Before the introduction of the internet, say in the nineteen sixties, there were about 60 chess grandmasters worldwide. From among those sixty grandmasters, one would defend the title of world champion, or alternatively, one would emerge to become champion of the world. Throughout the history of chess, humanity has been fascinated by those rare individuals whose immense skill and success at the game makes them deserving of being labelled ‘The Strongest Player on Earth.’ The title of World Chess Champion is the embodiment of this notion.
Over time, as the literature of the game began emerging, we came to realize that some world champions were stronger players than others. Even before the world championship title was recognized, there were players who could be called grandmasters; who had no equal among their peers. So when a person of the calibre of Bobby Fischer ‒ himself a world champion ‒ pronounces on the ten most outstanding chess players ever, one is compelled to listen. Fischer explained that he based his choices on the quality of games that the select few played, and which distinguished them from their opponents.
Fischer’s list referred to “The Ten Greatest Masters in History” and appeared in the first issue of Chessworld, which was published in the
