World Chess Championship Statistics

World Championship Chess Statistics Compiled from http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/wcc-indx.
htm
World Chess Championship

Interzonal Events
Statistics
Games
Event Games
Tournament (incl. players who later withdrew) 4836
Playoff 94
Events
Year Site Players Games Xtbl

1948 Saltsjobaden 20 190 Xtbl
1952 Saltsjobaden 21 210 Xtbl
1955 Goteborg 21 210 Xtbl
1958 Portoroz 21 210 Xtbl
1962 Stockholm 23 253 Xtbl
1964 Amsterdam 24 276 Xtbl
1967 Sousse 22 231 +10 Xtbl
1970 Palma de Mallorca 24 276 Xtbl
1973 Leningrad 18 153 Xtbl
1973 Petropolis 18 153 Xtbl
1976 Biel 20 190 Xtbl
1976 Manila 20 190 Xtbl
1979 Riga 18 152 Xtbl
1979 Rio de Janeiro 18 153 +2 Xtbl
1982 Las Palmas 14 91 Xtbl
1982 Moscow 14 91 Xtbl
1982 Toluca 14 91 Xtbl
1985 Biel 18 153 Xtbl
1985 Taxco 16 116 Xtbl
1985 Tunis 17 136 +6 Xtbl
1987 Subotica 16 120 +6 Xtbl
1987 Szirak 18 153 Xtbl
1987 Zagreb 17 136 Xtbl
Page 1 of 52
World Championship Chess Statistics Compiled from http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/wcc-indx.htm
1990 Manila 64 410 Xtbl

1993 Biel 74 468 Xtbl
Most active players
Excluding playoffs,
but including games played against opponents who later withdrew
Player Events Games

Portisch, L. 12 215
Gligoric, S. 8 165
Geller, E. 8 155
Larsen, B. 8 153
Tal, M. 9 151
Smyslov, V. 8 136
Petrosian, T. 7 131
Polugaevsky, L. 7 122
Pachman, L. 6 121
Torre, E. 7 112
Other players who competed in six events
Huebner, R. 6
Korchnoi, V. 6
Ljubojevic, Lj 6
Individual results
Most successful
Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Karpov, An W +4-0=4 B +6-0=3 13.5 17 79.41%
Kasparov, G. W +4-0=3 B +3-0=3 10.0 13 76.92%
Fischer, R. W +22-1=15 B +19-2=16 56.5 75 75.33%
Kotov, A. W +12-0=8 B +6-1=12 28.0 39 71.79%
Gelfand, B. W +8-0=5 B +2-0=11 18.0 26 69.23%
Bronstein, D. W +27-1=22 B +12-4=33 66.5 99 67.17%
Beliavsky, A. W +13-3=9 B +9-3=10 31.5 47 67.02%
Page 2 of 52
Salov, Va W +9-2=8 B +7-2=9 24.5 37 66.22%

Korchnoi, V. W +30-2=20 B +15-10=26 68.0 103 66.02%
Jussupow, A. W +6-1=7 B +4-0=11 19.0 29 65.52%
Most active

Tal, M. W +35-5=35 B +24-8=44 98.5 151 65.23%
Petrosian, T. W +27-0=38 B +14-3=49 84.5 131 64.50%
Geller, E. W +39-5=34 B +17-10=50 98.0 155 63.23%
Larsen, B. W +33-14=27 B +34-16=29 95.0 153 62.09%
Portisch, L. W +45-17=48 B +38-15=52 133.0 215 61.86%
Polugaevsky, L. W +25-6=29 B +14-7=41 74.0 122 60.66%
Smyslov, V. W +24-5=39 B +20-13=35 81.0 136 59.56%
Gligoric, S. W +31-8=40 B +26-18=42 98.0 165 59.39%
Torre, E. W +21-10=26 B +15-23=17 57.5 112 51.34%
Pachman, L. W +13-13=36 B +9-16=34 57.0 121 47.11%
Playoffs
12 events, 23 players
Year Site Games Xtbl

1962 Stockholm 5 Xtbl
1964 Amsterdam 3 Xtbl
1967 Los Angeles 12 Xtbl
1971 Portoroz 6 Xtbl
1976 Varese 12 Xtbl
1979 Budapest 6 Xtbl
1983 Malmo 6 Xtbl
1985 Biel 9 Xtbl
1985 Moscow 6 Xtbl
1987 Havana 12 Xtbl
Most active
Page 3 of 52
Player Events Games

Portisch, L. 5 30
Tal, M. 2 14
Stein, L. 2 12
Reshevsky, S. 2 11
Portisch

1964 Amsterdam 3 Xtbl
1976 Varese 8 Xtbl
Most successful

Nikolic, Pr W +2-0=2 B +2-0=2 6.0 8 75.00%
Benko, P. W +1-0=1 B +0-0=1 2.0 3 66.67%
Portisch, L. W +2-1=11 B +7-1=8 18.5 30 61.67%
Most active

Portisch, L. W +2-1=11 B +7-1=8 18.5 30 61.67%
Stein, L. W +2-1=3 B +1-0=5 7.0 12 58.33%
Tal, M. W +1-1=5 B +0-1=6 6.5 14 46.43%
Reshevsky, S. W +0-2=4 B +0-0=5 4.5 11 40.91%
Index of statistics

PCA Qualifiers
Statistics
Events
Page 4 of 52
One qualifying tournament & one set of nine matches

1993 Groningen (izt) 297 Xtbl
1994/95 Matches 64 Xtbl
Most active players
Player Games
Anand, V. 36
Kamsky, G. 35
Adams, Mi 32
Tiviakov, S. 25
Gulko, B. 23
Short, N. 19
Romanishin, O. 18
Kramnik, V. 17
All other players played 11 games.
Individual results

Anand, V. W +9-1=8 B +5-0=13 24.5 36 68.06%
Kamsky, G. W +5-0=13 B +7-4=6 21.5 35 61.43%
Gulko, B. W +4-0=8 B +1-3=7 12.5 23 54.35%
Tiviakov, S. W +4-2=7 B +3-3=6 13.5 25 54.00%
Adams, Mi W +7-2=6 B +2-6=9 16.5 32 51.56%
Romanishin, O. W +3-2=5 B +1-2=5 9.0 18 50.00%
Kramnik, V. W +3-3=3 B +1-1=6 8.5 17 50.00%
Short, N. W +3-2=4 B +0-4=6 8.0 19 42.11%
Index of statistics

Candidate Events
Statistics
Page 5 of 52
--- Tournaments & matches combined ---

Games
Event Games
Tournaments 727
Matches incl. tournament playoffs 888
Most active players
Player Games
Korchnoi, V. 251
Spassky, B. 168
Petrosian, T. 166
Smyslov, V. 153
Keres, P. 137
Tal, M. 126
Portisch, L. 117
Geller, E. 113
Timman, J. 112
Karpov, An 103
Individual results
Most successful

Kamsky, G. W +6-2=4 B +5-1=6 16.0 24 66.67%
Kasparov, G. W +7-1=10 B +5-1=9 21.5 33 65.15%
Ivanchuk, V. W +4-1=3 B +2-2=3 9.0 15 60.00%
Karpov, An W +21-2=27 B +9-8=36 61.5 103 59.71%
Fischer, R. W +21-11=6 B +12-8=18 45.0 76 59.21%
Keres, P. W +17-12=39 B +25-8=36 79.5 137 58.03%
Bronstein, D. W +15-3=21 B +6-6=27 45.0 78 57.69%
Spassky, B. W +26-12=45 B +18-13=54 93.5 168 55.65%
Speelman, J. W +5-4=6 B +3-1=9 15.5 28 55.36%
Short, N. W +13-3=17 B +8-11=14 36.5 66 55.30%
Most active
Page 6 of 52

