Chess has a long and storied history.

The game has changed quite a bit from its earliest

forms in India. The modern iteration we enjoy today wasn't known until the 16th century.

There were no clocks, and the pieces were not standardized until the 19th century. The

official world championship title came into existence by the late 19th century, shortly after

the first big tournaments were held and multiple styles of play had begun to fully develop.

Although the first book on openings was published as early as 1843, theory as we know it

didn't truly evolve until the early/mid 20th century. Computer engines and databases didn't

come into play until the very late 20th century. Take a look at a brief history of chess!

● Chess Origins
● Chess Theory and Development Through the 19th century
● The First World Champions and the Advent of Positional Chess
● Soviet Dominance in the 20th Century
● Karpov, Kasparov, Computers, and Carlsen

Chess Origins
Chess, as we know it today, was born out of the Indian game chaturanga before the 600s

AD. The game spread throughout Asia and Europe over the coming centuries, and

eventually evolved into what we know as chess around the 16th century. One of the first

masters of the game was a Spanish priest named Ruy Lopez. Although he didn't invent the

opening named after him, he analyzed it in a book he published in 1561. Chess theory was

so primitive back then that Lopez advocated the strategy of playing with the sun in your

opponent's eyes!

An antique Chaturanga board and pieces

Chess Theory and Development

Through the 19th century
Chess theory moved at a snail's pace until the mid 18th century. In 1749, the French Master

Francois-Andre Philidor stepped onto the scene with his book titled Analyse du jeu des

Échecs. This book covered some new opening ideas (including the defense which still bears

his name), and also contained Philidor's famous defense in rook and pawn endgames - an

endgame technique that is still used today. Philidor's famous statement that "The pawns

are the soul of chess" was first introduced to the world in this book.

Chess continued to gain popularity throughout the world, and in the mid 19th century the

standardization of chess sets occurred. Before the 1850s, chess sets weren't uniform at all.

In 1849, Jaques of London (a manufacturer of games and toys) introduced a new style of

pieces created by Nathaniel Cooke. These same pieces were endorsed by Howard

Staunton, the strongest player of his time. This new style of pieces, known as the Staunton

pattern, became instantly popular and were used in tournaments and clubs all over the

world. The Staunton pieces, and minor variations of it, are still considered to be the

standard for tournament chess sets.

An early Jaques Staunton set. Photo: Chess.com

member, GoodKnightMike
The 19th century also marked the introduction of

chess clocks to competitive play. Before chess clocks

became the norm, a single game could last up to 14

hours! With the standardization of chess sets and

introduction of chess clocks, the equipment needed

for modern matches and tournaments were set in place.

Chess, itself, was developing greatly during the 1800s. The most famous games of this time

period were swashbuckling attacking games - strong defensive ideas hadn't been

learned yet. If a player wasn't sacrificing their pieces right and left trying to checkmate their
opponent in a violent manner, then it wasn't a fun game! It was during this attacking era in

chess that the American player Paul Morphy entered the scene.

Paul Morphy, the embodiment of romantic and aggressive play.

Photo: Wikipedia
Morphy was the embodiment of all of these romantic and

aggressive attacking ideas. During his tour of Europe, Morphy

soundly trounced every major player in the world except

Howard Staunton (who was past his prime and didn't accept

Morphy's challenge). Morphy steamrolled Adolf Anderssen,

Louis Paulsen, Daniel Harrwitz, and a host of other masters. In 1858, the famous "Opera

House" game was played by Morphy vs the allies (the Duke of Brunswick and a French

Count), and is considered one of the best games of all time. Morphy throws everything,

including the proverbial kitchen sink, at his opponents. A beautiful game for the ages!

Morphy Paul vs. Duke Karl Count Isouard

1-0 Paris (France) 1858 ECO: C41

The First World Champions and the Advent of Positional

Chess
Wilhelm Steinitz never played Morphy, who had retired from the game by the time Steinitz

rose to prominence. Steinitz's theories about the game are still widely felt today, especially

his disdain for overly-aggressive play. He preferred to accept the popularly offered gambit

pawn, and then closed the position down in order to grind out a win. Steinitz initially had no

equal in this kind of positional play, and used it to become the first official world champion in

1886.

Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world champion. Photo: Wikipedia

Steinitz held the title of world champion until 1894, when Emanuel

Lasker soundly defeated him (10-5). Their rematch, three years later,
was even more lopsided: Lasker won 10-2. Lasker would hold the title for 27 years, by far

the longest reign of any chess world champion.

Positional chess, as Steinitz and Lasker displayed, now became more and more popular.

The prevailing theory until about the 1920s was to occupy the center of the board during the

opening, usually with pawns. The most common openings were the Ruy Lopez, the Giuoco

Piano, the Queen's Gambit, the French Defense, and the Four Knights' Game. These are

relatively quiet openings from which both sides slowly try to accumulate small advantages in

space, key squares, diagonals, and files.

Emanuel Lasker, the second world champion. Photo:

German Federal Archive, CC
Jose Raul Capablanca defeated Lasker in 1921 to

become the third world champion. Capablanca's style is

still considered the epitome of simple, clear-cut

positional mastery. He tended to avoid complex tactical

situations, and instead would seize a seemingly small

advantage that he would convert in the endgame. His

endgame skill was considered the greatest the world had

ever seen. Even today, the best chess engines find very few

errors in Capablanca's endgame technique. Although he

only held the title of world champion for 6 years,

Capablanca is still considered to be one of the greatest

players of all time.

Jose Raul Capblanca, the third world champion. Photo:

Wikipedia
In the 1920s, a new school of thought entered top level

chess - hypermodernism. The main idea is to control the center with minor pieces instead
of merely occupying it with pawns. These new ideas were highlighted in the games and

theories of a new generation of top talent: Aron Nimzovich, Efim Bogolyubov, Richard Reti,

and Ernst Grunfeld. In this period, new openings and development schemes were formed

in many popular openings, like the Indian Defenses, the Grunfeld, and the Benoni.

Perhaps the most hypermodern of all openings is Alekhine's Defense (named after the

fourth world champion, Alexander Alekhine). The point of this defense is to invite white to

advance his central pawns, and subsequently attack the overextended center. Today

Alekhine is remembered not so much as a hypermodern player, but as the the first dynamic

style player - he could play extremely tactically and aggressively, or quietly and positionally.

He held the title of world champion from 1927 until 1935, when he lost the title to Max

Euwe. Alekhine won the return match in 1937 and held the title until his death in 1946. He

is the only chess world champion to pass away while holding the title.

