0 |
62 |
50.00% |
|
| Keres, P. |
W |
+10-8=23 |
B |
+3-7=25 |
37.0 |
76 |
48.68% |
|
| Tarrasch, S. |
W |
+12-11=16 |
B |
+8-12=13 |
34.5 |
72 |
47.92% |
|
| Janowsky, D. |
W |
+15-14=6 |
B |
+15-20=6 |
36.0 |
76 |
47.37% |
|
| Spassky, B. |
W |
+7-6=53 |
B |
+7-15=35 |
58.0 |
123 |
47.15% |
* |
| Smyslov, V. |
W |
+11-8=26 |
B |
+2-11=32 |
42.0 |
90 |
46.67% |
* |
| Short, N. |
W |
+15-12=30 |
B |
+7-23=28 |
51.0 |
115 |
44.35% |
|
| Korchnoi, V. |
W |
+13-21=33 |
B |
+14-23=35 |
61.0 |
139 |
43.88% |
|
| Euwe, M. |
W |
+3-3=9 |
B |
+3-8=10 |
15.5 |
36 |
43.06% |
* |
| Marshall, F. |
W |
+12-11=18 |
B |
+5-18=17 |
34.5 |
81 |
42.59% |
|
| Bronstein, D. |
W |
+4-6=19 |
B |
+1-10=20 |
24.5 |
60 |
40.83% |
|
| Kamsky, G. |
W |
+6-4=13 |
B |
+3-14=8 |
19.5 |
48 |
40.63% |
|
| Timman, J. |
W |
+16-23=48 |
B |
+8-43=42 |
69.0 |
180 |
38.33% |
|
| Khalifman, A. |
W |
+2-2=7 |
B |
+0-6=6 |
8.5 |
23 |
36.96% |
* |
| Bogoljubov, E. |
W |
+4-10=11 |
B |
+4-12=10 |
18.5 |
51 |
36.27% |
|
| Steinitz, W. |
W |
+5-10=4 |
B |
+5-11=4 |
14.0 |
39 |
35.90% |
* |
| Chigorin, M. |
W |
+8-16=8 |
B |
+6-20=9 |
22.5 |
67 |
33.58% |
|
| Gunsberg, I. |
W |
+0-4=3 |
B |
+1-3=1 |
3.0 |
12 |
25.00% |
|
'*' = a world champion.
Now let's look at the records of players who were neither champ nor
challenger vs. the champs and challengers.
Greatest number of games
| Plyr |
Ct |
| Ljubojevic, Lj |
177 |
| Portisch, L. |
157 |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
139 |
| Beliavsky, A. |
116 |
| Andersson, U. |
106 |
| Huebner, R. |
103 |
| Gelfand, B. |
102 |
| Topalov, V. |
99 |
| Larsen, B. |
97 |
| Shirov, A. |
93 |
Scored >50% over >5 games
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Bagirov, V. |
W |
+1-0=2 |
B |
+2-0=3 |
5.5 |
8 |
68.75% |
| Stein, L. |
W |
+6-0=10 |
B |
+0-0=10 |
16.0 |
26 |
61.54% |
| Christiansen, L. |
W |
+2-1=5 |
B |
+2-1=1 |
7.0 |
12 |
58.33% |
| Pollock, W. |
W |
+1-2=1 |
B |
+2-0=1 |
4.0 |
7 |
57.14% |
| Smejkal, J. |
W |
+1-0=3 |
B |
+0-0=4 |
4.5 |
8 |
56.25% |
| Fine, R. |
W |
+4-4=5 |
B |
+4-1=7 |
14.0 |
25 |
56.00% |
| Kotov, A. |
W |
+5-4=5 |
B |
+4-2=5 |
14.0 |
25 |
56.00% |
| Pillsbury, H. |
W |
+17-9=8 |
B |
+11-13=7 |
35.5 |
65 |
54.62% |
| Salov, Va |
W |
+11-1=25 |
B |
+8-13=17 |
40.0 |
75 |
53.33% |
| Duras, O. |
W |
+2-2=2 |
B |
+4-3=3 |
8.5 |
16 |
53.13% |
| Speelman, J. |
W |
+4-1=15 |
B |
+5-6=10 |
21.5 |
41 |
52.44% |
| Kholmov, R. |
W |
+2-1=6 |
B |
+2-2=8 |
11.0 |
21 |
52.38% |
| Leko, P. |
W |
+3-0=23 |
B |
+2-4=21 |
27.0 |
53 |
50.94% |
| Nimzowitsch, A. |
W |
+9-11=16 |
B |
+7-4=14 |
31.0 |
61 |
50.82% |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
W |
+19-11=40 |
B |
+11-18=40 |
70.0 |
139 |
50.36% |
This may surprise you, so let's look at some details for the first few
names on the list.
