Mikhail Tal (Peak: 2705)

Mikhail Tal is a player who has been immortalised in chess history for his violent attacking style, intimidating stares, stunning sacrifices and a creative mind that chess has never had the joy of seeing again. Unfortunately, along with the brilliance came a long relationship with smoking and heavy drinking potentially leading to his death at the age of 55.

 Under the guidance of Latvian master Alexander Koblents, the Magician of Riga won his first Latvian title at the age of 17, losing only two of his seventeen games and scoring his first immortalised game in a breathtaking encounter with Petris Kampenuss. Next on the list was the Soviet championships, a notoriously difficult tournament boasting (barring Bobby Fischer) the top players at the time. Tal qualified for the 1957 finals in 5th place from the Tbilsi semi-final but stole the show in Moscow with 14/22 earning him the Soviet title at the age of 20.

This became the catalyst for a career of brilliance for Tal which eventually culminated in a legendary world championship win against Mikhail Botvinnik in 1960.

Magnus Carlsen (Peak: 2882)

Norwegian superstar Magnus Carlsen has dominated the World of Chess for over a decade. Initially bursting into the scene as a young Norwegian prodigy, Magnus has risen to levels above all other top grandmasters as well as becoming a five-time World Chess Champion a tally rivalled by no other player in the modern era.

His whirlwind junior career took him to unparalleled heights including wins against some of the best players in the world whilst he was still of schooling age. His rapid progress was rewarded with the grandmaster title at the age of 13 making him the second youngest grandmaster at the time, a record only bettered by his future World Championship challenger Sergey Karyakin. Magnus Carlsen contested in five world championship matches; two against Viswanathan Anand, one against Sergey Karyakin, one against Fabiano Caruana and his final match against Ian Nepomniatchi. He has since abdicated his titled making him one of the few Champions to never has his title taken from him. 

Tony Miles (Peak: 2635)

Tony Miles is a polarising figure in English chess with . Miles won the race to become the first English Grandmaster in 1976 whilst defeating some of the great players of his generation. His most iconic game was his win over Karpov with 1...a6, he also scored wins against Smyslov and Spassky during the peak of his career.

 He reached an all-time high of world number 9 whilst battling for British Number 1 with John Nunn and Nigel Short. Combined with two Olympiad Silver medals in 1986 and 1988 it’s a wonder why he is not as highly regarded in British Chess. 

 Miles tragically died of heart failure in 2001 aged only 46, he suffered from diabetes combined with other health problems through the later stages of his career. He would be celebrating his 68th birthday this year.

Nigel Short ( Peak: 2712)

Nigel Short is widely regarded as the best British player of all time. He played in an era of Soviet and Russian dominance but still scored many notable tournament victories in Linares, Wijk aan Zee and Hastings just to name a few. Along with being one of the best players of his era, he is also known as one of the world's most travelled grandmasters with his tournaments taking him all over the world.

Short's crowning moment came in Madrid where he defeated Dutch Grandmaster Jan Timman to win the candidates and qualify for the World Championship match against Garry Kasparov. The 1993 Candidates campaign also included key victories over Anatoly Karpov and Boris Gelfand, two of the best players at the time. 

Short has also never been far from controversy in his career and was mostly found guilty of 'unduly interfering into member Federation politics' in the US Virgin Islands

Maurice Ashley (Peak: 2504)

Maurice Ashley was born in Jamaica in 1966, he moved to America aged 12, the nation where he would learn chess and begin his climb through the titles. Ashley created history in the spring of 1999 when he became the first-ever black chess grandmaster, completing the feat at the age of 33. 

Since then he has gone on to become a prolific commentator as well as a writer. He was the voice heard all over America when computers began to play humans in televised matches. Along with his commentary in the Candidates and World Championship matches it's safe to say he has become one of the most iconic voices in the chess world. His books have also reached many around the world with titles such as Chess for Success and Triple Exclam being read by thousands. His work off the chessboard has also won him multiple community service awards cementing his legacy a true icon of World Chess.