#2010s

The grandmaster from Minsk who reached the World Championship match at forty-three — a Soviet-trained classicist whose career bridged the era of Karpov to that of Carlsen.

The youngest grandmaster in history at twelve, the World Championship challenger at twenty-six, and one of the era's hardest players to beat with the black pieces.

The 2005 FIDE World Champion, the world No. 1 at his peak, and a defining figure of Bulgarian chess — known for an attacking style that produced some of the era's most spectacular wins.

Cuban-born grandmaster, US national team member — the strongest player Cuba produced in the post-Capablanca era and a long-time presence in the world top twenty.

India's second grandmaster after Anand — for twenty years the country's number-two, a quiet professional whose career anchored Indian chess through the gap before the current generation.

Indian grandmaster, 2024 Candidates qualifier — the bridge between the Anand era and the Gukesh generation, both as competitor and team captain at the 2024 Olympiad.

China's first male world chess champion — and the player whose 2023 title victory came at the moment Carlsen chose not to defend.

America's strongest player — twice runner-up at the World Championship, and the most deeply prepared opening theoretician of the engine era.

Five-time US champion and the most prolific online chess broadcaster ever — the player who showed that streaming and grandmaster chess could coexist.

India's first grandmaster, five-time world champion, and the player who showed that elite chess could be played from Madras as readily as from Moscow.

The Russian world champion who took the title from Kasparov in London 2000 — and proved, with the Berlin Defense

The Chinese grandmaster who at fifteen became the youngest player ever to cross 2700, and at twenty-five remains the country's second-strongest active player.

Twelve years atop the rating list. The quiet revolution he started in opening preparation, and the empire he chose to leave behind.