World Champions Of Rapid & Blitz Chess
The first official World Chess Championship occurred in 1886, with the first Women's World Championship following in 1927. The World Rapid Championship and World Blitz Championship are much more recent developments. FIDE held a one-off World Rapid Championship in 2003, and has also run it every year since 2012 (except 2020). The World Blitz Championship was held every year from 2006-10 and again from 2012 through the present. The Women's World Rapid Championship and Women's World Blitz Championship both began in 2012, first biannually but now, since 2016, annually.
The current world champions for all four events are:
- GM Volodar Murzin, World Rapid Champion,
- GM Magnus Carlsen and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi, co-World Blitz Champions,
- GM Humpy Koneru, Women's World Rapid Champion,
- and GM Ju Wenjun, Women's World Blitz Champion.
In total, there have been eight different world rapid champions and nine different world blitz champions, as well as eight different women's rapid champions and six women's blitz champions. Let's meet them all.
Note: All stats and records are accurate through the end of the 2024 World Rapid & Blitz Championships in New York.
- World Rapid Champions
- World Blitz Champions
- Women's World Rapid Champions
- Women's World Blitz Champions
- Conclusion
World Rapid Champions
There was a World Active Championship in 1988 and a Rapid World Cup in 2001, won by GMs Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov, respectively. This chart begins with the first World Rapid Championship in 2003; another one was not held until 2012, but there has been one every year since, except the 2020 pandemic year.
Eight different players have won at least one World Rapid Championship through 2024. They are GMs Viswanathan Anand, Sergey Karjakin, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Carlsen, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Daniil Dubov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, and Murzin. Only Anand and Carlsen have won multiple, with Carlsen holding the most at five.
| Year | Champion | # |
| 2003 | GM Viswanathan Anand | 1 |
| 2004-11 | [no tournament] | |
| 2012 | GM Sergey Karjakin | 1 |
| 2013 | GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov | 1 |
| 2014 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 1 |
| 2015 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 2 |
| 2016 | GM Vasyl Ivanchuk | 1 |
| 2017 | GM Viswanathan Anand | 2 |
| 2018 | GM Daniil Dubov | 1 |
| 2019 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 3 |
| 2020 | [no tournament] | |
| 2021 | GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov | 1 |
| 2022 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 4 |
| 2023 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 5 |
| 2024 | GM Volodar Murzin | 1 |
Anand and Carlsen are also the only players to win both the classical World Championship and the World Rapid Championship.
World Blitz Champions
The World Blitz Championship has been held every year since 2006, with two exceptions, 2011 and 2020. There have been nine different champions as of 2024: GM Alexander Grischuk, Ivanchuk, GM Leinier Dominguez, Carlsen, GM Levon Aronian, GM Liem Le, Karjakin, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, and GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. Grischuk, with three, and Carlsen, with eight, are the only ones to win multiple. In 2024, Carlsen and Nepomniachtchi became the first players to share a title.
| Year | Champion | # |
| 2006 | GM Alexander Grischuk | 1 |
| 2007 | GM Vasyl Ivanchuk | 1 |
| 2008 | GM Leinier Dominguez | 1 |
| 2009 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 1 |
| 2010 | GM Levon Aronian | 1 |
| 2011 | [not held] | |
| 2012 | GM Alexander Grischuk | 2 |
| 2013 | GM Liem Le | 1 |
| 2014 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 2 |
| 2015 | GM Alexander Grischuk | 3 |
| 2016 | GM Sergey Karjakin | 1 |
| 2017 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 3 |
| 2018 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 4 |
| 2019 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 5 |
| 2020 | [not held] | |
| 2021 | GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave | 1 |
| 2022 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 6 |
| 2023 | GM Magnus Carlsen | 7 |
| 2024 | GMs Magnus Carlsen/Ian Nepomniachtchi | 8/1 |
Three players have been both the World Blitz and World Rapid Champion: Carlsen, Ivanchuk, and Karjakin.
Carlsen is the only player to win both the classical World Championship and the World Blitz Championship, and the only player to win all three of the classical, Blitz, and Rapid Championships.
Women's World Rapid Champions
The list of Women's champion goes: GM Antoaneta Stefanova, GM Kateryna Lagno, GM Anna Muzychuk, GM Ju Wenjun, GM Humpy Koneru, GM Alexandra Kosteniuk, GM Tan Zhongyi, and IM Anastasia Bodnaruk. Ju and Humpy have won the most with two each.
| Year | Champion | # |
| 2012 | GM Antoaneta Stefanova | 1 |
| 2013 | [not held] | |
| 2014 | GM Kateryna Lagno | 1 |
| 2015 | [not held] | |
| 2016 | GM Anna Muzychuk | 1 |
| 2017 | GM Ju Wenjun | 1 |
| 2018 | GM Ju Wenjun | 2 |
| 2019 | GM Humpy Koneru | 1 |
| 2020 | [not held] | |
| 2021 | GM Alexandra Kosteniuk | 1 |
| 2022 | GM Tan Zhongyi | 1 |
| 2023 | IM Anastasia Bodnaruk | 1 |
| 2024 | GM Humpy Koneru | 2 |
Three players have won both the classical Women's World Championship and the Women's Rapid Championship: Tan, Kosteniuk, and Ju, who is the only one to win both of them at least twice.
Women's World Blitz Champions
Only six players have won the Women's World Blitz Championship: GM Valentina Gunina, Anna Muzychuk, GM Nana Dzagnidze, Lagno, and IM Bibisara Assaubayeva, and Ju. Gunina, Muzychuk, Lagno, and Assaubayeva have all won twice.
| Year | Champion | # |
| 2012 | GM Valentina Gunina | 1 |
| 2013 | [not held] | |
| 2014 | GM Anna Muzychuk | 1 |
| 2015 | [not held] | |
| 2016 | GM Anna Muzychuk | 2 |
| 2017 | GM Nana Dzagnidze | 1 |
| 2018 | GM Kateryna Lagno | 1 |
| 2019 | GM Kateryna Lagno | 2 |
| 2020 | [not held] | |
| 2021 | IM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 1 |
| 2022 | IM Bibisara Assaubayeva | 2 |
| 2023 | GM Valentina Gunina | 2 |
| 2024 | GM Ju Wenjun | 1 |
Three of these players have won championships in both rapid and blitz: Muzychuk, Lagno, and Ju. In 2024, Ju became the first and only woman to win world titles in all three of classical, rapid, and blitz.
Nathaniel Green is a staff writer for Chess.com who writes articles, player biographies, Titled Tuesday reports, video scripts, and more. He has been playing chess for about 30 years and resides near Washington, DC, USA.
