Chess Players from Poland

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Polish Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Polish Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Polish Chess Players.

1. #1

   

   Emanuel Lasker

   1868 - 1941

   HPI 75.5370 langs

   Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player and mathematician who was the world champion for 27 years.

2. #2

   

   Adolf Anderssen

   1818 - 1879

   HPI 70.9552 langs

   Adolf Anderssen is most famous for his victory over Lionel Kieseritzky in 1851.

3. #3

   

   Samuel Reshevsky

   1911 - 1992

   HPI 68.6638 langs

   Samuel Reshevsky is most famous for being a chess player. He was the first person to win the world championship in both chess and checkers.

4. #4

   

   Siegbert Tarrasch

   1862 - 1934

   HPI 68.5846 langs

   Siegbert Tarrasch is most famous for his chess books. He was also a chess player and a chess teacher.

5. #5

   

   Akiba Rubinstein

   1880 - 1961

   HPI 67.1835 langs

   Russian-Polish chess player

6. #6

   

   Johannes Zukertort

   1842 - 1888

   HPI 67.1036 langs

   Chess master

7. #7

   

   Miguel Najdorf

   1910 - 1997

   HPI 66.4436 langs

   Miguel Najdorf is most famous for his contribution to the game of chess. He was a Polish-Argentinian chess grandmaster and a chess writer....Read moreShow less

   Miguel Najdorf is most famous for his contribution to the game of chess. He was a Polish-Argentinian chess grandmaster and a chess writer. Najdorf was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1910 and died in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1997. He was an International Master from 1951 and a Grandmaster from 1953. Najdorf is known for his contributions to opening theory, especially for the Sicilian Defense. Najdorf also introduced the Najdorf Variation in the Sicilian Defense.

8. #8

   

   Szymon Winawer

   1838 - 1919

   HPI 60.9822 langs

   Polish chess player (1838–1919)

9. #9

   

   Edward Lasker

   1885 - 1981

   HPI 59.4423 langs

   German-American chess player (1885-1981)

10. #10

    

    Grigory Levenfish

    1889 - 1961

    HPI 57.9719 langs

    Soviet chess player (1889–1961)