Alexander Alekhine, the fourth world champion. Photo: George

Bain/Library of Congress, Wikipedia

Soviet Dominance in the 20th Century

From 1927-2006, players from the Soviet Union and Russia held

the world championship title (with only two exceptions). Alekhine,

Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian,

Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Vladimir

Kramnik were the world champions and chess giants that proved

the domination of the title in the 20th century and early 21st century. The styles of the

above-mentioned chess legends couldn't be more different. From the positional champions

(Karpov, Petrosian, Smyslov, Kramnik), to the extremely ferocious attacking style of Tal, to

the dynamic abilities of Alekhine, Botvinnik, and Kasparov - there is something for

everyone!
After Alekhine, Mikhail Botvinnik became the next world champion by winning the 1948

world championship. This event was notable as it marked the first time that FIDE would

oversee the world championship event (something they still do today), but also because it

was the first time that the world championship wasn't decided by a single match (a quintuple

match system was used in the absence of a reigning world champion). Botvinnik would hold

the title of world champion from 1948 until 1963 (with two exceptions, each lasting one

year).

Mikhail Botvinnik, the sixth world champion. Photo: Harry

Pot/Dutch National Archives, CC
Botvinnik was known for his iron logic and dynamic abilities, being

able to change styles almost like a chameleon depending on who

his opponent was. Botvinnik lost the title to Vassily Smyslov in

1957, but according to the rules at the time Botvinnik was able to

get a rematch in the following year. In the 1958 rematch, Botvinnik

defeated Smyslov and regained the title. In 1960, Botvinnik lost the title to Mikhail Tal.

However, in 1961 Botvinnik won the rematch vs Tal. It wasn't until 1963 (when Botvinnik

lost a match to Tigran Petrosian) that he could no longer demand a rematch the next year,

as FIDE had changed the rules.

After his long reign as world champion, Botvinnik was perhaps the most decorated chess

trainer of all time. He trained three future world champions (Karpov, Kasparov, and

Kramnik), a feat nobody else can claim. He was also a computer scientist, and is

considered to be one of the fathers of computer chess.

Tigran Petrosian became the 9th world champion, after defeating Botvinnik in 1963. He

played in a positional style, and was known for wonderful exchange sacrifices. Petrosian

defended his title by defeating Boris Spassky in 1966. Three years later, Spassky won the

candidates cycle again and faced Petrosian for the title for a second time in 1969. Spassky
defeated Petrosian in the 1969 match to become the 10th world champion. Spassky would

hold the title for three years, before losing the famous match to Bobby Fischer.

Bobby Fischer with Max Euwe in 1972. Photo: Bert

Verhoeff/Dutch National Archive, CC
Bobby Fischer was one of the most enigmatic chess figures

of all time, and the only player able to break down the Soviet

chess wall in the second half of the 20th century. From

1970-1972, it seemed like there was no one on Earth who

could stop him. In 1971, he defeated Mark Taimanov in a Candidates' Match of first to six

wins. Fischer won the first six games, without a loss or draw. Then a few months later he

did the same thing again to Bent Larsen, scoring 6 wins in a row. These two

accomplishments were unprecedented.

In 1972, Fischer and Spassky played the match that captivated the entire world, even

people who knew nothing about chess. This was not only viewed as the most anticipated

world chess championship event of all time, but it had great geo-political ramifications as

well. The US and Soviet Union were not only fighting the Cold War, but were also fighting

for chess supremacy. Fischer was extremely difficult to work with, losing the first game by a

very strange elementary blunder in a drawn endgame. He then refused to play the second

game because of problems he perceived in the playing hall. Spassky began the match with

a 2-0 lead, putting Fischer in a big hole. The match was the best of 24 games, and Fischer

mounted one of the greatest comebacks of all time - soundly winning by a score of 12.5 to

8.5. There are many famous games from this match, but game six stands out - even

Spassky gave Fischer a standing ovation after the following game:

Fischer, Robert James (2785) vs. Spassky, Boris V (2660)

1-0 World Championship 28th Reykjavik 23 Jul 1972 Round: 6 ECO: D59
Unfortunately for chess history, Fischer refused to defend his title three years later. Due to

Fischer's seemingly ridiculous demands that FIDE could not grant, he was forced to vacate

the title of world champion. Fischer disappeared from the chess world, until resurfacing

in 1992 to play a match with his old rival, Boris Spassky. After winning that match, Fischer

again disappeared from the chess scene - leaving behind more question marks than any

other world champion.

Karpov, Kasparov, Computers, and Carlsen

Anatoly Karpov became the 12th world champion in 1975. He is known for his solid

positional style and fantastic technique, which has been described like a boa constrictor.

Former World Champion Viswanathan Anand states that "Karpov isn't so interested in his

own plan, but he will keep on foiling yours". Karpov reigned as the world champion for ten

years, and was extremely active at the highest level of chess until around 1997. Later in his

career several books were published under his name, and he became very active in

Russian politics.

Anatoly Karpov, the 12th world champion. Photo: Rob

Croes/Dutch National Archive, CC
Karpov's dominance in the 1970s and 1980s wasn't

overcome until the emergence of another Russian

Legend, Garry Kasparov. In 1984, the first of five

Karpov-Kasparov world championship matches

occurred. These two chess legends played a total of

144 games for the world championship title in the

previously mentioned five matches. Out of these 144

games, 104 were draws, Kasparov had 21 wins, and

Karpov had 19 wins. Despite these almost identical

match records, Kasparov won every match vs Karpov.

Kasparov would hold the belt for 15 years, the second longest uninterrupted reign after

Lasker's 27. Chess theory had advanced greatly between the early 20th century (Lasker's

reign) and the late 20th century. Due to the evolution of chess theory, Kasparov not only

had more world class opposition, but considerably stronger opposition when compared to

Lasker. Kasparov consistently remained head and shoulders above all competition until he

was dethroned by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. Kasparov was not past his prime in the match

versus Kramnik, just strangely out of form. He remained the highest rated player in the

world until 2005, becoming the first person ever to breach 2800 Elo.

Garry Kasparov, the 13th world champion. Photo: Owen

Williams/ The Kasparov Agency, CC
Kasparov was the first major player to heavily use

computers for preparation and study of the game, and he

defeated the strongest computers of the late 1980s and

early 1990s in several highly publicized matches. He was

finally defeated by the supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997,

the first time a computer had defeated a world champion in a

match that changed the world. Kasparov has always

mantained that human collusion was involved in helping the

computer select the correct move at crucial moments. Deep

Blue was dismantled after the match. After retiring from competitive chess, Kasparov wrote

several fantastic books (including his wonderful multi-volume work My Predecessors), and

became involved in Russian politics. He recently did the Master Class series on chess,

which he discussed in this chess.com exclusive interview:

In 2005, computers were finally seen as much more powerful than any human could ever

become. This was due to a supercomputer, Hydra, easily defeating Michael Adams (ranked

seventh in the world at the time with a rating of 2737). Hydra won the match with a 5.5
points out of 6 games. Computer engines continued to get stronger and stronger. A popular

open source engine, Stockfish, has an estimated ELO of around 3400. In 2017, a new entity

in the chess world, AlphaZero, soundly defeated Stockfish in a 100 game match. In early

2018, AlphaZero defeated Stockfish again - this time in a 1,000 game match with time odds.

