No.  Name                     NAT  Jan02  Apr02   #Games
  1.  Kasparov, Gary.......... RUS   2838  2838      12
  2.  Kramnik, Vladimir....... RUS   2809  2809       0
  3.  Anand, Viswanathan...... IND   2757  2752      12
  4.  Topalov, Veselin........ BUL   2739  2745       9
  5.  Adams, Michael.......... ENG   2742  2744      25
  6.  Ponomariov, Ruslan...... UKR   2727  2743      19
  7.  Bareev, Evgeny.......... RUS   2707  2724      22
  8.  Morozevich, Alexander... RUS   2742  2718      22
  9.  Ivanchuk, Vassily....... UKR   2717  2711      19
 10.  Gelfand, Boris.......... ISR   2703  2707      22

***

 No.  Name                     NAT  Apr-02  Jul-02      
  1.  Kasparov, Gary.......... RUS   2838    2838
  2.  Kramnik, Vladimir....... RUS   2809    2807 
  3.  Anand, Viswanathan...... IND   2752    2755 
  4.  Adams, Michael.......... ENG   2744    2752 
  5.  Ponomariov, Ruslan...... UKR   2743    2743 
  7.  Bareev, Evgeny.......... RUS   2724    2726 
  8.  Leko, Peter............. HUN   2707    2717 
  9.  Morozevich, Alexander... RUS   2718    2716 
 10.  Ivanchuk, Vassily....... UKR   2711    2711 

---

Rank	Name	Title	Country	Rating	Games	B-Day
1	Kasparov, Garry	g	RUS	2847	9	1963-04-13
2	Kramnik, Vladimir	g	RUS	2807	0	1975-06-25
3	Anand, Viswanathan	g	IND	2753	11	1969-12-11
4	Topalov, Veselin	g	BUL	2743	0	1975-03-15
5	Leko, Peter	g	HUN	2736	11	1979-09-08
6	Adams, Michael	g	ENG	2734	20	1971-11-17
7	Ponomariov, Ruslan	g	UKR	2734	11	1983-10-11
8	Bareev, Evgeny	g	RUS	2729	7	1966-11-21
9	Shirov, Alexei	g	ESP	2723	16	1972-07-04
10	Grischuk, Alexander	g	RUS	2712	18	1983-10-31

The current  FIDE  "Top Ten"  Players.  (Jan. 2003.) 

This is the latest ratings , they revised a previous  rating list  that contained many errors. 

---

The new FIDE Rating list

The new FIDE rating list is out. 
(Go to the FIDE website, then look under the 'ratings' tab.) 

Not many changes, nor any new faces in the top ten. The very young Grischuk is up to number six in the world. Ponomariov - the current FIDE Champion - has dropped out of the top ten entirely. (He fell all the way to number 12!) 

Adams, once like the number three player in the World, is down to the #10 spot. Morozevich, in the top ten just a few lists back, has sunk to number twenty-three!! 

Garry  Kasparov  is still the number ONE player in the World, and Vladimir  Kramnik  - his successor - is seemingly light years away at 2785. But it is interesting to note that Garry dropped 17 points since the last list. The very familiar faces of India's Vishy Anand; Hungary's Peter Leko; and Bulgaria's Veselin Topalov round out the top five. Judit Polgar, (GM-2718); is the World's top lady player - no surprise there! She holds down the # 11 spot.

Alexander Onischuk, Gregory Kaidanov, and Yasser Seirawan are the United State's top three players, according to this FIDE Rating list. 

ChessBase's  article on this rating list is humorously entitled, "The usual suspects." 
(Click  HERE  to read that story.) 

