Comparison of top chess players throughout history
Chessmetrics
Columns: Rank | 1-year peak | 5-year peak | 10-year peak | 15-year peak | 20-year peak
1 | Bobby Fischer , 2881 | Garry Kasparov, 2875 | Garry Kasparov, 2863 | Garry Kasparov, 2862 | Garry Kasparov, 2856 | 2 | Garry Kasparov , 2879 | Emanuel Lasker, 2854 | Emanuel Lasker, 2847 | Anatoly Karpov, 2820 | Anatoly Karpov, 2818 | 3 | Mikhail Botvinnik , 2871 | José Capablanca, 2843 | Anatoly Karpov, 2821 | Emanuel Lasker, 2816 | Emanuel Lasker, 2809 | 4 | José Capablanca , 2866 | Mikhail Botvinnik, 2843 | José Capablanca, 2813 | José Capablanca, 2798 | Alexander Alekhine, 2781 | 5 | Emanuel Lasker , 2863 | Bobby Fischer, 2841 | Bobby Fischer, 2810 | Alexander Alekhine, 2794 | Viktor Korchnoi , 2766 | 6 | Alexander Alekhine , 2851 | Anatoly Karpov , 2829 | Mikhail Botvinnik, 2810 | Mikhail Botvinnik, 2789 | Vasily Smyslov , 2759