Meet 102-Year-Old Manuel Alvarez, The World's Oldest Active Chess Player

Move over, record-breaking prodigies like GM Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, IM Faustino Oro, and WFM Bodhana Sivanandan. Manuel Alvarez Escudero from Spain is 102 years old and celebrates eight (!) decades as a tournament player. He shows no signs of slowing down.

In 2021, Chess.com's Ray Linville spotlighted the extraordinary Manuel Alvarez Escudero when he turned 100 and was still competing. Now, just two weeks shy of his 103rd birthday, the Spaniard is still competing—and winning.

Alvarez is currently participating in the Moratalaz Open, a tournament in Madrid with 135 players ranging from international masters to beginners. After five rounds, the 1746-rated 102-year-old has performed well by scoring 2.5 points, having won two games and drawing one, putting him on track to gain rating points.

Last year, Alvarez scored 4.5 out of 9 and won a prize, improving his score from the previous year. In an interview with Federico Marin for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, he shared his secret to longevity: "Don’t drink, don’t smoke, exercise, and of the other things, do as much as you can."

My secret? Don't drink, don't smoke, exercise, and of the other things, do as much as you can.
—Manuel Alvarez Escudero, 102 years old

The soon-to-be 103-year-old humorously noted that "age is starting to show" and lamented the impact of the pandemic. "The pandemic took 10 years off me. When I got out, I was completely atrophied. I couldn’t do anything. Now at least I get respect for myself."

Chess isn't the only thing that keeps his mind sharp. Alvarez, who once met the fourth world champion Alexander Alekhine in the 1940s, stays active by combining chess with exercise. According to El Mundo, the centenarian recently played a simul against five children at a local institute near his home. He proudly rejected walking aid, and walked from board to board without support. "The kids could not believe his display," Marin noted in El Mundo.

Alvarez learned the rules of the game from an older brother. His tournament career started in his 20s. According to FIDE's rating database that only goes back to 2006, his peak after turning 80 was 2180. He fondly remembers defeating Cuban GM Jesus Nogueiras, a World Championship Candidate in 1985, in a simul. In another simul in 1985, he beat the legendary GM Valery Salov, third in the world behind GMs Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in the 80s, according to El Mundo.

For Alvarez, chess has always been more about passion and camaraderie than accolades. "The main objective always has been to have fun and make friends," he has previously said when asked about his goals in the game.

Yet another reminder that chess is for everyone, and that age is no barrier when it comes to playing.