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Viswanathan Anand vs Vladimir Kramnik

Careers laid out side by side: silverware, records, earnings and the stats that separate them.

Viswanathan AnandViswanathan Anand Vladimir KramnikVladimir Kramnik
ChessSportChess
IndiaNationalityRussia
11 December 1969BornJune 25, 1975
-Height1.96 m / 6 ft 5 in
$5MNet worth$3M
7Major honours3
3Records3

Career Numbers

5World Championships Won-
2817FIDE Rating Peak-
MultipleTotal Titles-
MultipleChess Olympiad Medals-
20+Major Tournament Wins-
-FIDE Rating2753 (June 2026)
-Peak Rating2817 (October 2016)
-Peak RankingNo. 1 (January 1996)
-Olympiad Gold Medals1

Honours Side by Side

Viswanathan Anand (7)

  • World Chess Champion
  • FIDE World Rapid Chess Champion
  • World Blitz Chess Cup Champion
  • Chess Oscar
  • Padma Vibhushan
  • Padma Shri

Vladimir Kramnik (3)

  • Classical World Chess Champion
  • Undisputed World Chess Champion
  • Chess Oscar

The Case for Each

Viswanathan Anand brings the heavier trophy cabinet: 7 documented honours against 3 for Vladimir Kramnik. Silverware is not the whole story, but it is the first line of any chess argument.

On records, Viswanathan Anand holds 3 documented marks to 3 for Vladimir Kramnik. The headline entry: First Indian Grandmaster. Records show peaks; honours show sustained dominance. The two lists rarely agree on a winner, which is exactly why this debate refuses to die.

Chess is the oldest of mind sports and, in the streaming era, one of the fastest growing spectator games in the world. Its grandmasters compute possibilities under pressure that would break most minds. World Championship matches remain heavyweight bouts of pure intellect. That backdrop is what makes a matchup like this one resonate beyond the box scores.

Viswanathan Anand is the senior figure by roughly 6 years, which frames the comparison: one career is closer to its final shape, the other still has chapters to write.

Commercially, Viswanathan Anand leads with an estimated $5M net worth. Earning power tracks fame more than form, but it is part of the legacy question.

Dig deeper any time: Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik carry full, daily-updated stats, honours and news on AthleteWiki.

Full profiles: Viswanathan Anand · Vladimir Kramnik