Summary: 1930 - 1960 How to use this page
Duration: covering
Most Dominant Player between 1930 and 1960 See more details
   Mikhail Botvinnik: 10.9 years as #1 (between September 1936 and May 1958)
The player who was ranked #1 most often between 1930 and 1960 was Mikhail Botvinnik, with 131 different months as the top-ranked player (a total of 10.9 years). Next on the list were Alexander Alekhine (8.3 years) and Vassily Smyslov (4.9 years).
Highest-Rated Player between 1930 and 1960 See more details
   Mikhail Botvinnik: 2885 (October 1945)
The player who achieved the highest peak rating between 1930 and 1960 was Mikhail Botvinnik, with a rating of 2885 on the October 1945 list. The next-highest peak ratings between 1930 and 1960 were achieved by Alexander Alekhine (2860 on the May 1931 list) and José Capablanca (2804 on the January 1930 list).
Strongest Tournament between 1930 and 1960 Summary only | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 | Top 50 | Top 100
   Nottingham, 1936: Class 20 (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8)
The strongest tournament held between 1930 and 1960 was Nottingham 1936. This was a Class 20 tournament, including eight of the top ten players in the world (from the August 1936 rating list). The next-strongest tournaments were AVRO 1938 (Class 20) and Zurich (Candidates) 1953 (Class 18).
     Event       Class       Top Ten Participation    Specific participants from top ten on rating list
 #1    Nottingham, 1936      20      #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8    #1 Max Euwe (2753), #2 Mikhail Botvinnik (2748), #3 Alexander Alekhine (2745), #4 Salo Flohr (2744), #5 José Capablanca (2742), #6 Samuel Reshevsky (2727), #7 Reuben Fine (2693), #8 Efim Bogoljubow (2682) from August 1936 rating list
 #2    AVRO, 1938      20      #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8    #1 Mikhail Botvinnik (2763), #2 Alexander Alekhine (2754), #3 Samuel Reshevsky (2745), #4 Reuben Fine (2737), #5 José Capablanca (2732), #6 Salo Flohr (2727), #7 Paul Keres (2718), #8 Max Euwe (2716) from November 1938 rating list
 #3    Zurich (Candidates), 1953      18      #1, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10    #1 Samuel Reshevsky (2781), #3 Vassily Smyslov (2765), #4 Miguel Najdorf (2753), #5 Efim Geller (2734), #6 Alexander Kotov (2727), #7 David Bronstein (2724), #8 Isaak Boleslavsky (2722), #9 Gideon Ståhlberg (2722), #10 Paul Keres (2721) from August 1953 rating list
 #4    Moscow (Alekhine Memorial), 1956      15      #1, #2, #3, #4, #9    #1 Vassily Smyslov (2793), #2 Paul Keres (2782), #3 David Bronstein (2770), #4 Mikhail Botvinnik (2756), #9 Mark Taimanov (2714) from January 1956 rating list
 #5    Amsterdam (Candidates), 1956      15      #1, #2, #3, #5, #7, #8    #1 Vassily Smyslov (2793), #2 Paul Keres (2782), #3 David Bronstein (2770), #5 Tigran Petrosian (2755), #7 Efim Geller (2720), #8 Boris Spassky (2714) from January 1956 rating list
 #6    Moscow (URS Championship), 1952      15      #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #8    #1 Vassily Smyslov (2776), #2 David Bronstein (2774), #3 Paul Keres (2769), #6 Mikhail Botvinnik (2748), #7 Isaak Boleslavsky (2719), #8 Efim Geller (2712) from January 1952 rating list
 #7    Moscow (URS Championship), 1955      15      #1, #2, #3, #6, #7, #9    #1 Vassily Smyslov (2793), #2 Mikhail Botvinnik (2778), #3 Paul Keres (2766), #6 Tigran Petrosian (2739), #7 Mark Taimanov (2732), #9 Viktor Korchnoi (2711) from February 1955 rating list
