Rapport, Richard Age 28


Source: https://www.reddit.com

Title
Grandmaster
Live Rating
2715.3
Live Rank
#27
FIDE Rating
2718
World Rank
#26
Hungary Rank
#1
FIDE Peak Rating
2776 - Apr 2022 (Age 26)
FIDE Peak Rank
#5 (2776) - May 2022 (Age 26)
Rapid
2709 World #17, Peak 2802 (Jun 2022)
Blitz
2687 World #33, Peak 2776 (Jul 2021)
Born
25 Mar 1996
Szombathely, Hungary
FIDE ID 738590
Wikipedia
Facebook
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Active Years:
2006 - 2025
Total Games:
2008
Wins:
841 (42%)
Losses:
398 (20%)
Draws:
769 (38%)
Total score:
61%
Performance :
Performance for the last active 12 months:
2691
White:
A01 Nimzo-Larsen Attack (41 games)
D00 Amazon Attack (29 games)
A07 Hungarian Opening (28 games)
Black:
B06 Modern Defense (23 games)
E94 King's Indian Defense (22 games)
B12 Caro-Kann Defense (20 games)

The story of Richard Rapport is truly remarkable. While classical chess players emerged from countries not known for chess, the heir to the great Hungarian chess school seemed closer to a paradox, deliberately going against the grain and choosing his own path. Could he have achieved more by following convention? Even Richard himself doesn’t know the answer.

Richard (or Rihard) was born on March 25, 1996, into a family of provincial economists. His father taught him chess at the age of four, and by ten, thanks to his early successes, he entered a prestigious chess school in the capital, which gave his career a significant boost. Rapport won the European Championship in the under-10 category, earned the title of National Master at twelve, and by the age of 13 years, 11 months, and 6 days, he became a grandmaster. He achieved his final norm in a tournament alongside his coach, Beliavsky, and Hungarian legend Portisch, solidifying his status as a chess prodigy.

However, Rapport never managed to win the World Junior Championship—he often lost crucial games, and in 2012, despite tying for 1st-2nd place (10/13), the tiebreak cost him the title. Nevertheless, his games always drew large crowds—no one could figure out what was happening on the board! Playing in this style, he won the “B” group in Wijk aan Zee in 2013 (9/13), Malmö (4.5/7), and posted several striking performances in strong open tournaments. However, in the main Wijk aan Zee tournament in 2014, he predictably faltered with a score of 3.5/11. His next appearance in the Netherlands in 2017 ended in another brilliant failure (4.5/13), but one of his victims, lost in Rapport's complexities, was none other than Magnus Carlsen. Just a month earlier, Richard had defeated Wei Yi in a "match of hopes" after a tiebreak; both classical and blitz games ended in a 3-3 draw.

Interestingly, after that Wijk aan Zee, Rapport made a decisive shift in his playing style. He greatly improved his stability, and within five years, this led him to a rating of 2776 and 5th place in the world! Along the way, there were notable achievements: a quarterfinal finish in the 2017 World Cup (losing to Ding Liren), a strong showing in Isle of Man (6.5/9, with Carlsen taking 1st place), victories in Gibraltar (7.5/10) in 2018, and Danzhou (4,5/7) in 2019. He missed out on the 2020/21 Candidates Tournament due to COVID but qualified for the next one by finishing second in the 2022 FIDE Grand Prix "bubble" event. He was considered a serious contender for the win.

Unfortunately, the tournament that held so much promise for Rapport didn’t go his way. He finished second in Wijk aan Zee 2022 (8/13), losing only to Carlsen, but struggled in Madrid. In the first six games, he couldn’t secure a win, lost to Nepomniachtchi with White in the seventh round, and unraveled from there, finishing in 7th-8th place with a score of +1–4=9. He did get a form of revenge on Nepo, though, when he surprisingly became Ding Liren’s second in the 2022 World Championship match against the Russian, helping Ding become the new world champion.

Interestingly, after the match in Dubai, Rapport’s ambitions for the world title seemed to evaporate. He drastically reduced his playing activity, and his results began to decline. In just over a year, Richard lost more than 60 rating points and no longer seemed driven to become world champion. In 2023, he declined to participate in the World Cup and scored only 6/11 in the FIDE Grand Swiss. At 28, Rapport is still highly experienced and very strong, continuing to assist Ding Liren, but his own career appears to be at a standstill.


Every chart point has info (FIDE Rating, Date, Rank, Age). Click on the chart to compare the player with any other top player.