Karpov, An W +21-2=27 B +9-8=36 61.5 103 59.71%
Keres, P. W +17-12=39 B +25-8=36 79.5 137 58.03%
Spassky, B. W +26-12=45 B +18-13=54 93.5 168 55.65%
Smyslov, V. W +21-7=49 B +15-16=45 83.0 153 54.25%
Korchnoi, V. W +35-18=72 B +23-26=75 131.5 251 52.39%
Tal, M. W +21-14=28 B +14-15=34 66.0 126 52.38%
Petrosian, T. W +19-7=56 B +12-18=54 86.0 166 51.81%
Geller, E. W +15-9=33 B +12-15=29 58.0 113 51.33%
Timman, J. W +15-10=32 B +10-14=31 56.5 112 50.45%
Portisch, L. W +14-8=34 B +5-21=35 53.5 117 45.73%
Keres results were significantly better with Black than with White.
--- Tournaments ---

Events

1950 Budapest 10 90 Xtbl
1953 Zurich 15 210 Xtbl
1956 Amsterdam 10 90 Xtbl
1959 Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade 8 112 Xtbl
1962 Curacao 8 105 Xtbl
1985 Montpellier 16 120 Xtbl
Most active players
Player Events Games

Keres, P. 5 119
Smyslov, V. 5 107
Petrosian, T. 4 101
Geller, E. 3 73
Bronstein, D. 3 64
Szabo, L. 3 64
Tal, M. 3 64
38 players
Page 7 of 52
Individual results
Most successful

Jussupow, A. W +3-1=3 B +1-0=7 9.0 15 60.00%
Vaganian, R. W +1-1=5 B +4-1=3 9.0 15 60.00%
Sokolov, An W +4-2=2 B +1-0=6 9.0 15 60.00%
Keres, P. W +15-9=35 B +23-6=31 71.0 119 59.66%
Bronstein, D. W +13-2=17 B +5-5=22 37.5 64 58.59%
[...]
Fischer, R. W +12-11=4 B +4-7=17 26.5 55 48.18%
[...]
Olafsson, F. W +3-6=5 B +3-8=3 10.0 28 35.71%
Stahlberg, G. W +2-10=11 B +3-9=11 16.0 46 34.78%
Filip, M. W +3-10=10 B +3-11=8 15.0 45 33.33%
Spraggett, K. W +1-5=2 B +1-2=4 5.0 15 33.33%
Pilnik, H. W +1-1=7 B +0-8=1 5.0 18 27.78%
Notes:-
• Players with 15 games played only at Montpellier.

• Contrast Fischer's overall result with matches (below).
Most active

Keres, P. W +15-9=35 B +23-6=31 71.0 119 59.66%
Bronstein, D. W +13-2=17 B +5-5=22 37.5 64 58.59%
Smyslov, V. W +17-5=32 B +15-9=29 62.5 107 58.41%
Geller, E. W +11-7=19 B +11-5=20 41.5 73 56.85%
Petrosian, T. W +12-4=35 B +11-7=32 56.5 101 55.94%
Tal, M. W +12-8=11 B +10-7=16 35.5 64 55.47%
Szabo, L. W +6-7=19 B +5-9=18 29.5 64 46.09%
--- Matches ---

Events
Page 8 of 52
Playoffs

1950 Moscow 14 Xtbl
1962 Moscow 8 Xtbl
1985 Montpellier 6 Xtbl
Knockout matches
Year No.Matches Games Xtbl

1965 7 63 Xtbl
1968 7 63 Xtbl
1971 7 55 Xtbl
1974 7 80 Xtbl
1977 7 96 Xtbl
1980 7 76 Xtbl
1983/84 7 77 Xtbl
1986/87 4 42 Xtbl
1988/90 14 97 Xtbl
1991/93 14 126 Xtbl
1994/95 11 85 Xtbl
The longest matches
Year Site Event Games

1974 Moscow (Final) 24
1977 Belgrade (Final) 18
1977 Reykjavik (Quarterfinal) 16
1977 Geneva (Semifinal) 15
1950 Moscow (Playoff) 14
1980 Xalapa/Mexico City (Quarterfinal) 14
1980 Buenos Aires (Semifinal) 14
1983/84 Velden (Quarterfinal) 14
1986/87 Riga (Semifinal) 14
53 players
Most active players

Page 9 of 52
Player Games
Korchnoi, V. 209
Spassky, B. 135
Karpov, An 103
Portisch, L. 102
Timman, J. 97
Jussupow, A. 84
Petrosian, T. 65
Tal, M. 62
Larsen, B. 61
Huebner, R. 59
Most events
Player Events
Korchnoi, V. 19
Spassky, B. 12
Timman, J. 12
Karpov, An 10
Portisch, L. 10
Individual results
95 different matches; 84 different pairs of players.
The great rivalries
Player Opp Games

Korchnoi, V. Petrosian, T. 36
Portisch, L. Spassky, B. 29
Korchnoi, V. Spassky, B. 28
Korchnoi, V. Polugaevsky, L. 27
Karpov, An Korchnoi, V. 24
Larsen, B. Portisch, L. 20
Jussupow, A. Timman, J. 19
Most successful
Page 10 of 52

Fischer, R. W +9-0=2 B +8-1=1 18.5 21 88.10%
Kamsky, G. W +6-2=4 B +5-1=6 16.0 24 66.67%
Kasparov, G. W +7-1=10 B +5-1=9 21.5 33 65.15%
Ivanchuk, V. W +4-1=3 B +2-2=3 9.0 15 60.00%
Karpov, An W +21-2=27 B +9-8=36 61.5 103 59.71%
Short, N. W +11-3=11 B +8-8=10 29.5 51 57.84%
Spassky, B. W +23-10=34 B +14-10=44 76.0 135 56.30%
Speelman, J. W +5-4=6 B +3-1=9 15.5 28 55.36%
Bronstein, D. W +2-1=4 B +1-1=5 7.5 14 53.57%
Korchnoi, V. W +33-12=60 B +16-21=65 111.5 209 53.35%
Bronstein's results are from the 1950 playoff match.
Most active

Karpov, An W +21-2=27 B +9-8=36 61.5 103 59.71%
Spassky, B. W +23-10=34 B +14-10=44 76.0 135 56.30%
Korchnoi, V. W +33-12=60 B +16-21=65 111.5 209 53.35%
Jussupow, A. W +14-4=24 B +7-15=20 43.0 84 51.19%
Timman, J. W +13-9=28 B +8-13=26 48.0 97 49.48%
Tal, M. W +9-6=17 B +4-8=18 30.5 62 49.19%
Huebner, R. W +5-2=22 B +2-6=20 28.0 59 47.46%
Portisch, L. W +12-6=31 B +4-19=30 46.5 102 45.59%
Petrosian, T. W +7-3=21 B +1-11=22 29.5 65 45.38%
Larsen, B. W +10-7=14 B +6-16=8 27.0 61 44.26%
Index of statistics

