List of Chess World Champions from 1886 to 2024

India's Gukesh Dommaraju won the title of the 18th FIDE World Chess Championship by defeating Ding Liren after three weeks of exciting moves and games on Thursday. By winning the championship event, Gukesh also surpassed Garry Kasparov as the youngest champion in classical chess.

In brief tournament play, the FIDE World Chess Championship is the ultimate proving ground for chess supremacy and that formula has determined the greatest minds in the game for more than nine decades.

Also Read: 9-year-old Aarit Kapil becomes the youngest Indian chess player to defeat Grandmaster

Gukesh is the second Indian World Chess Champion

Before Gukesh's feat, the legendary Garry Kasparov of Russia was the youngest world chess champion when he won the title at the age of 22, dethroning Anatoly Karpov in 1985.

Gukesh is the second Indian after the legendary Viswanathan Anand to win the global title. Anand, a five-time world champion, had last won the crown in 2013.

World Chess Championship history

The championship dates back to 1886, when Wilhelm Steinitz was declared the first official World Chess Champion. However, the current FIDE (Federation International des Echecs) system of world championships was firmly established as early as 1948.

The qualifying system was internalized by FIDE, thus, the structure of the World Chess Championship was changed from 1948 to 1993.

The organization devised an easy-to-predict 3-year cycle, a mechanism for selecting the best players for the title of world champion and participants in certain tours.

The key moment of separation came in 1993 when Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short separated and founded the Professional Chess Association, causing the championship landscape to disintegrate.

This breakup resulted in rival World Champion titles being divided until 2006, when unification eventually brought back the sole clear championship.

The 21st century Chess World Champions

The 21st century witnessed a new generation of champions. Vladimir Kramnik, Viswanathan Anand, and Magnus Carlsen redefined the game with their innovative styles. Carlsen’s reign, lasting a decade from 2013 to 2023, established him as a modern chess legend. 

In 2023, Ding Liren became the latest champion, marking a new chapter in the championship’s illustrious history. 

Since the inaugural title match in 1886, the championship has evolved, producing iconic champions who defined eras in chess. The table below takes a look at all Chess World Champions from 1886 to 2024.

Chess World Champions List (1886-2024)

FIDE Chess World Champions (1993-2006)