World Chess Champions
2025-05-01Table of Contents
Open
World Chess Championship
| No | Name | Country | Style of Play | As | Year | Opponent | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01.1 | Wilhelm Steinitz | Austria | Positional | Inaugural | 1885 | Johannes Zukertort | United Kingdom |
| 01.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1889 | Mikhail Chigorin | Russia |
| 01.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 1890 | Isidor Gunsberg | Austria-Hungary |
| 01.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 1892 | Mikhail Chigorin | Russian |
| 01.5 | - | - | - | Defending | 1894 | Emanuel Lasker | Germany |
| 02.1 | Emanuel Lasker | Germany | Positional | Challenger | 1896 | Wilhelm Steinitz | United States |
| 02.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1907 | Frank J. Marshall | United States |
| 02.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 1908 | Empire Siegbert Tarrasch | Germany |
| 02.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 1910 | Karl Schlechter | Austria-Hungary |
| 02.5 | - | - | - | Defending | 1910 | David Janowski | France |
| 03.1 | Jose Raul Capablanca | Cuba | Positional | Challenger | 1921 | Emanuel Lasker | Weimar Republic (Germany) |
| 04.1 | Alexander Alekhine | Russia | Tactical | Challenger | 1927 | José Raúl Capablanca | Cuba |
| 04.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1929 | Efim Bogoljubov | Germany |
| 04.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 1934 | Efim Bogoljubov | Germany |
| 04.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 1937 | Max Euwe | Netherlands |
| 05.1 | Max Euwe | Netherlands | Positional | Challenger | 1935 | Alexander Alekhine | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 06.1 | Mikhail Botvinnik | Soviet Union (Russia) | Positional | Challenger | 1948 | Round-robin | |
| 06.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1952 | David Bronstein | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 06.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 1954 | Vasily Smyslov | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 06.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 1961 | Mikhail Tal | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 07.1 | Vasily Smyslov | Russia | Positional | Challenger | 1957 | Mikhail Botvinnik | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 08.1 | Mikhail Tal | Russia | Tactical | Challenger | 1958 | Vasily Smyslov | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 08.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1960 | Mikhail Botvinnik | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 09.1 | Tigran V. Petrosian | Russia | Positional | Challenger | 1963 | Mikhail Botvinnik | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 09.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1966 | Boris Spassky | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 10.1 | Boris Spassky | Russia | Positional | Challenger | 1969 | Tigran Petrosian | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 11.1 | Bobby Fischer | United States | Tactical | Challenger | 1972 | Boris Spassky | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 12.1 | Anatoly Karpov | Russia | Positional | Challenger | 1975 | Bobby Fischer | United States |
| 12.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1978 | Viktor Korchnoi | Switzerland |
| 12.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 1981 | Viktor Korchnoi | Switzerland |
| 12.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 1984 | Garry Kasparov | Russia |
| 13.1 | Garry Kasparov | Russia | Tactical | Challenger | 1985 | Anatoly Karpov | Russia |
| 13.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 1986 | Anatoly Karpov | Russia |
| 13.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 1987 | Anatoly Karpov | Russia |
| 13.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 1990 | Anatoly Karpov | Russia |
| 13.5 | - | - | - | Defending | 1993 | Nigel Short | United Kingdom |
