![Carlsen Magnus (30238051906)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Carlsen_Magnus_%2830238051906%29.jpg)
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
. The current world champion is
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
of Norway, who has held the title since 2013.
The first event recognized as a world championship was the
1886 match between the two leading players in the world,
Wilhelm Steinitz
William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...
and
Johannes Zukertort
Johannes Hermann Zukertort (Polish: ''Jan Hermann Cukiertort''; 7 September 1842 – 20 June 1888) was a Polish chess master. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, but lost to Wilhelm Steinitz in the World Ches ...
. Steinitz won, becoming the first world champion. From 1886 to 1946, the champion set the terms, requiring any challenger to raise a sizable stake and defeat the champion in a match in order to become the new world champion. Following the death of reigning world champion
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns.
By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...
in 1946,
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
(the International Chess Federation) took over administration of the World Championship, beginning with the
1948 World Championship tournament. From 1948 to 1993, FIDE organized a set of tournaments to choose a new challenger every three years.
In 1993, reigning champion
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
broke away from FIDE, which led to a rival claimant to the title of World Champion for the next thirteen years. The titles were unified at the
World Chess Championship 2006
The World Chess Championship 2006 was a match between Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. The title of World Chess Champion had been split for 13 years. This match, played between Septem ...
, and all subsequent matches have once again been administered by FIDE.
Since 2014, the championship has settled on a two-year cycle, although the 2020 match was postponed to
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
because of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, and the next match will be held in
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
. Magnus Carlsen has been world champion since he defeated
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. He successfully defended the title in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
,
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
,
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
. In 2022, he announced that he would not defend his title a fifth time, and so the
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
championship will be played between the top two finishers of the qualifying 2022
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
instead:
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi ( rus, Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, r=Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, p=ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj, a=Ru-Ian Alexandrovich Nepomnyashchij.ogg; born 14 J ...
of Russia and
Ding Liren
Ding Liren (; born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He is the highest rated Chinese chess player in history and is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vachi ...
of China.
Though the world championship is open to all players, there are separate championships for
women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
,
under-20s and
lower age groups, and
seniors; as well as one for
computers
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs ...
. There are also chess world championships in
rapid
Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence.
Rapids are hydrological features between a ''run'' (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a ''cascade''. ...
,
blitz
Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to:
Military uses
*Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign
*The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War
*, an Imperial German Navy light cruiser b ...
,
correspondence,
problem solving
Problem solving is the process of achieving a goal by overcoming obstacles, a frequent part of most activities. Problems in need of solutions range from simple personal tasks (e.g. how to turn on an appliance) to complex issues in business an ...
, and
Fischer Random Chess
Fischer random chess, also known as Chess960 (often read in this context as 'chess nine-sixty' instead of 'chess nine hundred sixty'), is a variation of the game of chess invented by the former world chess champion Bobby Fischer. Fischer announ ...
.
History
Unofficial champions (pre-1886)
Before 1851
![Louisdelabourdonnais](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Louisdelabourdonnais.jpg)
A series of players regarded as the strongest (or at least the most famous) in the world extends back hundreds of years, and these players are sometimes considered the world champions of their time. They include
Ruy López de Segura
Rodrigo "Ruy" López de Segura (c. 1530 – c. 1580) was a Spanish chess player, author, and Catholic priest whose 1561 treatise '' Libro de la invención liberal y Arte del juego del Axedrez'' was one of the first books about modern chess in ...
around 1560,
Paolo Boi
Paolo Boi (1528–1598) was an Italian chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest chess players of the 16th century. In 1549, he beat Pope Paul III in a chess match.
Early life
He was born in Syracuse, Sicily (now Italy), ...
and
Leonardo da Cutri
Giovanni Leonardo di Bona or Giovanni Leonardo da Cutri (both given names can be seen also in the reversed order Leonardo Giovanni), known as Il Puttino ( it, Small Child) (1542–1597), was an early Italian chess master.
Giovanni Leonardo was ...
around 1575,
Alessandro Salvio
Alessandro Salvio (c. 1575 – c. 1640) was a leading Italian chess player in the early 17th century. He started a chess academy in Naples, and wrote a book called ''Trattato dell'Inventione et Arte Liberale del Gioco Degli Scacchi'', which was pu ...
around 1600, and
Gioachino Greco
Gioachino Greco (c. 1600 – c. 1634) ( ελληνικά/greek: Τζοακίνο Γκρέκο), surnamed Cusentino and more frequently ''il Calabrese'', was an Italian chess player and writer. He recorded some of the earliest chess games kno ...
around 1623. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, French players dominated, with
Legall de Kermeur
François Antoine de Legall de Kermeur (1702–92) was a French chess player, and was possibly the world's best player from about 1730 to 1755.
His name is variously written ''Kermur, Sire de Legalle'', by Twiss, and ''Kermur'' and ''Kermuy, ...
(1730–1755),
François-André Danican Philidor
François-André Danican Philidor (7 September 1726 – 31 August 1795), often referred to as André Danican Philidor during his lifetime, was a French composer and chess player. He contributed to the early development of the ''opéra comique''. ...
(1755–1795),
Alexandre Deschapelles
Alexandre Deschapelles (March 7, 1780 in Ville-d'Avray near VersaillesOctober 27, 1847 in Paris) was a French chess player who, between the death of François-André Danican Philidor and the rise of Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, was prob ...
(around 1800–1821) and
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais
Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais (1795 – December 1840) was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.
Early life
La Bourdonnais was born on the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean in 1795. He w ...
(1821–1840) all widely regarded as the strongest players of their time.
Something resembling a world championship match was the
La Bourdonnais – McDonnell chess matches
The La Bourdonnais – McDonnell chess matches were a series of chess matches in 1834 between Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais of France and Alexander McDonnell of Ireland. These matches confirmed La Bourdonnais as the leading chess player i ...
in 1834, in which La Bourdonnais played a series of six matches – and 85 games – against the Irishman
Alexander McDonnell, with La Bourdonnais winning a majority of the games.
The idea of a chess world champion goes back at least to 1840, when a columnist in ''
Fraser's Magazine
''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directe ...
'' wrote, "Will Gaul continue the dynasty by placing a fourth Frenchman on the throne of the world? the three last chess chiefs having been successively
Philidor
Philidor (''Filidor'') or Danican Philidor was a family of musicians that served as court musicians to the French kings. The original name of the family was Danican (D'Anican) and was of Scottish origin (Duncan). Philidor was a later addition to t ...
,
Deschapelles
:''This article refers to a town in Haiti. For the French chess master, see Alexandre Deschapelles.''
Deschapelles ( ht, Dechpel) is a town in the Verrettes commune, in the Artibonite department of Haiti. It is located approximately 54&nbs ...
, and
De La Bourdonnais."
![HowardStaunton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/HowardStaunton.jpg)
After La Bourdonnais' death in December 1840, Englishman
Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton (April 1810 – 22 June 1874) was an English chess master who is generally regarded as the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Am ...
's match victory over another Frenchman,
Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant
Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant (12 September 1800 – 29 October 1872) was a leading French chess master and an editor of the chess periodical '' Le Palamède''. He is best known for losing a match against Howard Staunton in 1843 that is ...
, in 1843 is considered to have established Staunton as the world's strongest player.
