Champs and Challengers:

How the World Championship Changed Over the Years

by Bill Wall

Before 1886, there was no

official world chess
championship. Paul Morphy
was considered the strongest
chessplayer in the world until
he died in 1884. The two
strongest chessplayers in the
world were Wilhelm Steinitz
(1836-1900) and Dr. Johannes
Hermann Zukertort (1842-
1888). Steinitz had defeated
Adolf Anderssen in an 1866 Bill Wall
match, but the match was not
declared a world championship
match. Zukertort won at Paris
in 1878 and London in 1883,
where he had 3 points more
than any other player, The essence of chess is thinking
including Steinitz. This about what chess is. —Bronstein
tournament established Steinitz
and Zukertort as the two best
chessplayers in the world,
which led to the first official
World Championship match
between these two. The match
took place from January 11,
1886 to March 29, 1886 in
New York City, St. Louis, and
New Orleans. The winner was
the first player to achieve 10
wins. The match was financed
by local chess patrons. After
building up a 4—1 lead
Zukertort wilted, lost four of
the last five games and lost the
match. Steinitz won the match
10-5, with 5 draws. They
played for a $4,000 ($95,00 in
today's currency) stake (each
player had to put up $2,000),
winner take all, for the world
championship. Steinitz
received $1,000 in prize
money and $3,000 was paid to
those who bet on the winner.
Zukertort was assured $750
compensation for loss of
earnings. Steinitz returned
home to New York and
Zukertort left for San
Francisco.

After the first Steinitz-

Zukertort game, Zukertort
complained of want of chess
practice. "Why didn't you
practice in London?" he was
asked. "I couldn't," fired back
Zukertort: "Blackburne is
always sick and Mason is
always drunk."

After this defeat, Zukertort's

health suffered and he was a
greatly weakened player for
the remaining two years of his
life. Diagnoses of his ailments
include rheumatism, coronary
heart disease, kidney problems,
and arteriosclerosis. His results
after the 1886 match declined
steeply: seventh at London and
third at Nottingham in 1886;
fifteenth at Frankfurt and
fourth at London in 1887; lost
a match in 1887 against
Blackburne (1 win, 5 losses,
and 8 draws); and seventh at
London in 1888.

On June 20, 1888, Zukertort

died of a stroke while playing
chess at Simpson's, a London
coffee-house at the age of 45.
While playing a chess game
with Sylvain Meyer, Zukertort
fainted. Instead of calling for
medical help, he was taken to
the British Chess Club in an
unconscious state. They then
took him to Charing Cross
Hospital where they diagnosed
the problem as a cerebral
attack. He never regained
consciousness, and died at 10
a.m. the next day. The cause of
death was cerebral
hemorrhage. At the time,
Zukertort was also in the
middle of a tournament at the
British Chess Club and was in
1st place. He was scheduled to
play a match with Blackburne
on June 23, 1888 and Bird on
June 26, 1888. He is buried at
Brompton Cemetery in
Kensington, England. His
grave is A.F. 107 x 18. His
grave was rededicated in 2012.
The world chess championship
was conducted on an informal
basis through the remainder of
the 19th century and in the first
half of the 20th century. If a
player thought he was strong
enough and he or his friends
had enough money to back the
match, he could then challenge
the reigning world champion.

From January 20, 1889 to

February 24, 1889, the second
official World Chess
Championship took place in
Havana, Cuba. This time, the
challenger was Mikhail
Chigorin (1850-1908). The
Havana Chess Club invited
Steinitz to play in Cuba against
a challenger of his own
choosing. Steinitz picked
Chigorin. Chigorin accepted
the match and the match
conditions. Chigorin was the
leading Russian player and had
just tied for first with Max
Weiss at the New York 1889
internationals tournament. The
total purse for the Steinitz-
Chigorin match was $1,150
($30,000 in today's currency),
the smallest prize fund of all
the world champ encounters.
The winner would be the first
to score 10.5 points. Steinitz
won 10.5 (10 wins and 1 draw,
no losses) to 6.5. The match
ended after 17 games and only
one draw (the last game).

A month after the world

championship match, Chigorin
tied with Max Weiss for 1st
place in America's first
international tournament, New
York 1889. Chigorin took
second place in the Hastings
1895 tournament (behind
Pillsbury). Chigorin was only
1/2 point behind Pillsbury and
was leading up to the last
round. However, Chigorin lost
his last round game to
Janowski and missed winning
1st prize. At Hastings 1895 he
won a ring and a copy of
Salvoli's The Theory and
Practice of Chess for winning
the most Evans Gambits. He
won the first three All-Russia
tournaments (1899, 1900-01,
1903). At 9:50 pm on January
25, 1908 (Jan 12, Old Style)
Mikhail Chigorin died of
diabetes in Lublin, Poland at
the age of 57. Several years
later, his body was moved to
the Novodevichy Cemetery in
St. Petersburg.

In 1890-91, it was Isidor

Arthur Gunsberg (1854-1930),
born in Budapest, that
challenged Steinitz. The event
was organized and held at the
Manhattan Chess Club in New
York City from December 9,
1890 to January 22, 1891.
Again, Steinitz won, scoring
10.5 (6 wins, 4 losses, 9 draws)
to 8.5. Steinitz $3,000, and
Gunsberg received $1,000.
This was the first time a loser
of a match took a share of the
purse. After the match,
Gunsberg returned to England,
played in a few more
international tournaments, was
active as a chess journalist, and
became a British citizen in
1908.

