Chess is a kind of game that is known to be played by intelligent people with strategy. Over the years, many talented players have made their mark in the world of chess. Some of them are well-known champions, while others are rising stars. Here is the full list of the top 10 players in the world.
List of Top 10 Chess Players In the World in 2025
Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen is from the country of Norway, and he is known as the grandmaster of chess. Carlsen is a five-time world blitz chess champion. He has been the world champion from 2013 to 2022. Carlsen has set many records, including the highest chess rating in history. Magnus is known for his calmness and smart way of playing, and that makes him a tough opponent in all types of chess.
Hikaru Nakamura
Hikaru Nakamura belongs to the United States, and he is famous for his skills in fast-paced chess games, like blitz and rapid chess. However, he hasn’t won the World Class championship. Nakamura is a strong player who has competed at the highest level for many years now. Hikaru is very popular on the internet and has a huge following on his social media accounts.
Gukesh Dommaraju
Gukesh Dommaraju is one of the youngest grandmasters who belongs to India. He made himself a strong personality in chess at such the young age of 17. At this age, Gukesh is one of the youngest top players. He is the one who has multiple times defeated world champion Magnus Carlsen in classical, Rapid and Blitz games. His aggressive playing style and ability to handle tough situations make him a very exciting player to watch.
Fabiano Caruana
Fabio Caruana is an Italian and American chess grandmaster who is the four-time United States chess champion. He has a peak rating of 2844, and with that, he is the third-highest rated player in the history of chess after Carlsen and Kasparov. Fabio Caruana is known for his excellent preparation and solid style. He was always seen participating in the top international tournaments and continues to be one of the best players in the world.
Arjun Erigaisi
Arjun Kumar Erigaisi is an excellent Indian Chess Grandmaster, and he earned this title when he was just 14 years old. In fact, in July 2025, he defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi in the quarterfinals at the chess tournament of the Esports World Cup, which is currently ongoing in Riyadh. At the age of 20 years old, Arjun has already won many legendary chess tournaments. His creative style of playing chess, and he is always looking for tricky moves to surprise his opponents.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Nodirbek Abdusattorov is a young grandmaster from the country of Uzbekistan. He won the World Rapid Chess Championship in 2021 when he was just 17 years old. Nodirbek Abdusattorov was qualified for the grandmaster title when he was just 13 years old. He was also awarded by FIDE in 2018. With all of these achievements, he became the youngest ever chess player who become World Champion at the age of 17 years old.
Wei Yi
Wei Yi is a very famous Chinese grandmaster at the age of 13 years old. With this achievement, he became the 9th youngest in history. Wei Yi is the youngest player ever to reach a rating of 2700. He has won the Chinese Chess Championship three times consecutively (2015, 2016, and 2017) and the Asian Chess Championship in 2018.
Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa
Rameshbabu Praggnandhana is an Indian chess grandmaster born on August 10, 2005, in Chennai. He is considered one of the brightest young talents in India. Praggnandhana became the youngest International Master in history at 10 years old in 2016. With it, he also achieved the youngest International title in June 2018 at the age of 12 years old. He has also defeated chess champion Magnus Carlsen in 2022 at the ‘Airthings Masters online rapid’ event. Recently, R Praggnanandhaa became India’s No. 1 Chess Player in his 2025 run.
Alireza Firouzja
Alireza Firouzja, a very skilled chess player who was born in Iran but now plays for France, is known as a very talented young player all over the world. He became a grandmaster when he was only 14 years old, and he was also the youngest player to ever have a FIDE rating of more than 2800, which beat the record previously held by Magnus Carlsen. He has won important competitions like the FIDE Grand Swiss in 2021, the Sinquefield Cup in 2022, and the Grand Chess Tour in 2022 and 2024. Firouzja earned a spot in the Candidates Tournament in 2022 and 2024 and has also received awards in the World Rapid and Blitz Championships. He switched from playing for Iran to France in 2019 because of political problems.
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ian Nepomniachtchi, a well-known chess player from Russia, is a grandmaster and has played in the World Chess Championship two times. Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates’ Tournaments in 2020 and 2023, earning the right to challenge World Chess Championship. Because he won, he got to play Magnus Carlsen in 2021 and Ding Liren in 2023, but he finished as runner-up. Still, he is considered one of the best chess player among elites. What makes Nepomniachtchi’s career special is that he makes smart moves, gets ready for games carefully, and is known as someone who fights hard to win in the chess world.
End Thought
These 10 players represent the pinnacle of chess excellence, each bringing their unique strengths to the game. It has names like Magnus Carlsen and Gukesh Dommaraju. And beyond that, other names are considered among the top 10 chess players in the world. While Carlsen remains the undisputed champion, players like Firouzja and Abdusattorov are poised to challenge for the throne in the years to come.
Written by: Mathews
Audited by: Anchal
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Refresh Date: September 2, 2025