Current World Champion Magnus Carlsen at the

Chess.com Isle of Man (2017). Photo: © Maria
Emelianova/Chess.com
Humans are also becoming stronger with the help of

computers for analysis, research, and opening theory.

Nowadays, almost every chess player uses chess engines,

including current World Champion Magnus Carlsen.

Carlsen has been the reigning world champion since defeating Viswanathan Anand in 2013,

and has remained the highest rated player in the world for a long time. He continues his

dominance, and won the first 4 tournaments he played in 2019. He holds the record for

highest rating in history at 2882 (attained in 2014), and currently holds a classical rating of

2876. Many people already consider him to be the strongest player of all time.

[a]
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. He is
the world #1 ranked player (FIDE world chess rankings). He is a five-time World Chess Champion,
the reigning five-time World Rapid Chess Champion, the reigning seven-time World Blitz Chess
Champion, and the reigning Chess World Cup Champion. He trails only Garry Kasparov in time
spent as the highest-rated player in the world, while holding the record for longest consecutive
[1]
reign. His peak rating of 2882 is the highest in history. He also holds the record for the longest
[2][3]
unbeaten streak at an elite level in classical chess at 125 games.
A chess prodigy, Carlsen finished first in the C group of the Corus chess tournament shortly after he
turned 13 and earned the title of grandmaster a few months later. At 15, he won the Norwegian
Chess Championship, also becoming the youngest ever player to qualify for the Candidates
[1]
Tournament in 2005. At 17, he finished joint first in the top group of Corus. He surpassed a rating
of 2800 at 18, the youngest at the time to do so. In 2010, at 19, he reached No. 1 in the FIDE world
rankings, the youngest person ever to do so.
Carlsen became World Chess Champion in 2013 by defeating Viswanathan Anand. He retained his
title against Anand the following year and won both the 2014 World Rapid Championship and World
Blitz Championship, becoming the first player to hold all three titles simultaneously, a feat which he
[4][5]
repeated in 2019 and 2022. He defended his classical world title against Sergey Karjakin in
2016, Fabiano Caruana in 2018, and Ian Nepomniachtchi in 2021. Nepomniachtchi qualified again
for the title match in 2023, but this time Carlsen declined to defend his title, citing a lack of
[6]
motivation.
Known for his attacking style as a teenager, Carlsen has since developed into a universal player. He
uses a variety of openings to make it harder for opponents to prepare against him and reduce the
[7]
utility of pre-game computer analysis.

GM Magnus Carlsen won't be the official world champion of classical chess for much longer,

but he has proven again and again in events outside of the FIDE-managed classical world

championship that he is the best player in the world.

Carlsen's reign has included a 125-game unbeaten streak, five of his six World Blitz

Championship wins, all four of his World Rapid Championships, the all-time records for live

rating (2889) and official FIDE rating (2882), five of his eight tournament victories at Wijk

aan Zee, all five of his victories at Norway Chess (including four in a row during 2019-22),

and 114 consecutive months (out of a possible 114) as the world's highest-rated player.
Carlsen in January 2013, left, and December 2022, right. He accomplished far more in that
time than most players do in their entire careers. Left: Intel Free Press/Wikimedia, CC.
Right: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
This article is a look back at all those accomplishments and more as the FIDE World

Championship enters its post-Carlsen era. And make no mistake—it's not the other way

around (Carlsen entering his post-FIDE-championship era). You'll see why.

● The Title
● The Ratings
● The Classical Tournaments
● The Streaks
● The Rapid And Blitz
● The Title Defenses
● Conclusion

The Title
Carlsen officially became the 16th world champion on November 26, 2013, defeating

defending champion GM Viswanathan Anand three wins to zero in their match, with six

draws.

Freshly crowned world champion

Magnus Carlsen in 2013 after his
infamous swimming pool moment. Photo:
Mads Nyborg Stostad/NRK.
Soundly defeating an all-time great like

Anand confirmed what everyone had

known for years: This guy Carlsen was

pretty damn good at chess.

The Ratings
In fact, Carlsen's 2872 rating when he became champion was already the record. The big

question was, How high could his rating climb? He answered the question almost

immediately.

Carlsen won the inaugural Vugar Gashimov Memorial (Shamkir Chess) in 2014, an event

he'd also win in 2015, 2018, and 2019. In the second game of the 2014 tournament,

Carlsen defeated GM Hikaru Nakamura and reached a live rating of 2889.2, the highest

ever.

Carlsen, right, during the game that set the highest

rating mark ever. Photo: Peter Doggers/Chess.com.
By the end of the tournament on April 30, Carlsen had

scored five wins against two losses and three draws.

That put him at an official rating of 2882 on the May

2014 FIDE rating list, the highest ever recorded in more

than 50 years to that point of FIDE ratings.

Carlsen's rating chart with the month he became champion marked.
Of course, Carlsen has never fallen below a 2800 rating after reaching the mark in

November 2009. No previous champion, even GM Garry Kasparov, has been above 2800

for the entire duration of his time with the title. (Kasparov did become the first player to

reach a 2800 rating, in 1990, then set a new career high of 2820 in 1997, after which he

never fell below 2800 again. And to be fair, with rating inflation Kasparov could probably

have pulled it off too.)

Nor is Shamkir Chess, which became a rapid and blitz event in 2021, the only tournament

Carlsen has made a habit of winning while he has been champion.

The Classical Tournaments

The best player at slow time controls doesn't just prove it in matches. As rapid and blitz

have become more popular (see the above about Shamkir), the number of high-profile

classical tournaments has declined somewhat. However, three super prestigious annual

standalone classical tournaments remain: Tata Steel, the only remaining holdover from the

glory days of classical, and two events that debuted in 2013: Norway Chess and Sinquefield

Cup.
Carlsen has won Sinquefield twice, once as champion (2018 co-winner), but he has

dominated the other two. He had already won Tata Steel in 2008, '10, and '13 by the time he

became champion, and then added 2015, '16, '18, '19, and '22 as world champ.

Carlsen after winning a playoff

in 2018 to claim yet another
Tata Steel trophy. Photo: Maria
Emelianova/Chess.com.
Norway Chess, held in

Carlsen's home country, took a

little extra time. He finally won in

its fourth iteration in 2016, then

repeated in 2019. He has not

lost the tournament since then,

adding victories in 2020, '21,

and '22. The 2023 edition of Norway will be Carlsen's first major tournament after giving up

the title.

All that consistent domination has led to some impressive streaks.

The Streaks
Previous records for undefeated streaks belonged to GM Jose Capablanca (63 games), GM

Mikhail Tal (95 games), and GM Ding Liren (100 games). GM Sergei Tiviakov also went 110

games without a loss once—against weaker competition—and Carlsen broke that record

regardless.

Carlsen crushed all of them with a 125-game streak. One hesitates to say it will never be

broken against top-level competition, but it sure looks tough to beat.