The earliest recorded use of the term "World Champion" was in 1845, when Staunton was described as "the Chess Champion of England, or ... the Champion of the World".
Anderssen, Morphy and Steinitz (1851–1886)
![Anderssen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Anderssen.jpeg)
An important milestone was the
London 1851 chess tournament
London 1851 was the first international chess tournament. The tournament was conceived and organised by English player Howard Staunton, and marked the first time that the best chess players in Europe would meet in a single event. Adolf Anderssen o ...
, which was the first international chess tournament, organized by Staunton. It was played as a series of matches, and was won convincingly by the German
Adolf Anderssen
Karl Ernst Adolf Anderssen (July 6, 1818 – March 13, 1879)"Anderssen, Adolf" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 385. was a German chess master. He won the great interna ...
, including a 4–1 semi-final win over Staunton, establishing Anderssen as the world's leading player. However, there is no evidence that he was widely acclaimed at the time as the world champion, and there is no mention afterwards in the tournament book by Staunton,
[ This can be viewed online at or downloaded as PDF from ] although in 1893,
Henry Bird retrospectively awarded the title of first world chess champion to Anderssen for his victory.
[Section "Progress of Chess" in ]
![PaulmorphyHair](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/PaulmorphyHair.jpg)
Anderssen was himself decisively defeated in an 1858 match against the American
Paul Morphy
Paul Charles Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and is often considered the unofficial World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he was ca ...
(7–2, 2 draws). In 1858–59 Morphy played matches against several leading players, crushing them all,
and he was widely hailed as the world champion.
[Early Uses of 'World Chess Champion'](_blank)
, Edward G. Winter
Edward Winter (born 1955) is an English chess journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author. He writes a regular column on chess history, ''Chess Notes.''
''Chess Notes''
''Chess Notes'' started as a bimonthly periodical, and was describ ...
, 2007 But when Morphy returned to America in 1859, he abruptly retired from chess, though many considered him the world champion until his death in 1884. His sudden withdrawal from chess at his peak led to his being known as "the pride and sorrow of chess".
After Morphy's retirement from chess, Anderssen was again regarded as the world's strongest active player,
["From Morphy to Fischer", ]Israel Horowitz
Israel Albert Horowitz (often known as I. A. Horowitz or Al Horowitz) (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) was an American International Master of chess. He is most remembered today for the books he wrote about chess. In 1989 he was induct ...
, (Batsford, 1973) p.16 a reputation he reinforced by winning the strong
London 1862 chess tournament
An international chess tournament was held in London, during the second British world exhibition, in 1862.
The prizes were won by Adolf Anderssen (£100), Louis Paulsen (£50), John Owen (£30), George Alcock MacDonnell (£15), Serafino Dubois ( ...
.
In 1866,
Wilhelm Steinitz
William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...
narrowly defeated Anderssen in a match (8–6, 0 draws). Steinitz confirmed his standing as the world's leading player by winning a match against
Johannes Zukertort
Johannes Hermann Zukertort (Polish: ''Jan Hermann Cukiertort''; 7 September 1842 – 20 June 1888) was a Polish chess master. He was one of the leading world players for most of the 1870s and 1880s, but lost to Wilhelm Steinitz in the World Ches ...
in 1872 (7–1, 4 draws), winning the
Vienna 1873 chess tournament The Vienna 1873 chess tournament was a side event of the world exhibition of 1873 (the fifth since the first Great Exhibition in London in 1851).
Background
The fair was held in the Prater in Vienna, and opened in the Rotunde on May 1. Companies ...
, and winning a match over
Joseph Henry Blackburne
Joseph Henry Blackburne (10 December 1841 – 1 September 1924) was a British chess player. Nicknamed "The Black Death", he dominated the British scene during the latter part of the 19th century. Blackburne learned the game at the relatively late ...
by a crushing 7–0 (0 draws) in 1876.
However, apart from the Blackburne match, Steinitz played no competitive chess between the Vienna tournaments of
1873 and
1882
Events
January–March
* January 2
** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates.
** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in ...
. During that time, Zukertort emerged as the world's leading active player, winning the
Paris 1878 chess tournament The Paris 1878 chess tournament took place from 17 June to 31 July 1878 during the Paris World Expo. The participation of George Henry Mackenzie and James Mason made it the first intercontinental tournament in Europe. Eleven double rounds were pla ...
. Zukertort then won the
London 1883 chess tournament
The London 1883 chess tournament was a strong chess tournament among most of the leading players of the day. It was won convincingly by Johannes Zukertort (22 points out of 26) ahead of Wilhelm Steinitz (with 19 points). Remarkably, Zukertort was ...
by a convincing 3-point margin, ahead of nearly every leading player in the world, with Steinitz finishing second.
[David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld, ''The Oxford Companion to Chess'', Oxford University Press, 1992 (2nd edition), p.459. .] This tournament established Steinitz and Zukertort as the best two players in the world, and led to a match between these two, the
World Chess Championship 1886
The World Chess Championship 1886 was the first official World Chess Championship match contested by Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. The match took place in the United States, the first five games being played in New York City, the next ...
,
won by Steinitz.
There is some debate over whether to date Steinitz's reign as world champion from his win over Anderssen in 1866, or from his win over Zukertort in 1886. The 1886 match was clearly agreed to be for the world championship,
but there is no indication that Steinitz was regarded as the defending champion.
["From Morphy to Fischer", ]Israel Horowitz
Israel Albert Horowitz (often known as I. A. Horowitz or Al Horowitz) (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) was an American International Master of chess. He is most remembered today for the books he wrote about chess. In 1989 he was induct ...
, (Batsford, 1973), p.24 There is also no known evidence of Steinitz being called the world champion after defeating Anderssen in 1866.
It has been suggested that Steinitz could not make such a claim while Morphy was alive (Morphy died in 1884). There are a number of references to Steinitz as world champion in the 1870s, the earliest being after the first Zukertort match in 1872.
Later, in 1879, it was argued that Zukertort was world champion, since Morphy and Steinitz were not active.
However, later in his career, at least from 1887, Steinitz dated his reign from this 1866 match,
and early sources such as the New York Times in 1894,
and
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...
in 1908,
and Reuben Fine in 1952
all do the same.
Many modern commentators divide Steinitz's reign into an "unofficial" one from 1866 to 1886, and an "official" one after 1886.
By this reckoning, the first World Championship match was
in 1886, and Steinitz was the first official World Chess Champion.
Champions before FIDE (1886–1946)
Reign of Wilhelm Steinitz (1886–1894)
![Wilhelm Steinitz2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Wilhelm_Steinitz2.jpg)
Following the Steinitz–Zukertort match, a tradition continued of the world championship being decided by a match between the reigning champion, and a challenger: if a player thought he was strong enough, he (or his friends) would find financial backing for a match purse and challenge the reigning world champion. If he won, he would become the new champion.
Steinitz successfully defended his world title against
Mikhail Chigorin
Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin (also ''Tchigorin''; russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Чиго́рин; – ) was a Russian chess player. He played two World Championship matches against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing both times. The last great ...
in
1889
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the ...
,
Isidor Gunsberg
Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...
in
1891, and Chigorin again in
1892
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States.
* February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado.
* February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies for ...
.
In 1887, the
American Chess Congress The American Chess Congress was a series of chess tournaments held in the United States, a predecessor to the current U.S. Chess Championship. It had nine editions, the first played in October 1857 and the last in August 1923.
