Summary: 1940 - 1960 How to use this page
Duration: covering
Most Dominant Player between 1940 and 1960 See more details
   Mikhail Botvinnik: 9.3 years as #1 (between January 1940 and May 1958)
The player who was ranked #1 most often between 1940 and 1960 was Mikhail Botvinnik, with 111 different months as the top-ranked player (a total of 9.3 years). Next on the list were Vassily Smyslov (4.9 years) and David Bronstein (1.6 years).
Highest-Rated Player between 1940 and 1960 Summary only | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 | Top 50 | Top 100
   Mikhail Botvinnik: 2885 (October 1945)
The player who achieved the highest peak rating between 1940 and 1960 was Mikhail Botvinnik, with a rating of 2885 on the October 1945 list. The next-highest peak ratings between 1940 and 1960 were achieved by Alexander Alekhine (2807 on the July 1944 list) and Vassily Smyslov (2800 on the September 1956 list).
     Player Name       Peak Rating       World Rank (at time of Peak Rating)       Age (at time of Peak Rating)   
 #1    Mikhail Botvinnik      2885      #1 on October 1945 rating list      34y2m   
 #2    Alexander Alekhine      2807      #1 on July 1944 rating list      51y9m   
 #3    Vassily Smyslov      2800      #1 on September 1956 rating list      35y6m   
 #4    Miguel Najdorf      2797      #2 on February 1948 rating list      37y10m   
 #5    Mikhail Tal      2797      #1 on December 1959 rating list      23y1m   
 #6    David Bronstein      2792      #1 on June 1951 rating list      27y4m   
 #7    Paul Keres      2786      #2 on March 1947 rating list      31y2m   
 #8    Samuel Reshevsky      2785      #1 on October 1953 rating list      41y11m   
 #9    Max Euwe      2763      #3 on December 1946 rating list      45y7m   
 #10    Tigran Petrosian      2762      #3 on October 1959 rating list      30y4m   
 #11    Gideon Stĺhlberg      2762      #3 on March 1948 rating list      40y2m   
 #12    Reuben Fine      2762      #2 on July 1941 rating list      26y9m   
 #13    Isaak Boleslavsky      2760      #4 on May 1950 rating list      30y11m   
 #14    Alexander Kotov      2753      #4 on April 1950 rating list      36y8m   
 #15    Svetozar Gligoric      2743      #6 on November 1958 rating list      35y9m   
 #16    Mark Taimanov      2742      #5 on January 1957 rating list      30y11m   
 #17    Efim Geller      2740      #7 on January 1954 rating list      28y10m   
 #18    Boris Spassky      2740      #6 on December 1959 rating list      22y11m   
 #19    Vladimir Makogonov      2735      #7 on October 1945 rating list      41y2m   
 #20    Erich Eliskases      2733      #8 on January 1949 rating list      35y11m   
 #21    Viktor Korchnoi      2730      #7 on January 1958 rating list      26y10m   
 #22    László Szabó      2726      #6 on December 1946 rating list      29y9m   
 #23    Salo Flohr      2719      #6 on September 1940 rating list      31y10m   
 #24    Bent Larsen      2719      #9 on July 1957 rating list      22y4m   
 #25    Yury Averbakh      2715      #8 on February 1957 rating list      35y0m   
 #26    Borislav Ivkov      2715      #9 on October 1956 rating list      22y11m   
 #27    Folke Ekström      2714      #10 on January 1947 rating list      40y3m   
 #28    Ratmir Kholmov      2709      #12 on April 1959 rating list      33y11m   
 #29    Semen Furman      2708      #11 on April 1948 rating list      27y4m   
 #30    José Capablanca      2707      #8 on January 1940 rating list      51y2m   
 #31    Andor Lilienthal      2707      #8 on March 1941 rating list      29y10m   
 #32    Alexander Tolush      2704      #12 on January 1951 rating list      40y8m   
 #33    Julio Bolbochán      2703      #14 on November 1954 rating list      34y8m   
 #34    Saviely Tartakower      2702      #11 on June 1947 rating list      60y4m   
