The rating list of the World Chess Council has been published online, in Spanish, at http://www.ciudadfutura.com/superajedrez/wccworld.htm .
This list is reformatted below. In addition this list is available in alphabetical order at htttp://www.samsloan.com/jan1999a.htm
All players rated 2500 and higher by the World Chess Council are included in this list.
WCC World Chess Rankings are produced by the World Chess Council, Luis Rentero Sancez, Linares, Spain and Ken Thompson, New Jersey and are calculated by Vladimir Dvorkovich, Moscow, Russia.
The most notable change from the pervious list is that FIDE “World Champion” Anatoly Karpov has fallen to number 15 on the list. Karpov defended his world title last year by winning an ill-conceived two-game blitz match against Anand, but both before and since the results of Karpov have been far below world championship caliber.
In short, nobody takes Karpov seriously as a world champion any more.
Kasparov has just suggested a match between himself and Anand for the world championship. They are clearly the two highest rated players in the world now, and such a match can be regarded as for the true world championship.
The planned match between Kasparov and Shirov for the world championship will apparently never take place because nobody takes Shirov seriously as a world championship contender and therefore no money is available.
In the list below, I have omitted the confidence numbers included on the official list. These numbers cannot be taken seriously, in my opinion, because for example on the official list Fischer’s rating has a confidence level of 197, even though he has played only once since 1972, and that was in 1992, whereas nearby Fedorowicz, who is one of the most active players in the world, has a rating confidence level of only 173.
1 Kasparov,Garry RUS 2803 2 Anand,Viswanathan IND 2750 3 Kramnik,Vladimir RUS 2724 4 Shirov,Alexei ESP 2712 5 Kamsky,Gata USA 2701 6 Leko,Peter HUN 2693 7 Gelfand,Boris BLR 2690 8 Adams,Michael ENG 2688 9 Morozevich,Alexander RUS 2686 10 Svidler,Peter RUS 2679 11 Ivanchuk,Vassily UKR 2675 12 Sadler,Matthew ENG 2672 13 Short,Nigel ENG 2671 14 Topalov,Veselin BUL 2665 15 Karpov,Anatoli RUS 2664 16 Azmaiparashvili,Zurab GEO 2658 17 Salov,Valery RUS 2656 18 Polgar,Judit HUN 2653 19 Bareev,Evgeny RUS 2650 20 Rublevsky,Sergei RUS 2650 21 Almasi,Zoltan HUN 2644 22 Seirawan,Yasser USA 2643 23 Zvjaginsev,Vadim RUS 2643 24 Onischuk,Alexander UKR 2638 25 Georgiev,Kiril BUL 2636 26 Timman,Jan NED 2631 27 Korchnoi,Viktor SUI 2627 28 Ponomariov,Ruslan UKR 2621 29 Dreev,Alexey RUS 2617 30 Sakaev,Konstantin RUS 2616 31 Nikolic,Predrag BIH 2614 32 Krasenkov,Mikhail POL 2614 33 Vladimirov,Evgeny KAZ 2611 34 Beliavsky,Alexander SLO 2606 35 Magerramov,Elmar AZE 2604 36 Granda Zuniga,Julio E PER 2602 37 Wolff,Patrick USA 2602 38 Vaganian,Rafael ARM 2600 39 Khenkin,Igor RUS 2600 40 Hjartarson,Johann ISD 2597 41 Dolmatov,Sergey RUS 2597 42 Sutovskij,Emil ISR 2596 43 Akopian,Vladimir ARM 2596 44 Van Wely,Loek NED 2595 45 Fischer,Robert James USA 2594 46 Kasimdzhanov,Rustam UZB 2593 47 Polgar,Zsuzsa HUN 2592 48 Yusupov,Artur GER 2590 49 Nenashev,Alexander UZB 2590 50 Oll,Lembit EST 2589 51 Rohde,Michael USA 2589 52 Piket,Jeroen NED 2589 53 Chernin,Alexander HUN 2588 54 Fedorov,Alexey BLR 2587 55 