In 1892, Chigorin challenged

Steinitz again, with the match
being held in Havana. At first,
Steinitz chose Siegbert
Tarrasch for his next
challenger. However, Tarrasch
did not want to make the long
journey to Cuba and he had his
professional commitments as a
medical doctor. Steinitz won
the match against Chigorin,
scoring 12.5 to 10.5. The
match was to last 20 games;
the first player to score 10 1/2
points or win ten games would
be the champion. In the event
of a 10—10 tie after 20 games
the players would continue
until one of them had won ten
games. If it reached a score of
nine wins each, the match
would end in a draw and the
defending champion Steinitz
would retain the title. The
stake consisted of $2,000.
After twenty games the score
was 10—10 with each player
having eight wins, so the
players continued until one had
won ten games. Game 21 was
drawn, but Steinitz won games
22 and 23 to win the match and
retain the title. The event was
held at the Centro Asturiano
Club. Chigorin blamed his loss
on the heat. Chigorin lost the
last game (game 23) by what
was called the blunder of the
century, allowing mate with
the rooks on the 7th rank.

In 1894, Emanuel Lasker

(1868-1941), age 26,
challenged Steinitz, age 58.
Steinitz publicly spoke of
retiring, but needed the money.
Lasker challenged him, but
later changed his mind.
Initially Lasker wanted to play
for $5,000 a side and a match
was agreed at stakes of $3,000
a side, but Steinitz agreed to a
series of reductions when
Lasker found it difficult to
raise the money, and the final
figure was $2,000 each, which
was less than for some of
Steinitz's earlier matches (the
final combined stake of $4,000
would be worth about
$495,500 at 2007 values). The
first player to win 10 games
would be champion. The
match was played in New
York City, Philadelphia, and
Montreal from March 15,
1894, to May 26, 1894. Lasker
won the match 12 to 7. After
the final game of the match,
Steinitz stood up and shouted,
"Three cheers for tne new
World Champion." Until he
lost, Steinitz was the oldest
world champion at 58 years
and 10 days. Steinitz said that
he lost due to insomnia. It was
agreed that if Steinitz lost, he
would have the right for a
return match in the same year.
Lasker broke the agreement, so
Steinitz started calling himself
the World Champion again.

In 1896, William Steinitz

challenged Lasker in a re-
match. The match was played
in Moscow from November
1896 to January 1897. The
match was played in the main
hall of the Moscow Medial
Society, near the Bolshoi
Theatre. The first player to win
10 games (draws not counting)
would be champion. Lasker
easily won, scoring 12.5 (10
wins and 5 draws) to 4.5.
Lasker received 2,000 rubles
and Steinitz received 1,000
rubles. This was the last world
chess championship match for
eleven years. Shortly after the
match, Steinitz had a mental
breakdown and was confined
for 40 days in a Moscow
sanatorium, where he played
chess with the inmates. There
was also a report (fake news)
that Steinitz had died while in
Moscow. The headline of the
Indianapolis News was
"William Steinitz Dead." A
dispatch from Moscow says
that William Steinitz died in a
private hospital, where he had
recently been placed because
of a mental disorder. The story
was retracted several days later
after associating chess with
brain disease, and that Steinitz
was not dead, but hopelessly
insane. After his world
championship return match,
Steinitz saw a decline in his
chess. He took 5th in Cologne
in 1898 and 10th in London in
1899. Steinitz died a pauper in
the Manhattan State Hospital
on Ward Island of a heart
attack on August 12, 1900. He
was 64 years old.

From January to April 1907,

Frank James Marshall (1877-
1944) challenged Lasker. The
match took place in New York,
Philadelphia, Washington DC,
Baltimore, Chicago, and
Memphis. The first player to
win 8 games would be
champion. Lasker won 8
games, Marshall didn't win a
single game, and there were 7
draws. After the match,
Marshall said, "In two years I
expect to challenge for a return
match and hope then to be in a
position to back myself. Had
all the games been played in
one place and we could have
avoided journeying about the
country, the chances of my
holding my own would have
been much improved. The
privacy afforded by clubs
would have suited me much
better than playing in public, as
we did on most occasions."

In 1908, Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch

(1862-1934) challenged
Lasker. The match was played
in Duesseldorf and Munich.
The first player to win 8 games
would be World Champion.
Lasker was convinced that
Tarrasch had hypnotic powers
and wanted to play the match
from a different room
(Tarrasch was a medical doctor
who specialized in hypnosis).
Tarrasch refused to shake
hands during the match, made
a stiff little bow at the
beginning of the match, and
said "To you, Herr Lasker, I
have only three words to say:
"Check and mate." Lasker won
8 games, Tarrasch won 3
games, with 5 draws. Lasker
received 4,000 marks for his
winnings and 7,500 marks for
the appearance fee. After the
match, Tarrasch blamed the
climate for his loss. He said it
was too rainy and foggy and
was generally depressing.
In January 1910, Carl
Schlechter (1874-1918)
challenged Lasker. The match
was played in Vienna and
Berlin. The winner would be
the player with the best score
after 10 games (the shortest
match of any world chess
championship). The match was
drawn (1 game won by each
player and 8 draws). Lasker
had to win the final 10th game
to hold his world
championship title. Lasker
received 1,000 marks for each
game played. After the match,
the public decided to call this
match a world chess
championship match. There is
little evidence that Lasker
considered this a world
championship match where he
would lose his title if he lost
this short match. No contract
has ever been found to prove
this was a world championship
match. The American Chess
Bulletin of 1910 stated that the
two players agreed to play a
series of games, but the result
would not affect the world
championship title. However,
The New York Times reported
that Lasker retained the title of
chess champion of the world
after the match. It stated that
Schlechter had challenged
Lasker for the world
championship title, and that the
final game decided the
championship. If the game had
been drawn, Schlechter would
have been the world champion.
On December 27, 1918,
Schlechter died from
pneumonia and starvation in
Budapest, Hungary, during the
war-imposed famine in Central
Europe. He never mentioned to
any of his acquaintances that
he needed food or money. He
was found in a room without
any money, heat or food. He
was buried in Budapest on
December 31, 1918. He was
only 44.

In November 1910, David

Janowski (1868-1927)
challenged Lasker. The match
was held in Berlin. The first
player to win 8 games would
be World Champion. Lasker
won 8 (the last 5 in
succession), Janowski didn't
win a single game, and there
were 3 draws. This was the
most one-sided world chess
championship of all time.
Lasker had defended his world
championship title 6 times in 4
years. Lasker would not play
serious chess for another 3.5
years. He wouldn't play for
another world championship
for another 10 years, 2 months,
and 8 days.