| 13.6 | - | - | - | Defending | 1995 | Viswanathan Anand | India |
| 14.1 | Vladimir Kramnik | Russia | Positional | Challenger | 2000 | Garry Kasparov | Russia |
| 14.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 2004 | Peter Leko | Hungary |
| 14.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 2006 | Veselin Topalov | Bulgaria |
| 15.1 | Viswanathan Anand | India | Tactical | Challenger | 2007 | Round-robin | |
| 15.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 2008 | Vladimir Kramnik | Russia |
| 15.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 2010 | Veselin Topalov | Bulgaria |
| 15.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 2012 | Boris Gelfand | Israel |
| 16.1 | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Positional | Challenger | 2013 | Viswanathan Anand | India |
| 16.2 | - | - | - | Defending | 2014 | Viswanathan Anand | India |
| 16.3 | - | - | - | Defending | 2016 | Sergey Karjakin | Russia |
| 16.4 | - | - | - | Defending | 2018 | Fabiano Caruana | United States |
| 16.5 | - | - | - | Defending | 2021 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Russia |
| 17.1 | Ding Liren | China | Positional | Challenger | 2023 | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Russia |
| 18.1 | Gukesh Dommaraju | India | Tactical | Challenger | 2024 | Ding Liren | China |
World Rapid and Blitz Championship
| Year | Host | Rapid (Champion) | Rapid (Country) | Blitz (Champion) | Blitz (Country) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Rishon Lezion, Israel | Alexander Grischuk | Russia | ||
| 2007 | Moscow, Russia | Vasyl Ivanchuk | Ukraina | ||
| 2008 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | Leinier Domínguez | Cuba | ||
| 2009 | Moscow, Russia | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | ||
| 2010 | Moscow, Russia | Levon Aronian | Armenia | ||
| 2011 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2012 | Astana, Kazakhstan | Sergey Karjakin | Russia | Alexander Grischuk | Russia |
| 2013 | Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia | Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | Azerbaijan | Liem Le | Vietnam |
| 2014 | Dubai, UAE | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| 2015 | Berlin, Germany | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Alexander Grischuk | Russia |
| 2016 | Doha, Qatar | Vasyl Ivanchuk | Ukraina | Sergey Karjakin | Russia |
| 2017 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Viswanathan Anand | India | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| 2018 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Daniil Dubov | Russia | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| 2019 | Moscow, Russia | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| 2020 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2021 | Warsaw, Poland | Nodirbek Abdusattorov | Uzbekistan | Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | France |
| 2022 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| 2023 | Samarkand, Uzbekistan | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| 2024 | New York, United States | Volodar Murzin | Russia | Magnus Carlsen | Norway |
| - | - | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Russia | ||
| 2025 | |||||
| 2026 | |||||
| 2027 | |||||
| 2028 | |||||
| 2029 | |||||
| 2030 |
World Fisher Random Championship
| Year | Name | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Wesley So | United States |
| 2022 | Hikaru Nakamura | United States |
Women
Women's World Chess Championship
| # | Name | Country | Style of Play | As | Year | Opponent | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Vera Menchik | Russia | Inaugural | 1927 | Katarina Beskow | Sweden | |
| - | Czechoslovakia | Defending | 1930 | Paula Wolf-Kalmar | Austria | ||
| - | Czechoslovakia | Defending | 1931 | Paula Wolf-Kalmar | Austria | ||
| - | Czechoslovakia | Defending | 1933 | Edith Charlotte Price | United Kingdom | ||
| - | Czechoslovakia | Defending | 1935 | Regina Gerlecka | Poland | ||