Kharlov,Andrei RUS 2586 56 Tiviakov,Sergei RUS 2586 57 Kosashvili,Yona ISR 2585 58 Yermolinsky,Alexey USA 2585 59 Adianto,Utut INA 2584 60 Ljubojevic,Ljubomir YUG 2583 61 Hellers,Ferdinand SWE 2583 62 Sokolov,Ivan BIH 2582 63 DeFirmian,Nick USA 2580 64 Shipov,Sergei RUS 2580 65 Smirin,Ilia ISR 2578 66 Morovic Fernandez,Ivan CHI 2578 67 Filippov,Valerij RUS 2578 68 Tkachev,Vladislav KAZ 2578 69 Andersson,Ulf SWE 2578 70 Dokhoian,Yury RUS 2577 71 Movsesian,Sergei CZE 2577 72 Khalifman,Alexander RUS 2577 73 Nunn,John ENG 2576 74 Lautier,Joel FRA 2575 75 Baklan,Vladimir UKR 2575 76 Miles,Anthony ENG 2575 77 Kaidanov,Grigory USA 2574 78 Hansen,Curt DEN 2574 79 Milov,Vadim SUI 2574 80 Beim,Valery ISR 2573 81 Kozul,Zdenko CRO 2572 82 Aleksandrov,Aleksej BLR 2572 83 Lutz,Christopher GER 2570 84 Georgadze,George GEO 2569 85 Lputian,Smbat ARM 2569 86 Balashov,Yuri RUS 2568 87 Hracek,Zbynek CZE 2566 88 Gabriel,Christian GER 2566 89 Benjamin,Joel USA 2566 90 Voitsekhovsky,Stanislav RUS 2566 91 Ye Jiangchuan CHN 2565 92 Gulko,Boris USA 2564 93 Zaichik,Gennadi GEO 2564 94 Sturua,Zurab GEO 2564 95 Timoshenko,Georgy UKR 2561 96 Speelman,Jonathan ENG 2561 97 Psakhis,Lev ISR 2561 98 Lastin,Alexander RUS 2560 99 Dautov,Rustem GER 2560 100 Alterman,Boris ISR 2559 101 Makarichev,Sergey RUS 2559 102 Ehlvest,Jaan EST 2559 103 Kacheisvili,George GEO 2559 104 Gurevich,Mikhail BEL 2558 105 Dorfman,Josif FRA 2558 106 Eingorn,Vereslav UKR 2558 107 Kuzmin,Alexey RUS 2558 108 Minasian,Artashes ARM 2557 109 Pigusov,Evgeny RUS 2556 110 Shneider,Aleksandr UKR 2555 111 Chekhov,Valery RUS 2555 112 Illescas Cordoba,Miguel ESP 2554 113 Asrian,Karen ARM 2553 114 Christiansen,Larry USA 2553 115 Fominyh,Alexander RUS 2551 116 Ftacnik,Lubomir SLK 2551 117 Kharitonov,Andrei RUS 2551 118 Huebner,Robert GER 2551 119 Ruban,Vadim RUS 2550 120 Huzman,Alexander ISR 2550 121 Fedorowicz,John USA 2550 122 Volkov,Sergei RUS 2548 123 Zhang Zhong CHN 2548 124 Ibragimov,Ildar RUS 2548 125 Popov,Valeij RUS 2548 126 Spasov,Vasil BUL 2548 127 Anastasian,Ashot ARM 2547 128 Petursson,Margeir ISD 2547 129 Maksimenko,Andrei UKR 2545 130 Torre,Eugenio PHI 2545 131 Novikov,Igor UKR 2544 132 Shabalov,Alexander USA 2544 133 Yakovich,Yuri RUS 2544 134 Ionov,Sergey RUS 2544 135 Dzindzichashvili,Roman USA 2544 136 Kotronias,Vasilios GRE 2544 137 Epishin,Vladimir RUS 2542 138 Korneev,Oleg RUS 2542 139 Watson,William ENG 2542 140 Bologan,Viorel MDA 2541 141 Komarov,Dimitri UKR 2541 142 Malaniuk,Vladimir UKR 2541 143 Milos,Gilberto BRA 2539 144 Sulskis,Sarunas LTU 2539 145 Hodgson,Julian ENG 2538 146 Smagin,Sergey RUS 2538 147 Gurevich,Ilya USA 2538 148 Reinderman,Dimitri NED 2536 149 Yudasin,Leonid ISR 2535 150 Gavrikov,Viktor LTU 2535 151 Arkhipov,Sergey RUS 2534 152 Xu Jun CHN 2533 153 Sokolov,Andrei RUS 2533 154 Avrukh,Boris ISR 2532 155 Moroz,Alexander UKR 2532 156 Kobalija,Mikhael RUS 2532 157 Rogers,Ian AUS 2531 158 Ryskin,Alexandr RUS 2531 159 Razuvaev,Yuri RUS 2531 160 Tregubov,Pavel RUS 2530 161 Wahls,Matthias GER 2530 162 Kiselev,Sergey RUS 2530 163 Ribli,Zoltan HUN 2529 164 Hulak,Krunoslav CRO 2529 165 Gruenfeld,Yehuda ISR 2529 166 Fishbein,Alexander USA 2528 167 Popovic,Petar YUG 2528 168 Zhelnin,Vladimir RUS 2528 169 Degraeve,Jean-Marc FRA 2528 170 Kapetanovic,Armin BIH 2528 171 Hickl,Joerg GER 2527 172 