In 1920, Lasker resigned his

world championship title in a
dispute over match conditions,
but agreed to take part as
challenger in 1921 (partially
due to his having lost a lot of
money due to the First World
War).

In 1921, Jose Capablanca

challenged Lasker. The match
was held in Havana. The
championship was set to last
for 24 games: the first player to
accumulate 12 1/2 points (or
win eight games) would be
World Champion. Lasker had
won the previous
championship, but he resigned
it in 1920, meaning that
technically he was the
challenger and Capablanca the
incumbent for this match, even
though the two had never met
in a title match before. The
games were played on the
same table that was used by
Steinitz and Chigorin in their
world championship match in
Havana. Capablanca won 4
games and drew 10 games
before Lasker finally resigned
without winning a single game.
Lasker was paid $13,000 for
playing in the match, more
than what Capablanca got as
the winner ($12,000). Lasker
had been world chess
champion for 26 years and 337
days. Lasker had 52 career
wins in world championship
play. He played in 8 world
championship matches.

In 1927, Alexander Alekhine

challenged Capablanca, who
demanded that a challenger
had to put up $10,000. The
match was held in Buenos
Aires in September-November
1927. The first player to win 6
games would be World
Champion. The Argentine
Chess Club (Club Argentino
de Ajedrez) of Buenos Aires
put up $10,000 (40,000 pesos).
$4,800 was to go to the
winner, $3,200 was to go to
the loser, and $2,000 was for
Capablanca's appearance fee.
Alekhine, a Russian, became a
naturalized French citizen
during the match. Alekhine
won 6-3, with 25 draws.
Alexander Alekhine defeated
Jose Capablanca in Buenos
Aires for the world chess
championship after 73 days. 32
out of 34 games began with the
same opening, the Orthodox
Defense of the Queen's Gambit
Declined. All the games in
Buenos Aires took place
behind closed doors. There
were no spectators or
photographs. The only time-
out was when Alekhine had 6
teeth extracted during the
match. After the final game,
Alekhine was carried through
the streets of Buenos Aires by
a crowd of 10,000 chess
fanatics. Capablanca wanted a
rematch, but Alekhine
demanded that Capablanca put
up the same sum of $10,000
for the right to a return match.
Capablanca was unable to to
raise the require amount of
money and never played a
return match.

In 1929, Efim Bogoljubow

challenged Alekhine. The
match was held in Wiesbaden,
Heidelberg, Berlin, The Hague,
and Amsterdam. Alekhine and
Bogoljubow signed an
agreement in Wiesbaden for a
match. The rules differed from
the London Rules (6 wins,
draws not counting) with the
number of maximum games
limited to 30 games, but the
winner must still score at least
6 wins. The match was not
played under the auspices of
the World Chess Federation
(FIDE — Federation
Internationale des Echecs) or
the London Rules. Alekhine
took on Bogoljubow at
Wiesbaden (first 8 games),
Heidelberg (3 games starting
October 3), Berlin (6 games),
The Hague, and Amsterdam.
Alekhine had 11 wins (the
most wins of any world
championship) in his world
championship match with
Bogoljubow, the most wins in
a match in world
championship play. There has
only been one checkmate in
world championship play.
Alekhine checkmated
Bogoljubow in 29 moves in
this match. Alekhine scored
15.5 points to 9.5 points for
Bogoljubow.

In 1934, Bogoljubow
challenged Alekhine again.
The match was held in 12
cities in Germany (Baden-
Baden, Villingen, Freiburg,
Pforzheim, Stuttgart, Munich,
Bayreuth, Bad Kissingen,
Nuremburg, Karlsruhe,
Manheim, and Berlin) between
Alekhine and Bogoljubov. The
first player to win six games
and score more than 15 points
would be champion. Alekhine
retained his title, scoring 15.5
and 8 wins. The stake was
$10,000, with $6,000 going to
the winner. After the match,
Alekhine tabled his annual
challenge from Capablanca
and accepted a world
championship match with Max
Euwe.

In 1935, Max Euwe (1901-

1981) challenged Alekhine.
The match was held in 13
cities (Amsterdam, Delft,
Rotterdam, Utrecht, Gouda,
Gravenhage, Groningen,
Baarn, Hertogenbosch,
Eindhoven, Zeist, Ermelo, and
Zandvoort) in the Netherlands
between Alekhine and Euwe.
Euwe was the winner by
overcoming a three-point
deficit as late as the ninth
game. Euwe scored 15.5 points
with 9 wins. Euwe won
$10,000 for his efforts. This
was the first world
championship match to
officially have seconds to help
in analysis during
adjournments. Salo Landau, a
Dutch Jew, was Alekhine's
second and Geza Maroczy was
Euwe's second. After the 26th
game, Landau withdrew after a
disagreement with Alekhine.

In 1937, Alekhine was the

challenger in the re-match with
Euwe. The world
championship match was held
in the Netherlands (The Hague,
Rotterdam, Haarlem,
Groningen, and Amsterdam).
Alekhine regained his title.
Alekhine did what no other
world champion before him
had been able to do - he
regained the world
championship in a return
match. He won 10 games,
drew 11, and lost 4.

Alekhine died in 1946. In

1948, a 5-player round-robin
tournament was played to
determine the new World
Chess Champion. The
tournament was organized by
FIDE, the World Chess
Federation, and held in The
Hague and Moscow. Mikhail
Botvinnik won the 5-player
championship tournament to
become World Champion. He
scored 14 points out of 20. The
other players were Vasily
Smyslov (11 points), Paul
Keres (10.5 points), Samuel
Resheshevsy (10.5 points) and
Max Euwe (4 points).
Botvinnnik's prize was
equivalent to $5,000. Since
Keres lost his first four games
(out of 5) against Botvinnik,
suspicions are sometimes
raised that Keres was forced to
"throw" games to allow
Botvinnik to win the
Championship. Botvinnik won
with 14 points and had a plus
score against all the other
players.