 #8    San Remo, 1930      15      #1, #3, #4, #5, #7, #8, #9    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2821), #3 Aron Nimzowitsch (2779), #4 Efim Bogoljubow (2735), #5 Akiba Rubinstein (2735), #7 Rudolf Spielmann (2699), #8 Milan Vidmar Sr (2691), #9 Saviely Tartakower (2680) from January 1930 rating list
 #9    Bled, 1931      15      #1, #3, #4, #5, #8, #9, #10    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2850), #3 Aron Nimzowitsch (2762), #4 Isaac Kashdan (2731), #5 Efim Bogoljubow (2726), #8 Saviely Tartakower (2693), #9 Rudolf Spielmann (2661), #10 Milan Vidmar Sr (2654) from January 1931 rating list
 #10    Budapest (Candidates), 1950      15      #2, #3, #4, #5, #7, #9, #10    #2 Vassily Smyslov (2760), #3 David Bronstein (2754), #4 Alexander Kotov (2753), #5 Miguel Najdorf (2741), #7 Gideon Ståhlberg (2732), #9 Isaak Boleslavsky (2722), #10 Paul Keres (2722) from April 1950 rating list
 #11    Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade (Candidat, 1959      14      #1, #2, #3, #5, #7    #1 Mikhail Tal (2766), #2 Vassily Smyslov (2762), #3 Tigran Petrosian (2753), #5 Paul Keres (2743), #7 Svetozar Gligoric (2736) from September 1959 rating list
 #12    Groningen (Staunton Memorial), 1946      14      #1, #2, #4, #5, #10    #1 Mikhail Botvinnik (2864), #2 Miguel Najdorf (2767), #4 Isaak Boleslavsky (2738), #5 Vassily Smyslov (2732), #10 Alexander Kotov (2704) from August 1946 rating list
 #13    Tbilisi (URS Championship), 1959      13      #1, #4, #5, #7, #8, #9, #10    #1 Mikhail Tal (2773), #4 Paul Keres (2755), #5 David Bronstein (2747), #7 Tigran Petrosian (2738), #8 Viktor Korchnoi (2724), #9 Efim Geller (2718), #10 Mark Taimanov (2715) from January 1959 rating list
 #14    Zuerich, 1934      12      #1, #3, #4, #5    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2787), #3 Salo Flohr (2721), #4 Max Euwe (2702), #5 Efim Bogoljubow (2698) from January 1934 rating list
 #15    Moscow (URS Championship), 1951      11      #1, #3, #5, #6    #1 David Bronstein (2780), #3 Vassily Smyslov (2754), #5 Alexander Kotov (2747), #6 Paul Keres (2738) from January 1951 rating list
 #16    Moscow (Chigorin Memorial), 1947      11      #1, #3, #5, #7, #10    #1 Mikhail Botvinnik (2823), #3 Paul Keres (2776), #5 Isaak Boleslavsky (2739), #7 Vassily Smyslov (2725), #10 Alexander Kotov (2702) from November 1947 rating list
 #17    Budapest, 1952      11      #1, #3, #6, #8, #10    #1 Vassily Smyslov (2776), #3 Paul Keres (2769), #6 Mikhail Botvinnik (2748), #8 Efim Geller (2712), #10 Gideon Ståhlberg (2708) from January 1952 rating list
 #18    Bern, 1932      11      #1, #4, #6, #7, #10    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2849), #4 Efim Bogoljubow (2729), #6 Max Euwe (2695), #7 Salo Flohr (2686), #10 Mir Sultan Khan (2666) from January 1932 rating list
 #19    Gothenburg (Interzonal), 1955      11      #2, #5, #6, #8, #9, #10    #2 Paul Keres (2775), #5 Tigran Petrosian (2756), #6 David Bronstein (2749), #8 Miguel Najdorf (2726), #9 Boris Spassky (2720), #10 Efim Geller (2718) from September 1955 rating list
 #20    Moscow (URS Championship), 1957      11      #3, #4, #5, #6, #9    #3 Paul Keres (2774), #4 David Bronstein (2764), #5 Mark Taimanov (2742), #6 Tigran Petrosian (2741), #9 Viktor Korchnoi (2715) from January 1957 rating list