Title Events
Statistics
Events

Page 11 of 52
1886 New York/St.Louis/New Orleans 20 Xtbl

1889 Havana 17 Xtbl
1890 New York 19 Xtbl
1892 Havana 23 Xtbl
1894 USA/Canada 19 Xtbl
1896 Moscow 17 Xtbl
1907 USA 15 Xtbl
1908 Germany 16 Xtbl
1909 Paris 10 Xtbl
1910 Berlin 11 Xtbl
1910 Vienna/Berlin 10 Xtbl
1921 Havana 14 Xtbl
1927 Buenos Aires 34 Xtbl
1929 Germany/Netherlands 25 Xtbl
1934 Germany 26 Xtbl
1935 Netherlands 30 Xtbl
1937 Netherlands 25 Xtbl
1948 The Hague/Moscow 50 Xtbl
1951 Moscow 24 Xtbl
1954 Moscow 24 Xtbl
1957 Moscow 22 Xtbl
1958 Moscow 23 Xtbl
1960 Moscow 21 Xtbl
1961 Moscow 21 Xtbl
1963 Moscow 22 Xtbl
1966 Moscow 24 Xtbl
1969 Moscow 23 Xtbl
1972 Reykjavik 20 Xtbl
1978 Baguio City 32 Xtbl
1981 Merano 18 Xtbl
1984/85 Moscow 48 Xtbl
1985 Moscow 24 Xtbl
1986 London/Leningrad 24 Xtbl
1987 Seville 24 Xtbl
1990 Lyon/New York 24 Xtbl
1993 London 20 Xtbl
Page 12 of 52
1993 Netherlands/Indonesia 21 Xtbl

1995 New York 18 Xtbl
1996 Elista 18 Xtbl
2000 London 15 Xtbl
Most active players
Player Games
Karpov, An 233
Kasparov, G. 197
Botvinnik, M. 177
Alekhine, A. 140
Steinitz, W. 115
Lasker, Em 112
Smyslov, V. 89
Euwe, M. 75
Petrosian, T. 69
Spassky, B. 67
Individual results

Lasker, Em * W +32-6=18 B +20-10=26 74.0 112 66.07%
Fischer, R. * W +3-0=6 B +4-2=5 12.5 20 62.50%
Alekhine, A. * W +25-5=40 B +18-19=33 79.5 140 56.79%
Kramnik, V. * W +2-0=5 B +0-0=8 8.5 15 56.67%
Keres, P. W +3-3=4 B +5-4=1 10.5 20 52.50%
Reshevsky, S. W +3-2=5 B +3-3=4 10.5 20 52.50%
Kasparov, G. * W +24-5=70 B +7-18=73 102.5 197 52.03%
Karpov, An * W +28-8=80 B +15-26=76 121.0 233 51.93%
Smyslov, V. * W +16-8=21 B +8-13=23 46.0 89 51.69%
Petrosian, T. * W +9-3=22 B +4-8=23 35.5 69 51.45%
Botvinnik, M. * W +30-15=43 B +16-26=47 91.0 177 51.41%
Capablanca, J. * W +5-3=16 B +2-3=19 24.5 48 51.04%
Schlechter, C. W +1-0=4 B +0-1=4 5.0 10 50.00%
Steinitz, W. * W +25-14=18 B +18-29=11 57.5 115 50.00%
Bronstein, D. W +1-2=9 B +4-3=5 12.0 24 50.00%
Page 13 of 52
Tal, M. * W +8-3=10 B +3-9=9 20.5 42 48.81%

Spassky, B. * W +9-7=19 B +2-8=22 31.5 67 47.01%
Korchnoi, V. W +6-5=14 B +2-7=16 23.0 50 46.00%
Gunsberg, I. W +3-4=2 B +1-2=7 8.5 19 44.74%
Chigorin, M. W +10-6=5 B +4-14=1 17.0 40 42.50%
Anand, V. * W +1-2=6 B +0-2=7 7.5 18 41.67%
Kamsky, G. W +3-3=3 B +0-3=6 7.5 18 41.67%
Timman, J. W +0-2=9 B +2-4=4 8.5 21 40.48%
Bogoljubov, E. W +5-10=10 B +3-9=14 20.0 51 39.22%
Euwe, M. * W +12-11=15 B +2-20=15 29.0 75 38.67%
Short, N. W +1-1=8 B +0-5=5 7.5 20 37.50%
Zukertort, J. W +3-5=2 B +2-5=3 7.5 20 37.50%
Tarrasch, S. W +2-3=3 B +1-5=2 5.5 16 34.38%
Marshall, F. W +0-4=4 B +0-4=3 3.5 15 23.33%
Janowsky, D. W +1-6=3 B +0-9=2 3.5 21 16.67%
* = World Champion

FIDE Knockout Tournaments
Statistics
Events

1997/98 Groningen 97 323 Xtbl
1997/98 Lausanne 2 8 Xtbl
1999 Las Vegas 100 305 Xtbl
2000 New Delhi/Tehran 100 345 Xtbl
2001 Moscow (excl. rd.7) 128 401 Xtbl
Number of players who competed in 1, 2, 3, & 4 events
No.Events Players
4 25
3 29
Page 14 of 52
2 45
1 147
Most active players
Player Games
Adams,M 81
Khalifman,A 70
Anand,V 69
Shirov,A 67
Gelfand,B 56
Dreev,A 50
Svidler,P 50
Ehlvest,J 49
Tkachiev,V 44
Lautier,J 42
Individual results

Magem Badals,J W +2-0=2 B +2-1=1 5.5 8 68.75%
Pigusov,E W +2-0=1 B +1-1=1 4.0 6 66.67%
Serper,G W +2-0=1 B +1-1=1 4.0 6 66.67%
Anand,V W +17-4=14 B +7-2=25 43.5 69 63.04%
Aronian,L W +1-0=1 B +1-1=0 2.5 4 62.50%
Fridman,D W +1-0=1 B +1-1=0 2.5 4 62.50%
Galkin,A W +1-0=1 B +1-1=0 2.5 4 62.50%
Bareev,E W +11-2=7 B +7-6=7 25.0 40 62.50%
Ye Jiangchuan W +1-0=5 B +3-1=2 7.5 12 62.50%
Vladimirov,E W +1-0=3 B +2-1=1 5.0 8 62.50%
Most of the players with the best records have played less than 12 games.
Of the 72 players with more than 11 games

Anand,V W +17-4=14 B +7-2=25 43.5 69 63.04%
Page 15 of 52
Bareev,E W +11-2=7 B +7-6=7 25.0 40 62.50%

Ye Jiangchuan W +1-0=5 B +3-1=2 7.5 12 62.50%
Morozevich,A W +6-1=3 B +3-3=4 12.5 20 62.50%
Adams,M W +16-4=20 B +11-3=27 50.5 81 62.35%
Ivanchuk,V W +8-1=8 B +4-3=10 21.0 34 61.76%
Ponomariov,R W +8-1=6 B +4-4=7 18.5 30 61.67%
Van Wely,L W +5-3=5 B +5-1=7 16.0 26 61.54%
Gelfand,B W +9-2=17 B +9-5=14 33.5 56 59.82%
Grischuk,A W +7-0=6 B +1-3=9 15.5 26 59.62%
Of the 25 players who have played in all four events.