In July-August 1948, an
interzonal tournament was held
at Saltsjobaden, 15 miles east
of Stockholm, Sweden. The
top 8 finishers qualified for the
Candidates tournament. The
top 9 finishers were David
Bronstein, Laszlo Szabo, Isaac
Boleslavaky, Alexander Kotov,
Andor Lilienthal, Igor
Bondarevsky, Miguel Najdorf,
Gideon Stahlberg, and Salo
Flohr. The last four players
tied for sixth place were to
have played off for three spots
in the Candidates tournament,
but Bondarevsky had to
withdraw due to illness, so the
other three qualified
automatically.

In April-May 1950, the

Candidates tournament was
held in Budapest. The players
who finished second through
fifth in the 1948 championship
tournament (Smyslov, Keres,
Reshevsky, and Euwe) were
seeded directly into the
tournament, along with
Reuben Fine, who had been
invited to the 1948 tournament
but declined, and the top eight
finishers from the Interzonal.
Reshevsky said he didn't want
to participate, so he didn't play.
Euwe declined due to work
commitments, and
Bondarevsky was too ill to
play. In the end, Bronstein and
Boleslavsky tied for 1st.
Bronstein then played a match
with Boleslavsky in Moscow
and won. Thus, Bronstein
became the next world
championship challenger.
In 1951, the world
championship match was held
in Moscow between Botvinnik
and David Bronstein (1924-
2006). Botvinnik retained his
title after 24 games and a 12-
12 tie. Both players won 5
games each and 14 games were
drawn. This was the first
World Championship match
under FIDE rules.

In September-October 1952, an
interzonal was held at
Saltsjobaden, Sweden. The top
8 finishers qualified for the
Candidates tournament. The
top 8 finishers were Alexander
Kotov, Mark Taimanov,
Tigran Petrosian, Efim Geller,
Yuri Averbakh, Gideon
Stahlberg, Laszlo Szabo, and
Svetozar Gligoric.

In August-October 1953, the

Candidates tournament was
held in Zurich, Switzerland.
The players included the top
eight from the 1952 Interzonal,
the top five from the previous
Candidates Tournament
(Bronstein, Boleslavsky,
Smyslov, Keres, and Najdorf),
and the last two players from
the 1948 championships not
already qualified (Reshevsky
and Euwe). The winner was
Vasily Smyslov, who became
the next world championship
challenger.

In 1954, the world

championship match was held
in Moscow between Botvinnik
and Vasily Smyslov (1921-
2010). Botvinnik retained his
title after 24 games and a 12-
12 tie. Both players won 7
games each and 10 games were
drawn.

In August-September 1955, an
interzonal tournament was held
in Gothenberg, Sweden. The
top 9 finishers qualified for the
Candidates tournament. They
were: David Bronstein, Paul
Keres, Oscar Panno, Tigran
Petrosian, Efim Geller, Laszlo
Szabo, Miroslav Filip, Herman
Pilnik, and Boris Spassky.

In April-May 1956, the

Candidates tournament was
held in Amsterdam. Smyslov
was seeded into the tournament
and he won the event, once
again becoming a challenger
for the world chess
championship.

In 1957, the world

championship match was held
in Moscow between Botvinnik
and Vasily Smyslov. After 22
games, Smyslov won the
match (12.5 to 9.5) and
became the 7th official world
chess champion, ending
Botvinnik's nine-year reign as
world chess champion.
Smyslov was awarded the
Order of Lenin for his efforts.
Smyslov was world champion
for 1 year and 12 days (1957-
58).
After losing the world
championship match in 1957,
Botvinnik was entitled to a
rematch. In 1958, the world
championship match was held
in Moscow between Botvinnik
and Smyslov. Botvinnik won,
scoring 12.5 — 10.5. In Game
15 of this match, Botvinnik
had a very favorable position
after 55 moves, and had only
to make two moves in three
minutes in order to adjourn and
work out the possibilities.
However, he stared at the
board and became so absorbed
in trying to figure out the win
of a piece and which pawn to
push that he was quite
surprised when referee Gideon
Stahlberg informed him that he
had forfeited in time. This was
the last time a world
championship game was lost
on time. In August-September
1958, an interzonal was held in
Portoroz, Yugoslavia. The top
6 finishers qualified for the
Candidates tournament. They
were: Mikhail Tal, Svetozar
Gligoric, Tigran Petrosian, Pal
Benko, Fridrik Olafssin, and
Bobby Fischer.

In 1959, the Candidates

Tournament was held in Bled,
Zagreb, and Belgrade. The top
two players from the previous
tournament, Smyslov and
Keres, were seeded directly
into the tournament and joined
by the top six from the
interzonal. Mikhail Tal won
the Candidates Tournament,
becoming the challenger in the
1960 world championship
match.

In 1960, the world

championship match was held
in Moscow between Botvinnik
and Tal. Tal won by the score
12.5 — 8.5. He became the
youngest world chess
champion at age 23 up to that
time.

Botvinnik was entitled to a

rematch. So, in March-May
1961, challenger Botvinnik
defeated Mikhail Tal in
Moscow, scoring 13 to 8.
Botvinnik became world chess
champion for the 3rd time.
Mikhail Tal was the briefest
world champion from 1960 to
1961. He was world chess
champion for 1 year and 5
days.

In 1962, an interzonal
tournament was held in
Stockholm. The players that
qualified for the Candidates
tournament included Bobby
Fischer, Efiim Geller, Tigran
Petrosian, Viktor Korchnoi,
and Miroslav Filip. For the
sixth and final qualifying spot
there was a three-way tie at 13
1/2 points. Leonid Stein
(USSR), Pal Benko (USA),
and Svetozar Gligoric
(Yugoslavia) played a double
round-robin playoff
tournament which was
dominated by Stein and Benko.
Although Stein won, a rule
adopted in 1959 allowed no
more than three players from a
single Federation to qualify
from the Interzonal. Stein
could play in the Candidates
only if one of the other
qualifiers from the USSR
(Geller, Petrosian, or
Korchnoi) was unable to
participate. With Stein
excluded, Benko took the final
place in the Candidates
Tournament.

