List of chess world championship matches
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of World Chess Championship
matches.
The winner of each match is listed first. The notation (+x –y =z) means that the first player won x games, lost y games, and drew z games. For example, in the 1858 Morphy-Anderssen match, Morphy (+7 –2 =2) won with seven wins, two losses, and two draws. In the case of a drawn match, the champion retained his title.
for the process of selecting a challenger for these matches.
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
matches.
The winner of each match is listed first. The notation (+x –y =z) means that the first player won x games, lost y games, and drew z games. For example, in the 1858 Morphy-Anderssen match, Morphy (+7 –2 =2) won with seven wins, two losses, and two draws. In the case of a drawn match, the champion retained his title.
Unofficial events
- 1834 La BourdonnaisLouis-Charles Mahé de La BourdonnaisLouis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais was a French chess master, possibly the strongest player in the early 19th century.- Early life :...
-McDonnellAlexander McDonnellAlexander McDonnell was an Irish chess master, who contested a series of six matches with the world’s leading player Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais in the summer of 1834.- Early life :...
- Match 1: June–July (+16 –5 =4)
- Match 2: July (+4 -5 =0)
- Match 3: July–August (+6 -5 =1)
- Match 4: August–September (+8 -3 =7)
- Match 5: September (+7 -4 =1)
- Match 6: September–October (+4 -5 =0)
- 1843 Saint-Amant-StauntonHoward StauntonHoward Staunton was an English chess master who is generally regarded as having been the world's strongest player from 1843 to 1851, largely as a result of his 1843 victory over Saint-Amant. He promoted a chess set of clearly distinguishable pieces of standardised shape—the Staunton pattern—that...
(3½ – 2½) - 1843 Staunton-Saint-Amant (+11 -6 =4)
- 1846 Staunton-HorwitzBernhard HorwitzBernhard Horwitz was a German English chess master and chess writer.Horwitz was born in Neustrelitz, and went to school in Berlin, where he studied art. From 1837 to 1843, he was part of a group of German chess players known as "The Pleiades".He moved to London in 1845...
(+14 -7 =3) - 1858 MorphyPaul MorphyPaul Charles Morphy was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and an unofficial World Chess Champion. He was a chess prodigy...
-AnderssenAdolf AnderssenKarl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...
(+7 -2 =2) - 1866 SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
-Anderssen (+8 -6 =0)
Later matches
- 1928 (FIDE) Efim Bogoljubov-Max EuweMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
(5½–4½) (one-time FIDE championship, before 1948 system) - 1992 (Independent) FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
-SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
(+10 -5 =15) (unofficial rematch of the 1972 match)
Official events
- 1886 MatchWorld Chess Championship 1886The 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 USA, the first five games being played in New York, the next four being played in St.Louis and the final eleven in New Orleans....
SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
-Zukertort (+10 -5 =5) - 1889 Steinitz-ChigorinMikhail ChigorinMikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
(+10 -6 =1) - 1890/91 Steinitz-GunsbergIsidor GunsbergIsidor Arthur Gunsberg began his career as the player operating the remote-controlled chess automaton Mephisto, but later became a chess professional....
(+6 -4 =9) - 1892 Steinitz-ChigorinMikhail ChigorinMikhail Ivanovich Chigorin also was a leading Russian chess player...
(+10 -8 =5) - 1894 LaskerEmanuel LaskerEmanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
-Steinitz (+10 -5 =4) - 1896/97 Lasker-Steinitz (+10 -2 =5)
- 1907 Lasker-Marshall (+8 -0 =7)
- 1908 Lasker-TarraschSiegbert TarraschSiegbert Tarrasch was one of the strongest chess players and most influential chess teachers of the late 19th century and early 20th century....
(+8 -3 =5) - 1910 Lasker-SchlechterCarl SchlechterCarl Schlechter was a leading Austrian 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:...
(+1 -1 =8)
- 1910 Lasker-Janowski (+8 -0 =3)
- 1921 CapablancaJosé Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
-Lasker (+4 -0 =10) - 1927 AlekhineAlexander AlekhineAlexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
-Capablanca (+6 -3 =25) - 1929 Alekhine-Bogoljubow (+11 -5 =9)
- 1934 Alekhine-Bogoljubow (+8 -3 =15)
- 1935 EuweMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
-Alekhine (+9 -8 =13) - 1937 Alekhine-Euwe (+10 -4 =11)
FIDE-sanctioned events
See Candidates TournamentCandidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
for the process of selecting a challenger for these matches.