************************************************************************

FIDE Top Players - July 2003
Rank/Name/Title/Country/Rating/Games/B-Day
1. Kasparov, Garry; g  RUS 2830  0  1963-04-13
2. Kramnik, Vladimir; g RUS 2785 2 1975-06-25
3. Anand, Viswanathan; g IND 2774 7 1969-12-11
4. Leko, Peter; g HUN 2739 9 1979-09-08
5 . Topalov, Veselin; g BUL 2735 0 1975-03-15
6. Grischuk, Alexander; g RUS 2732 38 1983-10-31
7. Shirov, Alexei; g ESP 2732 23 1972-07-04
8. Svidler, Peter; g RUS 2723 34 1976-06-17
9. Bareev, Evgeny; g RUS 2721 11 1966-11-21
10. Adams, Michael; g ENG 2719 29 1971-11-17

---

The new (OCT, 2003) Rating List

GM Evgeny Bareev  was the big winner in the recent  FIDE  Rating List, vaulting all the way to number four. Mike Adams, formerly number three or four in the world - is still in the top ten but has drifted down to number eight. Leko has slid all the way to number 10. The  ChessBase  story gives the complete details of this whole story. (And a complete list of the "Top 100.") 

---

The NEW  (April, 2004)  FIDE  Rating List 

    (The Top Ten players in the world.) 

1.  GM Garry Kasparov, (RUS)  ....................................................................  2817

2.  GM Viswanathan Anand, (IND)  .............................................................  2774 

3.  GM Vladimir Kramnik, (RUS)  {The current World Champion.} ...........  2764  

4.  GM Peter Leko, (HUN),  ............................................................................  2741  

5.  GM Veselin Topalov, (BUL)  ...................................................................  2737  

6.  GM Peter Svidler, (RUS)  .........................................................................  2733  

7.  GM Alexander Morozevich, (RUS)  .......................................................  2732  

8.  GM Michael Adams, (ENG)  ....................................................................  2731  

9.  GM Judit Polgar, w  (HUN)  ...  {female}  ................................................  2728  

10.  GM Ruslan Ponomariov, (UKR)  {The current FIDE "champion.} ......  2722   

Garry Kasparov is still number one ... no big news there. (Although he has dropped around 30 points in the last 2-3 years.) Anand - "The People's Champion" - is now number two after some really great results. Leko has moved back up the list, after nearly falling off. Svidler, after a pretty bad tournament in Wijk, dropped down a notch or two. 'Mikey' Adams has slid slightly, but still remains solidly in the Top Ten. It is really cool to see Judit in the top ten ... although she has not played much chess lately. The whiner, Ponomariov, is still in the top ten - although I wish he would just drop out of chess altogether. Probably the biggest loser in the April rating list is GM A. Shirov, (ESP - 2713); who has lost close to 30 points ... dropped out of the top ten ... and fallen all the way to 14th place!  (April 05th, 2004.) 

Based on the  story  on the ChessBase web site.  (The FIDE  list  of the World's Top 100.)  

---

December, 01 2004:  GM Garry Kasparov, (rating = 2813);  is still the number one (# 01) player in the world.   [ more ]    

---

April 04th, 2005:  Garry Kasparov (2812) wins the Russian Championships and Linares, but still manages to lose one point from the last rating list. GM Viswanathan Anand is # 2 with a 2785 rating, and GM Veselin Topalov is # 3. (2778)  

  [ FIDE article ]     [ ChessBase article ]     [ TWIC article ]  

---

 The (new) 'Top Ten' for April, 2006. 

 

              Position, name and title                       Rating  

1.  GM Veselin Topalov (BUL) ................  2804  

2.  GM Vishy Anand (IND) .......................  2803  

3.  GM Levon Aronian (ARM) .................  2756  

4.  GM Peter Svidler (RUS) .....................  2743  

5.  GM Peter Leko (HUN) .........................  2738  

6.  GM Ruslan Ponomariov (UKR) ........  2738  

7.  GM Alexander Morozevich (RUS) ...  2730  

8.  GM Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) .............  2729  

9.  GM Boris Gelfand (ISR) .....................   2727  

10.  GM Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR) ..............  2723  

April 03rd, 2006:  I have not covered the ratings in a while, mainly because it was getting rather monotonous. << Kasparov heads the rating list, everyone else is chasing him. >> (This last sentence could describe virtually all of my reports ... that I ever wrote on this topic!)  

