GM Magnus Carlsen is the current world chess champion. To many people, he’s the best to ever play the game, although GMs Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer remain in the conversation. At any rate, the clear and remarkable point is that before turning 30 years old, Carlsen has already earned a spot at the top.

It’s easy to see why. The 13-year-old Norwegian prodigy drew Kasparov and defeated GM Anatoly Karpov at the same event in 2004, one month before he became the second-youngest GM in history. In 2009, he became the youngest player to break the 2800-rating threshold.

Then Carlsen transitioned from young world-class player to all-time great. He captured the world number-one ranking in 2011 and still hasn’t let go of it. He won the world title and successfully defended it three times. Additionally, he has won multiple world titles in rapid (twice) and blitz (four times) time controls, achieved the highest rating ever, and racked up several elite tournament wins, including two Norway Chess victories and seven in Wijk aan Zee.

The amazing part is it seems like there’s much more ahead for Carlsen. In October 2020 Carlsen's 125-game undefeated streak came to an end (he scored 42 wins and 83 draws during this streak), setting yet another world record. If he continues performing the way he has, Carlsen could create something truly legendary. In an era of chess that’s more competitive than ever, he’s far ahead of the opposition.

GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (“Nepo” for short) is a Russian super grandmaster who won the 2020/21 Candidates Tournament and will face GM Magnus Carlsen for the world championship.

Nepomniachtchi has a brilliant record against world champions. At standard time controls, he has positive scores against GM Vladimir Kramnik (+5 -4 =4), GM Viswanathan Anand (+3 -2 =5), and even Carlsen (+4 -1 =6, with two wins coming during their youth careers). He also has positive records against GM Anatoly Karpov (+2 -0 =0 in 2013) and GM Garry Kasparov (+1 -0 =2 in 2017) in rapid/blitz, the only formats he has played them in.

A Chess.com member, Nepomniachtchi plays under the account lachesisq.