 #21    Leningrad, 1957      11      #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10    #3 Paul Keres (2774), #4 David Bronstein (2764), #5 Mark Taimanov (2742), #6 Tigran Petrosian (2741), #7 Svetozar Gligoric (2721), #8 Efim Geller (2718), #9 Viktor Korchnoi (2715), #10 Borislav Ivkov (2713) from January 1957 rating list
 #22    London, 1932      10      #1, #3, #7, #9, #10    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2846), #3 Isaac Kashdan (2741), #7 Salo Flohr (2686), #9 Saviely Tartakower (2669), #10 Mir Sultan Khan (2667) from February 1932 rating list
 #23    The Hague/Moscow (World Champi, 1948      10      #1, #4, #6, #7    #1 Mikhail Botvinnik (2826), #4 Paul Keres (2754), #6 Max Euwe (2730), #7 Vassily Smyslov (2730) from March 1948 rating list
 #24    Hastings, 1934      10      #2, #3, #6, #7    #2 Max Euwe (2744), #3 Salo Flohr (2737), #6 Andor Lilienthal (2710), #7 Mikhail Botvinnik (2679) from December 1934 rating list
 #25    Saltsjobaden (Interzonal), 1948      10      #2, #3, #8, #9, #10    #2 Miguel Najdorf (2788), #3 Gideon Ståhlberg (2757), #8 Isaak Boleslavsky (2731), #9 David Bronstein (2723), #10 Alexander Kotov (2720) from July 1948 rating list
 #26    Semmering/Baden, 1937      10      #3, #4, #6, #7, #8    #3 José Capablanca (2749), #4 Salo Flohr (2743), #6 Samuel Reshevsky (2732), #7 Reuben Fine (2716), #8 Paul Keres (2701) from September 1937 rating list
 #27    Riga (URS Championship), 1958      10      #3, #5, #6, #7, #9, #10    #3 David Bronstein (2763), #5 Tigran Petrosian (2734), #6 Mark Taimanov (2733), #7 Viktor Korchnoi (2730), #9 Mikhail Tal (2725), #10 Boris Spassky (2712) from January 1958 rating list
 #28    Leningrad/Moscow (Absolute Cha, 1941      9      #2, #4, #8, #10    #2 Mikhail Botvinnik (2756), #4 Paul Keres (2737), #8 Andor Lilienthal (2707), #10 Vassily Smyslov (2693) from March 1941 rating list
 #29    Moscow, 1936      9      #2, #5, #7, #9, #10    #2 Salo Flohr (2751), #5 Mikhail Botvinnik (2719), #7 José Capablanca (2689), #9 Emanuel Lasker (2677), #10 Andor Lilienthal (2669) from May 1936 rating list
 #30    Portoroz (Interzonal), 1958      9      #3, #4, #6, #7    #3 David Bronstein (2763), #4 Mikhail Tal (2760), #6 Tigran Petrosian (2743), #7 Svetozar Gligoric (2724) from August 1958 rating list
 #31    Kemeri, 1937      9      #4, #5, #6, #7, #8    #4 Alexander Alekhine (2742), #5 Samuel Reshevsky (2740), #6 Salo Flohr (2738), #7 Reuben Fine (2733), #8 Paul Keres (2708) from June 1937 rating list
 #32    Amsterdam, 1936      8      #1, #2    #1 Max Euwe (2769), #2 Alexander Alekhine (2758) from January 1936 rating list
 #33    Salzburg, 1943      8      #1, #4, #10    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2765), #4 Paul Keres (2742), #10 Paul Schmidt (2691) from June 1943 rating list
 #34    Zurich, 1959      8      #1, #5, #6    #1 Mikhail Tal (2777), #5 Paul Keres (2740), #6 Svetozar Gligoric (2733) from May 1959 rating list
 #35    Moscow (URS Championship), 1945      8      #1, #5, #8, #10    #1 Mikhail Botvinnik (2817), #5 Vassily Smyslov (2749), #8 Isaak Boleslavsky (2689), #9 Salo Flohr (2678), #10 Alexander Tolush (2669) from June 1945 rating list
 #36    Mar del Plata, 1948      8      #2, #4, #10    #2 Miguel Najdorf (2795), #4 Gideon Ståhlberg (2760), #10 Erich Eliskases (2713) from January 1948 rating list
