Péter Lékó

Defeated in the 2004 World Championship Match

Highest FIDE Elo Rating: 2763

Ranking: highest world rank was fourth

Tournament Career: winner of six super-tournaments:

2002 Candidates Tournament

2x winner of Dortmund Chess Meeting

winner of Linares Chess Tournament 2003, Tata Steel Masters 2005, Tal Memorial 2006

Chess Olympiads: two team silver medals and one individual gold medal

Why he deserved it:

Péter Lékó is another in a line of outstanding Hungarian chess players. Despite being a small country, Hungary has a very strong chess tradition and boasts several top players. The player we are discussing today was just one draw away from the world championship title. He is likely the player who came closest to the title in history without actually becoming world champion.

The year was 2004, and Vladimir Kramnik was defending his title for the first time after his famous victory over Kasparov. Lékó qualified for the match as the winner of the 2002 Candidates Tournament. The early 2000s were undoubtedly the most successful years in this chess player’s career; he also claimed victories in Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, and Dortmund during this time. He proved that he could match the world champion. One game before the end of the match, he was leading by a point, and Kramnik had to win with the white pieces. He managed to do so, and the match ended 7-7, which at that time meant that the world champion retained the title. Interestingly, this match was the last in history to have this rule. The following match in 2006 already had a tie-break rule in case of a draw. Lékó was somewhat unlucky – had he qualified a few years later, he could have continued to fight for the world championship title in a tie-break.

Lékó also achieved success at chess Olympiads, was ranked fourth in the world, and his highest rating of 2763 also demonstrates that he was among the absolute elite of his time.

Why he isn’t higher:

Lékó is a prime example of how a single game can not only change chess history but also define a player’s career. If he had drawn with Kramnik in the last game, we would be talking about him very differently, and Lékó would occupy much higher ranks. The world championship title would undoubtedly have further boosted his career, and he would likely have won more tournaments.

Best Game:

Viswanathan Anand vs Péter Lékó

Tata Steel Masters 2005