Bareev,E W +11-2=7 B +7-6=7 25.0 40 62.50%
Adams,M W +16-4=20 B +11-3=27 50.5 81 62.35%
Ivanchuk,V W +8-1=8 B +4-3=10 21.0 34 61.76%
Gelfand,B W +9-2=17 B +9-5=14 33.5 56 59.82%
Khalifman,A W +16-2=17 B +5-7=23 41.0 70 58.57%
Shirov,A W +17-3=13 B +7-10=17 39.0 67 58.21%
Tkachiev,V W +8-3=11 B +5-3=14 25.5 44 57.95%
Georgiev,K W +7-2=7 B +4-4=8 18.5 32 57.81%
Topalov,V W +11-2=7 B +4-7=8 22.5 39 57.69%
Short,N W +6-1=11 B +5-5=7 20.0 35 57.14%
Chess Informant's Chess Is Chess

Statistics for the '200 greatest tournaments'
200 events, 535 players, 18406 games
Most active players
Plyr Games
Karpov, An 748
Timman, J. 714
Korchnoi, V. 630
Ljubojevic, Lj 582
Page 16 of 52
Spassky, B. 539
Portisch, L. 531
Petrosian, T. 485
Kasparov, G. 472
Beliavsky, A. 446
Ivanchuk, V. 410
Best overall results

Szen, J. W +6-2=0 B +6-2=1 12.5 17 73.53%
Lasker, Em W +78-9=40 B +66-19=42 185.0 254 72.83%
Anderssen, A. W +8-2=1 B +6-3=1 15.0 21 71.43%
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%
Zukertort, J. W +3-3=2 B +6-0=2 11.0 16 68.75%
Botvinnik, M. W +55-9=46 B +44-13=48 146.0 215 67.91%
Engels, L. W +2-1=2 B +2-0=2 6.0 9 66.67%
Pillsbury, H. W +45-14=16 B +39-20=20 102.0 154 66.23%
Lesser known players:-
- Szen's results from 1851 London,
- Engels's results from 1936 Dresden, where he beat Maroczy, Keres, and Alekhine
Best (& worst) overall results (>48 games)

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%
Pillsbury, H. W +45-14=16 B +39-20=20 102.0 154 66.23%
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%
Rubinstein, A. W +76-18=49 B +53-33=61 184.0 290 63.45%
Fine, R. W +16-4=8 B +7-4=17 35.5 56 63.39%
Page 17 of 52
[...]
Gurgenidze, B. W +9-13=15 B +7-20=12 29.5 76 38.82%
Cohn, E. W +10-19=12 B +11-21=9 31.5 82 38.41%
Bannik, A. W +5-8=14 B +2-13=15 21.5 57 37.72%
Donner, J. W +8-11=14 B +3-16=11 23.5 63 37.30%
Ivanovic, B. W +3-8=20 B +6-18=7 22.5 62 36.29%
Bertok, M. W +2-13=18 B +2-15=20 23.0 70 32.86%
Bird, H. W +3-16=6 B +6-11=9 16.5 51 32.35%
Udovcic, M. W +2-14=10 B +3-15=11 15.5 55 28.18%
Thomas, Ge W +5-24=16 B +4-25=15 24.5 89 27.53%
Menchik, V. W +5-20=3 B +3-22=4 11.5 57 20.18%
Best results with White (>48 games)

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%
Stein, L. W +19-0=20 B +7-7=26 49.0 79 62.03%
Capablanca, J. W +55-4=48 B +42-12=55 148.5 216 68.75%
Fine, R. W +16-4=8 B +7-4=17 35.5 56 63.39%
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%
Botvinnik, M. W +55-9=46 B +44-13=48 146.0 215 67.91%
Pillsbury, H. W +45-14=16 B +39-20=20 102.0 154 66.23%
Rubinstein, A. W +76-18=49 B +53-33=61 184.0 290 63.45%
Best results with Black (>48 games)

Lasker, Em W +78-9=40 B +66-19=42 185.0 254 72.83%
Alekhine, A. W +81-19=59 B +71-15=68 215.5 313 68.85%
Kasparov, G. W +124-9=96 B +89-17=137 329.5 472 69.81%
Botvinnik, M. W +55-9=46 B +44-13=48 146.0 215 67.91%
Capablanca, J. W +55-4=48 B +42-12=55 148.5 216 68.75%
Pillsbury, H. W +45-14=16 B +39-20=20 102.0 154 66.23%
Nimzowitsch, A. W +44-21=52 B +50-23=47 143.5 237 60.55%
Fischer, R. W +23-4=18 B +15-7=25 59.5 92 64.67%
Page 18 of 52
Bogoljubov, E. W +63-30=34 B +56-38=32 152.0 253 60.08%

Rubinstein, A. W +76-18=49 B +53-33=61 184.0 290 63.45%
Drawing masters (with White; >24 games)
Plyr WorB WLD Score Total D-Pct

Ribli, Z. W +16-6=70 51 92 76.09%
Andersson, U. W +34-13=142 105 189 75.13%
Leko, P. W +16-7=68 50 91 74.73%
Parma, B. W +9-5=40 29 54 74.07%
Filip, M. W +4-4=22 15 30 73.33%
Sosonko, G. W +12-3=40 32 55 72.73%
Azmaiparashvili W +3-4=18 12 25 72.00%
Gipslis, A. W +4-4=20 14 28 71.43%
Speelman, J. W +12-9=51 37.5 72 70.83%
Hort, V. W +21-9=72 57 102 70.59%
Drawing masters (with Black; >24 games)
Plyr WorB WLD Score Total D-Pct

Trifunovic, P. B +4-3=28 18 35 80.00%
Filip, M. B +1-6=23 12.5 30 76.67%
Ribli, Z. B +6-16=67 39.5 89 75.28%
Gheorghiu, F. B +1-9=26 14 36 72.22%
Leko, P. B +12-12=58 41 82 70.73%
Andersson, U. B +18-40=131 83.5 189 69.31%
Nikolic, Pr B +7-28=79 46.5 114 69.30%
Tukmakov, V. B +7-6=31 22.5 45 68.89%
Polugaevsky, L. B +28-21=102 79 151 67.55%
Parma, B. B +4-13=35 21.5 52 67.31%
Results of the most active players

Kasparov, G. W +124-9=96 B +89-17=137 329.5 472 69.81%
Karpov, An W +175-18=179 B +87-40=249 476.0 748 63.64%
Petrosian, T. W +93-12=140 B +51-30=159 293.5 485 60.52%
Page 19 of 52
Ivanchuk, V. W +69-24=113 B +54-35=115 237.0 410 57.80%

Spassky, B. W +91-18=162 B +48-46=174 307.0 539 56.96%
Korchnoi, V. W +110-69=132 B +93-80=146 342.0 630 54.29%
Portisch, L. W +77-34=155 B +39-63=163 275.0 531 51.79%
Timman, J. W +116-55=189 B +62-107=185 365.0 714 51.12%
Ljubojevic, Lj W +76-46=172 B +48-78=162 291.0 582 50.00%
Beliavsky, A. W +72-55=95 B +44-76=104 215.5 446 48.32%
Tournament statistics by decade

