Occupation

CHESS PLAYERS

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With 461 biographies, Chess Players are the 39th most common occupation in Pantheon, behind Boxers, Skaters, and Coaches.

People

Pantheon has 531 people classified as chess players born between 1475 and 2009. Of these 531, 338 (63.65%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living chess players include Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Nona Gaprindashvili. The most famous deceased chess players include Wilhelm Steinitz, Bobby Fischer, and Boris Spassky. As of April 2024, 69 new chess players have been added to Pantheon including Gata Kamsky, Joshua Waitzkin, and Alexander Graf.

Living Chess Players

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Deceased Chess Players

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Newly Added Chess Players (2025)

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Places

Most chess players were born in Russia (87), Ukraine (36), and United States (24). By city, the most common birth places were Saint Petersburg (18), Baku (14), and Moscow (13).

Places Over Time

The earliest biographies classified as chess players in Pantheon are Ruy López de Segura, Pedro Damiano, and Luis Ramírez de Lucena.  The concentration of chess players was largest during the Television Era, which lasted from 1950 to 1989. Some birth or death locations for earlier chess players are unknown, which may account for timeline differences below.

Lifespans

Which Chess Players were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 25 most globally memorable Chess Players since 1700.