- 1948 (FIDE)World Chess Championship 1948The 1948 World Chess Championship was a tournament played to determine a new World Chess Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946. The tournament marked the passing of control of the championship title to FIDE, the International Chess Federation which had...
BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
(14 points out of 20, five player, five cycle round-robin tournamentRound-robin tournamentA round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
) - 1951World Chess Championship 1951The 1951 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and David Bronstein in Moscow from March 15 to May 11, 1951. Botvinnik retained his title.-Results:The match was played as best of 24 games...
Botvinnik-BronsteinDavid BronsteinDavid Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
(+5 -5 =14) - 1954World Chess Championship 1954The 1954 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov in Moscow from March 16 to May 13, 1954. Botvinnik retained his title.-Qualifying:Smyslov qualified as challenger by winning the 1953 Candidates' Tournament.-Results:...
Botvinnik-Smyslov (+7 -7 =10) - 1957World Chess Championship 1957The 1957 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov in Moscow from March 5 to April 27, 1957. Smyslov won.-Results:...
Smyslov-Botvinnik (+6 -3 =13) - 1958World Chess Championship 1958The 1958 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and Vasily Smyslov in Moscow from March 4 to May 9, 1958. Botvinnik won. Smyslov had unseated Botvinnik in the 1957 match, so he was entitled to this rematch a year later.-Results:...
Botvinnik-Smyslov (+7 -5 =11) - 1960World Chess Championship 1960The 1960 World Chess Championship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and Mikhail Tal in Moscow from March 15 to May 7, 1960. Tal won.- 1958 Interzonal Tournament:An interzonal chess tournament was held in Portorož in 1958.-1959 Candidates Tournament:...
TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
-Botvinnik (+6 -2 =13) - 1961World Chess Championship 1961The 1961 World Chess Championship was played between former champion Mikhail Botvinnik and champion Mikhail Tal in Moscow from March 15 to May 13, 1961. Tal had unseated Botvinnik in the 1960 match, thus Botvinnik was entitled to this rematch the next year. Botvinnik, a Russian, defeated Latvian...
Botvinnik-Tal (+10 -5 =6) - 1963 (FIDE)World Chess Championship 1963At the World Chess Championship 1963 Tigran Petrosian narrowly qualified to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship, and then won the match to become the ninth World Chess Champion...
PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
-Botvinnik (+5 -2 =15) - 1966World Chess Championship 1966The 1966 World Chess Championship was played between Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky in Moscow from April 9 to June 9, 1966. Petrosian won.-Qualification:-The World Championship match:The match was played as best of 24 games...
Petrosian-SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
(+4 -3 =17) - 1969World Chess Championship 1969The 1969 World Chess Championship was played between Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky in Moscow from April 14 to June 17, 1969. Spassky won.-Qualification:...
Spassky-Petrosian (+6 -4 =13) - 1972 (FIDE) FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
-Spassky (+7 -3 =11) - 1975World Chess Championship 1975The 1975 World Chess Championship was never played due a dispute over the match format. Champion Bobby Fischer was to play Anatoly Karpov in Manila, commencing June 1, 1975....
KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
-Fischer (by default) - 1978World Chess Championship 1978The 1978 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio City, Philippines from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Karpov won.- Qualification :...
Karpov-KorchnoiViktor KorchnoiViktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
(+6 -5 =21) - 1981World Chess Championship 1981The 1981 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Meran, Italy from October 1 to November 19, 1981. Karpov won.-Interzonals:Two Interzonal tournaments were held, one in Riga and the other in Rio de Janeiro...
Karpov-Korchnoi (+6 -2 =10) - 1984World Chess Championship 1984The World Chess Championship 1984 was a match between challenger Garry Kasparov and defending champion Anatoly Karpov for the World Chess Championship title...
Karpov-KasparovGarry KasparovGarry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
(+5 -3 =40) (aborted match) - 1985World Chess Championship 1985The 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:...
Kasparov-Karpov (+5 -3 =16) - 1986World Chess Championship 1986The 1986 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in London and Leningrad from July 28 to October 8, 1986. Kasparov won. Anatoly Karpov was already assured of this rematch during his previous year's match which was won by Garry Kasparov.-Results:The match was...
Kasparov-Karpov (+5 -4 =15) - 1987World Chess Championship 1987The 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 English Opening to win the final game to retain his...
Kasparov-Karpov (+4 -4 =16) - 1990World Chess Championship 1990The 1990 World Chess Championship was played between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. It was the fifth and final Kasparov-Karpov championship match, Kasparov winning by a single point.-Interzonals:...