After losing in the ninth round to GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov at Biel 2018, Carlsen went

nearly two years without losing again before GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda won in the fifth round

at Norway 2020.

Tournament Year Games Wins Draws Losses

Biel (round 10) 2018 1 1 0 0

Sinquefield Cup 2018 9 2 7 0

European Club Cup 2018 6 1 5 0

World Championship Match 2018 12 0 12 0

Tata Steel Masters 2019 13 5 8 0

Shamkir Chess 2019 9 5 4 0

GRENKE Classic 2019 9 6 3 0

Norway Chess 2019 9 2 7 0

Zagreb GCT 2019 11 5 6 0

Sinquefield Cup 2019 11 2 9 0

Grand Swiss 2019 11 4 7 0

Norwegian League (rounds 1-2)* 2019-20 2 2 0 0

GCT Finals London 2019 4 1 3 0

Tata Steel Masters 2020 13 3 10 0

Norwegian League (round 11)* 2019-20 1 1 0 0

 Norway Chess (rounds 1-4) 2020 4 2 2 0

Total 125 42 83 0

Source: ChessBase, Chess.com. *Carlsen does not count the Norwegian League games as
they came against significantly lower-rated opponents.

There is also Carlsen's streak as the number-one rated player in the world, which began

before he became champion and will continue after he is no longer the FIDE world

champion. The chart below includes only his months as the champ.

Month Rank Total Months Carlsen No. 2 Gap No. 2 Player

November 2013 1st 1 2870 2801 69 Aronian

December 2013 1st 2 2872 2803 69 Aronian

January 2014 1st 3 2872 2812 60 Aronian

….. …

April 2022 1st 102 2864 2804 60 Firouzja

June 2022 1st 104 2864 2806 58 Ding Liren

July 2022 1st 105 2864 2806 58 Ding Liren

August 2022 1st 106 2864 2808 56 Ding Liren

September 2022 1st 107 2861 2808 53 Ding Liren

October 2022 1st 108 2856 2811 45 Ding Liren

November 2022 1st 109 2859 2811 48 Ding Liren

December 2022 1st 110 2859 2811 48 Ding Liren

 January 2023 1st 111 2859 2811 48 Ding Liren

February 2023 1st 112 2852 2793 59 Nepomniachtchi

March 2023 1st 113 2852 2795 57 Nepomniachtchi

April 2023 1st 114 2853 2795 58 Nepomniachtchi

Not only has he been the highest-rated player this whole time—which is rarer than you

might think—the margin has often been significant. He has had an edge of 50 or more

rating points on the number-two player for 40 of these months (35 percent) and 25 or more

points for 89 of the months (78 percent).

And no fewer than 12 GMs have held the number-two spot: Levon Aronian, Fabiano

Caruana, Anand, Nakamura, Veselin Topalov, Vladimir Kramnik, Wesley So, Maxime

Vachier-Lagrave, Mamedyarov, Ding, Alireza Firouzja, and Ian Nepomniachtchi. Not one of

them has caught Carlsen yet, and with his current 58-point edge on number two, no one at

the moment is close to doing so.

Carlsen, left, agreeing to a draw with Kramnik at Tata Steel 2018. Kramnik is one of just two
players to come within 10 points of
Carlsen in the number-one rating spot
since 2013. Photo: Maria
Emelianova/Chess.com.

The Rapid And Blitz

Carlsen has readily noted in

interviews that he will still be the world

champion after the 2023 FIDE World

Championship, just not the classical

champion. Having won both the World

Rapid and the World Blitz

Championships in 2022, Carlsen is still atop the other two major time controls as his

classical reign ends.

In fact, 2022 was the third time during his reign as classical champion that Carlsen also

claimed both the rapid championship and the blitz championship in the same year,

previously achieving the feat in 2014 and 2019. Carlsen also won one of the events four

times in five years during 2014-18. The year he did not, 2016, he tied for first place in both

the rapid and the blitz but lost out on tiebreaks.

With five blitz championships during 2014-22 (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022), Carlsen has

won more than half of the blitz championships held during his time as world champion—the

event not held in 2020. For rapid (2014, 2015, 2019, 2022), it's merely almost half.

The Title Defenses

And yes, there are the four additional world championship matches Carlsen won to retain

the title for nearly 10 years. While certainly significant, Carlsen clearly felt the returns

diminish over time.

Carlsen is on record saying the 2018

match vs. Caruana was his most interesting match in defense of the title. Photo: Maria
Emelianova/Chess.com.
Anand In 2014
Unlike their first match, Anand won a game in this one, but that just meant he lost 3–1

instead of 3–0. The match wrapped up Carlsen's dominant first full year as champion (that

year's Rapid and Blitz Championships were held in June) and confirmed that it was up to

the next generation of players to try and stop him. Spoiler: They could not.

Magnus Carlsen vs. Viswanathan Anand

1-0 Carlsen - Anand World Championship Match Sochi RUS 23 Nov 2014 Round: 11 ECO:
C67
87654321abcdefgh

Karjakin In 2016
The only times Carlsen ever trailed a world championship match were after the eighth and

ninth games in 2016, but he won game 10 to tie the match which he won in rapid tiebreaks.

And how, with an astounding queen sacrifice for checkmate.

Magnus Carlsen vs. Sergey Karjakin

1-0 Carlsen - Karjakin World Championship Match New York, NY USA 30 Nov 2016 Round:
13.4 ECO: B54

Caruana In 2018
Carlsen and Caruana were separated on the classical rating lists by just three points for this

match, the closest Carlsen has ever come to losing his grip on first place during his time as

champion. Carlsen held him off for 12 games and then wiped the board in rapid tiebreaks.

Carlsen was so confident in his fast playing ability vs. Caruana that he took a draw when

most experts believed he had a large advantage in the final slow game.

Fabiano Caruana vs. Magnus Carlsen

1/2-1/2 Carlsen - Caruana World Championship Match London ENG 26 Nov 2018 Round:
12 ECO: B33
1.Nepomniachtchi In 2021
Characterized by Nepomniachtchi's blunders in games eight, nine, and 11, the 2021 match

was an easy win for Carlsen. So easy that when Nepomniachtchi earned the right to a

rematch, Carlsen's time as world champ was probably sealed.

Carlsen, Magnus (2855) vs. Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2782) 1-0 FIDE World Championship

2021 Dubai UAE 03 Dec 2021 Round: 6.1

Conclusion

The decision to leave the world championship is entirely his. Carlsen has nothing left to

prove by winning yet another match, so the months of work that go into preparing for such

matches outweigh the reward for winning them.

Carlsen no longer needs the official designation of FIDE for his validation. Arguably, that

happened a long time ago.

The Best Chess Players Over Time

For more than 50 years now, chess players have been statistically rated and ranked based

on their record of wins, losses, and draws. These ratings give us a nice set of historical

statistical data to use for various purposes. Sometimes, that purpose is just to watch them

change in the flow of time, and to that effect Chess.com presented a video of the top

women players over time back in July. Today, we bring you the top players, period.