However, since my last couple of missives, (see just above); EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED, and rather dramatically too! Garry Kasparov has retired from chess, (after Linares, 2005); and after over a year of complete inactivity, he has been dropped from the rating list. Garry, in his farewell speech, seemed to indicate that Anand would take his place. But Topalov, like the charge of the light brigade, has come rushing to the fore, and firmly seated himself as the world's top player ... but not by much. (Just one point!!) Some names and faces - in the April 2006 rating list - are as familiar as the April 2004 rating list. (See the third article - above.) Some examples would be Anand and Svidler.  Other entries - like GM Levon Aronian - are brand new to the world's elite.  GM R. Ponomariov is re-emerging on the list ... after dropping completely off it at one point. GM Michael Adams has disappeared, (since my last full report); at least for the moment. (He is at # 11, just out of the "Top Ten.") Kramnik seems to be perpetually fading, and Judit Polgar has dropped to number 14. Morozevich, {up four places since the previous list}; after a fairly long absence, is back again in the "Top Ten," as is GM Boris Gelfand. (Gelfand has not been in the "Top Ten" for several years now.) Rounding out our current 'Top Ten' is the quick-silver, mercurial chess genius, Vassily Ivanchuk. (Garry Kasparov once remarked that Ivanchuk would replace him as World Champion, but perhaps "Chucky's" nerves are not strong enough to remain at the number one position for an extended period of time.)  

All in all ... a lot of old, a little bit of new, and a lot of "more of the same," albeit with a constant jockeying for position. And, as always, ... "faaaasssscinating," as Mr. Spock would say. (At least - if you enjoy the numbers game.) 

  [ The FIDE article. ]     [ The TWIC report. ]     [ The ChessBase report. ]  

  ********************************************************************************************************************************************  

Top 100 Players - April, 2006.    

 

FRIDAY; April 14th, 2006.  Since (first doing my story (April, 2006); for the world's top ten ... (see just above). 

I received several e-mails telling me that I had got it wrong. One person sent me an e-mail with the link to an English translation of a story published in the Ukraine ... apparently, Ivanchuk was upset by the new list, and had accused FIDE of deliberately "fudging the results." (My words, not theirs.) To be specific, the list had Ivanchuk drawing games he had won, losing games he had drawn - and in AT LEAST one instance - playing a contest that never actually took place. 

The FIDE rebuttal looked fairly convincing, "we have people who check these things, there is even an agency to oversee their results." So I shrugged the whole thing off; although Eric Ray, from our local chess club, will tell you that I have repeatedly talked about FIDE deliberately tampering with ratings for years. (I ran the entire 2005 M-Tel tournament through a program that does ratings, and it showed Kramnik losing a lot more points than he actually lost!) 

Just when I thought I could put this whole affair behind me ...  

FIDE never apologizes, they never admit to making a mistake. However, they DID re-do the entire list, and then SILENTLY re-published the results!!! {Incredible.}  [For more details, see the CB story.]  

What this does mean is that one of my favorites, (Ivanchuk); has moved up the list, and is now firmly ensconced at number seven. (The first six remains unchanged, and everyone else just got moved down a place, no one got bumped off the list.) 

My apologies to GM Vassily Ivanchuk. I don't think he ever reads my web pages, but in case a friend or an associate does, please let him know that I am sincerely sorry. My {first} story was based on the facts ... albeit incorrect ones. (The websites for FIDE and ChessBase were my two main sources for the information that I had - however incomplete or inaccurate.) You may also inform Senor Ivanchuk that I am truly one of his biggest fans. 

---

  The July 2006 Rating List  

 

The new rating list is out, and (World Champion) GM V. Topalov is the # 1 player ... at an astounding "Garry-like"  2813!!!  

