World Chess Champions
The Twenty Best Chess Players in History. Learn more about the players.
Chess Stories & Testimonials
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Russian Emperor Paul I (1754-1801) loved to play chess and was known as a good player.
Once a man was sent to his palace from prison, convicted of speaking out against the emperor. Paul, asking about the circumstances of the case. Then asked him:
– Do you play chess?
“Yes,” the prisoner replied.
They played three games and the emperor lost everything.
“Release him,” Paul ordered. – Such a wonderful chess player cannot be a criminal.
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At the end of the 19th century, Grandmaster Steinitz performed simultaneous chess at a club.
In a game with a chess player a discussion occurred.
The player claimed the next move was his, but Steinitz strongly objected.
Numerous viewers were quite surprised when Steinitz mixed the pieces and then recalled the entire game from memory to the last move and proved that the game was going right.
This fact shocked the audience, considering that before this Steinitz had played twenty-six games.