 #37    Garga (URS Training), 1953      8      #3, #5, #7, #8, #10    #3 Vassily Smyslov (2765), #5 Efim Geller (2736), #7 Alexander Kotov (2734), #8 Paul Keres (2732), #10 Isaak Boleslavsky (2723) from January 1953 rating list
 #38    Leningrad (URS Championship), 1947      8      #4, #5, #6, #7    #4 Paul Keres (2746), #5 Vassily Smyslov (2729), #6 David Bronstein (2719), #7 Isaak Boleslavsky (2718) from February 1947 rating list
 #39    Hastings, 1933      7      #1, #3    #1 Alexander Alekhine (2796), #3 Salo Flohr (2716) from December 1933 rating list
 #40    Hastings, 1954      7      #1, #4    #1 Vassily Smyslov (2790), #4 Paul Keres (2758) from December 1954 rating list
 #41    Zandvoort, 1936      7      #1, #5, #9    #1 Max Euwe (2769), #5 Efim Bogoljubow (2705), #9 Paul Keres (2677) from January 1936 rating list
 #42    Podebrady, 1936      7      #2, #3    #2 Alexander Alekhine (2758), #3 Salo Flohr (2750) from January 1936 rating list
 #43    Buenos Aires/La Plata, 1947      7      #2, #3    #2 Miguel Najdorf (2772), #3 Max Euwe (2762) from January 1947 rating list
 #44    Mar del Plata, 1947      7      #2, #3    #2 Miguel Najdorf (2772), #3 Max Euwe (2762) from January 1947 rating list
 #45    New York (USA Championship), 1940      7      #2, #4    #2 Reuben Fine (2760), #4 Samuel Reshevsky (2743) from January 1940 rating list
 #46    Buenos Aires, 1948      7      #2, #4    #2 Miguel Najdorf (2795), #4 Gideon Ståhlberg (2760) from January 1948 rating list
 #47    Venice, 1950      7      #2, #4    #2 Vassily Smyslov (2760), #4 Alexander Kotov (2750) from January 1950 rating list
 #48    New York (Wertheim Memorial), 1951      7      #2, #4    #2 Samuel Reshevsky (2758), #4 Miguel Najdorf (2753) from January 1951 rating list
 #49    Dresden, 1936      7      #2, #5, #9    #2 Alexander Alekhine (2758), #5 Efim Bogoljubow (2705), #9 Paul Keres (2677) from January 1936 rating list
 #50    Bad Nauheim, 1936      7      #2, #5, #9    #2 Alexander Alekhine (2758), #5 Efim Bogoljubow (2705), #9 Paul Keres (2677) from January 1936 rating list
NOTE: "Class" is a Chessmetrics formula used to rank the strength of a tournament, by using the participation of top-10 players from the rating list (rather than just using the average rating of all participants). For more details, go here.
Strongest Match between 1930 and 1960 See more details
   Botvinnik-Smyslov I (World Championship, Moscow), 1954: #1 vs #3
The strongest match held between 1930 and 1960 was Botvinnik-Smyslov I (World Championship, Moscow), 1954. This was a matchup of #1 vs #3, including #1 Vassily Smyslov (2790) and #3 Mikhail Botvinnik (2779) from the March 1954 rating list. Next on the list were Alekhine-Euwe II (World Championship, NLD), 1935 (#1 vs #3) and Botvinnik-Smyslov II (World Championship, Moscow), 1957 (#1 vs #4).
Best Individual Event Performance between 1930 and 1960 See more details
   Mikhail Tal: 2869 in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade (Candidates), 1959
The best individual event performance between 1930 and 1960 was achieved by Mikhail Tal with a Chessmetrics Performance Rating of 2869 in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade (Candidates), 1959. The next-best individual event performances were achieved by Alexander Alekhine (2865 performance) in San Remo, 1930, and by Alexander Alekhine (2859 performance) in Bled, 1931.