Average age and age differences of World Championship matches
Ages are given for the day of the first game. Winner of the match (or champion retaining his title) is in bold.
Kramnik vs. Leko still remains the only World Championship match in history in which both players weren't 30 yet.
Average age
1892: Wilhelm Steinitz (55) vs. Mikhail Chigorin (41) - 48 years
1886: Wilhelm Steinitz (49) vs. Johannes Zukertort (45) - 47 years
1889: Wilhelm Steinitz (52) vs. Mikhail Chigorin (38) - 45 years
1890: Wilhelm Steinitz (54) vs. Isidor Gunsberg (36) - 45 years
1896: Wilhelm Steinitz (60) vs. Emanuel Lasker (28) - 44 years
1908: Siegbert Tarrasch (46) vs. Emanuel Lasker (39) - 42.5 years
1934: Efim Bogoljubov (44) vs. Alexander Alekhine (41) - 42.5 years
2012: Boris Gelfand (43) vs. Viswanathan Anand (42) - 42.5 years
1921: Emanuel Lasker (52) vs. Jose Raul Capablanca (32) - 42 years
1963: Mikhail Botvinnik (51) vs. Tigran Petrosian (33) - 42 years
1910: Dawid Janowski (42) vs. Emanuel Lasker (41) - 41.5 years
1894: Wilhelm Steinitz (57) vs. Emanuel Lasker (25) - 41 years
1958: Mikhail Botvinnik (46) vs. Vasily Smyslov (36) - 41 years
1981: Viktor Korchnoi (50) vs. Anatoly Karpov (30) - 40 years
1957: Mikhail Botvinnik (45) vs. Vasily Smyslov (35) - 40 years
1937: Alexander Alekhine (44) vs. Max Euwe (36) - 40 years
1935: Alexander Alekhine (43) vs. Max Euwe (34) - 38.5 years
1910: Emanuel Lasker (41) vs. Carl Schlechter (35) - 38 years
1929: Efim Bogoljubow (40) vs. Alexander Alekhine (36) - 38 years
2010: Viswanathan Anand (40) vs. Veselin Topalov (35) - 37.5 years
1978: Viktor Korchnoi (47) vs. Anatoly Karpov (27) - 37 years
1954: Mikhail Botvinnik (42) vs. Vasily Smyslov (32) - 37 years
1961: Mikhail Botvinnik (49) vs. Mikhail Tal (24) - 36.5 years
1927: Jose Raul Capablanca (38) vs. Alexander Alekhine (34) - 36 years
1960: Mikhail Botvinnik (48) vs. Mikhail Tal (23) - 35.5 years
1969: Tigran Petrosian (39) vs. Boris Spassky (32) - 35.5 years
2007: Viswanathan Anand (38) vs. Vladimir Kramnik (33) - 35.5 years
1907: Emanuel Lasker (38) vs. Frank Marshall (29) - 33.5 years
1951: Mikhail Botvinnik (39) vs. David Bronstein (27) - 33 years
1990: Anatoly Karpov (39) vs. Garry Kasparov (27) - 33 years
2013: Viswanathan Anand (43) vs. Magnus Carlsen (22) - 32.5 years
1966: Tigran Petrosian (36) vs. Boris Spassky (29) - 32.5 years
1972: Boris Spassky (35) vs. Bobby Fischer (29) - 32 years
2000: Garry Kasparov (37) vs. Vladimir Kramnik (25) - 31 years
2006: Vladimir Kramnik (31) vs. Veselin Topalov (31) - 31 years
1987: Anatoly Karpov (36) vs. Garry Kasparov (24) - 30 years
1986: Anatoly Karpov (35) vs. Garry Kasparov (23) - 29 years
1993: Garry Kasparov (30) vs. Nigel Short (28) - 29 years
1995: Garry Kasparov (32) vs. Viswanathan Anand (25) - 28.5 years
1985: Anatoly Karpov (34) vs. Garry Kasparov (22) - 28 years
1984: Anatoly Karpov (33) vs. Garry Kasparov (21) - 27 years
2004: Vladimir Kramnik (29) vs. Peter Leko (25) - 27 years
Age difference
2006: Vladimir Kramnik (31) vs. Veselin Topalov (31) - 0 years
1910: Dawid Janowski (42) vs. Emanuel Lasker (41) - <1 year
2012: Boris Gelfand (43) vs. Viswanathan Anand (42) - 1 year
1993: Garry Kasparov (30) vs. Nigel Short (28) - 2 years
1934: Efim Bogoljubov (44) vs. Alexander Alekhine (41) - 3 years
1929: Efim Bogoljubow (40) vs. Alexander Alekhine (36) - <4 years
1886: Wilhelm Steinitz (49) vs. Johannes Zukertort (45) - 4 years