Vishy Anand has sagged to 2779 (# 2.) ... after several mediocre results and a disastrous Olympiad showing.  

Levon Aronian has climbed to # 3, and now sits at an astounding 2761!! Consider this entry ... from the April, 2004 rating list: << # 51. Aronian, Levon.............. GER 2645 >> 100 points in two years ins pretty amazing ... especially at that level! 

Vladimir Kramnik, after nearly dropping out of the "Top Ten," has crawled back to # 4 at a fairly respectable 2743.  

Peter Svidler is # 5, (2742) and "the other Peter," GM P. Leko is # 6 at 2738.  

Chess genius, GM Vassily Ivanchuk is at #7 with a 2734 rating ... and I think that this is actually a bit low for him. 

One of my favorite players, GM Michael Adams is back at # 8 with a 2732 rating. (Up 12 points since the last list.) 

The mercurial (GM Alexander) Morozevich and the durable (GM Boris) Gelfand round out the top ten. 

•   GM Judit Polgar has dropped to # 17 at 2710, but I predict she will be back. She is still 
    the World's Top female player, it would be fun to see her play (and crush!) some of  
    the pretender's ... like WGM Yuhua Xu, who is rated a (feeble by comparison) 2517, 
    and is only # 6 in the world among women. (See the list of the "Top Fifty" women.)  

Sixteen year old GM Sergey Karjakin (# 26, 2679) and fifteen year old GM Magnus Carlsen (# 31, 2675) are slowly and steadily creeping up the lists. Look for one (or both) to be in the Top Ten in a few years, it is even conceivable that we could see a World Championship match between these two one day in the future.  

His fans have to be disappointed with GM Ruslan Ponomariov, who has lost 17 points ... to drop from # 6 all the way down to # 13. (I remember when he first won the FIDE World Championships, some GM's even predicted that he would blow GM Garry Kasparov out of the water. Of course one of FIDE's colossal failures was their inability to arrange such a match.) Now at 2721 he is hardly washed up, but for a talent that was so highly touted, his inability to remain in the Top Ten does not bode well for his future in chess.  

GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov continues to climb, having gained 23 points ... rising to occupy place # 12 on the July, 2006 rating list. 

GM David Navarra has gained an astounding 61 (!) points from 36 (!) games, and has climbed from place # 50 all the way to # 14!!!  

"The Comeback Kid," GM Gata Kamsky ... has gained 26 points from mainly two events, (the Olympiad and MTel); and now occupies place # 20 on the FIDE rating list. (Look for him to be back in the top ten ... which is probably where he belongs.) In any event, the rust from a long lay-off has all but disappeared. (Future opponents, look out!)  

Another one of my favorite players, the fiery GM Alexei Shirov, has dropped to # 15 with a 2716 rating, but I am not too terribly concerned. (Shirov has been up and down the rating lists his whole career.) As a big-time Shirov fan, I can only hope that he returns to the top ten, and the sooner - the better. {At least as far as I am concerned.} 

{Former FIDE World Champion} GM R. Kasimdzhanov occupies a laughable place in the rating list. He is # 36 at 2672. This only goes to show that when most of the pundits - this writer included - said that Kasimdzhanov was a "one-shot wonder" when he won the FIDE World Championships in 2004, we were probably correct.  

 *******  

  [ The FIDE story, the list of the "Top 100." (more lists) ]     [ The ChessBase report. ]     [ The TWIC report. ]  

---

  The FIDE Rating List  (for July, 2007)  

Below is a graph which shows the "Top Ten" players in the world. 

