11.28.2013 All World Chess Champions

There have been 16 world chess champions in history so far. The first world champion was Wilhelm Steinitz from 1886 to 1894. He won 4 world championships. The latest one is Magnus Carlsen. he is the five-time world classical champion. 

1. Wilhelm Steinitz- Wilhelm Steinitz was a master and the 1st official world champion from Austria. He held the title from 1886-1894. He dominated chess for decades. He was undefeated for 32 years (1862-1894). In 1859-1861, his attacking skills in the Vienna City Championships earned him a nickname "Austrian Morphy". From 1873-1882, he won 25 games in a row. In the beginning of the 1870s, he introduced a style of play. He is regarded as the father of chess.

2. Emanuel Lasker- Emanuel Lasker was one of the strongest players ever. He was the 2nd world champion. He held the title from 1894-1921. Lasker's was the longest world champion in history by holding the title for 27 years. That is over 2 decades. He was the five-time world champion. His career lasted for 50 years from 1880-1930 which is half a century. 

3. Jose Raul Capablanca- Jose Raul Capablanca was the 3rd world champion from 1921-1927. He is one of the greatest players ever. For 8 years, Capablanca didn't lose a single game since 1916 to 1924. He won 40 games and drew 23 games over this period. He also become world champion around that time.

4. Alexander Alekhine- Alexander Alekhine was the 4th world champion. He was one of the greatest players of all time. He held the title for 17 years. His brilliance extended to every aspect of the board. He was known for his tactical abilities to produce combinations in complex positions. He was also superior in quiet positions and endgames. He named many openings such as the moves 1. e4 Nf6. He named it the "Alekhine's Defense". Alekhine wrote over 20 chess books. Those books were the best ones of all time. 

5. Max Euwe - Max Euwe was the 5th world champion. He held the title for 2 years from 1935-1937. He was the first Dutch grandmaster. He won 12 Dutch championships in his life. His record is still there today.

6. Mikhail Botvinnik- Mikhail Botvinnik was a Russian chess grandmaster. He was also the 6th world champion. He held the world champion title for 15 years. He took short breaks in 1957 and 1960. He played chess at the highest level for 30 years. He is known as the father of Soviet Chess School. His students were other champions including Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, and Vladimir Kramnik.

7. Vasily Smyslov- Vasily Smyslov was the 7th world champion from 1957-1958. He held the title for only one year. He held records for 17 chess olympiad medals. He was also a two-time Soviet Champion from 1949 to 1955. Smyslov played at the highest level for more than 40 years. He was a candidate in the cycle that began in the 1940s all the way up until the 1980s. 

8. Mikhail Tal- Mikhail Tal was from Riga, Latvia. He was known as the Magician from Riga. This was for his tactical style. It was an approach that he would win several games including the world championship in 1960. He had a longtime poor health by drinking and smoking. That sadly costed him his life in Moscow in 1992 at only age 55. His 1975 autobiography, "The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal" is considered a classic. 

9. Tigran Petrosian- Tigran Petrosian was the 9th world champion. He held the title for 6 years from 1963 to 1969. He was a four-time Soviet Champion. He won the championship 4 times in 1959, 1961, 1969, and 1975 and was a member of the Soviet Olympiad Team. He was there for 10 times between 1958 to 1978. He was called as "Iron Tigran", because of his impenetrable prowess, he didn't lose any games in 1962. He focused on prophylactic and safe play. He would always wait for his chance to pounce on mistakes.

10. Boris Spassky- Boris Spassky was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in January 1937. He was the 10th world champion. He was world champion from 1969-1972. He is known for his universal playing style that is comfortable in any position. He lost his title to Bobby Fischer in 1972 after losing to him.

11. Bobby Fischer- Bobby Fischer was the first  American World Chess Champion in history. He is the only American World Champion ever. Many people consider him to be the greatest players of all time. He is the most famous. Fischer sparked a generation of players in the United States and Iceland. He was successful against the Russian Empire of the 1960s and 1970s. It remains as the most incredible performances by a chess player.

12. Anatoly Karpov- Anatoly Karpov was the 12th world champion from 1975 through 1985. He held the title for a decade (10 years). He is considered to be one of the greatest players in history. He was the highest-rated player for more than 100 months (8 years). He regained his FIDE title in 1993 until 1999.

13. Garry Kasparov- Garry Kasparov is the greatest chess player of all time. He was born in Baku, Soviet Union in 1963. He developed fast at Mikhail Botvinnik's school. He was on his way to becoming the youngest champion in history in 1985. He split from the International Chess Federation in 1993. He is known outside of chess after he retired in 2005. Even though he is no longer a professional player, he still remains active in chess scenes. He is the 13th world champion. He won the title at the age of 22 years. He lost to a chess AI machine Deep Blue in 1997.  

14. Vladimir Kramnik- Vladimir Kramnik is the 14th world champion. He held the classical title from 2000 to 2007. He spent over 20 years as one of the top chess players. He retired in January 2019 at 43 years old.

15. Vishwanathan Anand- Vishwanathan Anand is the 15th world champion. He is the greatest Indian player in history. He was born on December 11th, 1969, in Tamil Nadu. He competed for the classical championship in 1995. He was FIDE World Champion from 2000-2002 and 2007-2013. He was a two-time World Champion. Nowadays, he has a productive-post championship career at his age when many other players have retired from competitive chess.

16. Magnus Carlsen- Magnus Carlsen is the 16th and current world champion. He is the best chess player in the world. He is on #1 in the world rankings. He is the five-time world classical champion. He is also the current world rapid and blitz champion. He is also #1 in the world rapid and blitz rankings. He became a grandmaster at the age of 13 years and 148 days. In 2013, he became world champion after defeating GM Vishwanathan Anand. He held the title for 10 years up to 2023. In 2022, he announced that he won't defend his title for the world championship of the following year.