In 1962, a Candidates
Tournament was played as an
8-player, quadruple round-
robin in Curacao. The seeded
players were Paul Keres and
Mikhail Tal. Tigran Petrosian
won the Candidates and
became the next world
championship challenger.

In March-May 1963, Petrosian

defeated Botvinnik by the
score of 12.5 to 9.5 in
Moscow, thus becoming world
chess champion. Tigran
Petrosian, age 34, defeated
Mikhail Botvinnik, age 52, to
become world chess champion
(one headline read: Ex-Janitor
is New World Chess Champ).
Over 2,000 spectators jammed
the Moscow theater to watch
the final game. Botvinnik was
not entitled to a rematch. As
the loser of championship
match, Botvinnik was still an
automatic seed in the next
Candidates Tournament.
However, Botvinnik chose not
to exercise this right and
retired from championship
play. Botvinnik made no
attempt to qualify and play in
any further world
championship qualifiers or
matches. Botvinnik never won
a match when defending his
title. His overall record in
match play was 2 wins, 3
losses, and 2 draws. His world
championship record was 36
wins, 39 losses, and 82 draws.
The shortest game in a world
championship was the 21st
match game in match. The
players agreed to a draw after
the 10th move by White
(Petrosian). Botvinnik played
157 world championship
games. He won 36, lost 39, and
drew 82. Petrosian said he
trained for the match by skiing
two or three hours a day.
Petrosian's second was Isaac
Boleslavsky (1919-1977).

In May-June 1964, an
interzonal was held in
Amsterdam. The top 6
qualified for the Candidates
tournament (Fischer refused to
participate). The top players
were Vasily Smyslov, Bent
Larsen, Boris Spassky, Mikhail
Tal, Leonid Stein, David
Bronstein, Borislav Ivkov,
Samuel Reshesvsky, and Lajos
Portisch. Since FIDE rules
only allowed a maximum of
three players from the same
nation to qualify from the
interzonal, Stein and Bronstein
were ineligible. Instead Ivkov
qualified. The sixth and final
place in the Candidates
Tournament was decided in a
3-game playoff in which
Portisch beat Reshevsky 2 1/2-
1/2.

After the controversy

surrounding the previous
Candidates tournament of
Soviet collusion, the 1965
tournament was the first to be
played as a knock-out series of
matches. Paul Keres and Efim
Geller were seeded directly
into the tournament. Spassky
won the knock-out tournament,
defeating Mikhail Tal in the
final. Thus, Spassky became
the next challenger for the
world championship match.

In 1966, the world

championship match was held
in Moscow between Tigran
Petrosian and Boris Spassky
(1937- ). Tigran Petrosian
became the first world
champion since Steinitz to
defeat his challenger to remain
world champion. Petrosian had
won 4 games, drew 17, and
lost 3. He received $2,000 for
his efforts.

In October-November 1967, an
interzonal was held in Sousse,
Tunisia. The top 6 qualified for
the Candidates matches. They
were: Bent Larsen, Viktor
Korchnoi, Efim Geller,
Svetosar Gliforic, Lajos
Portisch, and Samuel
Reshesvky (after a play-off
with Vlastimil Hort and
Leonid Stein). Bobby Fischer
withdrew after 10 rounds over
a dispute with the organizers.
He was leading at the time and
would have easily qualified if
he had finished.

Boris Spassky and Mikhail Tal

were seeded into the 1968
Candidates knock-out matches.
Spassky won the knock-out
tournament, defeating Viktor
Korchnoi in the final. Thus,
Spassky became the next
challenger for the second time
for the world championship
match.

In 1969, the world

championship match was held
in Moscow between Petrosian
and Spassky. Spassky won,
scoring 12.5 — 10.5.

In November-December 1970,
the interzonal was held in
Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The
top 6 qualified for the
Candidates matches. They
were: Bobby Fischer, Bent
Larsen, Efim Geller, Robert
Huebner, Mark Taimanov, and
Wolfgang Uhlmann.

Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran

Petrosian were seeded in the
1971 Candidates matches.
Fischer won the knock-out
tournament, defeating Tigran
Petrosian in the final. Fischer
finally became a challenger for
the world championship
match.
In 1972, the world
championship match was held
in Reykjavik between Boris
Spassky and Bobby Fischer.
The Spassky-Fischer world
chess championship match was
the most widely covered chess
match in history. Bobby
Fischer was rated 125 points
higher (2785) than second-
highest rated player, Boris
Spassky (2660). Fischer
forfeited game 2 of this match.
Bobby Fischer defeated Boris
Spassky, scoring 12.5 to 8.5.
Thus, Fischer became the 11th
official World Chess
Champion.

In 1973, there were two

interzonals — one in
Leningrad and won in
Petropolis, Brazil. The top
three in each interzonal
qualified for the Candidates
Tournament. In Leningrad,
Viktor Korchnoi, Anatoly
Karpov, and Robert Byrne
qualified. In Petropolis,
Henrique Mecking, Efim
Geller, Lev Polugaevsky, and
Lajos Portisch qualified. Geller
lost the playoff with Portisch
and Polugaevsky.

In 1974, Spassky and Petrosian

were seeded into the
Candidates knockout
tournament. Karpov won the
knock-out tournament, beating
Korchnoi in the final. Karpov
became the official challenger
to play against Fischer for the
world championship match.
In 1975, Anatoly Karpov, rated
2705, became world champion
after Fischer forfeited his title.
Karpov became World Chess
Champion before he became
the USSR Chess Champion.