Portisch,Lajos HUN 2527 173 Stohl,Igor SLO 2527 174 Rozentalis,Eduardas LTU 2526 175 Goldin,Alexander RUS 2526 176 Galliamova-Ivanchuk,Alisa RUS 2526 177 Romanishin,Oleg UKR 2526 178 Sherbakov,Ruslan RUS 2526 179 Yemelin,Vasyli RUS 2526 180 Hansen,Lars Bo DEN 2525 181 Chiburdanidze,Maia GEO 2525 182 Atalik,Suat TUR 2524 183 Nisipeanu,Dieter ROM 2523 184 Kiriakov,Peter RUS 2523 185 Dizdar,Goran CRO 2523 186 Ivanov,Sergey RUS 2523 187 Kveinys,Aloyzas LTU 2523 188 Rechlis,Gad ISR 2522 189 Wojtkiewicz,Aleksander POL 2522 190 Pinter,Jozsef HUN 2519 191 Djuric,Stefan YUG 2519 192 Frolov,Artur UKR 2519 193 Vyzmanavin,Alexey RUS 2519 194 Spassky,Boris FRA 2519 195 Rustemov,Alexander RUS 2518 196 Lin,Weiguo CHN 2518 197 Kuzmin,Gennadi UKR 2518 198 Xie Jun CHN 2518 199 Brodskij,Michail UKR 2518 200 Lerner,Konstantin UKR 2518 201 Shariyazdanov,Andrei RUS 2518 202 Shchekachev,Andrei RUS 2518 203 Magem Badals,Jorge ESP 2518 204 Hertneck,Gerald GER 2518 205 Meister,Yakov RUS 2517 206 Serper,Grigory USA 2517 207 Tseshkovsky,Vitaly RUS 2517 208 Tukmakov,Vladimir UKR 2517 209 Adorjan,Andras HUN 2517 210 Palac,Mladen CRO 2517 211 Irzhanov,Ruslan KAZ 2516 212 Gurevich,Dmitry USA 2516 213 Mikhalchishin,Adrian UKR 2516 214 Vaiser,Anatoly V FRA 2516 215 Golod,Vitali ISR 2515 216 Chuchelov,Vladimir RUS 2515 217 Greenfeld,Alon ISR 2515 218 Kengis,Edvins LAT 2514 219 Damljanovic,Branko YUG 2514 220 Antonio,Rogelio Jr PHI 2513 221 Yurtaev,Leonid KYR 2512 222 Stefansson,Hannes ISD 2512 223 Peregudov,Nikolai KAZ 2512 224 Kirov,Nino BUL 2511 225 Dvoirys,Semen RUS 2511 226 Muhutdinov,Marat RUS 2511 227 Varga,Zoltan HUN 2511 228 Vaulin,Alexander RUS 2511 229 Vakhidov,Tahir UZB 2510 230 Zagrebelny,Sergey UZB 2510 231 Socko,Bartosz POL 2510 232 Golubev,Mihail UKR 2510 233 Anapolsky,Sergey UKR 2510 234 Barua,Dibyendu IND 2510 235 Moskalenko,Viktor UKR 2510 236 Slobodjan,Roman GER 2509 237 Kaminski,Marcin POL 2509 238 Ikonnikov,Vyacheslav RUS 2509 239 Comas Fabrego,Luis ESP 2509 240 Peng Xiaomin CHN 2509 241 Babula,Vlastimil CZE 2508 242 Cebalo,Miso CRO 2508 243 Stangl,Markus GER 2508 244 Dao,Thien Hai VIE 2508 245 Plaskett,Jim ENG 2508 246 Hernandez,Gilberto MEX 2508 247 Spraggett,Kevin CAN 2508 248 Poluljahov,Aleksandr RUS 2507 249 King,Daniel ENG 2507 250 Kudrin,Sergey USA 2507 251 Suba,Mihail ROM 2507 252 Zilberman,Yaacov ISR 2507 253 Schandorff,Lars DEN 2506 254 Har-Zvi,Ronen ISR 2506 255 Maljutin,Evgeni RUS 2506 256 Lalic,Bogdan CRO 2505 257 Guseinov,Aidyn AZE 2505 258 Chernyshov,Konstantin RUS 2505 259 Volzhin,Alexander RUS 2505 260 Mukhametov,Eldar RUS 2505 261 Liss,Eran ISR 2505 262 Georgiev,Krum BUL 2504 263 Knaak,Rainer GER 2504 264 Zakharevich,Igor RUS 2504 265 Sveshnikov,Evgeny RUS 2504 266 Baburin,Alexander IRL 2504 267 Liang Jinrong CHN 2504 268 Wang Zili CHN 2504 269 Loginov,Valery RUS 2504 270 Solozhenkin,Evgeniy RUS 2503 271 Kovalev,Andrej BLR 2503 272 Sax,Gyula HUN 2503 273 Campora,Daniel ARG 2503 274 Norwood,David ENG 2502 275 Timoshchenko,Gennadi RUS 2502 276 Vasiukov,Evgeni RUS 2502 277 Hasangatin,Ramil RUS 2502 278 Galkin,Alexander RUS 2502 279 Smejkal,Jan CZE 2501 280 Bagirov,Vladimir LAT 2501 281 Handoko,Edhi INA 2501 282 Hresc,Vladimir CRO 2501 283 Bacrot,Etienne FRA 2501 284 Nikolic,Nebojsa BIH 2501 285 Ubilava,Elizbar GEO 2501 286 Kuporosov,Viktor RUS 2500