Methodology. The basis of the video is the active top 10 FIDE rating list, which has
been published at least once a year since 1970. Players make their first appearance in the

visualization when they reach the top 10, and fall off after permanently losing that status.
Exceptions are made in the cases of GMs Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, and Vladimir

Kramnik. They all retired while still in the top 10 (at #1 in the case of Fischer and Kasparov)

and remained on the active rating list for a year, but are removed here immediately after

their final rating change. In Fischer's case, with no list after the start of the World

Championship in July 1972 until a year later in July 1973, he still remains for some time in

order to capture his full performance. And yes, even though Fischer won seven games and

lost just two (and forfeited a third) in the entire match vs. Spassky, it only earned him five

extra rating points as he went from 2780 to 2785.

Kasparov has played a few rapid and blitz

events but no rated classical game since
2005. Photo: Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
After periods of biannual, quarterly, and

bimonthly releases, the list finally moved to

monthly in 2012. Players remain on the

graph until permanently falling below top-10

status.

Just like in the video about the top women over time, data between lists was interpolated to

create an uninterrupted monthly chart. The lists were again from OlimpBase through 1999

and from FIDE from 2000 onward.

Trends & Observations

Yes, Fischer was that much better than the opposition at his peak. How long he could have

sustained that dominance against the next generation is a different question. Even when

GM Anatoly Karpov peaked at 2780 in 1994, as rating inflation had reached a point where

that still left him as number two in the world behind Kasparov, he was also just shy of

Fischer's career high. So perhaps a healthy Fischer does keep it going for a long time.
Fischer had no institutional support compared to Soviet grandmasters, and still beat them
all by 1972. Photo: © Alamy.com.
Karpov's number-one status was threatened by Korchnoi for several years, but Karpov took

care of that for good with an easy win in the 1981 World Championship. Kasparov caught

him before their first world championship in 1984, fell back behind during it, then took

number one back from Karpov and kept it until his retirement—although Kramnik managed

to tie him on one list in 1996.

The period between Kasparov's retirement and Carlsen permanently claiming number one

in 2011 was a free-for-all including Kramnik, GM Viswanathan Anand, GM Veselin Topalov,

and Carlsen himself in the top spot. Carlsen's lead has oscillated between a high of 72

points in the summer of 2014 and a low of three in late 2018 when he was battling GM

Fabiano Caruana to retain the world championship.

Carlsen in 2019, near the second peak of his

still-ongoing run as the world number-one. Photo:
Maria Emelianova/Chess.com.
What it takes to be a top-10 player is also

interesting. When the video starts, GM Mikhail Tal is

in 10th at a 2590 rating. It doesn't take long for

ratings in the 2500s to disappear for good. However,

it is not until the 2010s when ratings in the

2600-2699 range disappear. With rating deflation now a larger concern than inflation, the

top 10 occasionally dips below 2750, but it is incredibly unlikely that there will ever again be

fewer than 10 players rated 2700.

World Chess Championship. The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world

champion in chess. The current world champion is Ding Liren, who defeated his opponent Ian

Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 World Chess Championship. Magnus Carlsen, the previous world

champion, had declined to defend his title.

The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match between the two leading

players in the world, Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort. 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 in 1946, FIDE (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 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, and all subsequent matches have

once again been administered by FIDE.

Since 2014, the championship has settled on a two-year cycle, with championships occurring every
even year. The 2020 and 2022 matches were postponed to 2021 and 2023 respectively because of
[1]
the COVID-19 pandemic; the next match will return to the normal schedule and be held in 2024.
Though the world championship is open to all players, there are separate championships for women,
under-20s and lower age groups, and seniors. There are also chess world championships in rapid,
blitz, correspondence, problem solving, Fischer random chess, and computer chess.

History[edit]
Further information: List of World Chess Championships

Early champions (pre-1886)[edit]

Before 1851[edit]

The game of chess in its modern form emerged in Spain in the 15th century, though rule variations
persisted until the late 19th century. Before Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort in the late 19th
century, no chess player seriously claimed to be champion of the world. The phrase was used by
some chess writers to describe other players of their day, and the status of being the best at the time
has sometimes been awarded in retrospect, going back to the early 17th-century Italian player
[2]
Gioachino Greco (the first player where complete games survive). Richard Lambe, in his 1764
book The History of Chess, wrote that the 18th-century French player François-André Danican
[3]
Philidor was "supposed to be the best Chess-player in the world". Philidor wrote an extremely
successful chess book (Analyse du jeu des Échecs) and gave public demonstrations of his blindfold
[4]
chess skills. However, some of Philidor's contemporaries were not convinced by the analysis
Philidor gave in his book (e.g. the Modenese Masters), and some more recent authors have echoed
[5][6][2]
these doubts.
In the early 19th century, it was generally considered that the French player Alexandre Deschapelles
was the strongest player of the time, though three games between him and the English player
[7]
William Lewis in 1821 suggests that they were on par. After Deschapelles and Lewis withdrew
from play, the strongest players from France and England respectively were recognised as Louis de
la Bourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell. La Bourdonnais visited England in 1825, where he played
many games against Lewis and won most of them, and defeated all the other English masters
[8]
despite offering handicaps. He and McDonnell contested a long series of matches in 1834. These
[9]
were the first to be adequately reported, and they somewhat resemble the later world
championship matches. Approximately 85 games (the true number is up for historical debate) were
[10] [11]
played, with La Bourdonnais winning a majority of the games.
In 1839, George Walker wrote "The sceptre of chess, in Europe, has been for the last century, at
least, wielded by a Gallic dynasty. It has passed from Legalle [Philidor's teacher, who Philidor
[12]
regarded as being a player equal to himself, according to Deschapelles] to La Bourdonnais,
through the grasp, successively, of Philidor, Bernard, Carlier [two members of La Société des
[13]
Amateurs], and Deschapelles". In 1840, a columnist in Fraser's Magazine (who was probably
Walker) 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, Deschapelles, and De La
[14][15]
Bourdonnais."

A depiction of the chess match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Saint-Amant, on 16 December 1843.