First American Ches ...
started work on drawing up regulations for the future conduct of world championship contests. Steinitz supported this endeavor, as he thought he was becoming too old to remain world champion. The proposal evolved through many forms (as Steinitz pointed out, such a project had never been undertaken before), and resulted in the
1889 tournament in New York to select a challenger for Steinitz, rather like the more recent
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
s. The tournament was duly played, but the outcome was not quite as planned: Chigorin and
Max Weiss
Miksa (Max) Weisz (21 July 1857 – 14 March 1927) was an Austrian chess player born in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Weiss was born in Sereď. Moving to Vienna, he studied mathematics and physics at the university, and later taught those subjects.
We ...
tied for first place; their play-off resulted in four draws; and neither wanted to play a match against Steinitz – Chigorin had just lost to him, and Weiss wanted to get back to his work for the
Rothschild Bank. The third prizewinner,
Isidor Gunsberg
Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...
, was prepared to play Steinitz for the title in New York, so this match was played in 1890–1891 and was won by Steinitz.
[ Based on ] The experiment was not repeated, and Steinitz's later matches were private arrangements between the players.
Two young strong players emerged in late 1880s and early 1890s:
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Life
Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...
and
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...
.
Tarrasch had the better tournament results at the time, but it was Lasker who was able to raise the money to challenge Steinitz.
["From Morphy to Fischer", ]Israel Horowitz
Israel Albert Horowitz (often known as I. A. Horowitz or Al Horowitz) (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) was an American International Master of chess. He is most remembered today for the books he wrote about chess. In 1989 he was induct ...
, (Batsford, 1973) 39 Lasker
won the 1894 match and succeeded Steinitz as world champion.
Emanuel Lasker (1894–1921)
![Emanuel Lasker](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Emanuel_Lasker.jpg)
Lasker held the title from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign (27 years) of any champion. He won a
return match against Steinitz in 1897, and then did not defend his title for ten years, before playing four title defences in four years. He comfortably defeated
Frank Marshall in
1907 and
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch (; 5 March 1862 – 17 February 1934) was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.
Life
Tarrasch was born in Bresla ...
in
1908. In 1910, he almost lost his title in a
short tied match against
Carl Schlechter
Carl Schlechter (2 March 1874 – 27 December 1918) was a leading Austro-Hungarian chess master and theoretician at the turn of the 20th century. He is best known for drawing a World Chess Championship match with Emanuel Lasker.
Early life
Sch ...
, although the exact conditions of this match are a mystery. He then defeated
Dawid Janowski
Dawid Markelowicz Janowski (25 May 1868 – 15 January 1927; often spelled ''David'') was a Polish-born French chess player. The Janowski variations of the Old Indian Defense and of the Queen's Gambit Declined are named after him.
Biography
B ...
in the most one-sided title match in history
later in 1910.
Lasker's negotiations for title matches from 1911 onwards were extremely controversial. In 1911 he received a challenge for a world title match against
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.
Capablanc ...
and, in addition to making severe financial demands, proposed some novel conditions: the match should be considered drawn if neither player finished with a two-game lead; and it should have a maximum of 30 games, but finish if either player won six games and had a two-game lead (previous matches had been won by the first to win a certain number of games, usually 10; in theory, such a match might go on for ever). Capablanca objected to the two-game lead clause; Lasker took offence at the terms in which Capablanca criticized the two-game lead condition and broke off negotiations.
[ This cites: a report of Lasker's concerns about the location and duration of the match, in ; Capablanca's letter of 20 December 1911 to Lasker, stating his objections to Lasker's proposal; Lasker's letter to Capablanca, breaking off negotiations; Lasker's letter of 27 April 1921 to Alberto Ponce of the Havana Chess Club, proposing to resign the 1921 match; and Ponce's reply, accepting the resignation.]
Further controversy arose when, in 1912, Lasker's terms for a proposed match with
Akiba Rubinstein
Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein (1 December 1880 – 14 March 1961) was a Polish chess player. He is considered to have been one of the greatest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Rubinstein was granted the title Grandmaster (chess), ...
included a clause that, if Lasker should resign the title after a date had been set for the match, Rubinstein should become world champion.
When he resumed negotiations with Capablanca after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Lasker insisted on a similar clause that if Lasker should resign the title after a date had been set for the match, Capablanca should become world champion.
On 27 June 1920 Lasker abdicated in favor of Capablanca because of public criticism of the terms of the match, naming Capablanca as his successor.
Some commentators questioned Lasker's right to name his successor;
Amos Burn
Amos Burn (1848–1925) was an English chess player, one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century, and a chess writer.
Burn was born on New Year's Eve, 1848, in Hull.Richard Forster, ''Amos Burn: A Chess Biography'', McFar ...
raised the same objection but welcomed Lasker's resignation of the title.
Capablanca argued that, if the champion abdicated, the title must go to the challenger, as any other arrangement would be unfair to the challenger.
Lasker later agreed to play a match against Capablanca in 1921, announcing that, if he won, he would resign the title so that younger masters could compete for it.
Capablanca
won their 1921 match by four wins, ten draws and no losses.
Capablanca, Alekhine and Euwe (1921–1946)
![Alexandre Alekhine 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Alexandre_Alekhine_01.jpg)
After the breakdown of his first attempt to negotiate a title match against Lasker (1911), Capablanca drafted rules for the conduct of future challenges, which were agreed to by the other top players at the 1914 Saint Petersburg tournament, including Lasker, and approved at the Mannheim Congress later that year. The main points were: the champion must be prepared to defend his title once a year; the match should be won by the first player to win six or eight games (the champion had the right to choose); and the stake should be at least £1,000 (about £ in current terms).
Following the controversies surrounding his 1921 match against Lasker, in 1922 world champion Capablanca proposed the "London Rules": the first player to win six games would win the match; playing sessions would be limited to 5 hours; the time limit would be 40 moves in 2½ hours; the champion must defend his title within one year of receiving a challenge from a recognized master; the champion would decide the date of the match; the champion was not obliged to accept a challenge for a purse of less than US$10,000 (about $ in current terms); 20% of the purse was to be paid to the title holder, and the remainder being divided, 60% going to the winner of the match, and 40% to the loser; the highest purse bid must be accepted.
Alekhine,
Bogoljubov,
Maróczy,
Réti,
Rubinstein,
Tartakower and
Vidmar promptly signed them.
The only match played under those rules was Capablanca vs
Alekhine in
1927, although there has been speculation that the actual contract might have included a "two-game lead" clause.
[ Regarding a possible "two-game lead" clause, Winter cites Capablanca's messages to Julius Finn and Norbert Lederer dated 15 October 1927, in which he proposed that, if the Buenos Aires match were drawn, the second match could be limited to 20 games. Winter cites ''La Prensa'' 30 November 1927 for Alekhine's conditions for a return match.] Alekhine, Rubinstein and
Nimzowitsch had all challenged Capablanca in the early 1920s but only Alekhine could raise the US$10,000 Capablanca demanded and only in 1927.
Capablanca was shockingly upset by the new challenger. Before the match, almost nobody gave Alekhine a chance against the dominant
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n, but Alekhine overcame Capablanca's natural skill with his unmatched drive and extensive preparation (especially deep opening analysis, which became a hallmark of most future grandmasters). The aggressive Alekhine was helped by his tactical skill, which complicated the game.
