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Richard Rapport
Biography
Richárd Rapport was born on 25 March 1996 in Szombathely, Hungary, and was awarded the grandmaster title in March 2010 at 13 years, 11 months and six days old — the youngest player in Hungarian chess history to reach GM, surpassing the previous record held by former world title challenger Péter Lékó. He had already won the European Under-10 Championship in 2006, and his style became known for sharp, offbeat opening choices rather than heavily-computer-prepared theory.
Rapport tied for first at the 2013 Sigeman & Co tournament and won the 11th Danzhou Tournament unbeaten in 2020. His career peak came in April 2022, when his rating reached 2776 and pushed him to world No. 5 the following month; that spring he also won the Belgrade leg of the FIDE Grand Prix, a result that helped carry him into the 2022 Candidates Tournament, where he finished last on 5½/14. He was Hungarian Chess Champion in May 2017.
In May 2022 Rapport announced he would switch federations to represent Romania, tied to a sponsorship arrangement with the Superbet group, and the move was formalized that September. He was mid-transfer when the 2022 Chess Olympiad was held in Chennai that August and competed for neither federation there; he went on to play events such as the 2023 Sinquefield Cup under the Romanian flag. In May 2024 he switched back to Hungary, returning to the Hungarian Olympiad team alongside Péter Lékó that September. Rapport has also served as a second for Ding Liren at the 2023 and 2024 World Chess Championship matches.
Key achievements
- Youngest grandmaster in Hungarian chess history (Mar 2010, age 13)
- Peak FIDE rating of 2776, reaching world No. 5 (Apr/May 2022)
- Winner, FIDE Grand Prix 2022 leg in Belgrade; qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament
- Hungarian Chess Champion (2017)
- Second for Ding Liren at the 2023 and 2024 World Chess Championship matches
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2010 | Awarded the grandmaster title (age 13) — youngest Hungarian GM | — |
| Aug 2016 | Board 1 for Hungary, Baku Olympiad | 2752 |
| Apr 2022 | Career-peak FIDE rating | 2776 |
| May 2022 | Reached world No. 5; qualified for the Candidates Tournament | — |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating — world No. 19 | 2726 |
Titles
| Title | Detail | Year |
|---|---|---|
| GM | Grandmaster, awarded Mar 2010 — youngest ever in Hungary at the time | 2010 |
| Nat'l Ch. | Hungarian Chess Championship | 2017 |
| Grand Prix | FIDE Grand Prix leg winner, Belgrade | 2022 |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament | T-1st |
| 2020 | Danzhou Tournament (11th ed.), unbeaten | 1st |
| 2021 | Sinquefield Cup | 5th, 4½/9 |
| 2022 | Candidates Tournament, Madrid | 14th, 5½/14 |
| 2023 | Tata Steel Chess Tournament | 8th, 6½/13 |
| 2023 | Sinquefield Cup (representing Romania) | 9th, 2½/9 |
Sourced from Wikipedia tournament results tables; scores shown are classical game points, not Grand Chess Tour standings points.
Team Events
| Year | Event (Federation) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Chess Olympiad, Tromsø (Hungary), Board 4 | 5½/9 |
| 2016 | Chess Olympiad, Baku (Hungary), Board 1 | 3/8 |
| 2024 | Chess Olympiad, Budapest (Hungary), Board 1 | 6½/10 |
Source: OlimpBase (olimpbase.org) team and player records, cross-checked with Wikipedia. Rapport was not on Hungary's roster for the 2010, 2012 or 2018 Olympiads, and did not compete at the 2022 Olympiad (Chennai) for either federation, as he was mid-transfer from Hungary to Romania at the time.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.