 #35    Bobby Fischer      2701      #14 on June 1959 rating list      16y3m   
 #36    Gösta Stoltz      2700      #8 on January 1942 rating list      37y8m   
 #37    Isaak Lipnitsky      2700      #12 on December 1950 rating list      27y11m   
 #38    Petar Trifunovic      2700      #12 on November 1947 rating list      37y3m   
 #39    Viacheslav Ragozin      2699      #11 on August 1946 rating list      37y10m   
 #40    Aleksandar Matanovic      2698      #15 on October 1956 rating list      26y5m   
 #41    Lev Polugaevsky      2698      #15 on July 1959 rating list      24y8m   
 #42    Paul Schmidt      2696      #9 on December 1943 rating list      27y4m   
 #43    Ludek Pachmann      2695      #15 on December 1959 rating list      35y7m   
 #44    Fridrik Olafsson      2692      #13 on October 1958 rating list      23y9m   
 #45    Pal Benko      2687      #17 on December 1958 rating list      30y5m   
 #46    Gedeon Barcza      2683      #16 on December 1951 rating list      40y4m   
 #47    Wolfgang Unzicker      2681      #17 on May 1955 rating list      29y11m   
 #48    Oscar Panno      2680      #19 on October 1955 rating list      20y7m   
 #49    Al Horowitz      2680      #10 on January 1943 rating list      35y2m   
 #50    Vasja Pirc      2677      #10 on January 1940 rating list      32y1m   
 #51    Efim Bogoljubow      2675      #10 on February 1944 rating list      54y10m   
 #52    Miroslav Filip      2675      #22 on September 1957 rating list      28y11m   
 #53    Lev Aronin      2674      #22 on March 1952 rating list      31y8m   
 #54    Andrija Fuderer      2674      #19 on January 1955 rating list      23y8m   
 #55    Larry Evans      2673      #19 on August 1952 rating list      20y5m   
 #56    Lajos Portisch      2671      #21 on December 1959 rating list      22y8m   
 #57    Herman Pilnik      2670      #13 on August 1945 rating list      31y7m   
 #58    Alexander Konstantinopolsky      2669      #11 on July 1945 rating list      35y5m   
 #59    Wolfgang Uhlmann      2669      #22 on December 1959 rating list      24y9m   
 #60    Igor Bondarevsky      2669      #14 on February 1943 rating list      29y9m   
 #61    Vladas Mikenas      2669      #14 on December 1945 rating list      35y8m   
 #62    Oleg Moiseev      2667      #18 on December 1953 rating list      28y7m   
 #63    Anatoly Lutikov      2667      #22 on October 1954 rating list      21y8m   
 #64    Hans Kmoch      2664      #16 on April 1941 rating list      46y9m   
 #65    Pablo Michel      2664      #18 on January 1946 rating list      40y1m   
 #66    Nicolas Rossolimo      2663      #26 on December 1951 rating list      41y10m   
 #67    Erik Lundin      2661      #20 on October 1946 rating list      42y3m   
 #68    Klaus Junge      2661      #17 on September 1942 rating list      18y8m   
 #69    Klaus Darga      2661      #22 on December 1955 rating list      21y10m   
 #70    Rashid Nezhmetdinov      2660      #21 on September 1954 rating list      41y9m   
 #71    Ilia Kan      2656      #15 on June 1945 rating list      36y1m   
 #72    Miklos Bely      2655      #25 on February 1955 rating list      41y6m   
 #73    Nikolay Novotelnov      2655      #20 on January 1948 rating list      36y1m   
 #74    Grigory Levenfish      2654      #14 on May 1940 rating list      51y2m   
 #75    Héctor Rossetto      2653      #24 on April 1950 rating list      27y7m   
 #76    Jan Foltys      2653      #20 on November 1947 rating list      39y1m   
 #77    Kurt Richter      2652      #18 on October 1942 rating list      41y11m   
 #78    Vladimir Simagin      2650      #22 on October 1949 rating list      30y4m   
 #79    Sergey Belavenets      2650      #19 on October 1940 rating list      30y9m   
 #80    Miroslav Katetov      2649      #16 on July 1944 rating list      26y4m   
