Year-by-Year survey of Viktor Korchnoi's World Ranking

Covered are the Top Hundred years, from 1951 (April) to 2007 (Jan-March):
no. in bold indicates Korchnoi's best world ranking in corresponding year list
(the no. in brackets indicates Korchnoi's least monthly ranking position that year)

Summary of Viktor Korchnoi's Ranking in the World (ELO chess rating):

Source: retrospective inflation free, so-called Historical ELO by Jeff Sonas: http://www.chessmetrics.com,
FIDE ELO rating since 1970: www.fide.com and www.olimpbase.org

Chess condition miracle. Photo: ajedreztenerife.blogspot.com

Viktor Korchnoi was ranked in the TOP TWENTY rating list during the following years:

1954, 

1955,  1956,  1957,  1958,  1959,

1960,  1961,  1962,  1963,  1964,  

1965,  1966,  1967,  1968,  1969,

1970,  1971,  1972,  1973,  1974,  

1975,  1976,  1977,  1978,  1979,

1980,  1981,  1982,  1983,  1984,  

1985,  1986,  1987,  1988,  1989,

1990,  1991,  1993, 1994,  

1995,  1996,  1999

(in either CHESSMETRICS by Jeff Sonas or FIDE Elo list, last Top Twenty in official FIDE list was in 1999 (January-July and July-December), based also on good results in 1998 (winning Bosna Sarajevo, winning Bad Homburg GMT). TOP TWENTY is much more volatile than TOP TEN or TOP FIVE, see below). 

Last TOP TWENTY (in FIDE): 1999 at age of 68
Last TOP HUNDRED (in FIDE): 2007 at age of 76

First TOP HUNDRED (Sonas): 1951 at age of 20
First TOP TWENTY (Sonas): 1954 at age of 23

Korchnoi practised a lot of physical training: cross-country skiing in 1978. Photo: Keystone

Viktor Korchnoi was ranked in the TOP TEN rating list during the following years:

1954,

1955,  1956,  1957,  1958,  1959,

1960,  1961,  1962,  1963,  1964,

1965,  1966,  1967,  1968,  1969,

1970,  1971,  1972,  1973,  1974,

1975,  1976,  1977,  1978,  1979,

1980,  1981,  1982,  1983,  1984,

1985,  1986,  1987,  1988,  1989,

1990

(in both, CHESSMETRICS and FIDE Elo since existing)

Korchnoi on skiis in Velden 1980. Photo: P. Jarnoux, Paris Match

Viktor Korchnoi was ranked in the TOP FIVE rating list during the following years:

1960,  1961,  1962,  1963,  1964,

1965,  1966,  1967,  1968,  1969,

1970,  1971,  1972,  1973,  1974,

1975,  1976,  1977,  1978,  1979,

1980,  1981,  1982,  1984,  1986,

plus FIDE 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989

(CHESSMETRICS and / or FIDE Elo list)

Ping-Pong with the suit coat still buttoned. That’s serious old school.

Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi, relaxing at Wijk aan Zee Hoogovens, January 1968. Korchnoi won the traditional Hoogovens event that year with 12/15, a full three points clear of Portisch, Hort & Tal.

Photo credit: J. de Nijs / ANEFO

1)    Viktor Korchnoi at age of 76
(January - March list 2007, Korchnoi born in March 1931)

2)    Najdorf at age of 74

3)    Euwe at 73, rated only once, in May 1974, no game
FIDE rating history :: Euwe, Max (olimpbase.org) 

4)    Reshevsky at 70

5)    Smyslov at 69

Followed by Gligoric, Szabo, Portisch, all at 64-65
(no change since 2007 in the Top Ten of the Oldest players to reach the Top 100 since introduction of FIDE Elo around 1970).

Watch out:
Oldest Chess Players in the History of FIDE's Top-100 Rating List (Video)
Visualization by Alexey Spectre for FIDE chess

Btw.:
Youngest player ever to reach FIDE Elo Top 100 is Judit Polgar (born in July 1976) at age of 12-13 as no. 55= of the world in January 1989 (then FIDE Elo half-year lists).

Followed by Radjabov, and Carlsen (both at at 15). Note: Kasparov (born in April 1963) was not yet Elo listed when playing in the USSR-ch in 1978 and when winning at Banja Luka in 1979.

Watch out:
Youngest Chess Players to Reach Top-100 of FIDE Rating List (Video)
Visualization by Alexey Spectre for FIDE chess

Typical keep-fit exercises in Switzerland in the 1970s.

More than 220 tournament, match and team wins of Viktor Korchnoi in adult chess contests of grandmaster strength (not counting club level, etc., without junior or senior events).

A world record on grandmaster level (of course, there are club players in regional, non gm-events with more wins).

To compare: Anatoly Karpov's chess career successes include about 180 first-place finishes (tournament, match, or team event; in classical, rapid and blitz formats all together)

More: http://www.chessdiagonals.ch/402840543