Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov dominated world chess from 1985 to 2005, holding the number one ranking for 225 of 228 consecutive months — the most commanding reign in FIDE rating history and outstripping #2 Magnus Carlsen’s peak tenure by over a decade. He became the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion at age 22, defeating Anatoly Karpov in a grinding 1985 title match, and defended his title five times. His peak rating of 2851 stood as the all-time record for fifteen years until Carlsen surpassed it; his 1997 match against IBM's Deep Blue remains a defining moment in both chess and technology history.