 #81    Vasily Panov      2649      #21 on January 1948 rating list      41y2m   
 #82    Jens Enevoldsen      2648      #21 on September 1948 rating list      41y0m   
 #83    Nikolay Krogius      2647      #27 on August 1958 rating list      28y1m   
 #84    Vladimirs Petrovs      2647      #16 on September 1940 rating list      33y0m   
 #85    Georgy Lisitsin      2646      #21 on June 1948 rating list      38y8m   
 #86    František Zíta      2644      #21 on August 1944 rating list      34y9m   
 #87    Albéric O'Kelly de Galway      2644      #31 on January 1957 rating list      45y8m   
 #88    Carlos Guimard      2643      #28 on April 1950 rating list      37y0m   
 #89    Bukhuti Gurgenidze      2643      #29 on July 1958 rating list      24y8m   
 #90    Eero Böök      2642      #24 on August 1948 rating list      38y6m   
 #91    Milan Vidmar Sr      2642      #18 on January 1941 rating list      55y7m   
 #92    Evgeny Vasiukov      2640      #31 on November 1957 rating list      24y8m   
 #93    Anatoly Bannik      2640      #33 on December 1950 rating list      29y0m   
 #94    Aivars Gipslis      2639      #34 on October 1959 rating list      22y8m   
 #95    Georgy Ilivitsky      2639      #31 on December 1956 rating list      35y8m   
 #96    Robert Byrne      2639      #28 on September 1952 rating list      24y5m   
 #97    Alexey Sokolsky      2639      #18 on April 1945 rating list      36y6m   
 #98    Raúl Sanguinetti      2638      #35 on January 1959 rating list      25y11m   
 #99    Lothar Schmid      2638      #34 on September 1955 rating list      27y4m   
 #100    William Lombardy      2638      #37 on January 1959 rating list      21y1m   
Strongest Tournament between 1940 and 1960 Summary only | Top 5 | Top 10 | Top 20 | Top 50 | Top 100
   Zurich (Candidates), 1953: Class 18 (#1, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10)
The strongest tournament held between 1940 and 1960 was Zurich (Candidates) 1953. This was a Class 18 tournament, including nine of the top ten players in the world (from the August 1953 rating list). The next-strongest tournaments were Moscow (Alekhine Memorial) 1956 (Class 15) and Amsterdam (Candidates) 1956 (Class 15).
     Event       Class       Top Ten Participation    Specific participants from top ten on rating list
 #1    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 Stĺhlberg (2722), #10 Paul Keres (2721) from August 1953 rating list
 #2    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
 #3    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
 #4    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
 #5    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
 #6    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 Stĺhlberg (2732), #9 Isaak Boleslavsky (2722), #10 Paul Keres (2722) from April 1950 rating list
 #7    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
 #8    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
 #9    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
 #10    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
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 1940 and 1960 See more details
   Botvinnik-Smyslov I (World Championship, Moscow), 1954: #1 vs #3
The strongest match held between 1940 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 Botvinnik-Smyslov II (World Championship, Moscow), 1957 (#1 vs #4) and Najdorf-Reshevsky II (Buenos Aires), 1953 (#2 vs #4).
Best Individual Event Performance between 1940 and 1960 See more details
   Mikhail Tal: 2869 in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade (Candidates), 1959
The best individual event performance between 1940 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 Mikhail Botvinnik (2850 performance) in The Hague/Moscow (World Championship), 1948, and by Paul Keres (2836 performance) in Bled/Zagreb/Belgrade (Candidates), 1959.