1927: Jose Raul Capablanca (38) vs. Alexander Alekhine (34) - 4 years
2004: Vladimir Kramnik (29) vs. Peter Leko (25) - 4 years
2010: Viswanathan Anand (40) vs. Veselin Topalov (35) - 5 years
2008: Viswanathan Anand (38) vs. Vladimir Kramnik (33) - 5 years
1910: Emanuel Lasker (41) vs. Carl Schlechter (35) - 6 years
1972: Boris Spassky (35) vs. Bobby Fischer (29) - 6 years
1908: Siegbert Tarrasch (46) vs. Emanuel Lasker (39) - 7 years
1969: Tigran Petrosian (39) vs. Boris Spassky (32) - 7 years
1966: Tigran Petrosian (36) vs. Boris Spassky (29) - 7 years
1995: Garry Kasparov (32) vs. Viswanathan Anand (25) - 7 years
1937: Alexander Alekhine (44) vs. Max Euwe (36) - 8 years
1935: Alexander Alekhine (43) vs. Max Euwe (34) - <9 years
1907: Emanuel Lasker (38) vs. Frank Marshall (29) - 9 years
1954: Mikhail Botvinnik (42) vs. Vasily Smyslov (32) - 10 years
1957: Mikhail Botvinnik (45) vs. Vasily Smyslov (35) - 10 years
1958: Mikhail Botvinnik (46) vs. Vasily Smyslov (36) - 10 years
1951: Mikhail Botvinnik (39) vs. David Bronstein (27) - 12 years
1990: Anatoly Karpov (39) vs. Garry Kasparov (27) - 12 years
2000: Garry Kasparov (37) vs. Vladimir Kramnik (25) - 12 years
1987: Anatoly Karpov (36) vs. Garry Kasparov (24) - 12 years
1986: Anatoly Karpov (35) vs. Garry Kasparov (23) - 12 years
1985: Anatoly Karpov (34) vs. Garry Kasparov (22) - 12 years
1984: Anatoly Karpov (33) vs. Garry Kasparov (21) - 12 years
1889: Wilhelm Steinitz (52) vs. Mikhail Chigorin (38) - 14 years
1892: Wilhelm Steinitz (55) vs. Mikhail Chigorin (41) - 14 years
1890: Wilhelm Steinitz (54) vs. Isidor Gunsberg (36) - 18 years
1963: Mikhail Botvinnik (51) vs. Tigran Petrosian (33) - 18 years
1921: Emanuel Lasker (52) vs. Jose Raul Capablanca (32) - 20 years
1981: Viktor Korchnoi (50) vs. Anatoly Karpov (30) - 20 years
1978: Viktor Korchnoi (47) vs. Anatoly Karpov (27) - 20 years
2013: Viswanathan Anand (43) vs. Magnus Carlsen (22) - 21 years
1960: Mikhail Botvinnik (48) vs. Mikhail Tal (23) - 25 years
1961: Mikhail Botvinnik (49) vs.Mikhail Tal (24) - 25 years
1894: Wilhelm Steinitz (57) vs. Emanuel Lasker (25) - 32 years
1896: Wilhelm Steinitz (60) vs. Emanuel Lasker (28) - 32 years
Some curious stats:
Wilhelm Steinitz and Mikhail Botvinnik are the only world champions who played all their matches against younger opponents.
Steinitz is the only one who managed to win a World Championship match in his fifties and play a World Championship match at 60.
Others who played a World Championship match in their fifties are Emanuel Lasker, Mikhail Botvinnik and Viktor Korchnoi.
Before Anand vs. Gelfand, there were only 4 World Championship matches where both players were over 40 years old: Steinitz vs. Zukertort (1886), Steinitz vs. Chigorin (1892), Lasker vs. Janowski (1910), Alekhine vs. Bogoljubow (1934).
Botvinnik is the only one who managed to defeat an opponent more than 20 years younger than him - he won his return match against Tal in 1961.
If the age difference is less than 10 years, older opponents have a slightly better chance to win or retain the title (13/23, to be precise). If the age difference is more than 10 years, it's much worse for older players: only Steinitz and Botvinnik managed to defeat adversaries who were so much younger.
Only two World Championship matches were played by people born in the same year: Lasker vs. Janowski (1910) and Kramnik vs. Topalov (2006).
