Rapport, Richard Age 28

Source: https://www.reddit.com

Title
Grandmaster
Live Rating
2721.0
Live Rank
#25
FIDE Rating
2721
World Rank
#25
Hungary Rank
#1
FIDE Peak Rating
2776 - Apr 2022 (Age 26)
FIDE Peak Rank
#5 (2776) - May 2022 (Age 26)
Rapid
2709 World #19, Peak 2802 (Jun 2022)
Blitz
2687 World #31, Peak 2776 (Jul 2021)
Born
25 Mar 1996
Szombathely, Hungary
FIDE ID 738590
Wikipedia
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Active Years:
2006 - 2024
Total Games:
2005
Wins:
841 (42%)
Losses:
398 (20%)
Draws:
766 (38%)
Total score:
61%
Performance :
Performance for the last active 12 months:
2708
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 
51Nihal, Sarin2668Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/241Astana4 Aug 2024
52Rapport, Richard2715Erigaisi, Arjun Kumar27781/2-1/264Astana3 Aug 2024
53Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar2733Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/247Astana3 Aug 2024
54Rapport, Richard2715Dubov, Daniil27011/2-1/210Astana3 Aug 2024
55Rapport, Richard2715Ding, Liren27451/2-1/256Astana3 Aug 2024
56Rapport, Richard2702Erigaisi, Arjun Kumar26711/2-1/270Astana3 Aug 2024
57Teclaf, Pawel2553Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/260Astana2 Aug 2024
58Carlsen, Magnus2832Rapport, Richard27150-123Astana2 Aug 2024
59Rapport, Richard2715Short, Nigel D25941-030Astana2 Aug 2024
60Rapport, Richard2715Vokhidov, Shamsiddin26241-037Tashkent9 Jul 2024
61Sindarov, Javokhir2668Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/249Tashkent9 Jul 2024
62Rapport, Richard2718Abdusattorov, Nodirbek27241/2-1/262Tashkent9 Jul 2024
63Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar2734Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/220Tashkent9 Jul 2024
64Rapport, Richard2715Abdusattorov, Nodirbek27661/2-1/262Tashkent8 Jul 2024
65Rapport, Richard2715Kasimdzhanov, Rustam26850-165Tashkent8 Jul 2024
66Vakhidov, Jahongir2580Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/262Tashkent8 Jul 2024
67Grischuk, Alexander2719Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/277Tashkent8 Jul 2024
68Rapport, Richard2715Yakubboev, Nodirbek26340-167Tashkent8 Jul 2024
69Maghsoodloo, Parham2733Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/273Tashkent8 Jul 2024
70Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar2734Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/228Tashkent14 Jun 2024
71Rapport, Richard2715Maghsoodloo, Parham27331/2-1/241Tashkent13 Jun 2024
72Abdusattorov, Nodirbek2766Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/232Tashkent12 Jun 2024
73Rapport, Richard2715Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi27211/2-1/224Tashkent11 Jun 2024
74Rapport, Richard2715Sarana, Alexey27121/2-1/252Tashkent10 Jun 2024
75Yu, Yangyi2715Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/212Tashkent9 Jun 2024
76Rapport, Richard2715Grischuk, Alexander27191/2-1/232Tashkent8 Jun 2024
77Sindarov, Javokhir2668Rapport, Richard27151/2-1/225Tashkent7 Jun 2024
78Rapport, Richard2715Yakubboev, Nodirbek26341/2-1/239Tashkent6 Jun 2024
79Warmerdam, Max2636Rapport, Richard27521-044Germany28 Apr 2024
80Rapport, Richard2752Feygin, Michael24701-024Germany27 Apr 2024
81Rapport, Richard2719Carlsen, Magnus28301/2-1/279Karlsruhe1 Apr 2024
82Carlsen, Magnus2830Rapport, Richard27191-051Karlsruhe1 Apr 2024
83Fridman, Daniel2590Rapport, Richard27201/2-1/281Karlsruhe31 Mar 2024
84Rapport, Richard2720Vachier Lagrave, Maxime27281/2-1/244Karlsruhe31 Mar 2024
85Keymer, Vincent2738Rapport, Richard27200-136Karlsruhe30 Mar 2024
86Rapport, Richard2720Ding, Liren27621-054Karlsruhe30 Mar 2024
87Carlsen, Magnus2830Rapport, Richard27201-032Karlsruhe28 Mar 2024
88Vachier Lagrave, Maxime2728Rapport, Richard27201-070Karlsruhe28 Mar 2024
89Rapport, Richard2720Fridman, Daniel25901-025Karlsruhe27 Mar 2024
90Rapport, Richard2720Keymer, Vincent27381/2-1/264Karlsruhe27 Mar 2024
91Ding, Liren2762Rapport, Richard27201/2-1/218Karlsruhe26 Mar 2024
92Rapport, Richard2720Carlsen, Magnus28301-041Karlsruhe26 Mar 2024
93Rapport, Richard2717Abdusattorov, Nodirbek27441/2-1/238Prague7 Mar 2024
94Vidit, Santosh Gujrathi2747Rapport, Richard27171/2-1/230Prague6 Mar 2024
95Rapport, Richard2717Nguyen, Thai Dai Van26300-132Prague5 Mar 2024
96Navara, David2667Rapport, Richard27171/2-1/247Prague4 Mar 2024
97Maghsoodloo, Parham2715Rapport, Richard27171/2-1/297Prague2 Mar 2024
98Rapport, Richard2717Keymer, Vincent27381/2-1/262Prague1 Mar 2024
99Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu2747Rapport, Richard27170-133Prague29 Feb 2024
100Rapport, Richard2717Bartel, Mateusz26601/2-1/237Prague28 Feb 2024
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