Trends from the '200 greatest tournaments'
Games by decade
Decade Ct
185x 85
188x 135
189x 969
190x 886
191x 505
192x 1766
193x 1205
194x 696
195x 1625
196x 1961
197x 1515
198x 3504
199x 3112
200x 442
[Note the war decades; also the drop from the 1890s to the 1900s, from the 1920s to
the 1930s, from the 1960s to the 1970s, from the 1980s to the 1990s]
Wins, losses, draws by decade
Decade Total : 1-0 W-Pct : 0-1 B-Pct : 1/2-1/2 D-Pct

185x 85 : 39 45.88% : 39 45.88% : 7 8.24%
Page 20 of 52
188x 135 : 56 41.48% : 48 35.56% : 31 22.96%

189x 969 : 358 36.95% : 335 34.57% : 276 28.48%
190x 886 : 362 40.86% : 275 31.04% : 249 28.10%
191x 505 : 176 34.85% : 147 29.11% : 182 36.04%
192x 1766 : 622 35.22% : 477 27.01% : 667 37.77%
193x 1205 : 412 34.19% : 286 23.73% : 507 42.07%
194x 696 : 236 33.91% : 164 23.56% : 296 42.53%
195x 1625 : 542 33.35% : 345 21.23% : 738 45.42%
196x 1961 : 609 31.06% : 349 17.80% : 1003 51.15%
197x 1515 : 407 26.86% : 232 15.31% : 876 57.82%
198x 3504 : 915 26.11% : 555 15.84% : 2033 58.02%
199x 3112 : 933 29.98% : 551 17.71% : 1628 52.31%
200x 442 : 115 26.02% : 80 18.10% : 247 55.88%
189x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Pillsbury, H. 123
Chigorin, M. 120
Steinitz, W. 119
Blackburne, J. 102
Janowsky, D. 101
Schlechter, C. 101
Lasker, Em 83
Maroczy, G. 80
Showalter, J. 80
Tarrasch, S. 79
Most successful

Lasker, Em W +27-4=10 B +25-7=10 62.0 83 74.70%
Tarrasch, S. W +28-2=9 B +16-9=15 56.0 79 70.89%
Pillsbury, H. W +37-12=12 B +31-14=17 82.5 123 67.07%
Janowsky, D. W +29-13=8 B +25-15=11 63.5 101 62.87%
Page 21 of 52
Maroczy, G. W +16-7=17 B +14-5=21 49.0 80 61.25%

Schlechter, C. W +19-9=23 B +16-9=25 59.0 101 58.42%
Von Bardeleben W +4-1=5 B +4-4=2 11.5 20 57.50%
Steinitz, W. W +25-17=18 B +28-20=11 67.5 119 56.72%
Chigorin, M. W +27-22=11 B +30-20=10 67.5 120 56.25%
Lipke, P. W +6-5=7 B +4-2=12 19.5 36 54.17%
190x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Schlechter, C. 108
Marshall, F. 90
Mieses, J. 88
Teichmann, R. 72
Chigorin, M. 71
Janowsky, D. 71
Cohn, E. 57
Duras, O. 57
Rubinstein, A. 57
Salwe, G. 57
Spielmann, R. 57
Tartakower, S. 57
Most successful

Lasker, Em W +23-0=3 B +13-5=5 40.0 49 81.63%
Rubinstein, A. W +18-3=8 B +16-3=9 42.5 57 74.56%
Maroczy, G. W +19-1=6 B +12-4=13 40.5 55 73.64%
Duras, O. W +16-8=5 B +15-7=6 36.5 57 64.04%
Pillsbury, H. W +8-2=4 B +8-6=3 19.5 31 62.90%
Marshall, F. W +25-7=11 B +19-14=14 56.5 90 62.78%
Nimzowitsch, A. W +3-1=6 B +5-2=3 12.5 20 62.50%
Tarrasch, S. W +7-0=3 B +1-3=6 12.5 20 62.50%
Marco, G. W +5-2=6 B +10-6=2 19.0 31 61.29%
Page 22 of 52
Leonhardt, P. W +5-3=11 B +9-3=8 23.5 39 60.26%
191x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Marshall, F. 57
Nimzowitsch, A. 49
Rubinstein, A. 49
Alekhine, A. 43
Burn, A. 39
Duras, O. 39
Leonhardt, P. 39
Schlechter, C. 39
Spielmann, R. 39
Teichmann, R. 39
Vidmar, M. 39
Most successful
Plyr Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Lasker, Em W +6-0=3 B +4-1=4 13.5 18 75.00%
Capablanca, J. W +9-1=6 B +7-2=7 22.5 32 70.31%
Rotlewi, G. W +8-3=2 B +7-5=0 16.0 25 64.00%
Rubinstein, A. W +11-1=12 B +7-4=14 31.0 49 63.27%
Schlechter, C. W +9-2=8 B +6-3=11 24.5 39 62.82%
Teichmann, R. W +7-3=9 B +9-3=8 24.5 39 62.82%
Vidmar, M. W +11-2=6 B +4-4=12 24.0 39 61.54%
Marshall, F. W +12-5=11 B +6-6=17 32.0 57 56.14%
Nimzowitsch, A. W +8-6=10 B +7-4=14 27.0 49 55.10%
Alekhine, A. W +8-6=8 B +9-7=5 23.5 43 54.65%
192x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Page 23 of 52
Tartakower, S. 207
Spielmann, R. 182
Reti, R. 177
Bogoljubov, E. 169
Rubinstein, A. 169
Yates, F. 150
Alekhine, A. 149
Gruenfeld, E. 140
Nimzowitsch, A. 127
Marshall, F. 124
Most successful

Lasker, Em W +14-1=11 B +17-2=8 40.5 53 76.42%
Capablanca, J. W +32-3=24 B +25-3=32 85.0 119 71.43%
Alekhine, A. W +36-10=29 B +38-4=32 104.5 149 70.13%
Bogoljubov, E. W +44-19=22 B +40-22=22 106.0 169 62.72%
Nimzowitsch, A. W +27-10=26 B +28-13=23 79.5 127 62.60%
Vidmar, M. W +18-4=15 B +10-7=19 45.0 73 61.64%
Rubinstein, A. W +41-13=29 B +27-23=36 100.5 169 59.47%
Romanovsky, P. W +4-3=3 B +5-3=2 11.5 20 57.50%
Gruenfeld, E. W +28-11=31 B +20-17=33 80.0 140 57.14%
Becker, Alb W +7-0=3 B +0-4=7 12.0 21 57.14%
193x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Flohr, S. 125
Alekhine, A. 121
Bogoljubov, E. 84
Tartakower, S. 83
Spielmann, R. 71
Stahlberg, G. 71
Botvinnik, M. 65
Page 24 of 52
Capablanca, J. 65
Vidmar, M. 64
Pirc, V. 62
Most successful

Alekhine, A. W +37-3=22 B +24-4=31 87.5 121 72.31%
Rubinstein, A. W +6-1=0 B +3-3=2 10.0 15 66.67%
Engels, L. W +2-1=2 B +2-0=2 6.0 9 66.67%
Botvinnik, M. W +18-1=14 B +7-4=21 42.5 65 65.38%
Steiner, E. W +6-2=0 B +3-2=4 11.0 17 64.71%
Foltys, J. W +4-1=3 B +4-2=3 11.0 17 64.71%
Fine, R. W +16-4=8 B +7-4=17 35.5 56 63.39%
Reshevsky, S. W +8-2=13 B +12-6=4 28.5 45 63.33%
Capablanca, J. W +14-0=18 B +10-7=16 41.0 65 63.08%
Euwe, M. W +10-2=8 B +6-5=8 24.0 39 61.54%
194x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Boleslavsky, I. 89
Smyslov, V. 89
Botvinnik, M. 70
Lilienthal, A. 55
Bondarevsky, I. 54
Flohr, S. 54
Keres, P. 54
Kotov, A. 50
Ragozin, V. 50
Alatortsev, V. 35
Bronstein, D. 35
Makogonov, V. 35
Tolush, A. 35
Most successful
Page 25 of 52

