The minds that
shape chess.

41 championship profiles · ordered by first title

1. 1886First title
   

   Open championship

   Wilhelm Steinitz

   1886–1894 / Austria / United States

   The first official world champion and the founder of positional chess. He argued that an attack only succeeds when the position justifies it.

   1836–1900View profile →
2. 1894First title
   

   Open championship

   Emanuel Lasker

   1894–1921 / Germany

   Held the title for 27 years, the longest reign in history. Famous for practical, fighting play and for choosing moves that made the most trouble for his particular opponent.

   1868–1941View profile →
3. 1921First title
   

   Open championship

   José Raúl Capablanca

   1921–1927 / Cuba

   Celebrated for clarity and endgame technique. He defeated Emanuel Lasker in 1921 without losing a game, then held the title until 1927.

   1888–1942View profile →
4. 1927First title
   

   Open championship

   Alexander Alekhine

   1927–1935, 1937–1946 / France / Russia

   A ferocious attacker and deep preparer who won the title from Capablanca, lost it to Euwe, and won it back. He is the only champion to die while holding the title.

   1892–1946View profile →
5. 1927First title
   

   Women’s championship

   Vera Menchik

   1927–1944 / Czechoslovakia / England

   The first women’s world champion. Her dominance established a new stage for women in international chess.

   1906–1944View profile →
6. 1935First title
   

   Open championship

   Max Euwe

   1935–1937 / Netherlands

   A mathematician and amateur who beat Alekhine in 1935. He later served as FIDE president from 1970 to 1978.

   1901–1981View profile →
7. 1948First title
   

   Open championship

   Mikhail Botvinnik

   1948–1957, 1958–1960, 1961–1963 / Soviet Union

   Won the 1948 match tournament held after Alekhine's death. The patriarch of the Soviet chess school and teacher of Karpov, Kasparov and Kramnik.

   1911–1995View profile →
8. 1950First title
   

   Women’s championship

   Lyudmila Rudenko

   1950–1953 / Soviet Union

   Won the postwar championship tournament in Moscow, beginning a new chapter in the women’s title.

   1904–1986View profile →
9. 1953First title
   

   Women’s championship

   Elisaveta Bykova

   1953–1956, 1958–1962 / Soviet Union

   A determined competitor and chess writer who became the first woman to regain the world title.

   1913–1989View profile →
10. 1956First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Olga Rubtsova

    1956–1958 / Soviet Union

    Excelled both over the board and by correspondence, winning world championships in both forms of the game.

    1909–1994View profile →
11. 1957First title
    

    Open championship

    Vasily Smyslov

    1957–1958 / Soviet Union

    Known for harmonious, natural moves and superb endgames. He reached the Candidates final again in 1984.

    1921–2010View profile →
12. 1960First title
    

    Open championship

    Mikhail Tal

    1960–1961 / Soviet Union

    Known as the Magician from Riga, Tal won the title from Botvinnik in 1960. His imaginative combinations and willingness to sacrifice made him an icon of attacking chess.

    1936–1992View profile →
13. 1962First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Nona Gaprindashvili

    1962–1978 / Soviet Union / Georgia

    A fearless attacking player. In 1978 she became the first woman awarded the grandmaster title.

    1941 · bornView profile →
14. 1963First title
    

    Open championship

    Tigran Petrosian

    1963–1969 / Soviet Union

    A master of prophylaxis who stopped his opponents' plans before they started. Famous for the positional exchange sacrifice.

    1929–1984View profile →
15. 1969First title
    

    Open championship

    Boris Spassky

    1969–1972 / Soviet Union

    A universal player at home in every kind of position. Lost the title to Fischer in the 1972 match in Reykjavík.

    1937–2025View profile →
16. 1972First title
    

    Open championship

    Bobby Fischer

    1972–1975 / United States

    Won the Candidates matches with two 6–0 scores and ended the Soviet hold on the title. He forfeited it in 1975 without playing a match.

    1943–2008View profile →
17. 1975First title
    

    Open championship

    Anatoly Karpov

    1975–1985 / Soviet Union / Russia

    Became champion when Fischer declined to defend, then proved himself with a decade of tournament dominance. A master of slow, squeezing play.

    1951 · bornView profile →
18. 1978First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Maia Chiburdanidze

    1978–1991 / Soviet Union / Georgia

    Won the crown at seventeen and held it for thirteen years, extending Georgia’s extraordinary championship tradition.

    1961 · bornView profile →
19. 1985First title
    

    Open championship

    Garry Kasparov

    1985–2000 / Soviet Union / Russia

    Spent 255 months at number one in the FIDE rankings. He broke with FIDE in 1993, so from then on his title was the classical line, not the FIDE one.

