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Ruslan Ponomariov
- Born: Oct 11, 1983 (Age 34)
- Peak Rating: 2764
- Blitz Rating: 2797
- Rapid Rating: 2748
Currently still the youngest player ever to become World Champion
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Maxim Matlakov
- Born: Mar 5, 1991 (Age 27)
- Peak Rating: 2738
- Blitz Rating: 2752
- Rapid Rating: 2708
Maxim’s potential was clear from his victories in the Russian Youth Championships, where he claimed the U12, 14, 16 and 18 titles
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Vladimir Malakhov
- Born: Nov 27, 1980 (Age 37)
- Peak Rating: 2732
- Blitz Rating: 2747
- Rapid Rating: 2777
Although Malakhov reached a 2700 rating and world no. 18 as a 23-year-old he went on to work in Nuclear Research
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Sanan Sjugirov
- Born: Jan 31, 1993 (Age 25)
- Peak Rating: 2678
- Blitz Rating: 2715
- Rapid Rating: 2765
Sanan Sjugirov was born in Elista in the obscure Russian region of Kalmykia – obscure, that is, except when it comes to chess
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Yue Wang
- Born: Mar 31, 1987 (Age 31)
- Peak Rating: 2756
- Blitz Rating: 2694
- Rapid Rating: 2765
Wang Yue was a trailblazer for Chinese men’s chess
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Eltaj Safarli
- Born: May 18, 1992 (Age 26)
- Peak Rating: 2694
- Blitz Rating: 2711
- Rapid Rating: 2709
Member of the national team and 2016 Azerbaijan Champion
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Gata Kamsky
- Born: Jun 2, 1974 (Age 44)
- Peak Rating: 2763
- Blitz Rating: 2732
- Rapid Rating: 2750
A case of what might have been. After a phenomenal climb to the very top Kamsky gave up chess at the age of only 22 before finally returning after an almost 8-year hiatus
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Judit Polgar
- Born: Jul 23, 1976 (Age 42)
- Peak Rating: 2735
- Blitz Rating: 2736
- Rapid Rating: 2669
Judit Polgar has single-handedly disproved the notion that women are incapable of competing with men in chess
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Ray Robson
- Born: Oct 25, 1994 (Age 23)
- Peak Rating: 2680
- Blitz Rating: 2639
- Rapid Rating: 2644
Ray Robson is the best young American talent to follow in the footsteps of Hikaru Nakamura and Fabiano Caruana
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Dariusz Swiercz
- Born: May 31, 1994 (Age 24)
- Peak Rating: 2669
- Blitz Rating: 2705
- Rapid Rating: 2658
In 2010 he finished with a surprise bronze medal at the World Junior Championship in Poland before winning the title a year later in India
Full profile
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