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Games

#White PlayerRatingBlack PlayerRatingResultMovesSiteDate 
1Nikolic, Predrag2535Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/228Germany2 Feb 2025
2Rapport, Richard2715Esipenko, Andrey26771/2-1/224Germany1 Feb 2025
3Rapport, Richard2715Zilka, Stepan25741/2-1/267Germany12 Jan 2025
4Rapport, Richard2721Zilka, Stepan25251/2-1/263Germany12 Jan 2025
5Sarana, Alexey2713Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/222Germany11 Jan 2025
6Radjabov, Teimour2700Rapport, Richard27211/2-1/240London11 Oct 2024
7Rapport, Richard2721Maghsoodloo, Parham27191-033London10 Oct 2024
8Yu, Yangyi2717Rapport, Richard27211/2-1/238London9 Oct 2024
9Rapport, Richard2721Svidler, Peter26980-156London8 Oct 2024
10Rapport, Richard2721Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar27331/2-1/235London7 Oct 2024
11Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar2733Rapport, Richard27211/2-1/233London6 Oct 2024
12Rapport, Richard2721Yu, Yangyi27171/2-1/229London6 Oct 2024
13Svidler, Peter2698Rapport, Richard27210-167London5 Oct 2024
14Rapport, Richard2721Radjabov, Teimour27001-027London4 Oct 2024
15Maghsoodloo, Parham2719Rapport, Richard27210-1108London3 Oct 2024
16Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar2733Rapport, Richard27150-138Shusha28 Sep 2024
17Rapport, Richard2715Abdusattorov, Nodirbek27660-131Shusha28 Sep 2024
18Artemiev, Vladislav2701Rapport, Richard27151-032Shusha28 Sep 2024
19Rapport, Richard2715Nepomniachtchi, Ian27551/2-1/242Shusha28 Sep 2024
20Suleymanli, Aydin Elshan2632Rapport, Richard27150-155Shusha28 Sep 2024
21Rapport, Richard2715Aravindh, Chithambaram VR26980-136Shusha28 Sep 2024
22Mamedov, Rauf2637Rapport, Richard27151-052Shusha28 Sep 2024
23Rapport, Richard2715Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar27330-141Shusha28 Sep 2024
24Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2766Rapport, Richard27151-046Shusha28 Sep 2024
25Rapport, Richard2715Artemiev, Vladislav27011/2-1/275Shusha28 Sep 2024
26Nepomniachtchi, Ian2755Rapport, Richard27151-057Shusha28 Sep 2024
27Rapport, Richard2715Suleymanli, Aydin Elshan26320-181Shusha28 Sep 2024
28Aravindh, Chithambaram VR2698Rapport, Richard27151-027Shusha28 Sep 2024
29Rapport, Richard2715Mamedov, Rauf26370-139Shusha28 Sep 2024
30Rapport, Richard2715Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar27330-147Shusha27 Sep 2024
31Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2766Rapport, Richard27151-042Shusha27 Sep 2024
32Rapport, Richard2715Artemiev, Vladislav27011/2-1/228Shusha27 Sep 2024
33Nepomniachtchi, Ian2755Rapport, Richard27151-039Shusha27 Sep 2024
34Rapport, Richard2704Suleymanli, Aydin Elshan25651/2-1/2110Shusha26 Sep 2024
35Aravindh, Chithambaram VR2698Rapport, Richard27150-143Shusha26 Sep 2024
36Rapport, Richard2715Mamedov, Rauf26371-069Shusha26 Sep 2024
37Shirov, Alexei2666Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/239Budapest22 Sep 2024
38Rapport, Richard2715Predke, Alexandr26711/2-1/269Budapest21 Sep 2024
39Caruana, Fabiano2798Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/276Budapest20 Sep 2024
40Rapport, Richard2715Martirosyan, Haik M26671/2-1/231Budapest19 Sep 2024
41Stremavicius, Titas2527Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/238Budapest18 Sep 2024
42Rapport, Richard2715Gukesh, Dommaraju27641/2-1/244Budapest16 Sep 2024
43Ivanchuk, Vassily2635Rapport, Richard27150-126Budapest15 Sep 2024
44Rapport, Richard2715Vocaturo, Daniele26001-050Budapest14 Sep 2024
45Dragnev, Valentin2556Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/274Budapest13 Sep 2024
46Rapport, Richard2715Cori, Jorge Moise26091-030Budapest12 Sep 2024
47Rapport, Richard2715Carlsen, Magnus28321/2-1/245Astana5 Aug 2024
48Carlsen, Magnus2832Rapport, Richard27151-038Astana5 Aug 2024
49Rapport, Richard2715Grischuk, Alexander27081/2-1/294Astana5 Aug 2024
50Grischuk, Alexander2708Rapport, Richard27151-043Astana5 Aug 2024