The Most Famous

CHESS PLAYERS from Ukraine

This page contains a list of the greatest Ukrainian Chess Players. The pantheon dataset contains 461 Chess Players, 32 of which were born in Ukraine. This makes Ukraine the birth place of the 2nd most number of Chess Players.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Chess Players.

1. David Bronstein (1924 - 2006)

With an HPI of 66.09, David Bronstein is the most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages on wikipedia.

David Ionovich Bronstein (Russian: Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet and Russian chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was one of the world's strongest players from the mid-1940s into the mid-1970s, and was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics. He was also a renowned chess writer; his book Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 is widely considered one of the greatest chess books ever written.

2. Efim Bogoljubov (1889 - 1952)

With an HPI of 66.08, Efim Bogoljubov is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Efim Bogoljubow, also known as Efim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow (April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952), was a Russian-born German chess grandmaster.

3. Vassily Ivanchuk (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 66.00, Vassily Ivanchuk is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 46 different languages.

Vasyl Mykhailovych Ivanchuk (Ukrainian: Василь Михайлович Іванчук; born March 18, 1969) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1988. A leading chess player since 1988, Ivanchuk has been ranked at No. 2 on the FIDE world rankings three times (July 1991, July 1992, October 2007). Ivanchuk has won Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, Gibraltar Masters and M-Tel Masters titles. He has also won the World Blitz Championship in 2007 and the World Rapid Championship in 2016.

4. Lyudmila Rudenko (1904 - 1986)

With an HPI of 64.52, Lyudmila Rudenko is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. Her biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Lyudmila Vladimirovna Rudenko (Russian: Людми́ла Влади́мировна Руде́нко, Ukrainian: Людмила Володимирівна Руденко; 27 July 1904 – 4 March 1986) was a Soviet chess player and the second women's world chess champion, from 1950 until 1953. Rudenko was awarded the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman International Master (WIM) in 1950, and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 1976. She was the first woman awarded the International Master title. She was also USSR women's champion in 1952.

5. Salo Flohr (1908 - 1983)

With an HPI of 62.54, Salo Flohr is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournaments of the pre-World War II years, and by the late 1930s was considered a contender for the World Championship. However, his patient, positional style was overtaken by the sharper, more tactical methods of the younger Soviet echelon after World War II.

6. Mark Taimanov (1926 - 2016)

With an HPI of 62.50, Mark Taimanov is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Russian: Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific chess author, Taimanov was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1952 and in 1956 won the USSR Chess Championship. He was a World Championship Candidate in 1953 and 1971, and several opening variations are named after him. Taimanov was also a world-class concert pianist.

7. Isaac Boleslavsky (1919 - 1977)

With an HPI of 61.49, Isaac Boleslavsky is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky (Ukrainian: Ісаак Єфремович Болеславський, Russian: Исаак Ефремович Болеславский; 9 June 1919 – 15 February 1977) was a Soviet chess grandmaster and writer.

8. Alexander Beliavsky (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 58.96, Alexander Beliavsky is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky (Russian: Алекса́ндр Ге́нрихович Беля́вский, Ukrainian: Олександр Генріхович Бєлявський, Slovene: Aleksander Henrikovič Beljavski; also romanized Belyavsky; born December 17, 1953) is a Soviet, Ukrainian and Slovenian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1975. He is also a chess coach and in 2004 was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. Beliavsky was born in Lviv, USSR, now Ukraine. He now lives in Slovenia and has been playing for its national team since 1996.

9. Leonid Stein (1934 - 1973)

With an HPI of 56.95, Leonid Stein is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Leonid Zakharovych Stein (Ukrainian: Леонід Захарович Штейн; November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973) was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s (1963, 1965, and 1966), and was among the world's top ten players during that era.

10. Ossip Bernstein (1882 - 1962)

With an HPI of 56.29, Ossip Bernstein is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Chess Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Ossip Samoilovich Bernstein (20 September 1882 – 30 November 1962) was a French chess player and businessman. He was one of the inaugural recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950.

People

Pantheon has 32 people classified as Ukrainian chess players born between 1863 and 1993. Of these 32, 18 (56.25%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Ukrainian chess players include Vassily Ivanchuk, Alexander Beliavsky, and Anna Muzychuk. The most famous deceased Ukrainian chess players include David Bronstein, Efim Bogoljubov, and Lyudmila Rudenko. As of April 2024, 32 new Ukrainian chess players have been added to Pantheon including David Bronstein, Efim Bogoljubov, and Vassily Ivanchuk.