Bagirov's record
| Year |
Site |
White |
Black |
Result |
| 1960 |
USSR (ch) |
Spassky, B. |
Bagirov, V. |
0-1 |
| 1960 |
USSR (ch) |
Smyslov, V. |
Bagirov, V. |
1/2 |
| 1960 |
USSR (ch) |
Bagirov, V. |
Korchnoi, V. |
1-0 |
| 1960 |
USSR (ch) |
Bronstein, D. |
Bagirov, V. |
0-1 |
| 1960 |
USSR (ch) |
Bagirov, V. |
Petrosian, T. |
1/2 |
| 1977 |
USSR (ch) |
Bagirov, V. |
Smyslov, V. |
1/2 |
| 1977 |
USSR (ch) |
Petrosian, T. |
Bagirov, V. |
1/2 |
| 1977 |
USSR (ch) |
Tal, M. |
Bagirov, V. |
1/2 |
Stein's record
| Year |
Site |
White |
Black |
Result |
| 1961 |
USSR (ch) |
Stein, L. |
Bronstein, D. |
1-0 |
| 1961 |
USSR (ch) |
Stein, L. |
Petrosian, T. |
1-0 |
| 1961 |
USSR (ch) |
Stein, L. |
Spassky, B. |
1-0 |
| 1964 |
Moscow |
Stein, L. |
Korchnoi, V. |
1-0 |
| 1967 |
Moscow |
Stein, L. |
Keres, P. |
1-0 |
| 1971 |
Moscow |
Stein, L. |
Bronstein, D. |
1-0 |
Stein's record included not a single loss; his 20 draws were against
Bronstein, Karpov, Korchnoi, Petrosian, Smyslov, Spassky, & Tal.
Christiansen
| Year |
Site |
White |
Black |
Result |
| 1981 |
Linares |
Christiansen, L. |
Spassky, B. |
1-0 |
| 1981 |
Linares |
Karpov, An |
Christiansen, L. |
1-0 |
| 1982 |
London |
Christiansen, L. |
Karpov, An |
1/2 |
| 1982 |
London |
Christiansen, L. |
Spassky, B. |
1/2 |
| 1982 |
London |
Christiansen, L. |
Timman, J. |
1/2 |
| 1982 |
London |
Short, N. |
Christiansen, L. |
0-1 |
| 1985 |
Linares |
Christiansen, L. |
Korchnoi, V. |
1/2 |
| 1985 |
Linares |
Christiansen, L. |
Timman, J. |
1-0 |
| 1985 |
Linares |
Spassky, B. |
Christiansen, L. |
1/2 |
| 1987/88 |
Reggio Emilia |
Christiansen, L. |
Korchnoi, V. |
0-1 |
| 1993 |
Las Palmas |
Christiansen, L. |
Anand, V. |
1/2 |
| 1993 |
Las Palmas |
Khalifman, A. |
Christiansen, L. |
0-1 |
Most active
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
W |
+19-11=40 |
B |
+11-18=40 |
70.0 |
139 |
50.36% |
| Topalov, V. |
W |
+10-12=26 |
B |
+9-12=30 |
47.0 |
99 |
47.47% |
| Shirov, A. |
W |
+9-12=28 |
B |
+8-12=24 |
43.0 |
93 |
46.24% |
| Portisch, L. |
W |
+12-14=57 |
B |
+11-21=42 |
72.5 |
157 |
46.18% |
| Andersson, U. |
W |
+4-2=44 |
B |
+4-15=37 |
48.5 |
106 |
45.75% |
| Gelfand, B. |
W |
+11-10=31 |
B |
+4-15=31 |
46.0 |
102 |
45.10% |
| Huebner, R. |
W |
+11-12=28 |
B |
+3-16=33 |
44.5 |
103 |
43.20% |
| Ljubojevic, Lj |
W |
+16-22=52 |
B |
+10-32=45 |
74.5 |
177 |
42.09% |
| Beliavsky, A. |
W |
+19-21=21 |
B |
+6-28=21 |
46.0 |
116 |
39.66% |
| Larsen, B. |
W |
+11-21=16 |
B |
+9-21=19 |
37.5 |
97 |
38.66% |
| [...] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Akopian, V. |
W |
+0-1=3 |
B |
+0-2=1 |
2.0 |
7 |
28.57% |
You might have noticed that I've been including the FIDE Knockout
champions Khalifman and Anand in the list of champions, while excluding
their last round challengers Akopian and Shirov.
Shirov placed third on the previous list and I included Akopian for
comparison.
It might be worth noting here that Shirov's record against Kasparov
(W:+0-4=7 B:+0-3=1 4/15 26.67% in these events) has been a disaster.
Games among non-champs & challengers
Now let's give a break to the players who were neither champion nor
challenger. For the rest of this article, we'll consider only the
10344 games where neither player was a champion or challenger.