Immediately after winning, Alekhine announced that he was willing to grant Capablanca a return match provided Capablanca met the requirements of the "London Rules".
Negotiations dragged on for several years, often breaking down when agreement seemed in sight.
Alekhine easily won two title matches against
Efim Bogoljubov
Efim Bogoljubow ( or ), also known as Ewfim Dimitrijewitsch Bogoljubow, ( (); also Romanized ''Bogoljubov'', ''Bogolyubov''; uk, Юхим Дмитрович Боголюбов, Yukhym Dmytrovych Boholiubov; April 14, 1889 – June 18, 1952) ...
in
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
and
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...
.
In
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* ...
, Alekhine was unexpectedly defeated by the Dutch
Max Euwe
Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...
, an amateur player who worked as a
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
teacher. Alekhine convincingly won a
rematch in 1937. World War II temporarily prevented any further world title matches, and Alekhine remained world champion until his death in 1946.
Financing
Before
1948 world championship matches were financed by arrangements similar to those
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker (; December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champ ...
described for his
1894 match with
Wilhelm Steinitz
William Steinitz (born Wilhelm Steinitz; May 14, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian and, later, American chess player. From 1886 to 1894, he was the first official World Chess Champion. He was also a highly influential writer and che ...
: either the challenger or both players, with the assistance of financial backers, would contribute to a
purse; about half would be distributed to the winner's backers, and the winner would receive the larger share of the remainder (the loser's backers got nothing). The players had to meet their own travel, accommodation, food and other expenses out of their shares of the purse.
This system evolved out of the wagering of small stakes on club games in the early 19th century.
Up to and including the 1894 Steinitz–Lasker match, both players, with their backers, generally contributed equally to the purse, following the custom of important matches in the 19th century before there was a generally recognized world champion. For example: the stakes were £100 a side in both the second
Staunton vs
Saint-Amant match (Paris, 1843) and the
Anderssen Anderssen is a surname, and may refer to:
*Adolf Anderssen (1818–79), German chess grandmaster, unofficial first world champion from 1851–58, 1860-1865 and 1867–68
**Anderssen's Opening, chess opening named after Adolf Anderssen
*Justus Ander ...
vs
Steinitz Steinitz may refer to:
* Steinitz, Germany, a town in the district of Altmarkkreis Salzwedel in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany
* Steinitz (surname)
{{Disambiguation ...
match (London, 1866); Steinitz and
Zukertort played their
1886 match for £400 a side.
[Section "Stakes at Chess" in ] Lasker introduced the practice of demanding that the challenger should provide the whole of the purse, and his successors followed his example up to World War II. This requirement made arranging world championship matches more difficult, for example:
Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
challenged Lasker in 1904 but could not raise the money until 1907;
in 1911 Lasker and
Rubinstein agreed in principle to a world championship match, but this was never played as Rubinstein could not raise the money.
In the early 1920s,
Alekhine, Rubinstein and
Nimzowitsch all challenged
Capablanca, but only Alekhine was able to raise the US$10,000 that Capablanca demanded, and not until 1927.
FIDE title (1948–1993)
FIDE, Euwe and AVRO
Attempts to form an international chess federation were made at the time of the 1914
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
, 1914
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
and 1920
Gothenburg
Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...
Tournaments.
On 20 July 1924 the participants at the Paris tournament founded
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
as a kind of players' union.
FIDE's congresses in 1925 and 1926 expressed a desire to become involved in managing the world championship. FIDE was largely happy with the "London Rules", but claimed that the requirement for a purse of $10,000 was impracticable and called upon
Capablanca to come to an agreement with the leading masters to revise the Rules. In 1926 FIDE decided in principle to create a title of "Champion of FIDE" and, in 1928, adopted the forthcoming 1928
Bogoljubow–
Euwe match (won by Bogoljubow) as being for the "FIDE championship".
Alekhine agreed to place future matches for the world title under the auspices of FIDE, except that he would only play Capablanca under the same conditions that governed their match in 1927. Although FIDE wished to set up a match between Alekhine and Bogoljubow, it made little progress and the title "Champion of FIDE" quietly vanished after Alekhine won the
1929 world championship match that he and Bogoljubow themselves arranged.
[ Winter cites: Resolution XI of the 1926 FIDE Congress, regarding the "London Rules"; page 5 of the 1926 Congress' minutes about the initial decision to set up an "official championship of FIDE"; ''Schweizerische Schachzeitung'' (September 1927) for FIDE's decision to await the result of the Capablanca–Alekhine match; the minutes of FIDE's 1928 congress for the adoption of the forthcoming 1928 Bologjubow–Euwe match as being for the "FIDE championship" and its congratulations to the winner, Bologjubow; the minutes of FIDE's 1928 congress for Alekhine's agreement and his exception for Capablanca; a resolution of 1928 for the attempt to arrange an Alekhine-Bogoljubow match; subsequent FIDE minutes for the non-occurrence of the match (under FIDE); and the vanishing of the title "Champion of FIDE".]
![Max Euwe 1963](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Max_Euwe_1963.jpg)
While negotiating his 1937 World Championship rematch with Alekhine, Euwe proposed that if he retained the title FIDE should manage the nomination of future challengers and the conduct of championship matches. FIDE had been trying since 1935 to introduce rules on how to select challengers, and its various proposals favored selection by some sort of committee. While they were debating procedures in 1937 and Alekhine and Euwe were preparing for their rematch later that year, the
Royal Dutch Chess Federation
The Royal Dutch Chess Federation ( nl, Koninklijke Nederlandse Schaakbond - ''KNSB'') is the national organization for chess in the Netherlands. It is affiliated with the World Chess Federation. Its headquarters are in Haarlem. The current preside ...
proposed that a super-tournament (AVRO) of ex-champions and rising stars should be held to select the next challenger. FIDE rejected this proposal and at their second attempt nominated
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...
as the official challenger. Euwe then declared that: if he retained his title against Alekhine he was prepared to meet Flohr in 1940 but he reserved the right to arrange a title match either in 1938 or 1939 with
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.
Capablanc ...
, who had lost the title to Alekhine in 1927; if Euwe lost his
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...
to Capablanca then FIDE's decision should be followed and Capablanca would have to play Flohr in 1940. Most chess writers and players strongly supported the Dutch super-tournament proposal and opposed the committee processes favored by FIDE. While this confusion went unresolved: Euwe lost his title to Alekhine; the
AVRO tournament
The AVRO tournament was a famous chess tournament held in the Netherlands in 1938, sponsored by the Dutch broadcasting company AVRO. The event was a double round-robin tournament between the eight strongest players in the world.
Paul Keres and ...
in 1938 was won by
Paul Keres
Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...
under a tie-breaking rule, with
Reuben Fine
Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...
placed second and Capablanca and Flohr in the bottom places; and the outbreak of World War II in 1939 cut short the controversy.
Birth of FIDE's World Championship cycle (1946–1948)
Before 1946 a new World Champion had won the title by defeating the former champion in a match.
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns.
By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...
's death in 1946 created an
''interregnum'' that made the normal procedure impossible. The situation was very confused, with many respected players and commentators offering different solutions. FIDE found it very difficult to organize the early discussions on how to resolve the ''interregnum'' because problems with money and travel so soon after the end of World War II prevented many countries from sending representatives. The shortage of clear information resulted in otherwise responsible magazines publishing rumors and speculation, which only made the situation more confusing.
