World Chess Championships
Explore every official World Chess Championship match from 1886 to present. Study iconic duels, match statistics, and interactive analysis created by vonchess.
2024 World Chess Championship
18-year-old Indian prodigy Gukesh Dommaraju defeated defending champion Ding Liren in Singapore to become the youngest classical World Chess Champion in history.
2023 World Chess Championship
Following Magnus Carlsen stepping down, Ding Liren defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi after a thrilling rapid tiebreak game 4 (7.5-6.5 classical), becoming China’s first World Chess Champion.
2021 World Chess Championship
Magnus Carlsen defended his title for a fifth time, winning game 6 — the longest game in World Championship history at 136 moves — before pulling away with 4 wins in total.
2018 World Chess Championship
All 12 classical games ended in draws between the world #1 and #2. Carlsen dominated the rapid tiebreaks 3-0 to retain the crown.
2016 World Chess Championship
Karjakin struck first in game 8, but Carlsen equalized in game 10 and secured the title on his birthday with a queen sacrifice finish (50. Qh6+!!) in game 4 of rapid tiebreak.
2014 World Chess Championship
A rematch of 2013 where Anand qualified via Candidates. Carlsen defended his title with wins in Games 2, 6, and 11.
2013 World Chess Championship
Magnus Carlsen defeated 5-time champion Viswanathan Anand in Anand’s hometown without losing a game, starting the Carlsen Era in world chess.
2012 World Chess Championship
Tied 6-6 in classical games after Gelfand won Game 7 and Anand quickly struck back in Game 8. Anand won the rapid tiebreak 2.5-1.5 to retain his crown.
2010 World Chess Championship
Anand endured ash-cloud volcanic travel delays across Europe, lost game 1, but fought back and clinched the match in Game 12 with Black in Topalov’s home nation.
2008 World Chess Championship
Anand outprepared Kramnik with Black using the Semi-Slav Botvinnik & Meran variations, winning 3 classical games early to lock up the undisputed title.
2007 World Chess Championship
Viswanathan Anand played undefeated (9/14) ahead of Kramnik and Gelfand to win the Undisputed World Championship tournament.
2006 World Chess Championship
The historic Reunification Match ending the 13-year split between Classical and FIDE titles. Kramnik defeated Topalov after tiebreaks despite the controversial "Toiletgate" dispute.
2005 FIDE World Chess Championship
Veselin Topalov produced an astonishing 6.5/7 first half to win the FIDE World Championship title ahead of Anand and Svidler.
2004 Classical World Chess Championship
Kramnik was trailing Leko 6-7 going into the final game 14. In a must-win scenario with White, Kramnik delivered a crushing victory to draw the match 7-7 and retain his Classical title.
2000 Classical World Chess Championship
In one of the biggest upsets in chess history, Kramnik used the impregnable Berlin Defense to neutralize Kasparov, defeating him 2.5-0.5 in decisive games without suffering a single loss.
1995 PCA World Chess Championship
Anand struck first in game 9, but Kasparov responded fiercely, winning 4 of the next 5 games to retain his PCA title atop the World Trade Center observation deck.
1993 PCA World Chess Championship
Kasparov and Short split from FIDE to form the Professional Chess Association (PCA). Kasparov dominated the match with 6 wins, 13 draws, and 1 loss.
1990 World Chess Championship
The 5th and final Kasparov-Karpov match. Kasparov retained his crown in Lyon by a single point margin after winning Game 20 in memorable tactical fashion.
1987 World Chess Championship
Trailing 11-12 before game 24, Kasparov needed a win with White to retain his title. He delivered a tense positional win in game 24 to tie the match 12-12.
1986 World Chess Championship
Kasparov led by 3 points, Karpov mounted a comeback with 3 straight wins, but Kasparov steadied to win game 22 and win the rematch.
1985 World Chess Championship
At age 22, Garry Kasparov defeated Anatoly Karpov in game 24 with Black (Sicilian Scheveningen) to become the 13th World Champion and youngest champion in history.
1984 World Chess Championship
The longest WCC match in history lasting 48 games over 5 months. Karpov led 5-0, Kasparov ground out 40 draws and 3 wins before FIDE President Campomanes terminated the match without result.
1981 World Chess Championship
Karpov convincingly defended his title against Soviet dissident Korchnoi in Merano, winning 6 games to 2 with 10 draws.
1978 World Chess Championship
A psychological battlefield in Baguio featuring parapsychologists and mirror sunglasses. Karpov led 5-2, Korchnoi tied 5-5, but Karpov won game 32 to win 6-5.
1975 World Chess Championship
Bobby Fischer refused to defend his title after FIDE rejected his condition for retaining title on 9-9. Anatoly Karpov was declared the 12th World Champion by default.
1972 World Chess Championship
The legendary Cold War "Match of the Century". Fischer lost game 1 and forfeited game 2, but stormed back with dominant play to break 24 years of Soviet hegemony.
1969 World Chess Championship
Spassky returned for a second challenge against Iron Tigran Petrosian, winning 6 games to 4 to become the 10th World Champion.
1963 World Chess Championship
Tigran Petrosian used prophylactic mastery to defeat Botvinnik (+5 =15 -2), ending the patriarch’s era as FIDE abolished rematch clauses.
1960 World Chess Championship
23-year-old "Magician from Riga" Mikhail Tal dazzled the chess world with intuitive sacrificial combinations, defeating Botvinnik 6-2 in wins.
1937 World Chess Championship
Alekhine retook the World Championship crown in convincing fashion (+10 =11 -4), proving his preparation and physical condition.
1935 World Chess Championship
Dutch mathematics professor Max Euwe scored a famous upset over Alekhine to become the 5th World Chess Champion.
1927 World Chess Championship
Alekhine shocked Capablanca after 34 grueling classical games (+6 =25 -3) to claim the crown in Buenos Aires.
1921 World Chess Championship
Capablanca defeated Lasker in Havana without losing a single game (+4 =10 -0), ending Lasker’s record 27-year reign.
1894 World Chess Championship
26-year-old mathematician Emanuel Lasker defeated 58-year-old Steinitz to start the longest reign in world championship history.
1886 World Chess Championship
The inaugural official World Chess Championship match. Wilhelm Steinitz rallied from 1-4 down to defeat Zukertort and become the first official World Champion.