Euwe, M. W +6-0=4 B +5-2=2 14.0 19 73.68%
Botvinnik, M. W +19-4=12 B +22-4=9 51.5 70 73.57%
Keres, P. W +14-3=10 B +8-5=14 34.0 54 62.96%
Smyslov, V. W +21-7=17 B +11-4=29 55.0 89 61.80%
Szabo, L. W +5-3=1 B +4-2=4 11.5 19 60.53%
Najdorf, M. W +5-0=4 B +1-2=7 11.5 19 60.53%
Novotelnov, N. W +3-0=4 B +3-3=2 9.0 15 60.00%
Boleslavsky, I. W +16-6=24 B +15-8=20 53.0 89 59.55%
Flohr, S. W +10-1=17 B +4-5=17 31.0 54 57.41%
Tolush, A. W +9-6=3 B +6-4=7 20.0 35 57.14%
195x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Bronstein, D. 139
Taimanov, M. 133
Keres, P. 125
Petrosian, T. 112
Geller, E. 98
Korchnoi, V. 95
Smyslov, V. 88
Spassky, B. 88
Furman, S. 77
Botvinnik, M. 76
[All Soviets!]
Most successful

Fischer, R. W +5-1=1 B +3-1=4 10.5 15 70.00%
Tal, M. W +19-5=13 B +18-5=12 49.5 72 68.75%
Matanovic, A. W +6-0=4 B +3-2=4 13.0 19 68.42%
Trifunovic, P. W +4-0=5 B +2-0=8 12.5 19 65.79%
Page 26 of 52
Gligoric, S. W +16-1=8 B +5-5=14 32.0 49 65.31%

Botvinnik, M. W +18-4=18 B +14-5=17 49.5 76 65.13%
Petrosian, T. W +25-3=31 B +14-6=33 71.0 112 63.39%
Spassky, B. W +20-2=22 B +13-10=21 54.5 88 61.93%
Smyslov, V. W +21-5=19 B +11-6=26 54.5 88 61.93%
Kholmov, R. W +6-2=12 B +7-2=11 24.5 40 61.25%
196x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Petrosian, T. 172
Spassky, B. 151
Korchnoi, V. 148
Gligoric, S. 122
Ivkov, B. 109
Bronstein, D. 103
Larsen, B. 88
Geller, E. 86
Portisch, L. 86
Matanovic, A. 85
Najdorf, M. 85
Most successful

Korchnoi, V. W +42-4=26 B +33-14=29 102.5 148 69.26%
Tal, M. W +10-1=6 B +6-2=11 24.5 36 68.06%
Petrosian, T. W +41-3=39 B +20-11=58 109.5 172 63.66%
Lein, A. W +6-0=1 B +0-2=6 9.5 15 63.33%
Bagirov, V. W +3-1=6 B +4-1=4 12.0 19 63.16%
Larsen, B. W +25-10=10 B +18-10=15 55.5 88 63.07%
Spassky, B. W +37-5=34 B +16-10=49 94.5 151 62.58%
Stein, L. W +15-0=15 B +6-6=19 38.0 61 62.30%
Polugaevsky, L. W +10-3=13 B +11-5=11 33.0 53 62.26%
Hort, V. W +3-1=4 B +4-2=3 10.5 17 61.76%
Page 27 of 52
197x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Tal, M. 129
Karpov, An 127
Petrosian, T. 123
Hort, V. 115
Smyslov, V. 109
Portisch, L. 102
Spassky, B. 92
Balashov, Y. 90
Timman, J. 88
Ljubojevic, Lj 75
Most successful

Fischer, R. W +7-1=2 B +5-0=6 16.0 21 76.19%
Karpov, An W +28-2=34 B +16-3=44 83.0 127 65.35%
Botvinnik, M. W +0-0=2 B +1-0=1 2.5 4 62.50%
Stein, L. W +4-0=5 B +1-1=7 11.0 18 61.11%
Gulko, B. W +9-3=16 B +11-6=12 34.0 57 59.65%
Petrosian, T. W +19-4=41 B +13-5=41 73.0 123 59.35%
Korchnoi, V. W +10-6=17 B +13-5=15 39.0 66 59.09%
Polugaevsky, L. W +14-2=18 B +5-5=24 40.0 68 58.82%
Portisch, L. W +20-5=25 B +7-6=39 59.0 102 57.84%
Spassky, B. W +16-5=26 B +9-8=28 52.0 92 56.52%
198x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Timman, J. 424
Ljubojevic, Lj 363
Karpov, An 345
Page 28 of 52
Portisch, L. 294
Andersson, U. 293
Korchnoi, V. 213
Beliavsky, A. 202
Spassky, B. 197
Huebner, R. 196
Kasparov, G. 181
Most successful

Kasparov, G. W +47-4=38 B +37-5=50 128.0 181 70.72%
Karpov, An W +90-8=73 B +36-12=126 225.5 345 65.36%
Ivanchuk, V. W +6-2=18 B +10-5=10 30.0 51 58.82%
Tukmakov, V. W +6-1=12 B +4-3=13 22.5 40 56.25%
Salov, Va W +17-8=26 B +14-11=26 57.0 102 55.88%
Eingorn, V. W +2-0=7 B +1-1=6 9.5 17 55.88%
Ehlvest, J. W +18-3=29 B +9-14=27 55.0 100 55.00%
Timman, J. W +78-27=111 B +41-51=116 232.5 424 54.83%
Ree, H. W +1-0=5 B +1-1=3 6.0 11 54.55%
Sosonko, G. W +10-2=22 B +5-7=25 38.5 71 54.23%
199x
Most active
Plyr Ct
Ivanchuk, V. 324
Anand, V. 306
Kramnik, V. 291
Shirov, A. 283
Gelfand, B. 279
Karpov, An 276
Topalov, V. 271
Kasparov, G. 257
Beliavsky, A. 202
Short, N. 197
Page 29 of 52
Most successful

Kasparov, G. W +67-5=51 B +48-12=74 177.5 257 69.07%
Nunn, J. W +4-0=2 B +0-1=4 7.0 11 63.64%
Kramnik, V. W +60-6=83 B +31-20=91 178.0 291 61.17%
Karpov, An W +57-8=72 B +35-25=79 167.5 276 60.69%
Anand, V. W +72-11=73 B +29-29=92 183.5 306 59.97%
Khalifman, A. W +11-5=18 B +9-5=17 37.5 65 57.69%
Ivanchuk, V. W +58-20=84 B +37-30=95 184.5 324 56.94%
Morovic I. W +3-3=3 B +3-1=5 10.0 18 55.56%
Lutz, Ch W +2-1=6 B +3-2=4 10.0 18 55.56%
Rublevsky, S. W +2-1=2 B +1-1=2 5.0 9 55.56%
Chess Informant's Chess Is Chess