    1963 · bornView profile →
20. 1991First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Xie Jun

    1991–1996, 1999–2001 / China

    Her victory in 1991 made her China’s first women’s world champion and inspired a generation of players.

    1970 · bornView profile →
21. 1993First title
    

    FIDE split

    Anatoly Karpov

    1993–1999 / Russia

    Won the FIDE title after Kasparov and Short played their 1993 match outside FIDE.

    1951 · bornView profile →
22. 1996First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Susan Polgar

    1996–1999 / Hungary / United States

    A pioneer in open competition who won the women’s world championship in a match against Xie Jun.

    1969 · bornView profile →
23. 1999First title
    

    FIDE split

    Alexander Khalifman

    1999–2000 / Russia

    Won the 1999 FIDE knockout championship in Las Vegas.

    1966 · bornView profile →
24. 2000First title
    

    Open championship

    Vladimir Kramnik

    2000–2007 / Russia

    Beat Kasparov in 2000 with the Berlin Defence, then won the 2006 reunification match against Topalov.

    1975 · bornView profile →
25. 2000First title
    

    FIDE split

    Viswanathan Anand

    2000–2002 / India

    Won the knockout championship in New Delhi and Tehran.

    1969 · bornView profile →
26. 2001First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Zhu Chen

    2001–2004 / China / Qatar

    Won a dramatic knockout final against Alexandra Kosteniuk, decided in rapid tie-breaks.

    1976 · bornView profile →
27. 2002First title
    

    FIDE split

    Ruslan Ponomariov

    2002–2004 / Ukraine

    Won the split-era FIDE title at 18, defeating Vasyl Ivanchuk in the 2002 final.

    1983 · bornView profile →
28. 2004First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Antoaneta Stefanova

    2004–2006 / Bulgaria

    Bulgaria’s first women’s world champion, with an inventive and combative approach to the game.

    1979 · bornView profile →
29. 2004First title
    

    FIDE split

    Rustam Kasimdzhanov

    2004–2005 / Uzbekistan

    Won the knockout in Tripoli.

    1979 · bornView profile →
30. 2005First title
    

    FIDE split

    Veselin Topalov

    2005–2006 / Bulgaria

    Won the San Luis tournament, then lost the 2006 reunification match to Kramnik.

    1975 · bornView profile →
31. 2006First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Xu Yuhua

    2006–2008 / China

    Won the 2006 knockout championship in Yekaterinburg, becoming the third Chinese woman to hold the world title.

    1976 · bornView profile →
32. 2007First title
    

    Open championship

    Viswanathan Anand

    2007–2013 / India

    Won the title in a tournament in 2007 and defended it in matches against Kramnik, Topalov and Gelfand. India's first grandmaster.

    1969 · bornView profile →
33. 2008First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Alexandra Kosteniuk

    2008–2010 / Russia / Switzerland

    Defeated Hou Yifan in the 2008 final. Her career spans elite classical, rapid and team competition.

    1984 · bornView profile →
34. 2010First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Hou Yifan

    2010–2012, 2013–2015, 2016–2017 / China

    The youngest women’s world champion, winning at sixteen. Her precise, versatile play carried her to four championship victories.

    1994 · bornView profile →
35. 2012First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Anna Ushenina

    2012–2013 / Ukraine

    Won the knockout championship in Khanty-Mansiysk after defeating Antoaneta Stefanova in the final.

    1985 · bornView profile →
36. 2013First title
    

    Open championship

    Magnus Carlsen

    2013–2023 / Norway

    Holds the highest classical rating ever achieved, 2882. He chose not to defend the title in 2023.

    1990 · bornView profile →
37. 2015First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Mariya Muzychuk

    2015–2016 / Ukraine

    An imaginative tactician who won the 2015 knockout world championship in Sochi.

    1992 · bornView profile →
38. 2017First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Tan Zhongyi

    2017–2018 / China

    Won the 2017 knockout championship in Tehran, overcoming Anna Muzychuk in the final tie-breaks.

    1991 · bornView profile →
39. 2018First title
    

    Women’s championship

    Ju Wenjun

    2018–present / China

    A model of patience and resilience in match play. Her 2025 victory over Tan Zhongyi secured a fifth world title.

    1991 · bornView profile →
40. 2023First title
    

    Open championship

    Ding Liren

    2023–2024 / China

    Won the 2023 match against Ian Nepomniachtchi in rapid tie-breaks to become China's first open world champion.

    1992 · bornView profile →
41. 2024First title
    

    Open championship

    Gukesh Dommaraju

    2024–present / India

    Beat Ding Liren in Singapore in December 2024 to become the youngest undisputed world champion, at 18.

    2006 · bornView profile →