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