It did not help that the Soviet Union had long refused to join FIDE, and by this time it was clear that about half the credible contenders were Soviet citizens. But, realizing that it could not afford to be excluded from discussions about the vacant world championship, the Soviet Union sent a telegram in 1947 apologizing for the absence of Soviet representatives and requesting that the USSR be represented on future FIDE Committees.
![Botvinnik 1936](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Botvinnik_1936.jpg)
The eventual solution was very similar to FIDE's initial proposal and to a proposal put forward by the Soviet Union (authored by
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess.
Botvinnik ...
). The 1938
AVRO tournament
The AVRO tournament was a famous chess tournament held in the Netherlands in 1938, sponsored by the Dutch broadcasting company AVRO. The event was a double round-robin tournament between the eight strongest players in the world.
Paul Keres and ...
was used as the basis for the
1948 Championship Tournament. The AVRO tournament had brought together the eight players who were, by general acclamation, the best players in the world at the time. Two of the participants at AVRO – Alekhine and former world champion
José Raúl Capablanca
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.
Capablanc ...
– had died; but FIDE decided that the championship should be awarded to the winner of a
round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...
in which the other six participants at AVRO would play four games against each other. These players were:
Max Euwe
Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...
, from the Netherlands; Botvinnik,
Paul Keres
Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...
and
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...
from the Soviet Union; and
Reuben Fine
Reuben C. Fine (October 11, 1914 – March 26, 1993) was an American chess player, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology. He was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the mi ...
and
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Herman Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski; November 26, 1911 – April 4, 1992) was a Polish chess prodigy and later a leading American chess grandmaster. He was a contender for the World Chess Championship from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960 ...
from the United States. However, FIDE soon accepted a Soviet request to substitute
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov ( rus, Васи́лий Васи́льевич Смысло́в, Vasíliy Vasíl'yevich Smyslóv; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to ...
for Flohr, and Fine dropped out in order to continue his degree studies in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
, so only five players competed. Botvinnik won convincingly and thus became world champion, ending the ''interregnum''.
The proposals which led to the 1948 Championship Tournament also specified the procedure by which challengers for the World Championship would be selected in a three-year cycle: countries affiliated to FIDE would send players to Zonal Tournaments (the number varied depending on how many good enough players each country had); the players who gained the top places in these would compete in an Interzonal Tournament (later split into two and then three tournaments as the number of countries and eligible players increased
); the highest-placed players from the Interzonal would compete in the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
, along with whoever lost the previous title match and the second-placed competitor in the previous Candidates Tournament three years earlier; and the winner of the Candidates played a title match against the champion.
Until 1962 inclusive the Candidates Tournament was a multi-cycle round-robin tournament – how and why it was changed are described below.
FIDE system (1949–1963)
The FIDE system followed its 1948 design through five cycles: 1948–1951, 1951–1954, 1954–1957, 1957–1960 and 1960–1963. The first two world championships under this system were drawn 12–12 – Botvinnik-Bronstein in 1951 and Botvinnik-Smyslov in 1954 – so Botvinnik retained the title both times.
In 1956 FIDE introduced two apparently minor changes which Soviet
grandmaster and chess official
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (russian: Ю́рий Льво́вич Аверба́х; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. He was the first centenaria ...
alleged were instigated by the two Soviet representatives in FIDE, who were personal friends of reigning champion
Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, ( – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster. The sixth World Chess Champion, he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess.
Botvinnik ...
. A defeated champion would have the right to a return match. FIDE also limited the number of players from the same country that could compete in the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
, on the grounds that it would reduce Soviet dominance of the tournament. Averbakh claimed that this was to Botvinnik's advantage as it reduced the number of Soviet players he might have to meet in the title match.
Botvinnik lost to
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov ( rus, Васи́лий Васи́льевич Смысло́в, Vasíliy Vasíl'yevich Smyslóv; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, who was World Chess Champion from 1957 to ...
in 1957 but won the return match in 1958, and lost to
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal; rus, Михаил Нехемьевич Таль, ''Mikhail Nekhem'yevich Tal' '', ; sometimes transliterated ''Mihails Tals'' or ''Mihail Tal'' (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player ...
in 1960 but won the return match in 1961. Thus Smyslov and Tal each held the world title for a year, but Botvinnik was world champion for rest of the time from 1948 to 1963.
The return match clause was not in place for the 1963 cycle.
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (, ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing style, ...
won the 1962 Candidates and then
defeated Botvinnik in 1963 to become world champion.
FIDE system (1963–1975)
After the 1962 Candidates,
Bobby Fischer
Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11 ...
publicly alleged that the Soviets had colluded to prevent any non-Soviet – specifically him – from winning. He claimed that Petrosian,
Efim Geller
Efim Petrovich Geller (russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, uk, Юхим Петрович Геллер; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Champi ...
and
Paul Keres
Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...
had prearranged to draw all their games, and that
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...
had been instructed to lose to them.
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (russian: Ю́рий Льво́вич Аверба́х; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. He was the first centenaria ...
, who was head of the Soviet team, confirmed in 2002 that Petrosian, Geller and Keres arranged to draw all their games in order to save their energy for games against non-Soviet players.
Korchnoi, who defected from the USSR in 1976, has never confirmed that he was forced to throw games. FIDE responded by changing the format of future Candidates Tournaments to eliminate the possibility of collusion.
Beginning in the next cycle, 1963–1966, the
round-robin tournament
A round-robin tournament (or all-go-away-tournament) is a competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero ...
was replaced by a series of elimination matches. Initially the quarter-finals and semi-finals were best of 10 games, and the final was best of 12. Fischer, however, refused to take part in the 1966 cycle, and dropped out of the 1969 cycle after a controversy at 1967 Interzonal in Sousse.
Both these Candidates cycles were won by
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...
, who lost the title match to Petrosian in 1966, but won and became world champion in 1969.
![Bobby Fischer 1972](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Bobby_Fischer_1972.jpg)
In the 1969–1972 cycle Fischer caused two more crises. He refused to play in the 1969 US Championship, which was a Zonal Tournament. This would have eliminated him from the 1969–1972 cycle, but Benko was persuaded to concede his place in the Interzonal to Fischer. FIDE President
Max Euwe
Machgielis "Max" Euwe (; May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess player, mathematician, author, and chess administrator. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1935 until 1937. He served as ...
accepted this maneuver and interpreted the rules very flexibly to enable Fischer to play, as he thought it important for the health and reputation of the game that Fischer should have the opportunity to challenge for the title as soon as possible.
Fischer crushed all opposition and won the right to challenge reigning champion
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky ( rus, Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский, Borís Vasíl'yevich Spásskiy; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 ...
.
After agreeing to play in Yugoslavia, Fischer raised a series of objections and Iceland was the final venue. Even then Fischer raised difficulties, mainly over money. It took a phone call from
United States Secretary of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
and a doubling of the prize money by financier
Jim Slater to persuade him to play. After a few more traumatic moments Fischer won the match 12½–8½.