| - | Czechoslovakia | Defending | 1937 | Sonja Graf | Germany | ||
| - | Czechoslovakia | Defending | 1937 | Clarice Benini | Italy | ||
| - | United Kingdom | Defending | 1939 | Sonja Graf | Germany | ||
| 02 | Lyudmila Rudenko | Soviet Union | Challenger | 1950 | Olga Rubtsova | Soviet Union | |
| 03 | Elisaveta Bykova | Soviet Union | Challenger | 1953 | Lyudmila Rudenko | Soviet Union | |
| 04 | Olga Rubtsova | Soviet Union | Challenger | 1956 | Elisaveta Bykova | Soviet Union | |
| (03) | Elisaveta Bykova | Soviet Union | Challenger | 1958 | Olga Rubtsova | Soviet Union | |
| - | - | Defending | 1959 | Kira Zvorykina | Soviet Union | ||
| 05 | Nona Gaprindashvili | Soviet Union | Challenger | 1962 | Elisaveta Bykova | Soviet Union | |
| - | - | Defending | 1965 | Alla Kushnir | Soviet Union | ||
| - | - | Defending | 1969 | Alla Kushnir | Soviet Union | ||
| - | - | Defending | 1972 | Alla Kushnir | Soviet Union | ||
| - | - | Defending | 1975 | Nana Alexandria | Soviet Union | ||
| 06 | Maia Chiburdanidze | Soviet Union | Challenger | 1978 | Nona Gaprindashvili | Soviet Union | |
| - | - | Defending | 1981 | Nana Alexandria | Soviet Union | ||
| - | - | Defending | 1984 | Irina Levitina | Soviet Union | ||
| - | - | Defending | 1986 | Elena Akhmilovskaya | Soviet Union | ||
| - | - | Defending | 1988 | Nana Ioseliani | Soviet Union | ||
| 07 | Xie Jun | China | Challenger | 1991 | Maia Chiburdanidze | Soviet Union | |
| - | - | Defending | 1993 | Nana Ioseliani | Georgia | ||
| 08 | Susan Polgar | Hungary | Challenger | 1996 | Xie Jun | China | |
| (07) | Xie Jun | China | Challenger | 1999 | Alisa Galliamova | Russia | |
| - | - | Defending | 2000 | Qin Kanying | China | ||
| 09 | Zhu Chen | China | Challenger | 2001 | Alexandra Kosteniuk | Russia | |
| 10 | Antoaneta Stefanova | Bulgaria | Challenger | 2004 | Ekaterina Kovalevskaya | Russia | |
| 11 | Xu Yuhua | China | Challenger | 2006 | Alisa Galliamova | Russia | |
| 12 | Alexandra Kosteniuk | Russia | Challenger | 2008 | Hou Yifan | China | |
| 13 | Hou Yifan | China | Challenger | 2010 | Ruan Lufei | China | |
| - | - | Defending | 2011 | Koneru Humpy | India | ||
| 14 | Anna Ushenina | Ukraine | Challenger | 2012 | Antoaneta Stefanova | Bulgarian | |
| (13) | Hou Yifan | China | Challenger | 2013 | Anna Ushenina | Ukraina | |
| 15 | Mariya Muzychuk | Ukraine | Challenger | 2015 | Natalia Pogonina | Russia | |
| (13) | Hou Yifan | China | Challenger | 2016 | Mariya Muzychuk | Ukraina | |
| 16 | Tan Zhongyi | China | Challenger | 2017 | Anna Muzychuk | Ukraina | |
| 17 | Ju Wenjun | China | Challenger | 2018 | Tan Zhongyi | China | |
| - | - | Defending | 2018 | Kateryna Lagno | Russia | ||
| - | - | Defending | 2020 | Aleksandra Goryachkina | Russia | ||
| - | - | Defending | 2023 | Lei Tingjie | China | ||
| - | - | Defending | 2025 | Tan Zhongyi | China |
Women's World Rapid and Blitz Championship
| Year | Host | Rapid (Champion) | Rapid (Country) | Blitz (Champion) | Blitz (Country) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Batumi, Georgia | Antoaneta Stefanova | Bulgaria | Valentina Gunina | Russia |
| 2013 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2014 | Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia | Kateryna Lagno | Ukraina | Anna Muzychuk | Slovenia |
| 2015 | Cancelled | ||||
| 2016 | Doha, Qatar | Anna Muzychuk | Ukraina | Anna Muzychuk | Ukraina |
| 2017 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Ju Wenjun | China | Nana Dzagnidze | Georgia |
| 2018 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Ju Wenjun | China | Kateryna Lagno | Russia |
| 2019 | Moscow, Russia | Koneru Humpy | India | Kateryna Lagno | Russia |
| 2020 | |||||
| 2021 | Warsaw, Poland | Alexandra Kosteniuk | Russian | Bibisara Assaubayeva | Kazakhstani |
| 2022 | Almaty, Kazakhstan | Tan Zhongyi | China | Bibisara Assaubayeva | Kazakhstani |
| 2023 | Samarkand, Uzbekistan | Anastasia Bodnaruk | Russian | Valentina Gunina | Russia |
| 2024 | New York, United States | Koneru Humpy | India | Ju Wenjun | China |