[16]
After La Bourdonnais' death in December 1840, Englishman Howard Staunton's match victory
over another Frenchman, Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant, in 1843 is considered to have
[17][14]
established Staunton as the world's strongest player, at least in England and France. By the
1830s, players from Germany and more generally Central Europe were beginning to appear on the
[9]
scene: the strongest of the Berlin players around 1840 was probably Ludwig Bledow, co-founder of
[18]
the Berlin Pleiades. The earliest recorded use of the term "World Champion" was in 1845, when
[19]
Staunton was described as "the Chess Champion of England, or ... the Champion of the World".
 [3]
François-André Danican Philidor, reputed to be the best player of the late eighteenth century

[7]
Alexandre Deschapelles, reputed to be the best player in the early nineteenth century

Louis de la Bourdonnais, the world's strongest player from 1821 to his death in 1840

[20]
Howard Staunton, generally reckoned the world's leading player of the 1840s

From 1851 to 1886[edit]

Adolf Anderssen, who won three strong international tournaments and is often considered the world's
[21][22]
leading player around the mid-nineteenth century
 Paul Morphy, who dominated all of his opposition during his brief chess career before retiring from chess at
[23]
the age of 21 in 1859

An important milestone was the London 1851 chess tournament, 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, including a 4–1 semi-final win over Staunton. This
[22]
established Anderssen as the world's leading player. In 1893, Henry Bird retrospectively awarded
[24]
the title of first world chess champion to Anderssen for his victory, but there is no evidence that he
was widely acclaimed as such at the time, and no mention of such a status afterwards in the
tournament book by Staunton. Indeed, Staunton's tournament book calls Anderssen "after
Heydebrand der Laza [Tassilo von der Lasa, another of the Berlin Pleiades], the best player of
[25]
Germany": von der Lasa was unable to attend the 1851 tournament, though he was invited. In
[26]
1851, Anderssen lost a match to von der Lasa; in 1856, George Walker wrote that "[von der Lasa]
[27]
and Anderssen are decidedly the two best in the known world". Von der Lasa did not compete in
tournaments or formal matches because of the demands of his diplomatic career, but his games
show that he was one of the world's best then: he won series of games against Staunton in 1844
[26]
and 1853.
Anderssen was himself decisively beaten in an 1858 match against the American Paul Morphy (7–2,
2 draws). In 1858–59 Morphy played matches against several leading players, beating them
[28][29] [30]
all. This prompted some commentators at the time to call him the world champion:
Gabriel-Éloy Doazan, who knew Morphy, wrote that "one can and...must place [him] in the same
bracket" as Deschapelles and La Bourdonnais, who he had played years before, and that "his
[31]
superiority is as obvious as theirs". 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
[32]
chess".
After Morphy's retirement from chess, Anderssen was again regarded as the world's strongest active
[33] [33]
player, a reputation he reinforced by winning the strong London 1862 chess tournament. Louis
Paulsen and Ignatz Kolisch were also playing at a comparable standard to Anderssen in the
[33][34]
1860s: Anderssen narrowly won a match against Kolisch in 1861, and drew against Paulsen in
[33]
1862.
In 1866, Wilhelm Steinitz narrowly defeated Anderssen in a match (8–6, 0 draws). However, he was
not immediately able to conclusively demonstrate his superiority. Steinitz placed third at the Paris
1867 chess tournament, behind Kolisch and Szymon Winawer; he placed second at the Dundee
 [35]
1867 tournament, behind Gustav Neumann; and he again placed second at the Baden-Baden
1870 chess tournament, which was the strongest that had been held to date (Anderssen came first,
[21][36]
and won twice against Steinitz). Steinitz confirmed his standing as the world's leading player
by winning the London 1872 tournament, winning a match against Johannes Zukertort in 1872 (7–1,
4 draws), winning the Vienna 1873 chess tournament, and decisively winning a match over Joseph
[37]
Henry Blackburne 7–0 (0 draws) in 1876.
Apart from the Blackburne match, Steinitz played no competitive chess between the Vienna
tournaments of 1873 and 1882. During that time, Zukertort emerged as the world's leading active
player, winning the Paris 1878 chess tournament. Zukertort then won the London 1883 chess
tournament by a convincing 3-point margin, ahead of nearly every leading player in the world, with
[38][39]
Steinitz finishing second. 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
[39][40]
1886, 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
[41][30]
for the world championship, but there is no indication that Steinitz was regarded as the
[42]
defending champion. There is also no known evidence of Steinitz being called the world
[30]
champion after defeating Anderssen in 1866. It has been suggested that Steinitz could not make
[43]
such a claim while Morphy was alive (Morphy died in 1884). There are a number of references to
[30]
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
[30]
active. However, later in his career, at least from 1887, Steinitz dated his reign from this 1866
[30] [44] [30]
match, and early sources such as the New York Times in 1894, Emanuel Lasker in 1908,
[45]
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
[46][47][48]
"official" one after 1886. By this reckoning, the first World Championship match was in
[49]
1886, and Steinitz was the first official World Chess Champion.

Champions before FIDE (1886–1946)[edit]

Reign of Wilhelm Steinitz (1886–1894)[edit]

 Wilhelm Steinitz dominated chess from 1866 to 1894. Some commentators date his time as World
Champion from 1866; others from 1886.

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 in 1889, Isidor Gunsberg in
1891, and Chigorin again in 1892.
In 1887, the American Chess Congress 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
[citation needed]
in New York to select a challenger for Steinitz , rather like the more recent Candidates
Tournaments. The tournament was duly played, but the outcome was not quite as planned: Chigorin
and Max Weiss 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, was prepared to play Steinitz for the
[50][51][52]
title in New York, so this match was played in 1890–1891 and was won by Steinitz. The
experiment was not repeated, and Steinitz's later matches were private arrangements between the
[44]
players.
Two young strong players emerged in late 1880s and early 1890s: Siegbert Tarrasch and Emanuel
[53]
Lasker. Tarrasch had the better tournament results at the time, but it was Lasker who was able to
[53]
raise the money to challenge Steinitz. Lasker won the 1894 match and succeeded Steinitz as
world champion.

Emanuel Lasker (1894–1921)[edit]

Emanuel Lasker was the World Champion for 27 years consecutively from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign
of a World Champion. During that period, he played seven World Championship matches.

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 in 1908. In 1910, he almost lost his title in a short tied match against Carl Schlechter,
although the exact conditions of this match are a mystery. He then defeated Dawid Janowski 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 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
[54]
Capablanca criticized the two-game lead condition and broke off negotiations.
Further controversy arose when, in 1912, Lasker's terms for a proposed match with Akiba Rubinstein
included a clause that, if Lasker should resign the title after a date had been set for the match,
[55]
Rubinstein should become world champion. When he resumed negotiations with Capablanca
after World War I, Lasker insisted on a similar clause that if Lasker should resign the title after a date
[54]
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,
[55]
naming Capablanca as his successor. Some commentators questioned Lasker's right to name his
[55]
successor; Amos Burn raised the same objection but welcomed Lasker's resignation of the
[55]
title. Capablanca argued that, if the champion abdicated, the title must go to the challenger, as
[55]
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
[55]
masters could compete for it. Capablanca won their 1921 match by four wins, ten draws and no
[45]
losses.

Capablanca, Alekhine and Euwe (1921–1946)[edit]

José Raúl Capablanca reigned as World Champion from 1921 to 1927. He proposed the short-lived
"London Rules" for future World Championship matches.
 Alexander Alekhine, who played dynamic and imaginative chess, was World Champion from 1927 to 1935
and again from 1937 to his death in 1946. He is the only World Champion to die while holding the title.