  *********************************************************  

  *********************************************************  

India's GM V. Anand is still clearly the world's highest rated player. Topalov and Kramnik are tied for number two and three, while Ivanchuk has moved back up the list to occupy the fourth slot. Morozevich is number five, and only one point back is "The Shak." (GM S. Mamedyarov.) Peter Leko, Levon Aronian and T. Radjabov occupy the next three slots, while D. Jakovenko zooms (+27 rating points) up to the tenth spot. It now takes a rating of 2685 to break into the "Top 25," this is up about 20 points from just a few years ago. Norway's "Wunderkind," GM Magnus Carlsen is at 2710, and the fact that he is only sixteen years old is lost on no one. [More on this player.]  This does not represent a ton of changes from a year ago, {see above}; but enough to be interesting.  [The CB report.  The TWIC report.]   

<< The Elista FIDE Office is pleased to publish the July 2007 FIDE Rating List, produced with the FIDE Ratings Server. The recent Candidates Matches 2007 in Elista have been rated. The July 2007 FIDE Rating List includes a record 1,458 reports. Download the July 2007 list in text format. Go to the list of Top Players. Please inform your National Chess Federation Rating Officer first of corrections, if any, in order for him to check and send to ratings@fide.com. We thank all National Federations, Rating Officers and Arbiters for their help in producing the list with the FIDE Ratings Server. Read more. >> 
 - From the FIDE website. 

---

Frank Marshall, The King of Traps    By Lev Khariton  

  (Click  HERE  to see his famous brilliancy against Levitsky.)  

When we talk about chess traps, we always remember the incomparable art of Frank Marshall (1877-1944). Even the world's best chess players were afraid of the brilliant tactical blows of the American grandmaster.

Unfortunately, there is a wide-spread opinion that Marshall was a one-sided player who was always ready to make positional concessions to achieve his tactical goals. Certainly, this is far from the truth, since one can find a great number of games conducted by Marshall strictly in accordance with the rules of positional play. Nevertheless, Marshall went down into chess history primarily as a brilliant master of tactical play, and his unforgettable traps have become part and parcel of numerous chess anthologies.

In 1899 the Brooklyn Chess Club sent its young champion to an international chess tournament in London. It was Marshall's first trip to Europe. However, the organizers did not allow the young chess player to participate in the main tournament, considering that the title of the Brooklyn Champion was not sufficient to play against such giants as Harry Nelson Pillsbury, Emanuel Lasker, Mikhail Tchigorin and Karl Schlechter. Playing the amateurs' tournament, however, Marshall demonstrated his outstanding tactical skill. 

(Click on the link above to read this article in its entirety ... AND! ... play through a few of Marshall's games.) 

---

Is FIDE Dead?  (By A.J. Goldsby I)   July 23, 2002

The World's body - that has governed chess for over 60 years - may be in serious trouble. 

The FIDE offices in Amsterdam - in mid-June - were closed and all the furniture and other articles were trucked away. (The offices are now for lease. I have an Internet chess student who lives there.)  The web-site of  (former) World Champion, GM Alexander Khalifman is reporting that the FIDE offices in Russia have been closed for some time. The FIDE web site, (www.FIDE.org); has been "off the air" for over 2 months now. It has been reported on ICC,  (and other chess servers!); that another organization has taken over, at least temporarily; the job of keeping the  FIDE  RATING LIST up to date. (See the articles at the top of this page.) The web-site for  "New In Chess" was reporting that many member nations had not paid their dues to FIDE in over a year. Of course, you can find many desultory articles on Gary Kasparov's web-site.  (His dislike of FIDE is pretty well known.) 

At the start of the year, FIDE had its annual Knock-out championship, (Dec - Jan); which crowned young Ruslan Ponomariov  the new FIDE World Champion. {FIDE also had many other events going at about the same time.}  As far as I know, all the prize money from that lavish tournament was paid. Then in the March 25th issue of,  "Time Magazine,"  (by Lev Grossman); chess was prominently featured, including the a picture of FIDE President, (and supposedly multi-millionaire); Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.  (He is also the elected President of Kalmykia.) (The article is VERY informative, and should be read by everyone who is interested in chess.) 

So what happened? Why the sudden collapse? 