Statistics on best games
Chess Informant vol. 1-78
(780 games)
Results
Result Ct
1-0 546
0-1 208
1/2 26
Players with most games
Plyr Ct
Kasparov, G. 106
Karpov, An 98
Portisch, L. 46
Korchnoi, V. 45
Spassky, B. 44
Timman, J. 42
Anand, V. 39
Page 30 of 52
Kramnik, V. 31
Larsen, B. 27
Petrosian, T. 26
Overall results for players with 20 or more games

Kasparov, G. W +62-3=3 B +19-15=4 84.5 106 79.72%
Kramnik, V. W +15-1=1 B +7-6=1 23.0 31 74.19%
Tal, M. W +13-3=3 B +4-2=0 18.5 25 74.00%
Fischer, R. W +12-1=0 B +5-6=0 17.0 24 70.83%
Smyslov, V. W +8-2=0 B +5-3=3 14.5 21 69.05%
Karpov, An W +54-8=2 B +11-21=2 67.0 98 68.37%
Larsen, B. W +9-4=0 B +8-6=0 17.0 27 62.96%
Anand, V. W +18-2=1 B +4-14=0 22.5 39 57.69%
Jussupow, A. W +8-1=1 B +3-7=1 12.0 21 57.14%
Ljubojevic, Lj W +11-3=0 B +3-8=0 14.0 25 56.00%
Short, N. W +9-0=1 B +1-9=0 10.5 20 52.50%
Spassky, B. W +17-5=0 B +6-16=0 23.0 44 52.27%
Ivanchuk, V. W +6-3=0 B +4-7=0 10.0 20 50.00%
Portisch, L. W +16-5=1 B +5-17=2 22.5 46 48.91%
Petrosian, T. W +9-3=1 B +3-10=0 12.5 26 48.08%
Shirov, A. W +9-4=1 B +2-8=0 11.5 24 47.92%
Korchnoi, V. W +14-7=1 B +7-16=0 21.5 45 47.78%
Beliavsky, A. W +7-8=0 B +2-5=0 9.0 22 40.91%
Timman, J. W +12-7=3 B +2-15=3 17.0 42 40.48%
The rivalries (listed alphabetically within each pair)
1st player 2nd player Ct

Karpov, An Kasparov, G. 19
Anand, V. Kasparov, G. 9
Karpov, An Korchnoi, V. 9
Karpov, An Spassky, B. 7
Fischer, R. Spassky, B. 7
Polgar, Ju Shirov, A. 6
Petrosian, T. Spassky, B. 6
Page 31 of 52
Ivanchuk, V. Kasparov, G. 5
Gelfand, B. Kasparov, G. 5
Kasparov, G. Kramnik, V. 5
Kasparov, G. Short, N. 5
Olympiad statistics
36 events, 7913 games, 1782 players
Events
Year Site Games

1927 London (ol) 20
1928 The Hague (ol) 12
1930 Hamburg (ol) 70
1931 Prague (ol) 165
1933 Folkestone (ol) 67
1935 Warsaw (ol) 89
1937 Stockholm (ol) 106
1939 Buenos Aires (ol_final_A) 142
1939 Buenos Aires (ol_final_B) 19
1939 Buenos Aires (ol_prel_A) 24
1939 Buenos Aires (ol_prel_B) 15
1939 Buenos Aires (ol_prel_C) 27
1939 Buenos Aires (ol_prel_D) 18
1950 Dubrovnik (ol) 192
1952 Helsinki (ol) 344
1954 Amsterdam (ol) 421
1956 Moscow (ol) 438
1958 Munich (ol) 240
1960 Leipzig (ol) 188
1962 Varna (ol) 560
1964 Tel Aviv (ol) 413
1966 Havana (ol) 257
1968 Lugano (ol) 183
1970 Siegen (ol) 192
Page 32 of 52
1972 Skopje (ol) 198

1974 Nice (ol) 222
1976 Haifa (ol) 50
1978 Buenos Aires (ol) 159
1980 Malta (ol) 128
1981 Malta (ol) 1
1982 Lucerne (ol) 241
1984 Thessaloniki (ol) 240
1986 Dubai (ol) 221
1988 Thessaloniki (ol) 244
1990 Novi Sad (ol) 256
1992 Manila (ol) 304
1994 Moscow (ol) 324
1995 Moscow (ol) 1
1996 Yerevan (ol) 333
1998 Elista (ol) 269
2000 Istanbul (ol) 520
Be careful with the following!

The games for the Olympiads are not complete.
The most active players
Plyr Ct
Gligoric, S. 169
Portisch, L. 167
Najdorf, M. 141
Unzicker, W. 131
Keres, P. 116
Szabo, L. 110
Pachman, L. 109
Prins, L. 106
Stahlberg, G. 98
Filip, M. 97
Korchnoi, V. 97
Porath, Y. 97
Uhlmann, W. 97
Page 33 of 52
The top-10 most successful players all have less than 10 games total.
Players with 10 or more games

Lilienthal, A. W +7-1=0 B +4-1=1 11.5 14 82.14%
Karpov, An W +25-0=9 B +12-2=7 45.0 55 81.82%
Sadler, M. W +4-0=3 B +4-0=2 10.5 13 80.77%
Petrosian, T. W +36-0=12 B +19-1=20 71.0 88 80.68%
Tal, M. W +29-0=11 B +20-2=15 62.0 77 80.52%
Bronstein, D. W +19-1=2 B +11-0=15 38.5 48 80.21%
Alekhine, A. W +22-1=9 B +18-1=12 50.5 63 80.16%
Kasparov, G. W +26-0=9 B +15-3=11 51.0 64 79.69%
Smyslov, V. W +27-1=7 B +18-1=20 58.5 74 79.05%
Bogoljubov, E. W +7-0=1 B +2-1=3 11.0 14 78.57%
Most active

Keres, P. W +44-1=19 B +28-9=15 89.0 116 76.72%
Korchnoi, V. W +28-6=18 B +18-4=23 66.5 97 68.56%
Najdorf, M. W +30-4=31 B +35-12=29 95.0 141 67.38%
Portisch, L. W +46-5=34 B +34-19=29 111.5 167 66.77%
Gligoric, S. W +39-9=40 B +31-14=36 108.0 169 63.91%
Szabo, L. W +28-8=23 B +18-13=20 67.5 110 61.36%
Unzicker, W. W +31-8=24 B +24-18=26 80.0 131 61.07%
Uhlmann, W. W +18-13=22 B +18-5=21 57.5 97 59.28%
Pachman, L. W +22-7=27 B +14-12=27 63.0 109 57.80%
Stahlberg, G. W +23-11=17 B +14-12=21 56.0 98 57.14%
Prins, L. W +24-17=14 B +19-14=18 59.0 106 55.66%
Filip, M. W +17-9=24 B +11-15=21 50.5 97 52.06%
Porath, Y. W +22-12=18 B +8-19=18 48.0 97 49.48%
The greats and the near greats

The world champions
Page 34 of 52
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
Page 35 of 52
Steinitz, W. 5
The world champions against all opponents

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

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%
Page 36 of 52
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

Lasker, Em W +8-1=9 B +5-3=6 20.5 32 64.06%
Page 37 of 52
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

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%
Page 38 of 52
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

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
Page 39 of 52
Janowsky, D. 12
Schlechter, C. 12
Chigorin, M. 10
Reshevsky, S. 7
Gunsberg, I. 2
Zukertort, J. 1
World championship challengers against all opponents