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
[54]
choose); and the stake should be at least £1,000 (about £100,000 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 $170,000 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, Bogoljubow,
[56]
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
[57]
been speculation that the actual contract might have included a "two-game lead" clause.
Alekhine, Rubinstein and Nimzowitsch had all challenged Capablanca in the early 1920s but only
[58]
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 Cuban, 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
[57]
match provided Capablanca met the requirements of the "London Rules". Negotiations dragged
[45]
on for several years, often breaking down when agreement seemed in sight. Alekhine easily won
two title matches against Efim Bogoljubov in 1929 and 1934.
In 1935, Alekhine was unexpectedly defeated by the Dutch Max Euwe, an amateur player who
worked as a 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[edit]

Before 1948 world championship matches were financed by arrangements similar to those Emanuel
Lasker described for his 1894 match with Wilhelm Steinitz: 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
[59]
expenses out of their shares of the purse. This system evolved out of the wagering of small
[60]
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 vs Steinitz
[60]
match (London, 1866); Steinitz and Zukertort played their 1886 match for £400 a side. Lasker
introduced the practice of demanding that the challenger should provide the whole of the
[citation needed]
purse, and his successors followed his example up to World War II. This requirement
made arranging world championship matches more difficult, for example: Marshall challenged
[61]
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
[62][63]
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
[58][64]
1927.

FIDE title (1948–1993)[edit]

FIDE, Euwe and AVRO[edit]

Main articles: FIDE, Max Euwe, and AVRO 1938 chess tournament
Attempts to form an international chess federation were made at the time of the 1914 St. Petersburg,
[65]
1914 Mannheim and 1920 Gothenburg Tournaments. On 20 July 1924 the participants at the
[65][66][67]
Paris tournament founded FIDE 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
[68]
arranged.

Max Euwe became World Champion by defeating Alexander Alekhine in 1935 but lost a rematch in 1937.

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 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 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, who had lost the title to
Alekhine in 1927; if Euwe lost his title 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 in 1938 was
won by Paul Keres under a tie-breaking rule, with Reuben Fine placed second and Capablanca and
[69]
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)[edit]

Main article: Interregnum of World Chess Champions

Alexander Alekhine died in 1946 before anyone else could win against him in match for the World
Champion title. This resulted in 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
[70]
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
[70]
requesting that the USSR be represented on future FIDE Committees.

Mikhail Botvinnik was the first World Champion under FIDE jurisdiction.

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). The 1938 AVRO tournament 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 – had died; but FIDE
decided that the championship should be awarded to the winner of a round-robin tournament in
which the other six participants at AVRO would play four games against each other. These players
were: Max Euwe, from the Netherlands; Botvinnik, Paul Keres and Salo Flohr from the Soviet Union;
and Reuben Fine and Samuel Reshevsky from the United States. However, FIDE soon accepted a
Soviet request to substitute Vasily Smyslov for Flohr, and Fine dropped out in order to continue his
degree studies in psychology, so only five players competed. Botvinnik won convincingly and thus
[70]
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
[71]
of countries and eligible players increased ); the highest-placed players from the Interzonal would
compete in the Candidates Tournament, along with whoever lost the previous title match and the
second-placed competitor in the previous Candidates Tournament three years earlier; and the
[70]
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)[edit]

Further information: World Chess Championship 1951, World Chess Championship 1954, World
Chess Championship 1957, World Chess Championship 1958, World Chess Championship 1960,
World Chess Championship 1961, and World Chess Championship 1963
The FIDE system followed its 1948 design through five cycles: 1948–1951, 1951–1954, 1954–1957,
[72][73]
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 alleged were instigated by the two Soviet representatives in FIDE, who were personal
friends of reigning champion Mikhail 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, 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
[74]
he might have to meet in the title match. Botvinnik lost to Vasily Smyslov in 1957 but won the
return match in 1958, and lost to Mikhail Tal 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 won the 1962
Candidates and then defeated Botvinnik in 1963 to become world champion.

Vasily Smyslov, World Champion 1957–1958

Mikhail Tal, World Champion 1960–1961

Tigran Petrosian, World Champion 1963–1969

FIDE system (1963–1975)[edit]

Further information: World Chess Championship 1966, World Chess Championship 1969, and World
Chess Championship 1972
After the 1962 Candidates, Bobby Fischer publicly alleged that the Soviets had colluded to prevent
any non-Soviet – specifically him – from winning. He claimed that Petrosian, Efim Geller and Paul
Keres had prearranged to draw all their games, and that Viktor Korchnoi had been instructed to lose
to them. Yuri Averbakh, 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
[74]
non-Soviet players. Korchnoi, who defected from the USSR in 1976, 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 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
[75]
1969 cycle after a controversy at 1967 Interzonal in Sousse. Both these Candidates cycles were
won by Boris Spassky, who lost the title match to Petrosian in 1966, but won and became world
[76][77]
champion in 1969.

Bobby Fischer in Amsterdam meeting FIDE officials in 1972. His reign as World Champion ended, for a
short time, 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Championship. After becoming World Champion,
Fischer did not play competitive chess for 20 years.

Boris Spassky played a World Championship match against Fischer, dubbed the "Match of the Century".

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
[78]
cycle, but Benko was persuaded to concede his place in the Interzonal to Fischer. FIDE President
Max Euwe 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
 [79]
opportunity to challenge for the title as soon as possible. Fischer crushed all opposition and won
[76]
the right to challenge reigning champion Boris Spassky. 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 Henry
Kissinger and a doubling of the prize money by financier Jim Slater to persuade him to play. After a
[80][81]
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 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
[82]
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)[edit]

Anatoly Karpov became World Champion after Fischer refused to defend his title. He was world champion
from 1975 to 1985, and FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999 when the world title was split.
 Garry Kasparov defeated Karpov to become the 13th World Champion, was undisputed World Champion
from 1985 to 1993, and held the split title until 2000. He holds a record of 255 months as the world's
[83]
highest-rated player.

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, first in Baguio, the Philippines, in 1978 (6–5 with 21 draws) then in
Merano in 1981 (6–2, with 10 draws).
He eventually lost his title in 1985 to Garry Kasparov, 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 (controversially terminated without result with Karpov
leading +5 −3 =40), World Chess Championship 1985 (in which Kasparov won the title, 13–11),
World Chess Championship 1986 (narrowly won by Kasparov, 12½–11½), World Chess
Championship 1987 (drawn 12–12, Kasparov retaining the title), and World Chess Championship
1990 (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)[edit]

In 1993, Nigel Short broke the domination of Kasparov and Karpov by defeating Karpov in the
candidates semi-finals followed by Jan Timman in the finals, thereby earning the right to challenge
Kasparov for the title. However, before the match took place, both Kasparov and Short complained
[citation needed]
of corruption and a lack of professionalism within FIDE in organizing the match, and
split from FIDE to set up the Professional Chess Association (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 in the PCA World Chess Championship 1995. Karpov
defeated Gata Kamsky in the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996. Negotiations were
[84]
held for a reunification match between Kasparov and Karpov in 1996–97, but nothing came of
[85]
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 and Vladimir Kramnik. 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). 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 won the FIDE World Championship in 1999, Anand in 2000, Ruslan
Ponomariov in 2002, and Rustam Kasimdzhanov in 2004.
By 2002, not only were there two rival champions, but Kasparov's strong results – he had the top Elo
rating 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 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) 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, a double round robin tournament to be held in San Luis,
Argentina 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, and negotiations began for a Kramnik–Topalov match to unify the title.