In 1976, there were two

interzonals — one at Manila
and one at Biel. The top 3 from
each interzonal qualified for
the Candidates Tournament. In
Maila, Henrique Mecking, Lev
Polugaevsky, and Vlastimil
Hort qualified. In Biel, Bent
Larsen, Tigran Petrosian, and
Lajos Portisch qualified. Tal
was knocked out in a playoff
with Petrosian and Portisch.

In 1977, Korchnoi and Spassky

were seeded into the
Candidates knock-out
tournament. Korchnoi won the
knock-out tournament after
beating Boris Spassky in the
final. Thus, Korchnoi became
the next challenger for the
world chess championship.

In 1978, the first player to win

6 games would be world
champion. Karpov defeated
Korchnoi with 6 wins.
Korchnoi had 5 wins and 21
draws. The world
championship match was held
in Baguio City. The longest
world championship game is
124 moves in the 5th game of
the 1978 Korchnoi-Karpov
match. The game ended in a
stalemate with bishop and
pawn vs. pawn endgame.
(Carlsen and Anand played a
122-move draw in 2014).

In 1979, the two interzonals

were held in Riga and Rio de
Janeiro. In Riga, Mikhail Tal,
Lev Polugaevsky, and Andras
Adorjan (who had a better tie-
break score ahead of Zoltan
Ribli) qualified. In Rio de
Janeiro, Lajos Portisch, Tigran
Petrosian, and Robert Huebner
qualified.

In 1980, Viktor Korchnoi and

Boris Spassky were seeded
into the Candidates knock-out
tournament. Korchnoi won the
knock-out tournament after
defeating Robert Huebner in
the final. Thus, Korchnoi
became the challenger for the
world championship match
again.

In 1981, the first player to win

6 games would be World
Champion. Karpov had 6 wins
and 2 wins for Korchnoi in the
World Championship match,
held in Merano, Italy. This
victory, much more decisive
than Karpov's win in the World
Chess Championship 1978, has
been dubbed "The Massacre in
Merano."

In 1982, there were 3

interzonals. The top two
finishers qualified for the
Candidates Tournament. At the
Las Palmas interzonal, Zoltan
Ribli and Vasily Smyslov
qualified. At the Moscow
interzonal, Garry Kasparov and
Alexander Beliavsky qualified.
At the Toluca, Mexico
interzonal, Lajos Portisch and
Eugenio Torre qualified.

In 1983, Viktor Korchnoi and

Robert Huebner were seeded in
the Candidates Tournament.
Garry Kasparov won the
knock-out tournament,
defeating Vasily Smyslov in
the final. Thus, Kasparov
became the next world
championship challenger.

In 1984/85, the first player to

win 6 games would be World
Champion. After 48 games,
Karpov and 5 wins and
Kasparov had 3 wins. There
were 40 draws before that
match was called off after 5
months of play. The was the
longest world championship
match. It lasted 48 games and
159 days. At one point, there
were 17 draws in a row.
Karpov lost 22 pounds during
the match. 1,647 moves were
made in this match. The
winner was the first to win 6
games, but the match was
canceled after Karpov had won
5 games, lost 3 games, and
drew 40 games. The match was
first played at the House of the
Unions (Pillar Hall) in
Moscow, but the match was
later moved away from Pillar
Hall when Minister of Defense
Dmitry Ustinov, then chief
political leader Konstantin
Chernenko died, and the
building was used for their
funerals. The match was the
first and only world
championship match to be
abandoned without result.

In September-November 1985,
the world championship match
was resumed in Moscow. The
restarted match was best of 24,
with the champion (Karpov) to
retain his title if the match was
tied 12—12. Because Karpov's
two-point lead from the 1984
match was wiped out, Karpov
was granted the right of a
return match if he lost.
Kasparov won 13 to 11.
Kasparov became the youngest
world champion at the age of
22 years and 210 days.

In July-October 1986, Karpov

was entitled to a rematch. The
match was played in London
and Leningrad (Saint
Petersburg). Kasparov won
12.5 to 11.5.

In 1985, there were 3

interzonals, with 4 players
qualifying from each
interzonal. In the Tunis
interzonal, Artyur Yusupov,
Alexander Beliavsky, Lajos
Portisch and Alexander
Chernin (after beating Viktor
Gavrikov in a playoff)
qualified. In the Taxco
interzonal, Jan Timman, Jesus
Nogueiras, Mikhail Tal, and
Kevin Spraggett qualified. In
the Biel interzonal, Rafael
Vaganian, Yasser Seirawan,
Andrei Sokolov, and Nigel
Short (after beating John van
der Wiel and Eugenio Torre in
a playoff) qualified.

In October-November 1985, a
round robin Candidates
Tournament was held in
Montpellier. The 12 qualifiers
from the Interzonals were
joined by seeded players
Smyslov, Korchnoi, Ribli, and
Spassky. The top 4 qualified
for the knock-out phase. The
top 4 qualifiers were Artur
Yusupov, Rafael Vaganian,
Andrei Sokolov, and Jan
Timman (after a playoff with
Tal).

In 1986, Andrei Sokolov beat

Artu Yusupov in the final
knock-out tournament. He
qualified to play Karpov in a
final match in Linares to
determine the championship
challenger.

In February-March 1987,
Karpov beat Sokolov 7.5 to 3.5
to become the challenger to
Kasparov for the World Chess
Championship.

In 1987, the world

championship match was held
in Seville between Karpov and
Kasparov. The match was
played as the best of 24 games.
It ended 12-12 and Kasparov
retained his title.

In 1987 there were 3

Interzonals. The top 3 from
each Interzonal qualified for
the Candidates Tournament. At
the Subotica Interzonal, Gyula
Sax, Nigel Short, and Jon
Speelman qualified. At the
Szirak Interzonal, Valey Salov,
Johann Hjartarson, and Lajos
Portisch (after defeating John
Nunn in a playoff) qualified.
At the Zagreb Interzonal,
Viktor Korchnoi, Jaan Ehlvest,
and Yasser Seirawan
qualified.

