Famous French Chess Players

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 1 
Boris Spassky
(Russian Chess Grandmaster)
Boris Spassky
7
Birthdate: January 30, 1937
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Saint Petersburg, Russia

Boris Spassky is a Russian chess player who held the World Chess Championship title from 1969 to 1972. He was part of the famous World Chess Championship match in 1972 where he lost his championship title to Bobby Fischer of the United States. In Bobby Fischer's 2014 biopic Pawn Sacrifice, Boris Spassky is portrayed by American actor Isaac Liev Schreiber.

 2 
Alexander Alekhine
(Russian-French Former Chess Champion)
Alexander Alekhine
10
Birthdate: October 31, 1892
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Moscow, Russia
Died: March 24, 1946

Alexander Alekhine was a French and Russian chess player renowned for his imaginative and fierce attacking style. He also possessed great positional and endgame skill, which he used effectively to reign as the World Chess Champion from 1927 to 1935 and then from 1937 to 1946. Also a theoretician, Alexander Alekhine innovated several opening variations, including the Alekhine's Defence.

 3 
Ossip Bernstein
(Chess Player)
Ossip Bernstein
3
Birthdate: September 20, 1882
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Zhytomyr, Ukraine
Died: November 30, 1962
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 4 
Alireza Firouzja
(Chess player)
Alireza Firouzja
2
Birthdate: June 18, 2003
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Babol, Iran

Born in Iran, chess Grandmaster Alireza Firouzja initially represented his country but later began representing France. In 2021, he became the only teenager ranked among the world’s top 15 chess players. A 2-time Iranian champion, he has been a chess prodigy and had started training in chess at age 8.

 5 
François-André Danican Philidor
(Composer)
François-André Danican Philidor
4
Birthdate: September 7, 1726
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Dreux, France
Died: August 31, 1795
 6 
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
(Chess player)
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
0
Birthdate: October 21, 1990
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Nogent-sur-Marne, France
 7 
Savielly Tartakower
(Polish-French Chess Player and Former International Grandmaster)
Savielly Tartakower
2
Birthdate: February 21, 1887
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Died: February 4, 1956

Polish and French chess-professional Savielly Tartakower achieved several feats including winning the Polish Chess Championship twice. Counted among the most distinguished chess personalities of his time, Tartakower received the title of International Grandmaster (IGM) in 1950, the year FIDE created the title. Tartakower was also noted for his numerous aphorisms, often called Tartakoverisms; and as a chess journalist and author.

 8 
Pal Benko
(Chess player, Chess composer)
Pal Benko
2
Birthdate: July 15, 1928
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Amiens, France
Died: August 25, 2019
 9 
Jacqueline Piatigorsky
(French-American Chess Player and Author)
Jacqueline Piatigorsky
2
Birthdate: November 6, 1911
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: July 15, 2012

Jacqueline Piatigorsky was a French-American sculptor, chess player, philanthropist, author, and arts patron. As a chess player, Piatigorsky represented the USA in the first Women's Chess Olympiad, in 1957, where she won a bronze medal. An important patron of the arts, Jacqueline Piatigorsky helped raise money for the New England Conservatory of Music to create an award for deserving artists. 

 10 
Almira Skripchenko
(Chess player)
Almira Skripchenko
2
Birthdate: February 17, 1976
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kishinev, Moldavian SSR, Soviet Union
 11 
Louis-Charles Mahe de La Bourdonnais
(Chess player)
Louis-Charles Mahe de La Bourdonnais
0
Birthdate: 1795 AD
Birthplace: Réunion
Died: November 30, 1840
 12 
Etienne Bacrot
(Chess player)
Etienne Bacrot
2
Birthdate: January 22, 1983
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Lille, France
 13 
Lionel Kieseritzky
(Chess player, Writer)
Lionel Kieseritzky
1
Birthdate: January 1, 1806
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Tartu, Estonia
Died: May 18, 1853
 14 
Laurent Fressinet
(Chess player)
Laurent Fressinet
1
Birthdate: November 30, 1981
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Dax, Landes, France
 15 
Christian Bauer
(Chess player, Writer)
Christian Bauer
1
Birthdate: January 11, 1977
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Forbach, France
 16 
Joël Lautier
(Chess player)
Joël Lautier
2
Birthdate: April 12, 1973
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Scarborough, Toronto, Canada
 17 
Dawid Janowski
(Chess player)
Dawid Janowski
1
Birthdate: May 25, 1868
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Belarus
Died: January 15, 1927
 18 
Marie Sebag
(Chess player)
Marie Sebag
1
Birthdate: October 15, 1986
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Paris, France
 19 
Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant
(Chess player)
Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant
1
Birthdate: September 12, 1800
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: France
Died: October 29, 1872
 20 
Legall de Kermeur
(Chess player)
Legall de Kermeur
1
Birthdate: September 4, 1702
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Versailles, France
Died: 1792 AD
 21 
Jules Arnous de Rivière
(Chess player)
Jules Arnous de Rivière
0
Birthdate: May 4, 1830
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Nantes, France
Died: September 11, 1905
 22 
Nino Maisuradze
(Chess player)
Nino Maisuradze
1
Birthdate: June 13, 1982
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union