The most active
| Plyr |
Ct |
| Ljubojevic, Lj |
405 |
| Portisch, L. |
374 |
| Beliavsky, A. |
330 |
| Tartakower, S. |
303 |
| Andersson, U. |
272 |
| Spielmann, R. |
272 |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
271 |
| Gligoric, S. |
252 |
| Larsen, B. |
245 |
| Shirov, A. |
233 |
The most successful
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Steiner, E. |
W |
+6-0=0 |
B |
+3-1=4 |
11.0 |
14 |
78.57% |
| Pillsbury, H. |
W |
+28-5=8 |
B |
+28-7=13 |
66.5 |
89 |
74.72% |
| Szen, J. |
W |
+6-2=0 |
B |
+6-2=1 |
12.5 |
17 |
73.53% |
| Anderssen, A. |
W |
+8-2=1 |
B |
+6-3=1 |
15.0 |
21 |
71.43% |
| Fine, R. |
W |
+12-0=3 |
B |
+3-3=10 |
21.5 |
31 |
69.35% |
| Lein, A. |
W |
+6-0=1 |
B |
+0-1=5 |
9.0 |
13 |
69.23% |
| Foltys, J. |
W |
+4-1=3 |
B |
+4-1=3 |
11.0 |
16 |
68.75% |
| Rubinstein, A. |
W |
+66-11=37 |
B |
+47-20=45 |
154.0 |
226 |
68.14% |
| Engels, L. |
W |
+1-0=2 |
B |
+1-0=2 |
4.0 |
6 |
66.67% |
| Dolmatov, S. |
W |
+4-1=2 |
B |
+1-0=6 |
9.0 |
14 |
64.29% |
The most (& least) successful with >48 games
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Pillsbury, H. |
W |
+28-5=8 |
B |
+28-7=13 |
66.5 |
89 |
74.72% |
| Rubinstein, A. |
W |
+66-11=37 |
B |
+47-20=45 |
154.0 |
226 |
68.14% |
| Nimzowitsch, A. |
W |
+35-10=36 |
B |
+43-19=33 |
112.5 |
176 |
63.92% |
| Maroczy, G. |
W |
+49-7=52 |
B |
+36-23=50 |
136.0 |
217 |
62.67% |
| Boleslavsky, I. |
W |
+25-4=35 |
B |
+17-8=32 |
75.5 |
121 |
62.40% |
| Stein, L. |
W |
+13-0=10 |
B |
+7-7=16 |
33.0 |
53 |
62.26% |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
W |
+50-13=73 |
B |
+43-17=75 |
167.0 |
271 |
61.62% |
| Flohr, S. |
W |
+34-7=40 |
B |
+23-14=41 |
97.5 |
159 |
61.32% |
| Schiffers, E. |
W |
+9-4=11 |
B |
+12-6=10 |
31.5 |
52 |
60.58% |
| Taimanov, M. |
W |
+45-11=24 |
B |
+21-21=39 |
97.5 |
161 |
60.56% |
| [...] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Nogueiras, J. |
W |
+5-4=20 |
B |
+2-9=18 |
26.0 |
58 |
44.83% |
| Mieses, J. |
W |
+22-23=8 |
B |
+16-26=11 |
47.5 |
106 |
44.81% |
| Gurgenidze, B. |
W |
+8-8=10 |
B |
+6-12=10 |
24.0 |
54 |
44.44% |
| Hjartarson, J. |
W |
+11-16=36 |
B |
+8-24=36 |
55.0 |
131 |
41.98% |
| Piket, Je |
W |
+14-13=28 |
B |
+7-28=29 |
49.5 |
119 |
41.60% |
| Cohn, E. |
W |
+9-16=10 |
B |
+11-16=9 |
29.5 |
71 |
41.55% |
| Johner, P. |
W |
+13-23=8 |
B |
+15-24=11 |
37.5 |
94 |
39.89% |
| Bertok, M. |
W |
+1-11=17 |
B |
+2-9=18 |
20.5 |
58 |
35.34% |
| Thomas, Ge |
W |
+5-14=15 |
B |
+3-20=13 |
22.0 |
70 |
31.43% |
| Menchik, V. |
W |
+5-17=3 |
B |
+3-17=4 |
11.5 |
49 |
23.47% |
The players at the top of this list are those who most deserved a
crack at the world championship title, but never got one.
Most active
| Player |
W |
+W-L=D |
B |
+W-L=D |
Score |
Games |
Pct |
| Ivanchuk, V. |
W |
+50-13=73 |
B |
+43-17=75 |
167.0 |
271 |
61.62% |
| Larsen, B. |
W |
+55-32=33 |
B |
+45-39=41 |
137.0 |
245 |
55.92% |
| Gligoric, S. |
W |
+54-21=53 |
B |
+24-28=72 |
140.5 |
252 |
55.75% |
| Spielmann, R. |
W |
+58-29=45 |
B |
+39-38=63 |
151.0 |
272 |
55.51% |
| Tartakower, S. |
W |
+56-23=77 |
B |
+41-41=65 |
168.0 |
303 |
55.45% |
| Shirov, A. |
W |
+50-23=45 |
B |
+26-33=56 |
126.5 |
233 |
54.29% |
| Portisch, L. |
W |
+65-20=98 |
B |
+28-42=121 |
202.5 |
374 |
54.14% |
| Ljubojevic, Lj |
W |
+60-24=120 |
B |
+38-46=117 |
216.5 |
405 |
53.46% |
| Andersson, U. |
W |
+30-11=98 |
B |
+14-25=94 |
140.0 |
272 |
51.47% |
| Beliavsky, A. |
W |
+53-34=74 |
B |
+38-48=83 |
169.5 |
330 |
51.36% |
Index of Chess Is Chess Statistics
|
