CHESS PLAYERS from Spain

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Spanish Chess Players of all time. This list of famous Spanish Chess Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Ruy López de Segura (1530 - 1580)

With an HPI of 62.94, Ruy López de Segura is the most famous Spanish Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 36 different languages on wikipedia.

Rodrigo "Ruy" López de Segura (c. 1530 – c. 1580) was a Spanish chess player, author, and Catholic priest whose 1561 treatise Libro de la invención liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez was one of the first books about modern chess in Europe. He made great contributions to chess opening theory, including in the King's Gambit and the Ruy López (or Spanish) opening that bears his name. López was also the strongest player in Spain for about 20 years.

2. Luis Ramírez de Lucena (1475 - 1530)

With an HPI of 58.67, Luis Ramírez de Lucena is the 2nd most famous Spanish Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Luis Ramírez de Lucena (c. 1465 – c. 1530) was a Spanish chess player who published the first extant chess book. He is believed to be the son of humanist writer and diplomat Juan de Lucena.

3. Arturo Pomar (1931 - 2016)

With an HPI of 48.06, Arturo Pomar is the 3rd most famous Spanish Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Arturo Pomar Salamanca (1 September 1931 – 26 May 2016) was a Spanish chess player. He was the first Spanish player to be awarded the title of grandmaster (GM), and was a seven-time national champion.

4. Juan Corzo (1873 - 1941)

With an HPI of 44.38, Juan Corzo is the 4th most famous Spanish Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Juan Corzo y Príncipe (June 24, 1873 – September 27, 1941) was a Spanish–Cuban chess master and five-time chess champion of Cuba. Born in Madrid, Corzo emigrated to Cuba in 1887. He became Champion of the Havana Chess Club in 1898. He is best known for losing to José Raúl Capablanca (4–3, 6 draws) in 1901 during that great player's meteoric rise, when Capablanca had just turned 13. But Corzo was a force in Cuban chess in his own right. With Capablanca, he founded the National Chess Federation of Cuba, and was a longtime editor of Capablanca's Chess Magazine. He won the Cuban Chess Championship five times (in 1898, 1902, 1907, 1912, and 1918).

5. Francisco Vallejo Pons (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 32.03, Francisco Vallejo Pons is the 5th most famous Spanish Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Francisco Vallejo Pons (born 21 August 1982) is a Spanish chess grandmaster. He is a five-time Spanish Chess Champion. He achieved the Grandmaster title at the age of 16 years and 9 months. He won the under-18 World Chess Youth Championship in 2000. He won the Ciudad de Leon Masters after defeating Veselin Topalov 3½–2½. In 2013 he tied for first at the European Individual Championship.

6. David Antón Guijarro (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 22.80, David Antón Guijarro is the 6th most famous Spanish Chess Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

David Antón Guijarro (born 23 June 1995) is a Spanish chess grandmaster. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2013, at the age of 18. He has competed at two Chess Olympiads.