Alexander Khalifman, FIDE World Champion 1999–2000

Ruslan Ponomariov, FIDE World Champion 2002–2004

Rustam Kasimdzhanov, FIDE World Champion 2004–2005

Veselin Topalov, FIDE World Champion 2005–2006

Reunified title (since 2006)[edit]

Kramnik (2006–2007)[edit]

Vladimir Kramnik defeated Garry Kasparov in 2000, and then became the undisputed world champion by
beating Topalov in 2006.

The World Chess Championship 2006 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)[edit]

Viswanathan Anand held the FIDE title from 2000 to 2002, and the unified title from 2007 to 2013.
Kramnik played to defend his title at the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico. This was an
8-player double round robin tournament, the same format as was used for the FIDE World Chess
Championship 2005. This tournament was won by Viswanathan Anand, thus making him the World
Chess Champion. Because Anand's World Chess Champion title was won in a tournament rather
[86]
than a match, a minority of commentators questioned the validity of his title. Kramnik also made
[87]
ambiguous comments about the value of Anand's title, but did not claim the title himself then. (In
a 2015 interview Kramnik dated the loss of his world championship title to his 2008 match against
[88]
Anand rather than the 2007 tournament, and he likewise did not contradict an interviewer who
[89]
dated it thus in a 2019 interview.) 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, 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. He won the Candidates (against Gata Kamsky). Anand again won the championship
[90][91]
match.
The next championship, the World Chess Championship 2012, had short knock-out matches for the
Candidates Tournament. This format was not popular with everyone, and world No. 1 Magnus
Carlsen withdrew in protest. Boris Gelfand won the Candidates. Anand won the championship match
[92]
again, in tie breaking rapid games, for his fourth consecutive world championship win.

Carlsen (2013–2023)[edit]

Magnus Carlsen, World Champion 2013–2023

Since 2013, the Candidates Tournament has been an 8-player double round robin tournament, with
the winner playing a match against the champion for the title. Norwegian Magnus Carlsen won the
2013 Candidates and then convincingly defeated Anand in the World Chess Championship
[93][94]
2013.
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
[95]
Carlsen successfully defending his title: against Anand in 2014; against Sergey Karjakin in
[96]
2016; and against Fabiano Caruana in 2018. Both the 2016 and 2018 defences were decided by
[97]
tie-break in rapid games.
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the 2020 Candidates Tournament, and caused the next match to
[98]
be postponed from 2020 to 2021. Carlsen again successfully defended his title, defeating Ian
Nepomniachtchi in the World Chess Championship 2021.
Ding (2023–present)[edit]

Ding Liren, the current World Champion (2023–present)

Soon after the 2021 match, Carlsen indicated that he would not defend the
[99]
title again. This was confirmed in an announcement by FIDE on 20 July
[100]
2022. As a consequence, the top two finishers of the Candidates
Tournament, Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren, played in the 2023 championship in Astana,
[101]
Kazakhstan, from 7 April to 30 April 2023. Ding won, making him the first World Chess
Champion from China. FIDE referred to Ding as the "17th World Champion"; thus the "Classical" line
[102][103]
of Champions during the split has been de facto legitimised over the FIDE line by FIDE itself.

Format[edit]
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 to 1889, but this experiment was
not repeated until 1948.
After the death of world champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946, the World Chess Championship 1948
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:
1. Zonal tournaments: different regional tournaments to qualify for the following stage.
Qualifiers from zonals play in the Interzonal (up to 1993), knockout world
championship (1998 to 2004) or Chess World Cup (since 2005).
2. Candidates qualification tournaments. From 1948 to 1993, the only such tournament
was the Interzonal. 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, 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, or as a wild card.
3. The Candidates Tournament 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.
4. The championship match between the champion and the challenger.
There have been a few exceptions to this system:
● In the 1957 and 1960 cycles, a rule existed which allowed the champion a rematch if he
lost the championship match, leading to the 1958 and 1961 matches. There were also
one-off rematches in 1986 and 2008.
● The 1975 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 and 2004,
and by an eight-player tournament in 2005; meanwhile, the Classical world
championship had no qualifying stages in 2000, and only a Candidates tournament in its
2004 cycle.
● A one-off match to reunite the world championship was held in 2006.
● The 2007 world championship was determined by an eight-player tournament instead of
a match.
● The 2023 world championship was played between the top two finishers of the
Candidates, as the champion (Carlsen) refused to defend his title.

World champions[edit]
Pre-FIDE world champions (1886–1946)[edit]

1 Wilhelm Steinitz 1886–1894

Austria-Hungary

United States

2 Emanuel Lasker 1894–1921

Germany

German Republic

3 José Raúl Capablanca 1921–1927

Cuba

4 Alexander Alekhine 1927–1935

France

5 Max Euwe 1935–1937

Netherlands
(4) Alexander Alekhine 1937–1946
France

FIDE world champions (1948–1993)[edit]

6 Mikhail Botvinnik 1948–1957

Soviet Union

7 Vasily Smyslov 1957–1958

(6) Mikhail Botvinnik 1958–1960

8 Mikhail Tal 1960–1961

(6) Mikhail Botvinnik 1961–1963

9 Tigran Petrosian 1963–1969

10 Boris Spassky 1969–1972

11 Bobby Fischer 1972–1975

United States

12 Anatoly Karpov 1975–1985

Soviet Union

13 Garry Kasparov 1985–1993

Soviet Union

Russia

Classical (PCA/Braingames) world champions (1993–2006)[edit]

13 Garry Kasparov 1993–2000

Russia

14 Vladimir Kramnik 2000–2006

FIDE world champions (1993–2006)[edit]

Anatoly Karpov 1993–1999
Russia

Alexander Khalifman 1999–2000

Viswanathan Anand 2000–2002

India

Ruslan Ponomariov 2002–2004

Ukraine

Rustam Kasimdzhanov 2004–2005

Uzbekistan

Veselin Topalov 2005–2006

Bulgaria

FIDE (reunified) world champions (2006–present)[edit]

14 Vladimir Kramnik 2006–2007

Russia

15 Viswanathan Anand 2007–2013

India

16 Magnus Carlsen 2013–2023

Norway

17 Ding Liren 2023–present

China