Magnus Carlsen

Born 1990 in Tønsberg, Norway;
Grandmaster 2004;
peak Elo rating: 2872;
actual Elo rating (as of 09-01-2013): 2862 and #1 on the current World ranking list.

Newly crowned World Champion (Nov. 2013, Chennai, India)

Notable tournament victories:
Biel 2007
Chorus/Tata Steel 2008 (shared with Levon Aronian), 2010, 2013
FIDE Grand Prix in Baku 2008
Aerosvit 2008
Nanjing Pearl Spring 2009, 2010
World Blitz Championship Moscow 2009
London Chess Classic 2009, 2010, 2012
Bazna Kings 2011
Grand Slam Chess Final 2011, 2012
Tal Memorial 2011
Candidates Tournament (London) 2013
Sinquefield Cup (Saint Louis) 2013

Further information on Magnus Carlsen’s life and chess.

Levon Aronian

Born 1982 in Yerevan, Armenia;
Grandmaster 2000;
peak Elo rating: 2825;
actual Elo rating (as of 09-01-2013): 2813 and #2 on the current World ranking list.

World Junior Champion: 2002
Chess Olympiad Gold Medal: 2006, 2008, 2010
World Team Chess Chamionship Gold Medal: 2011
Armenian Champion: 2002

Notable tournament victories:
Young Masters tournament, Lausanne 2001
World Cup in Khanty, Mansiysk 2005
International Chess Tournament, Linares 2006
Tal Memorial 2006 (shared with Leko & Ponomariov), 2010 (shared with Karjakin & Mamedyarov), 2011 (shared with Carlsen)
Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2007 (shared with Topalov and Radjabov), 2008 (shared with Carlsen)
Bilbao Masters 2009
World Rapid Chess Championship 2009,
Fide Grand Prix 2008-2010 2010,
Tata Steel, Wijk aan Zee 2012
Alekhine Memorial 2013
Grand Slam Chess Masters Final 2013

Further information on Levon Aronian’s life and chess.

Viswanathan Anand

Born 1969 in Chennai/India;
Grandmaster 1988;
peak Elo rating: 2817
actual Elo rating: 2780 (as of 02-01-2013) and #6 on the current World ranking list.

World Champion 2007-2013

World Champion (FIDE) 2000-2002

FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion 2003

Notable tournament victories:
Reggio Emilia 1992
Moscow 1992
Dortmund 1996, 2000, 2004
Dos Hermanas 1997
Wijk aan Zee 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006
Linares 1998
Morelia/Linares 2007, 2008

The "Tiger from Madras" is one of the five players in chess history to cross the 2800 Elo barrier.

Further information on Viswanathan Anand’s life and chess.

Fabiano Caruana

Born 1992 in Miami/Florida;
Grandmaster 2007 (youngest ever American to become a Grandmaster);
peak Elo rating: 2786
actual Elo rating (as of 02-01-2013): 2757 and #13 on the current World ranking list.

Italian Champion 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011

Notable tournament victories:
Corus C 2008
Corus B 2009
Mitropa Cup 2009 (Gold Medal at the first board)
AAI GM-Tournament (New Dehli) 2011
Reykjavik Open 2012
Dortmund 2012
Zurich Chess Challenge 2013

Further information on Fabiano Caruana’s life and chess.

Hikaru Nakamura

Born 1987 in Hirakata, Japan;
Grandmaster 2003;
peak Elo rating: 2786;
actual Elo rating (as of 09-01-2013): 2772 and #9 on the current World ranking list.

US Champion: 2005, 2009, 2012

World Team Chess Championship: Individual Gold Medal for board 1, 2010

960 World Chess Champion: 2009

Notable tournament victories:
Magistral D'Escacs, Barcelona 2007
Corsican circuit rapid chess tournamen 2007
GibTelecom Masters, Gibraltar 2008 (shared with Bu Xiangzhi)
Finet Chess960 Open, Mainz 2008
BNbank blitz tournament, Oslo 2008
Cap d'Agde Rapid Tournament, Cap d'Agde 2008
Donostia-San Sebastian Chess Festival, San Sebastian 2009 (tie with Ponomariov)
Tata Steel, Wijk aan Zee 2011
Univé tournament, Hoogeveen 2012

Further information on Hikaru Nakamura’s life and chess.

Boris Gelfand

Born 1968 in Minsk/Belarussia;
Grandmaster 1989;
peak Elo rating: 2761
actual Elo rating (as of 02-01-2013): 2740 and #17 on the current World ranking list.

Vice World Champion 2012
USSR Junior Championship 1985
Vice World Junior Championship: 1988 (tied first place)

Notable tournament victories:
Wijk aan Zee 1992
Moscow 1992
Biel Chess Festival 1993, 2005
Dos Hermanas 1994
Belgrade 1995
Tilburg 1996
Pamplona 2004
APC World Rapid Cup 2009
Chess World Cup 2009
London 2012
Tal Memorial 2013
Grand Prix Paris 2013

Further information on Boris Gelfand’s life and chess.