Richest Chess Players In The World

Opening moves like the Sokolsky opening, the Morphy Defense and the Reti Opening are named after chess greats and known usually only by chess enthusiasts. However, since Netflix’s series, The Queen’s Gambit, interest in chess playing has picked up by the general public. Our list below introduces some of the most famous and greatest chess Grandmasters of all time.

Binge Worthy

Garry Kasparov Net Worth: $5 million
Magnus Carlsen Net Worth: $8 million
Hikaru Nakamura Net Worth: $50 million
Levon Aronian Net Worth: $3 million
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave Net Worth: $5 million
Teimour Radjabov Net Worth: $5 million
Judit Polgar Net Worth: $5 million
Viswanathan Anand Net Worth: $3 million
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik Net Worth: $2 million
Fabiano Caruana Net Worth: $13 million

Garry Kasparov
Net Worth: $5 million

Garry Kasparov started learning the game when he was only 10 years old.

He subsequently became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at age 22 by defeating then-champion Anatoly Karpov. He held the official FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) world title until 1993, when a dispute with FIDE led him to set up a rival organization, the Professional Chess Association.

He was the undisputed champion from 1975-1985 and 1993-1999, with 160 first-place tournaments, losing his title to Garry Kasparov in 1985. He retired from professional chess in 2005.

After retiring from professional chess, Kasparov devoted his time to politics and writing. He formed the United Civil Front movement, and joined The Other Russia, a coalition opposed to the administration and policies of Vladimir Putin. In 2008, he announced an intention to run as a candidate in that year’s Russian presidential race, but after encountering logistical problems in his campaign for which he blamed “official obstruction”, he withdrew. In 2013, he left Russia and became a citizen of Croatia.

As of 2021, this Russian master of chess is thought to be worth about $5 million.

Magnus Carlsen
Net Worth: $8 million

A chess grandmaster, this Norwegian is the current World Chess Champion, World Rapid Chess Champion and World Blitz Chess Champion.

A chess prodigy, Magnus Carlsen achieved second place in the World U12 Chess Championship in 2002. At 13, he finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament, and took the grandmaster title a few months later. At age 15, he won the Norwegian Chess Championship, and at 17, he was placed joint first in the top group of Corus. He exceeded a rating of 2800 at age 18 and reached number one in the FIDE world rankings at age 19, becoming the youngest person ever to achieve these feats.

Carlsen is not a universal player using different openings to challenge and block his opponent.

Carlsen returned to the Airthings Masters in 2020 after several years of absence, however, Russia’s Daniil Dubov eliminated Carlsen from the quarter-finals, ending a day of massive upsets for the current world champion.

As of 2021, Carlsen is estimated to have a net worth of about $8 million.

Hikaru Nakamura
Net Worth: $50 million

He was recognized as a chess prodigy at age 15 years, becoming the youngest American to earn the title of Grandmaster.

Nakamura is a five-time United States champion, who won the 2011 edition of Tata Steel Chess Tournament Group A and represented the United States at five Chess Olympiads, winning a team gold medal and two team bronze medals.

In October 2015, with a FIDE rating of 2816, he was ranked second in the world. In May 2014, when FIDE began publishing official rapid and blitz chess ratings, Nakamura was ranked number one in the world on both lists. He was pipped by Magnus Carlsen in the second publication of the rankings.

At the Airthings Masters in 2020, Nakamura was eliminated after losing to Levon Aronian.

As of 2021, this Grandmaster has built an estimated net worth of $50 million.

 

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