An unbroken line of FIDE champions had thus been established from 1948 to 1972, with each champion gaining his title by beating the previous incumbent. This came to an end when
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Ches ...
won the right to challenge Fischer in 1975. Fischer objected to the "best of 24 games" championship match format that had been used from 1951 onwards, claiming that it would encourage whoever got an early lead to play for draws. Instead he demanded that the match should be won by whoever first won 10 games, except that if the score reached 9–9 he should remain champion. He argued that this was more advantageous to the challenger than the champion's advantage under the existing system, where the champion retained the title if the match was tied at 12–12 including draws. Eventually FIDE deposed Fischer and crowned Karpov as the new champion.
Fischer privately maintained that he was still World Champion. He went into seclusion and did not play chess in public again until 1992, when Spassky agreed to participate in an unofficial rematch for the World Championship. Fischer won the
1992 Fischer–Spassky rematch decisively with a score of 10–5.
Karpov and Kasparov (1975–1993)
After becoming world champion by default, Karpov confirmed his worthiness for the title with a string of tournament successes from the mid 70s to the early 80s. He defended his title twice against ex-Soviet
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He ...
, first in
Baguio
Baguio ( ,
), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...
, the Philippines, in
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...
(6–5 with 21 draws) then in
Merano
Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier V ...
in
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
(6–2, with 10 draws).
He eventually lost his title in 1985 to
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
, whose aggressive tactical style was in sharp contrast to Karpov's positional style. The two of them fought five incredibly close world championship matches, the
World Chess Championship 1984
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
(controversially terminated without result with Karpov leading +5 −3 =40),
World Chess Championship 1985
The 1985 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Moscow from September 3 to November 9, 1985. Kasparov won, to become the thirteenth and youngest world champion at the age of 22.
Background
It is difficul ...
(in which Kasparov won the title, 13–11),
World Chess Championship 1986
The 1986 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in London and Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) from July 28 to October 8, 1986. Kasparov won. Anatoly Karpov was already assured of this rematch during his prev ...
(narrowly won by Kasparov, 12½–11½),
World Chess Championship 1987
The 1987 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Seville from October 12 to December 19, 1987. Before the 24th game, Kasparov was down 12–11, but in the 24th game, Kasparov made a comeback by using the Eng ...
(drawn 12–12, Kasparov retaining the title), and
World Chess Championship 1990
The World Chess Championship 1990 was played between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. It was the fifth and final Kasparov–Karpov championship match, and saw Kasparov win by a single point.
1987 Interzonal tournaments
Three Interzonals were he ...
(again narrowly won by Kasparov, 12½–11½).
In the five matches Kasparov and Karpov played 144 games with 104 draws, 21 wins by Kasparov and 19 wins by Karpov.
Split title (1993–2006)
In 1993,
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach, and commentator, who is the vice-president of FIDE since October 2018. Short earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19, and was ranked third in the w ...
broke the domination of Kasparov and Karpov by defeating Karpov in the candidates semi-finals followed by
Jan Timman
Jan Timman (born 14 December 1951) is a Dutch chess grandmaster who was one of the world's leading chess players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career, he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as ...
in the finals, thereby earning the right to challenge Kasparov for the title. However, before the match took place, both Kasparov and Short complained of corruption and a lack of professionalism within FIDE in organizing the match, and split from FIDE to set up the
Professional Chess Association The Professional Chess Association (PCA), which existed between 1993 and 1996, was a rival organisation to FIDE, the international chess organization. The PCA was created in 1993 by Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short for the marketing and organization o ...
(PCA), under whose auspices they held their match. In response, FIDE stripped Kasparov of his title and held a championship match between Karpov and Timman. For the first time in history, there were two World Chess Champions:
Kasparov defeated Short and
Karpov beat Timman.
FIDE and the PCA each held a championship cycle in 1993–1996, with many of the same challengers playing in both. Kasparov and Karpov both won their respective cycles. In the PCA cycle, Kasparov defeated
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
in the
PCA World Chess Championship 1995. Karpov defeated
Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky ( tt-Cyrl, Гата Камский, italics=no; russian: Гата Камский; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion.
Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Cham ...
in the final of the
FIDE World Chess Championship 1996
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 was a chess tournament held by FIDE to determine the World Chess Champion.
Background
At the time the World Chess Champion title was split.
In 1993, Nigel Short had qualified via FIDE's usual format to meet ...
. Negotiations were held for a reunification match between Kasparov and Karpov in 1996–97, but nothing came of them.
Soon after the 1995 championship, the PCA folded, and Kasparov had no organisation to choose his next challenger. In 1998 he formed the World Chess Council, which organised a candidates match between
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov (, lv, Aleksejs Širovs; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish chess player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994.
He won a match against Vladimir Kramnik in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classic ...
and
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Cha ...
. Shirov won the match, but negotiations for a Kasparov–Shirov match broke down, and Shirov was subsequently omitted from negotiations, much to his disgust. Plans for a 1999 or 2000 Kasparov–Anand match also broke down, and Kasparov organised a match with Kramnik in late 2000. In a major upset, Kramnik
won the match with two wins, thirteen draws, and no losses. At the time the championship was called the Braingames World Chess Championship, but Kramnik later referred to himself as the Classical World Chess Champion.
Meanwhile, FIDE had decided to scrap the Interzonal and Candidates system, instead having a large knockout event in which a large number of players contested short matches against each other over just a few weeks (see
FIDE World Chess Championship 1998
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1998 was contested in a match between the FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov and the challenger Viswanathan Anand. The match took place between 2 January and 9 January 1998 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The challenge ...
).
Rapid and blitz games were used to resolve ties at the end of each round, a format which some felt did not necessarily recognize the highest quality play: Kasparov refused to participate in these events, as did Kramnik after he won the Classical title in 2000. In the first of these events, in 1998, champion Karpov was seeded directly into the final, but he later had to qualify alongside the other players. Karpov defended his title in the first of these championships in 1998, but resigned his title in protest at the new rules in 1999.
Alexander Khalifman
Alexander Valeryevich Khalifman (russian: Алекса́ндр Вале́рьевич Халифма́н; born 18 January 1966) is a Russian chess player and writer. Awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990, he was FIDE World Chess Ch ...
won the FIDE World Championship in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
, Anand in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
,
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olehovych Ponomariov ( uk, Русла́н Оле́гович Пономарьо́в; born 11 October 1983) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was FIDE World Chess Champion from 2002 to 2004. He won the Ukrainian Chess Championship in ...
in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
, and
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Rustam Kasimdzhanov; russian: Рустам Касымджанов (born 5 December 1979) is an Uzbek chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Champion (2004-05). He was Asian champion in 1998.
In addition to his tournament play, Kasimdzhan ...
in
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
.
By 2002, not only were there two rival champions, but Kasparov's strong results – he had the top
Elo rating
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in zero-sum games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-American physics professor.
The Elo system was invented as an improved ch ...
in the world and had won a string of major tournaments after losing his title in 2000 – ensured even more confusion over who was World Champion. In May 2002, American grandmaster
Yasser Seirawan
Yasser Seirawan ( ar, ياسر سيروان; born March 24, 1960) is a Syrian-born American chess grandmaster and four-time United States champion. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1979. Seirawan is also a published chess author an ...
led the organisation of the so-called "Prague Agreement" to reunite the world championship. Kramnik had organised a candidates tournament (won later in 2002 by
Peter Leko
Peter Leko ( hu, Lékó Péter; born September 8, 1979) is a Hungarian chess player and commentator. He became the world's youngest grandmaster in 1994. He narrowly missed winning the Classical World Chess Championship 2004: the match was draw ...