In 1988, in addition to the 9

players that qualified from the
Interzonals, Sokolov, Timman,
Vaganian, Yusupov, and
Karpov were seeded into the
tournament. Karpov won the
knock-out tournament, beating
Timman in the finals, 6.5 to
2.5. Karpov, once again,
became a challenger for the
world championship match
with Kasparov.

In June-July 1990, the FIDE

Interzonal, played in Manila,
was held as a Swiss system
tournament for the first time.
The top 11 qualified for the
Candidates Tournament. The
qualifiers were: Boris Gelfand,
Vassily Ivanchuk,
Viswanatahn Anand, Nigel
Short, Gyula Sax, Viktor
Korchnoi, Robert Huebner,
Predrag Nikolic, Leonid
Yudasin, Sergey Dolmatov,
and Alexey Dreev.

In 1990, the world

championship match was held
in NewYork City and Lyon,
France between Karpov and
Kasparov. Kasparov scored
12.5 — 11.5 and won $1.7
million for defeating Karpov,
who took home $1.3 million in
their world championship
match.

In 1992, Bobby Fischer won

$3,650,000 for defeating Boris
Spassky, who took home $1.35
million in their unofficial
world championship match.
The match was held in Sveti
Stefan and Belgrade,
Yugoslavia. Fischer won 10,
lost 5, and drew 15 games.

In 1993, the world chess

championship title was split
between FIDE and the
Professional Chess Association
(PCA)/Classical. This lasted
until 2006. Kasparov was
stripped of his FIDE title. The
Elo ratings were removed from
the FIDE list for Kasparov and
Nigel Short.

In 1991, Karpov, Timman,

Yusupov, and Speelman were
seeded into the Cadidates
knockout tournament. Nigel
Short won the knockout
tournament, beating Jan
Tmman 7.5 to 5.5 in the final
round.

In September-October 1993,
Gary Kasparov and Nigel
Short split from FIDE to set up
the PCA. Kasparov beat Short
at the PCA World Chess
Championship in London,
scoring 12.5 to 7.5.

As a result of the unauthorized

PCA match, FIDE stripped
Kasparov of his title, removed
him and Short from their rating
lists, and arranged an "official"
match between Timman and
Karpov, who Short had beaten
in the Candidates final and
semifinal, respectively. The
FIDE match was played in
Zwolle, Arnhem, Amsterdam,
and Jakarta in September to
November 1993. Karpov won,
scoring 12.5 to 8.5. Karpov
thus regained the FIDE
championship title that he had
previously held from 1975 to
1985.

In July 1993, the FIDE

Interzonal was held in Biel.
The top 10 qualified for a
Candidates knockout
tournament. The qualifiers
were Boris Gelfand, Paul van
der Sterren, Gata Kamsky,
Alexander Khalifman, Michael
Admas, Leonid Yudasin,
Valery Salov, Joel Lautier,
Vladimir Kramnik, and
Viswanathan Anand. Karpov
won the knockout tournament,
defeating Kamsky 10.5 to 7.5
in the final.

In December 1993, the PCA

had a qualifying tournament,
held in Groningen. The top 7
players qualified for the PCA
Candidates Tournament. The
qualifiers included: Michael
Admas, Viswanathan Anand,
Gata Kamsy, Vladimir
Kramnik, Sergei Tiviakov,
Boris Gulko, and Oleg
Romanishin.

In 1994, the FIDE Candidates

knockout tournament included
the top 10 from the FIDE
Interzonal and Karpov,
Timman, and Yusupov.

In 1994, Nigel Short was

seeded in the PCA knockout
Candidates Tournament.
Anand won the knockout
tournament, beating Kamsky
6.5 — 4.5 in the final round.

In 1995, Kasparov defeated

Anand in the PCA World
Championship, scoring 10.5 —
7.5. The match was held on the
107th floor of the South Tower
at the World Trade Center in
New York.

In June-July 1996, the final

FIDE world championship
match was held in Elista,
Russia. Karpov defeated
Kamsky 10.5 to 7.5, retaining
his world championship title.

In 1996, the PCA folded.

In 1997, FIDE president

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov proposed
a completely new structure: a
knockout tournament,
consisting of two-game
matches, with match tie-
breakers using rapid chess and
blitz chess if necessary. In
addition to the new format, it
was proposed by Ilyumzhinov
as a way to unify the two rival
world titles. To do this, FIDE
champion Anatoly Karpov and
PCA champion Garry
Kasparov were each to be
seeded into the semi-finals.
Kasparov did not want to
defend his title under these
circumstances and declined his
invitation. The format was then
modified to have FIDE
champion Karpov seeded
directly into the final. Vladimir
Kramnik declined to
participate in protest against
Karpov being seeded in the
final.

In January 1998, Karpov beat

Anand in the FIDE.
championship match, scoring 5
-3. The match was held in
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Karpov, this retained his FIDE
title.

In 1999, the FIDE world

championship tournament was
a series of knockout short
matches, held in Las Vegas. A
change from the 1998
championship was that
incumbent champion (Anatoly
Karpov) had no special
privileges, other than that he
was seeded into the second
round. In protest at this,
Karpov refused to play. The
FIDE championship final was
won by Alexander Khalifman
(ranked 44th with a 2616 Elo
rating) over Vladimir Akopian
(2640), scoring 3.5 to 2.5.

In October-November 2000,
the Classical World Chess
Championship (known at the
time as the Braingames World
Chess Championships) was
held. Kramnik defeated
Kasparov, scoring 8.5 to 6.5.
Kramnik was declared World
Classical Champion.

In 2000, the FIDE World

Chess Championship was held
in New Delhi and Tehran. The
first 6 rounds of the knockout
event were held in New Delhi
in November-December 2000.
The final match was held in
Tehran in December 2000.
Anand defeated Alexei Shirov,
scoring 3.5 to 0.5.

