FIDE Rating List :: April 1968                                          previous list | home | next list
Sorted by Elo rating

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 
     1            Fischer, Robert James                       USA  2710                                
     2            Botvinnik, Mikhail                          URS  2690                                
     3            Korchnoi, Viktor                            URS  2660                                
     3=           Spassky, Boris V.                           URS  2660                                
     5            Larsen, Bent                                DEN  2650                                
     5=           Petrosian, Tigran                           URS  2650                                
     5=           Tal, Mikhail N.                             URS  2650                                
     8            Geller, Efim P.                             URS  2630                                
     8=           Smyslov, Vassily                            URS  2630                                
    10            Unzicker, Wolfgang                          GER  2610                                
    10=           Portisch, Lajos                             HUN  2610                                
    10=           Polugaevsky, Lev                            URS  2610                                
    10=           Stein, Leonid                               URS  2610                                
    14            Keres, Paul                                 URS  2600                                
    14=           Kholmov, Ratmir D.                          URS  2600                                
    14=           Lutikov, Anatoly S.                         URS  2600                                
    17            Najdorf, Miguel                             ARG  2590                                
    17=           Olafsson, Fridrik                           ISL  2590                                
    17=           Boleslavsky, Isaak                          URS  2590                                
    17=           Gligoric, Svetozar                          YUG  2590                                
    21            Gipslis, Aivars                             URS  2580                                
    21=           Krogius, Nikolai V.                         URS  2580                                
    21=           Taimanov, Mark E.                           URS  2580                                
    21=           Benko, Pal C.                               USA  2580                                
    21=           Reshevsky, Samuel H.                        USA  2580                                
    26            Hort, Vlastimil                             CSR  2570                                
    26=           Darga, Klaus                                GER  2570                                
    26=           Furman, Semyen A.                           URS  2570                                
    26=           Lein, Anatoly                               URS  2570                                
    30            Antoshin, Vladimir S.                       URS  2560                                
    30=           Gufeld, Eduard                              URS  2560                                
    30=           Zaitsev, Alexander                          URS  2560                                
    30=           Evans, Larry M.                             USA  2560                                
    30=           Ivkov, Borislav                             YUG  2560                                
    30=           Matulovic, Milan                            YUG  2560                                
    36            Mecking, Henrique                           BRA  2550                                
    36=           Osnos, Viatcheslav                          URS  2550                                
    36=           Savon, Vladimir A.                          URS  2550                                
    36=           Vasiukov, Evgeni                            URS  2550                                
    36=           Matanovic, Aleksandar                       YUG  2550                                
    41            Panno, Oscar                                ARG  2540                                
    41=           Bobotsov, Milko G.                          BUL  2540                                
    41=           Averbakh, Yuri L.                           URS  2540                                
    41=           Shamkovich, Leonid                          URS  2540                                
    41=           Parma, Bruno                                YUG  2540                                
    46            Uhlmann, Wolfgang                           GDR  2530                                
    46=           Bilek, Istvan                               HUN  2530                                
    46=           Donner, Jan-Hein                            NED  2530                                
    46=           Gheorghiu, Florin                           ROM  2530                                
    46=           Suetin, Alexey S.                           URS  2530                                
    46=           Ciric, Dragoljub M.                         YUG  2530                                
    52            Kavalek, Lubomir                            CSR  2520                                
    52=           Pomar Salamanca, Arturo                     ESP  2520                                
    52=           Szabo, Laszlo                               HUN  2520                                
    52=           Byrne, Robert E.                            USA  2520                                
    56            Pilnik, Herman                              ARG  2510                                
    56=           Filip, Miroslav                             CSR  2510                                
    56=           Schmid, Lothar                              GER  2510                                
    56=           Kotov, Alexander                            URS  2510                                
    56=           Liberzon, Vladimir M.                       URS  2510                                
    56=           Simagin, Vladimir                           URS  2510                                
    62            Eliskases, Erich                            ARG  2500                                
    62=           Barcza, Gedeon                              HUN  2500                                
    62=           Trifunovic, Petar                           YUG  2500                                
    65            Janosevic, Dragoljub                        YUG  2490                                
    66            Padevsky, Nikola                            BUL  2480                                
    66=           Tringov, Georgi P.                          BUL  2480                                
    66=           Barczay, Laszlo                             HUN  2480                                
    69            Yanofsky, Daniel A.                         CAN  2470                                
    69=           Lengyel, Levente                            HUN  2470                                
    71            O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic                  BEL  2430                                
    72            Pietzsch, Wolfgang                          GDR  2420                                
    72=           Damjanovic, Mato                            YUG  2420