) to choose his challenger. It was agreed that Kasparov would play the FIDE champion (Ponomariov) for the FIDE title, and the winner of that match would face the winner of the Kramnik–Leko match for the unified title. However, the matches proved difficult to finance and organise. The
Kramnik–Leko match did not take place until late 2004 (it was drawn, so Kramnik retained his title). Meanwhile, FIDE never managed to organise a Kasparov match, either with 2002 FIDE champion Ponomariov, or 2004 FIDE champion Kasimdzhanov. Kasparov's frustration at the situation played a part in his decision to retire from chess in 2005, still ranked No. 1 in the world.
Soon after, FIDE dropped the short knockout format for a World Championship and announced the
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.
Background
In the face of criticism of the knockout FIDE World Chess C ...
, a double round robin tournament to be held in
San Luis, Argentina
San Luis () is the capital city of San Luis Province in the Cuyo region of Argentina. It is also the seat of the Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Department.
City information
Points of interest in the city include the Park of the Nations, the neoc ...
between eight of the leading players in the world. However Kramnik insisted that his title be decided in a match, and declined to participate. The tournament was convincingly won by the Bulgarian
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess International Grandmaster, grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champ ...
, and negotiations began for a Kramnik–Topalov match to unify the title.
Reunified title (2006–present)
Kramnik (2006–2007)
![Vladimir Kramnik 2, Candidates Tournament 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Vladimir_Kramnik_2%2C_Candidates_Tournament_2018.jpg)
The
World Chess Championship 2006
The World Chess Championship 2006 was a match between Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. The title of World Chess Champion had been split for 13 years. This match, played between Septem ...
reunification match between Topalov and Kramnik was held in late 2006. After much controversy, it was won by Kramnik. Kramnik thus became the first unified and undisputed World Chess Champion since Kasparov split from FIDE to form the PCA in 1993. This match, and all subsequent championships, have been administered by FIDE.
Anand (2007–2013)
![Viswanathan Anand (2016) (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Viswanathan_Anand_%282016%29_%28cropped%29.jpeg/1200px-Viswanathan_Anand_%282016%29_%28cropped%29.jpeg)
Kramnik played to defend his title at the
World Chess Championship 2007
The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from 12 September 2007 to 30 September 2007 to decide the world champion of the game of chess. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament.
Viswanathan Anand of India #Standings ...
in Mexico. This was an 8-player double round robin tournament, the same format as was used for the
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.
Background
In the face of criticism of the knockout FIDE World Chess C ...
. This tournament was won by
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating of ...
, thus making him the World Chess Champion. Because Anand's World Chess Champion title was won in a tournament rather than a match, a minority of commentators questioned the validity of his title. Kramnik also made ambiguous comments about the value of Anand's title, but did not claim the title himself. Subsequent world championship matches returned to the format of a match between the champion and a challenger.
The following two championships had special clauses arising from the 2006 unification. Kramnik was given the right to challenge for the title he lost in a tournament in the
World Chess Championship 2008
The World Chess Championship 2008 was a best-of-twelve-games match between the incumbent World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, and the previous World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik. Kramnik had been granted a match after ...
, which Anand won. Then Topalov, who as the loser of the 2006 match was excluded from the 2007 championship, was seeded directly into the Candidates final of the
World Chess Championship 2010
The World Chess Championship 2010 match pitted the defending world champion, Viswanathan Anand, against challenger Veselin Topalov, for the title of World Chess Champion. The match took place in Sofia, Bulgaria from 24 April to 13 May 2010, wit ...
. He won the Candidates (against
Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky ( tt-Cyrl, Гата Камский, italics=no; russian: Гата Камский; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion.
Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Cham ...
). Anand again won the championship match.
The next championship, the
World Chess Championship 2012
The World Chess Championship 2012 was a chess match between the defending World Champion Viswanathan Anand of India and Boris Gelfand of Israel, winner of the 2011 Candidates Tournament. After sixteen games, including four rapid games, Anand r ...
, had short knock-out matches for the Candidates Tournament. This format was not popular with everyone, and world No. 1
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
withdrew in protest.
Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand ( he, בוריס אברמוביץ' גלפנד; be, Барыс Абрамавіч Гельфанд, Barys Abramavich Hel'fand; russian: Борис Абрамович Гельфанд, Boris Abramovich Gel'fand; born 24 June 1968) ...
won the Candidates. Anand won the championship match again, in tie breaking rapid games, for his fourth consecutive world championship win.
Carlsen (2013–present)
Since 2013, the
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
has been an 8-player double round robin tournament, with the winner playing a match against the champion for the title. The Norwegian
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
won the 2013 Candidates and then convincingly defeated Anand in the
World Chess Championship 2013
The World Chess Championship 2013 was a match between reigning world champion Viswanathan Anand and challenger Magnus Carlsen, to determine the 2013 World Chess Champion. It was held from 7 to 25 November 2013 in Chennai, India, under the auspic ...
.
Beginning with the 2014 Championship cycle, the World Championship has followed a 2-year cycle: qualification for the Candidates in the odd year, the Candidates tournament early in the even year, and the World Championship match later in the even year. This and the next two cycles resulted in Carlsen successfully defending his title: against Anand in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
; against
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, . (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (formerly representing Ukraine). A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, (until it was eventually taken b ...
in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
; and against
Fabiano Caruana
Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Caruana became a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days—the youngest grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United Sta ...
in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. Both the 2016 and 2018 defences were decided by tie-break in rapid games.
The
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
disrupted the
2020 Candidates Tournament, and caused the next match to be postponed from 2020 to 2021. Carlsen again successfully defended his title, defeating
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi ( rus, Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, r=Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, p=ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj, a=Ru-Ian Alexandrovich Nepomnyashchij.ogg; born 14 J ...
in the
World Chess Championship 2021
The World Chess Championship 2021 was a chess match between the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen and the challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi to determine the World Chess Champion. It was held under the auspices of FIDE and played during Expo 202 ...
.
Carlsen steps down
Soon after the 2021 match, Carlsen indicated that he would not defend the title again.
[BREAKING: Carlsen Might Only Defend Title Vs. Firouzja](_blank)
Peter Doggers, chess.com
Chess.com is an internet chess server, news website and social networking website. The site has a freemium model in which some features are available for free, and others are available for accounts with subscriptions. Live online chess can be pla ...
, 21 December 2021 This was confirmed in an announcement by FIDE on 20 July 2022. As a consequence, the top two finishers of the Candidates Tournament,
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi ( rus, Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, r=Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, p=ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj, a=Ru-Ian Alexandrovich Nepomnyashchij.ogg; born 14 J ...
and
Ding Liren
Ding Liren (; born 24 October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster. He is the highest rated Chinese chess player in history and is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion. He was the winner of the 2019 Grand Chess Tour, beating Maxime Vachi ...
, will play in the
next championship in 2023.