I think a number of factors are involved. # 1.) Since Garry Kasparov began feuding with FIDE (1984-85), they have not hosted a real World Championship with the best players. (A loss of prestige and power ... AND revenue!)  # 2.)  GM Yasser Seirawan  has been promoting an idea to re-unify the chess titles. This plan has gained the support of many GM's all over the World. Meanwhile FIDE has resisted this idea at practically every turn.  # 3.)  The FIDE President has his own troubles. (See the article in 'TIME' magazine for more details.)  Apparently he is being pursued by many law enforcement agencies, The Russians, and Interpol!  (He may have recently put down an uprising in his own country.)  And apparently he has borrowed millions - if not BILLIONS!! - of dollars for the nation of Kalmykia, and now many of the bankers are calling in the loans. So the well may have indeed run dry. 

Perhaps the only salvation for FIDE is to find (elect) a new leader, and try to slowly work their way back to respectability in the eyes of the world chess community. (Posted July 23rd, 2002.) 

March, 2004:  It appears that one of the chief source of funds for  Kirsan Ilyumzhinov  was IRAQ. Apparently Saddem Hussein and Kirsan were the best of buddies. Now apparently FIDE is nearly broke ... again. And one WCS Qualifying match is currently slated to be held in Vietnam. And the next FIDE World Championship will be held in  LIBYA ... of all places!! Meanwhile, not one match that FIDE has scheduled in the last two years has actually come off. Are we starting to see a pattern here? DUMP THE CHUMP!!!  (chump = Kirsan Ilyumzhinov)  FIDE has become the laughingstock of the world. Its time to clean house and try to restore order. And the sooner, the better!! 

---

  A letter that I sent to ChessBase.  

Concerning the following news story: http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2199 

You can go ahead and bury  FIDE ...  and while you are at it, bury that  LOSER.  (Kirsan Ilyumzhinov) 

The guy is a dictator, a punk, a loser, a third-world thug  ...  AND YOU CAN QUOTE ME ON THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I am so sick of his mouth, hearing him spout empty promises.  (And lies.)   

I am tired of him taking the World Championship to venues like Korea, Libya, Vietnam ... anywhere where some third-world, autocratic tyrant wants positive media attention and is willing to spend a little hard currency to get it. 

I am tired of him taking the World Championship to a country - like Libya - and then hearing that all Jewish people will NOT be welcome! (He has done this more than once, and decent chess players should NOT allow it!) 

DUMP THE CHUMP!!!  Get rid of Kirsan Illya-liar,liar,pants-on-fire.  Do the chess world a favor.  Do it now. BEFORE he forever links chess with the forces of darkness!  -  USCF Original LIFE-Master A.J. Goldsby I  (Feb. 22, 2005)  

 ***** 

October 12th, 2005:  Ilyumzhinov is no longer the leader of his country, is his power base slowly disintegrating?  

---

  << It is high time. >> Bessel Kok, on changing FIDE's image.  [more]  

It was a sad day for chess. Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, a dictator, third-world thug, and {former} Campomane's flunky ... was re-elected as the FIDE President. Its not like the world body was not given a choice, Bessel Kok, a well-known and highly respected Dutch businessman ... was running against Ilyumzhinov.  

Garry Kasparov had beseeched the body to make the right move, but clearly his voice was completely disregarded. Maybe no one understands what this means. Maybe the world body thinks it is OK to hold events in places like Libya ... where all persons of Jewish descent are excluded. Or maybe Ilyumzhinov simply purchased enough votes to insure that he won, and the election was nothing more than a sham!  

Whatever the reason, the world body in chess failed completely ... I just hope that our beloved past-time does not further descend into dark and dire places ... or that we have passed the point of no return.  {From my big GC website.}  

---

 Click  here   to see an interesting article on possible changes to the FIDE rating system. 

---

 There is no site map, but you can click  here. 

---

This page was last updated on 01/03/13 .

 Copyright (©) A.J. Goldsby, 2013.  All rights reserved.  

---

---