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

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%
Page 40 of 52
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

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%
Page 41 of 52
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
Page 42 of 52
The champions and challengers against each other

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.
Page 43 of 52
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

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.
Page 44 of 52
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

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

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
Page 45 of 52
1993 Las Palmas Christiansen, L. Anand, V. 1/2

1993 Las Palmas Khalifman, A. Christiansen, L. 0-1
Most active

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
Page 46 of 52
Tartakower, S. 303
Andersson, U. 272
Spielmann, R. 272
Ivanchuk, V. 271
Gligoric, S. 252
Larsen, B. 245
Shirov, A. 233
The most successful

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

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%
Page 47 of 52
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

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%
World champion rivals

Tournament rivals of the world champions
Which players did the world champions meet most often in battle? Who were their
most dangerous contemporaries? These counts are from Chess Informant's '200
greatest tournaments' and do not include world championship events or Olympiads.
Steinitz
Page 48 of 52
Player Opponent Ct
Steinitz, W. Chigorin, M. 12
Steinitz, W. Pillsbury, H. 12
Steinitz, W. Lasker, Em 10
Steinitz, W. Blackburne, J. 6
Steinitz, W. Janowsky, D. 6
Steinitz, W. Schlechter, C. 6
Lasker
Player Opponent Ct
Lasker, Em Chigorin, M. 12
Lasker, Em Pillsbury, H. 12
Lasker, Em Steinitz, W. 10
Lasker, Em Capablanca, J. 10
Lasker, Em Janowsky, D. 9
Capablanca
Player Opponent Ct
Capablanca, J. Marshall, F. 15
Capablanca, J. Alekhine, A. 13
Capablanca, J. Spielmann, R. 11
Capablanca, J. Nimzowitsch, A. 10
Capablanca, J. Lasker, Em 10
Alekhine
Player Opponent Ct
Alekhine, A. Tartakower, S. 15
Alekhine, A. Capablanca, J. 13
Alekhine, A. Bogoljubov, E. 13
Alekhine, A. Nimzowitsch, A. 13
Alekhine, A. Spielmann, R. 12
Alekhine, A. Vidmar, M. 12
Euwe
Page 49 of 52
Player Opponent Ct
Euwe, M. Tartakower, S. 8
Euwe, M. Bogoljubov, E. 7
Euwe, M. Capablanca, J. 6
Euwe, M. Spielmann, R. 5
Euwe, M. Alekhine, A. 5
Botvinnik
Player Opponent Ct
Botvinnik, M. Keres, P. 11
Botvinnik, M. Smyslov, V. 11
Botvinnik, M. Taimanov, M. 10
Botvinnik, M. Flohr, S. 10
Botvinnik, M. Lilienthal, A. 8
Botvinnik, M. Boleslavsky, I. 8
Smyslov
Player Opponent Ct
Smyslov, V. Geller, E. 17
Smyslov, V. Petrosian, T. 12
Smyslov, V. Keres, P. 12
Smyslov, V. Botvinnik, M. 11
Smyslov, V. Bronstein, D. 10
Smyslov, V. Boleslavsky, I. 10
Tal
Player Opponent Ct
Tal, M. Petrosian, T. 13
Tal, M. Spassky, B. 13
Tal, M. Karpov, An 12
Tal, M. Portisch, L. 12
Tal, M. Timman, J. 11
Petrosian
Page 50 of 52
Player Opponent Ct
Petrosian, T. Spassky, B. 16
Petrosian, T. Geller, E. 14
Petrosian, T. Tal, M. 13
Petrosian, T. Smyslov, V. 12
Petrosian, T. Korchnoi, V. 12
Spassky
Player Opponent Ct
Spassky, B. Portisch, L. 22
Spassky, B. Larsen, B. 21
Spassky, B. Ljubojevic, Lj 19
Spassky, B. Karpov, An 18
Spassky, B. Timman, J. 18
Fischer
Player Opponent Ct
Fischer, R. Petrosian, T. 8
Fischer, R. Ivkov, B. 5
Fischer, R. Gligoric, S. 4
Fischer, R. Unzicker, W. 4
Fischer, R. Donner, J. 4
Karpov
Player Opponent Ct
Karpov, An Timman, J. 41
Karpov, An Portisch, L. 32
Karpov, An Ljubojevic, Lj 31
Karpov, An Andersson, U. 24
Karpov, An Beliavsky, A. 20
Kasparov
Player Opponent Ct
Kasparov, G. Timman, J. 25
Page 51 of 52
Kasparov, G. Ivanchuk, V. 24
Kasparov, G. Short, N. 23
Kasparov, G. Kramnik, V. 23
Kasparov, G. Anand, V. 22
Khalifman
Player Opponent Ct
Khalifman, A. Anand, V. 6
Khalifman, A. Beliavsky, A. 5
Khalifman, A. Ivanchuk, V. 4
Khalifman, A. Kramnik, V. 4
Khalifman, A. Karpov, An 4
Khalifman, A. Ehlvest, J. 4
Khalifman, A. Kasparov, G. 4
Kramnik
Player Opponent Ct
Kramnik, V. Anand, V. 25
Kramnik, V. Topalov, V. 24
Kramnik, V. Ivanchuk, V. 23
Kramnik, V. Kasparov, G. 23
Kramnik, V. Shirov, A. 18
Anand
Player Opponent Ct
Anand, V. Kramnik, V. 25
Anand, V. Gelfand, B. 24
Anand, V. Ivanchuk, V. 24
Anand, V. Kasparov, G. 22
Anand, V. Topalov, V. 19
Page 52 of 52

World Chess Championship Statistics

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World Chess Championship Statistics

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World Championship Chess Statistics Compiled from http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/wcc-indx.

World Chess Championship

Year Site Players Games Xtbl

1990 Manila 64 410 Xtbl

Most active players

Player Events Games

Other players who competed in six events

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Salov, Va W +9-2=8 B +7-2=9 24.5 37 66.22%

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Year Site Games Xtbl

Player Events Games

Year Site Games Xtbl

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

World Chess Championship

One qualifying tournament & one set of nine matches

Year Site Games Xtbl

Most active players

All other players played 11 games.

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

World Chess Championship

--- Tournaments & matches combined ---

Most active players

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

--- Tournaments ---

Year Site Players Games Xtbl

Most active players

Player Events Games

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

• Players with 15 games played only at Montpellier.

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

--- Matches ---

Year Site Games Xtbl

Year No.Matches Games Xtbl

The longest matches

Year Site Event Games

Most active players

95 different matches; 84 different pairs of players.

The great rivalries

Player Opp Games

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Bronstein's results are from the 1950 playoff match.

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

World Chess Championship

Year Site Games Xtbl

1886 New York/St.Louis/New Orleans 20 Xtbl

1993 Netherlands/Indonesia 21 Xtbl

Most active players

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Tal, M. * W +8-3=10 B +3-9=9 20.5 42 48.81%

World Chess Championship

Year Site Players Games Xtbl

Number of players who competed in 1, 2, 3, & 4 events

Most active players

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Of the 72 players with more than 11 games

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Bareev,E W +11-2=7 B +7-6=7 25.0 40 62.50%

Of the 25 players who have played in all four events.

Player W +W-L=D B +W-L=D Score Games Pct

Chess Informant's Chess Is Chess