Format
Until 1948, world championship contests were arranged privately between the players. As a result, the players also had to arrange the funding, in the form of stakes provided by enthusiasts who wished to bet on one of the players. In the early 20th century this was sometimes an obstacle that prevented or delayed challenges for the title. Between 1888 and 1948 various difficulties that arose in match negotiations led players to try to define agreed rules for matches, including the frequency of matches, how much or how little say the champion had in the conditions for a title match and what the stakes and division of the purse should be. However these attempts were unsuccessful in practice, as the same issues continued to delay or prevent challenges. There was an attempt by an external organization to manage the world championship from 1887–1889, but this experiment was not repeated until 1948.
After the death of world champion
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine, ''Aleksándr Aleksándrovich Alékhin''; (March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns.
By the age of 22, Alekhine was already a ...
in 1946, the
World Chess Championship 1948
The 1948 World Chess Championship was a quintuple round-robin tournament played to determine the new World Chess Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946. The tournament marked the passing of control of the ...
was a one-off tournament to decide a new world champion.
Since 1948, the world championship has mainly operated on a two or three-year cycle, with four stages:
# Zonal tournaments: different regional tournaments to qualify for the following stage. Qualifiers from zonals play in the
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the ...
(up to 1993), knockout world championship (
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
to
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
) or
Chess World Cup (since 2005).
# Candidates qualification tournaments. From 1948 to 1993, the only such tournament was the
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the ...
. Since 2005, the Interzonal has mainly been replaced by the
Chess World Cup. However extra qualification events have also been added: the
FIDE Grand Prix
The FIDE Grand Prix is a biennial series of chess tournaments, organized by FIDE and its commercial partner Agon. Each series consist of three to six chess tournaments, which form part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship or ...
, a series of tournaments restricted to the top 20 or so players in the world; and the
Grand Swiss tournament. In addition, a small number of players sometimes qualify directly for the Candidates either by finishing highly in the previous cycle, on
rating
A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both.
Rating or ratings may also refer to:
Business and economics
* Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...
, or as a
wild card.
# The
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...
is a tournament to choose the challenger. Over the years it has varied in size (between 8 and 16 players) and in format (a tournament, a set of matches, or a combination of the two). Since the
2013 cycle it has always been an eight-player, double round-robin tournament.
# The championship match between the champion and the challenger.
There have been a few exceptions to this system:
* In the
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
and
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
cycles, a rule existed which allowed the champion a rematch if he lost the championship match, leading to the
1958 and
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
matches. There were also one-off rematches in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
and
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
.
* The
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
world championship was not held, as the champion (Fischer) refused to defend his title; his challenger (Karpov) became champion by default.
* There were many variations during the world title split between 1993 and 2006. FIDE determined the championship by a single knockout tournament between
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
to
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
, and by an eight-player tournament in
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
; meanwhile, the Classical world championship had no qualifying stages in
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
, and only a Candidates tournament in its
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
cycle.
* A one-off match to reunite the world championship was held in
2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
.
* The
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
world championship was determined by an eight-player tournament instead of a match.
* The
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
world championship will be between the top two finishers of the Candidates, as the champion (Carlsen) refused to defend his title.
World champions
Leading players before the World Chess Championships
Undisputed world champions (1886–1993)
Classical (PCA/Braingames) world champions (1993–2006)
FIDE world champions (1993–2006)
Undisputed world champions (2006–present)
Timeline
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id:Lines value:black legend:World Championship Event
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at:26/05/1894 color:lines layer:back
at:14/01/1897 color:lines layer:back
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bar:carlsen text:"Magnus Carlsen"
bar:topalov text:"Veselin Topalov"
bar:kasimdzhanov text:"Rustam Kasimdzhanov"
bar:ponomariov text:"Ruslan Ponomariov"
bar:anand text:"Viswanathan Anand"
bar:khalifman text:"Alexander Khalifman"
bar:kramnik text:"Vladimir Kramnik"
bar:kasparov text:"Garry Kasparov"
bar:karpov text:"Anatoly Karpov"
bar:fischer text:"Bobby Fischer"
bar:spassky text:"Boris Spassky"
bar:petrosian text:"Tigran Petrosian"
bar:tal text:"Mikhail Tal"
bar:smyslov text:"Vasily Smyslov"
bar:botvinnik text:"Mikhail Botvinnik"
bar:euwe text:"Max Euwe"
bar:alekhine text:"Alexander Alekhine"
bar:capablanca text:"José Raúl Capablanca"
bar:lasker text:"Emanuel Lasker"
bar:steinitz text:"Wilhelm Steinitz"
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bar:carlsen from:22/11/2013 till:01/01/2023 color:fide
World Champions by number of title match victories
The table below organises the world champions in order of championship wins. A successful defense counts as a win for the purposes of this table, even if the match is drawn. The table is made more complicated by the split between the "Classical" and FIDE world titles between 1993 and 2006.
Other world chess championships
Restricted events:
*
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship (WWCC) is played to determine the world champion in women's chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE.
Unlike with most sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee, wher ...
*
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
The idea was the brainchild of William Ritso ...
(under 20 years of age)
*
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015, the event has been split into "World Cade ...
(lower age groups)
*
World Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.
Overview
Originally, the minimum age was 60 years for men, and 50 for women.
Since 2014, the Senior Championship is split i ...
Other time limits:
*
World Rapid Chess Championship
The World Rapid Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under rapid time controls. Prior to 2012, FIDE gave such recognition to a limited number of tournaments, with non-FIDE recognized tourn ...
*
World Blitz Chess Championship
The World Blitz Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under blitz time controls. Since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and billed it as the World Rapid & ...
*
World Correspondence Chess Championship The World Correspondence Chess Championship determines the World Champion in correspondence chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest the title. The official World Correspondence Chess Championship is managed by the International Corre ...
Teams:
*
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
Computer chess:
*
World Computer Chess Championship
World Computer Chess Championship (WCCC) is an event held periodically since 1974 where computer chess engines compete against each other. The event is organized by the International Computer Games Association. It is often held in conjunction with ...
Chess Problems:
*
World Chess Solving Championship
The World Chess Solving Championship (WCSC) is an annual competition in the solving of chess problems (also known as chess puzzles) organized by the World Federation for Chess Composition (WFCC), previously by FIDE via the Permanent Commission of ...
Chess variants:
*
World Chess960 Championship
The World Chess960 Championship is a match or tournament held to determine a world champion in Chess960 (also known as Fischer random chess), a popular chess variant in which the positions of pieces on the players' home ranks are randomized wit ...
(
Fischer random chess
Fischer random chess, also known as Chess960 (often read in this context as 'chess nine-sixty' instead of 'chess nine hundred sixty'), is a variation of the game of chess invented by the former world chess champion Bobby Fischer. Fischer announ ...
)
See also
*
Comparison of top chess players throughout history
Several methods have been suggested for comparing the greatest chess players in history. There is agreement on a statistical system to rate the strengths of current players, called the Elo system, but disagreement about methods used to compare pl ...
*
List of world championships in mind sports
This article gives a list of world championships in mind sports which usually represent the most prestigious competition for a specific board game, card game or mind sport. World championships can only be held for most games or mind sports with ...
References
External links
Mark Weeks' pages on the championships– Contains all results and games
Graeme Cree's World Chess Championship Page (archived)– Contains the results, and also some commentary by an amateur chess historian
Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov–
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Cha ...
shares his views on the first 13 World Chess Champions.
Chessgames guide to the World ChampionshipChess Sets used in World Championships
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Recurring sporting events established in 1886