# Who is the most overrated world chess champion?

> Every name here really did hold the title. The argument is about how much that title was worth on the day it changed hands.

*By YPB Team · Published September 16, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-most-overrated-world-chess-champion*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Anatoly Karpov**
   Took the title in 1975 without playing a game, because Fischer refused the terms.
2. **Garry Kasparov**
   Dominant for fifteen years, then lost the title without winning a single game.
3. **Max Euwe**
   Held the title for two years and lost the rematch decisively.
4. **Vladimir Kramnik**
   Won the crown and spent much of his reign unwell and drawing.
5. **Mikhail Botvinnik**
   Kept the title twice through rematch clauses he had helped write.
6. **Tigran Petrosian**
   Solid enough to keep the title and quiet enough to empty the press room.
7. **Boris Spassky**
   Champion for three years and remembered mainly for how he lost.
8. **Vasily Smyslov**
   World champion for exactly one year before Botvinnik took it straight back.
9. **Alexander Khalifman**
   Won the 1999 FIDE knockout while ranked outside the world's top forty.
10. **Ruslan Ponomariov**
   FIDE champion at 18, in a knockout most of the best players skipped.
11. **Rustam Kasimdzhanov**
   Won the 2004 FIDE knockout as a heavy outsider.
12. **Veselin Topalov**
   FIDE champion in 2005, with later matches overshadowed by arguments off the board.

Tags: sports, chess, players, overrated