Kasparov-Karpov (+4 -3 =17)
Split title
- 1993 (FIDE)World Chess Championship 1993The World Chess Championship 1993 was held from 1990 to 1993. It was one of the most controversial in history, with incumbent World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, and official challenger Nigel Short, splitting from FIDE, the official world governing body of chess, and playing their title match...
KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
-TimmanJan TimmanJan Timman is a Dutch chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading 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 "The Best of the West"...
(+5 -2 =14) - 1993 (PCA)World Chess Championship 1993The World Chess Championship 1993 was held from 1990 to 1993. It was one of the most controversial in history, with incumbent World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, and official challenger Nigel Short, splitting from FIDE, the official world governing body of chess, and playing their title match...
KasparovGarry KasparovGarry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
-ShortNigel ShortNigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
(+6 -1 =13) - 1995 (PCA)Classical World Chess Championship 1995The Classical World Chess Championship 1995, known at the time as the PCA World Chess Championship 1995, was held from September 10, 1995, to October 16, 1995, on the 107th floor of the former World Trade Center in New York City. Garry Kasparov, the defending champion, played Viswanathan Anand, the...
Kasparov-AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
(+4 -1 =13) - 1996 (FIDE)FIDE World Chess Championship 1996The 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....
Karpov-KamskyGata KamskyGata Kamsky is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and the current World Rapid Chess Champion. He is also the current United States Chess Champion. As of September 2011, he is rated No. 1 in the United States and No...
(+6 -3 =9) - 1998 (FIDE) Karpov-Anand (+2 -2 =2 and Karpov won on tiebreaks +2 -0 =0)
- 1999 (FIDE) KhalifmanAlexander KhalifmanAlexander Valeryevich Khalifman is a Soviet and Russian chess Grandmaster of Jewish descent; he is also a former FIDE champion.When Khalifman was 6 years old, he was taught chess by his father....
-Akopian (+2 -1 =3) - 2000 (Braingames)Classical World Chess Championship 2000The Classical World Chess Championship 2000, known at the time as the Braingames World Chess Championships, was held from October 8, 2000 – November 4, 2000 in London, United Kingdom. Garry Kasparov, the defending champion, played Vladimir Kramnik...
KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
-Kasparov (+2 -0 =13) - 2000 (FIDE) Anand-ShirovAlexei ShirovAlexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
(+3 -0 =1) - 2002 (FIDE) PonomariovRuslan PonomariovRuslan Olegovich Ponomariov is a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE World Champion.-Early career:Ponomariov was born in Horlivka in Ukraine. In 1994 he placed third in the World Under-12 Championship at the age of ten. In 1996 he won the European Under-18 Championship at the age of just...
-Ivanchuk (+2 -0 =5) - 2004 (FIDE)FIDE World Chess Championship 2004The FIDE World Chess Championship, 2004 was held at the Almahary Hotel in Tripoli, Libya, from June 18 to July 13.It was won by Rustam Kasimdzhanov, who beat Michael Adams in the final by a score of 4½-3½...
KasimdzhanovRustam KasimdzhanovRustam Kasimdzhanov is an Uzbekistani chess Grandmaster, best known for winning the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004. He was born in Tashkent, in the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic...
-Adams (+3 -2 =3) - 2004 (Classical)Classical World Chess Championship 2004The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004 - October 18, 2004 in Brissago, Switzerland. Vladimir Kramnik, the defending champion, played Peter Leko, the challenger, in a fourteen game match....
Kramnik-LékóPéter LékóOn the way to winning the prestigious Corus chess tournament in 2005, Lékó defeated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. The moves were:...
(+2 -2 =10) - 2005 (FIDE)FIDE World Chess Championship 2005The 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:...
TopalovVeselin TopalovVeselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
(10 points out of 14, double round robin tournament, eight participants)
Unified title (FIDE)
- 2006 KramnikVladimir KramnikVladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
-TopalovVeselin TopalovVeselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
(+3 -3 =6; Kramnik wins after tiebreaks, +2 -1 =1) - 2007World Chess Championship 2007The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from September 12, 2007 to September 30, 2007 to decide the world champion in the board game chess. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament....
AnandViswanathan AnandV. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
(9 points out of 14, double round robin tournament, eight participants) - 2008World Chess Championship 2008The World Chess Championship 2008 was a best-of-twelve-games match between the World Chess Champion, Viswanathan Anand, and the previous World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik...
Anand-Kramnik (+3 -1 =7) - 2010 Anand-Topalov (+3 -2 =7)