Chess history
The World Chess Champions
A compact overview of the classical world chess champions. For the modern era, the current title holder is already included.
| Name | Country | Life dates | World Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilhelm Steinitz | Austria | 14 May 1836 – 13 Aug 1900 | 1886 – 1894 |
| Emanuel Lasker | Germany | 24 Dec 1868 – 13 Jan 1941 | 1894 – 1921 |
| José Raúl Capablanca | Cuba | 19 Nov 1888 – 8 Mar 1942 | 1921 – 1927 |
| Alexander Alekhine | Russia / France | 31 Oct 1892 – 24 Mar 1946 | 1927 – 1935, 1937 – 1946 |
| Max Euwe | Netherlands | 20 May 1901 – 26 Nov 1981 | 1935 – 1937 |
| Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR | 17 Aug 1911 – 5 May 1995 | 1948 – 1957, 1958 – 1960, 1961 – 1963 |
| Vasily Smyslov | USSR | 24 Mar 1921 – 27 Mar 2010 | 1957 – 1958 |
| Mikhail Tal | USSR | 9 Nov 1936 – 28 Jun 1992 | 1960 – 1961 |
| Tigran Petrosian | USSR | 17 Jun 1929 – 13 Aug 1984 | 1963 – 1969 |
| Boris Spassky | USSR / France | 30 Jan 1937 – 27 Feb 2025 | 1969 – 1972 |
| Robert James Fischer | USA | 9 Mar 1943 – 17 Jan 2008 | 1972 – 1975 |
| Anatoly Karpov | USSR / Russia | * 23 May 1951 | 1975 – 1985 |
| Garry Kasparov | USSR / Russia | * 13 Apr 1963 | 1985 – 2000 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | Russia | * 25 Jun 1975 | 2000 – 2007 |
| Viswanathan Anand | India | * 11 Dec 1969 | 2007 – 2013 |
| Magnus Carlsen | Norway | * 30 Nov 1990 | 2013 – 2023 |
| Ding Liren | China | * 24 Oct 1992 | 2023 – 2024 |
| Gukesh Dommaraju | India | * 29 May 2006 | since 2024 |
Note: This presentation follows the linear line of the classical world champions. Earlier FIDE special paths during the title split are intentionally not broken out separately here in order to keep the page compact and easy to read.