FIDE Rating List :: April 1968                                          previous list | home | next list
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Here is the latest IGM rating or grading list which I prepared for presentation at the FIDE meeting in October at Lugano. The ratings given are to be construed as averages over the indicated 28 month period. Unfortunately I cannot supply what would be 'current' ratings as so far I have been unable to obtain tournament and match reports in chronological order and within a reasonable time after the respective events. FIDE had directed its membership to send me reports; however, the response to the directive was negligible; absolutely zero from behind the iron curtain.

A single important factor which casts a doubt over the validity of a ranking list such as this, regardless of what type of grading system is used, is the prevalance of the 'grand master draw'. Among the top ranked players only Fischer, Botvinnik and Larsen had more games played to a decition than draws. Even such fighting players as Korchnoy, Tal and Portisch played more than 50% of their games to draws. And how can any system truly evaluate Spassky's performance when he played 91 draws in 129 grand master games? One could paraphrase an oft quoted saying here: "the fault is not our system but in our masters" - and the way they play. At that, a grading system, even at the grand master level, could serve a useful purpose. Grand masters may pretend to be above such things as ratings systems but the truth is that they are as vain about their ratings as the duffers. If they understood that draws could adversely affect their ratings we might see fewer perfunctory draws in grand master play.

The performances of the International Grand Masters over the period January 1966 through April 1968. Included on the list are all the F.I.D.E. grand masters as of October 22, 1967 and a few international masters who, by statistical ciriteria, have performed at the grand master level. The ratings of the players represent their average performances over the indicated period. The figures are rounded to the nearest ten since greater precition cannot be claimed.

/ Prof. Arpad E. Elo, CHESS, November 1968 /


   pos Player_ID  Name                                  Title Fed  Rtng   +/-  gms   Birthday   Sex  Flag 


Argentina
     1            Najdorf, Miguel                             ARG  2590                                
     2            Panno, Oscar                                ARG  2540                                
     3            Pilnik, Herman                              ARG  2510                                
     4            Eliskases, Erich                            ARG  2500                                


Belgium
     1            O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic                  BEL  2430                                


Brazil
     1            Mecking, Henrique                           BRA  2550                                


Bulgaria
     1            Bobotsov, Milko G.                          BUL  2540                                
     2            Padevsky, Nikola                            BUL  2480                                
     2=           Tringov, Georgi P.                          BUL  2480                                


Canada
     1            Yanofsky, Daniel A.                         CAN  2470                                


Czechoslovakia
     1            Hort, Vlastimil                             CSR  2570                                
     2            Kavalek, Lubomir                            CSR  2520                                
     3            Filip, Miroslav                             CSR  2510                                


Denmark
     1            Larsen, Bent                                DEN  2650                                


Spain
     1            Pomar Salamanca, Arturo                     ESP  2520                                


East Germany
     1            Uhlmann, Wolfgang                           GDR  2530                                
     2            Pietzsch, Wolfgang                          GDR  2420                                


Germany
     1            Unzicker, Wolfgang                          GER  2610                                
     2            Darga, Klaus                                GER  2570                                
     3            Schmid, Lothar                              GER  2510                                


Hungary
     1            Portisch, Lajos                             HUN  2610                                
     2            Bilek, Istvan                               HUN  2530                                
     3            Szabo, Laszlo                               HUN  2520                                
     4            Barcza, Gedeon                              HUN  2500                                
     5            Barczay, Laszlo                             HUN  2480                                
     6            Lengyel, Levente                            HUN  2470                                


Iceland
     1            Olafsson, Fridrik                           ISL  2590                                


Netherlands
     1            Donner, Jan-Hein                            NED  2530                                


Romania
     1            Gheorghiu, Florin                           ROM  2530                                


Soviet Union
     1            Botvinnik, Mikhail                          URS  2690                                
     2            Korchnoi, Viktor                            URS  2660                                
     2=           Spassky, Boris V.                           URS  2660                                
     4            Petrosian, Tigran                           URS  2650                                
     4=           Tal, Mikhail N.                             URS  2650                                
     6            Geller, Efim P.                             URS  2630                                
     6=           Smyslov, Vassily                            URS  2630                                
     8            Polugaevsky, Lev                            URS  2610                                
     8=           Stein, Leonid                               URS  2610                                
    10            Keres, Paul                                 URS  2600                                
    10=           Kholmov, Ratmir D.                          URS  2600                                
    10=           Lutikov, Anatoly S.                         URS  2600                                
    13            Boleslavsky, Isaak                          URS  2590                                
    14            Gipslis, Aivars                             URS  2580                                
    14=           Krogius, Nikolai V.                         URS  2580                                
    14=           Taimanov, Mark E.                           URS  2580                                
    17            Furman, Semyen A.                           URS  2570                                
    17=           Lein, Anatoly                               URS  2570                                
    19            Antoshin, Vladimir S.                       URS  2560                                
    19=           Gufeld, Eduard                              URS  2560                                
    19=           Zaitsev, Alexander                          URS  2560                                
    22            Osnos, Viatcheslav                          URS  2550                                
    22=           Savon, Vladimir A.                          URS  2550                                
    22=           Vasiukov, Evgeni                            URS  2550                                
    25            Averbakh, Yuri L.                           URS  2540                                
    25=           Shamkovich, Leonid                          URS  2540                                
    27            Suetin, Alexey S.                           URS  2530                                
    28            Kotov, Alexander                            URS  2510                                
    28=           Liberzon, Vladimir M.                       URS  2510                                
    28=           Simagin, Vladimir                           URS  2510                                


United States
     1            Fischer, Robert James                       USA  2710                                
     2            Benko, Pal C.                               USA  2580                                
     2=           Reshevsky, Samuel H.                        USA  2580                                
     4            Evans, Larry M.                             USA  2560                                
     5            Byrne, Robert E.                            USA  2520                                


Yugoslavia
     1            Gligoric, Svetozar                          YUG  2590                                
     2            Ivkov, Borislav                             YUG  2560                                
     2=           Matulovic, Milan                            YUG  2560                                
     4            Matanovic, Aleksandar                       YUG  2550                                
     5            Parma, Bruno                                YUG  2540                                
     6            Ciric, Dragoljub M.                         YUG  2530                                
     7            Trifunovic, Petar                           YUG  2500                                
     8            Janosevic, Dragoljub                        YUG  2490                                
     9            Damjanovic, Mato                            YUG  2420