# The 12 Most Shocking Upsets in Chess History

> Ratings say who should win. These are the days the rating list was simply wrong, sometimes by a distance nobody has explained since.

*By YPB Team · Published September 16, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-12-most-shocking-upsets-in-chess-history*

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1. **Deep Blue beats Kasparov, 1997** — score 1000/1000
   The first reigning world champion beaten by a machine in a full match.
2. **Karjakin leads Carlsen, 2016** — score 999/1000
   He went ahead in game eight of a match he was not expected to trouble.
3. **Ding beats Nepomniachtchi, 2023** — score 952/1000
   Ding arrived short of form and left as world champion.
4. **Réti beats Capablanca, 1924** — score 952/1000
   Ended an eight-year unbeaten run in a single afternoon in New York.
5. **Kasimdzhanov wins the FIDE title, 2004** — score 843/1000
   An outsider well outside the top ten came through the knockout.
6. **Euwe beats Alekhine, 1935** — score 714/1000
   A part-time player with a day job took the world title.
7. **Praggnanandhaa beats Carlsen, 2022** — score 714/1000
   A 16-year-old knocked over the world number one online.
8. **Khalifman wins the FIDE title, 1999** — score 555/1000
   Ranked 44th in the world when the tournament began.
9. **Fischer beats Taimanov 6-0, 1971** — score 0/1000
   A Candidates match won without conceding half a point.
10. **Fischer beats Larsen 6-0, 1971** — score 0/1000
   He then did exactly the same to the strongest player in the West.
11. **Kramnik beats Kasparov, 2000** — score 0/1000
   The favourite played fifteen games and won none of them.
12. **Tal beats Botvinnik, 1960** — score 0/1000
   A 23-year-old outcalculated the patriarch of Soviet chess.

Tags: sports, chess, all-time, upsets