In 2002, the FIDE World

Chess Knockout
Championship was held in
Moscow. In the final round,
Ruslan Ponomariov (2684)
defeated Vassicly Ivanchuk
(2731). The Ukrainian
Grandmaster Ruslan
Ponomariov, aged 18 years and
104 days, won the
championship and became the
youngest FIDE World
Champion.

In 2002, the Dortmund

Sparkassen Chess Meeting
aced as the Candidates
Tournament for the Classical
World Championship. The
winner in the knockout
tournament between Peter
Leko, Alexei Shirov, Veselin
Toplaov, and Evgeny Bareev
was Peter Leko. Leko became
the Classical World
Championship challenger to
Kramnik.

In June-July 2004, the FIDE

World Chess Knockout
Championship was held in
Tripoli, Libya. In the final
round, Rustam Kasimdzhanov
beat Michael Adams, scoring
4.5 to 3.5. Kasimdzhanov won
about $100,000 and the title of
FIDE World Chess Champion.

In September-October 2004,
Kramnik and Leko tied,
scoring 7-7. The match was
held in Brissago, Switzerland.
Kramnik retained his Classical
Championship title.

In September-October 2005,
the FIDE World Chess
Championship was an 8-player
double round-robin, held in
San Luis, Argentina. The
players were Veselin Topalov,
Viswanathan Anand, Peter
Svidler, Alexander
Morozevich, Peter Leko,
Rustan Kasimdzhanov,
Michael Adams, and Judit
Polgar. Kasparov was invited,
but retired. Kramnik was
invited, but refused to play.
The winner was Veselin
Topalov, the new FIDE World
Champion.

In September-October 2006, a
match between Classical
World Chess Champion
Vladimir Kramnik and FIDE
World Chess Champion
Veselin Topalov was held in
Elista, Russia. Kramnik won,
scoring 8.5 to 7,5, becoming
the 14th undisputed World
Chess Champion and the first
undisputed world chess
champion in 13 years.
Kramnik forfeited game 5 in
this match.

In September 2007, the World

Chess Championship was held
in Mexico City. It was an 8-
player double round robin.
Viswanathan Anand won the
tournament and the title of
World Chess Champion. He
was the only undefeated
player. The other participants
were Vladimir Kramnik, Boris
Gelfand, Peter Leko, Peter
Svidler, Alexander
Morozevich, Levon Aronian,
and Alexander Grischuk.

In October 2008, Kramnik was

granted a world championship
match against Viswanathan
Anand. Anand won the match,
scoring 6.5 to 4.5. The match
was held in Bonn, Germany. In
2009, a Challenger Match
between Topalov and Gata
Kamsky was hled in Sofia,
Bulgaria. Topalov won,
scoring 4.5 to 2.5. Thus,
Topalov became the challenger
against Anand for the world
championship.
In April-May 2010, Anand
defeated Topalov in the World
Chess Championship match,
scoring 6.5 to 5.5. The match
was held in Sofia Bulgaria.
Anand retained his world
champion title. The prize fund
was 2 million euros (60% to
the winner). The 2010 World
Chess Championship was the
first men's world championship
without a Soviet player since
1921 (Lasker-Capablanca).

In 2011, the Candidates

Knockout Tournament was
played in Kazan, Russia. The
players were Veselin Topalov,
Gata Kamsky, Shakhriyar
Mamedyarov, Boris Gelfand,
Levon Aronian, Alexander
Grischuk, Teimour Radjabov,
and Vladimir Kramnik. The
knockout tournament was won
by Boris Gelfand, who beat
Alexander Grischuk in the
final round, scoring 3.5 to 2.5.
Gelfand became the next
challenger against Anand.

In May 2012, the world

championship match was held
in Moscow between Anand
and Gelfand. The event was
held at the Mikhail Vrubel Hall
of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
This was the first time a world
chess championship was held
in a museum. The shortest
decisive world championship
game (other than the Fischer
and Kramnik forfeits) occurred
between Viswanathan Anand
and Boris Gelfand in game 8 of
this match. Gelfand resigned
after Anand's 17th move.
Anand defeated Gelfand,
scoring 8.5 to 7.5. Anand
retained his world champion
title. The prize fund was $2.55
million.

In 2013, the Candidates

tournament was held in
London. It was a double
round-robin tournament. This
was the first time in 51 years
that the round-robin format had
been used for a Candidates
tournament. Magnus Carlsen
won the Candidates
tournament on tiebreak over
Vladimir Kramnik. The other
participants were Peter Svidler,
Levon Aronian, Boris Gelfand,
Alexander Grischuk, Vassily
Ivanchuk, and Teimour
Radjabov.

In November 2013, the world

championship match was held
in Chennai between
Viswanathan Anand and
Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen won
3 games, drew 6 games, and
lost none to become the 16th
world chess champion. The
match gathered record-setting
TV audiences in India. Magnus
Carlsen earned a special 22-
carat gold medal by winning
the title.

In March 2014, Anand won the

8-player Candidates
Tournament to become the
next world championship
challenger. The other players
were Sergey Karjakin,
Vladimir Kramnik, Shakhriyar
Mamedyarov, Dmitry
Andreikein, Levon Aronian,
Peter Sviler, and Veselin
Topalov. The tournament was
held in Khanty-Mansiysk,
Russia.

In November 2014, Magnus

Carlsen (2863) beat
Viswanathan Anand (2792),
scoring 6.5 to 4.5. The match
was held in Sochi, Russia.
Carlsen retained his title of
world chess champion.

In March 2016, the 8-player

Candidates Tournament was
held in Moscow. It was won by
Sergey Karjakin, who became
the next challenger for the
world championship match
with Magnus Carlsen. The
other players in the Candidates
Tournament were Fabiano
Caruana, Viswanathan Anand,
Peter Svidler, Levon Aronia,
Anish Giri, Hikaru Nakamura,
and Veselin Topalov.

In November 2016, Magnus

Carlsen (age 25) beat Sergey
Karjakin (age 26), scoring 9 -7,
to retain the title of world
chess champion. The match
was held in New York City.

In March 2018, Fabiano

Caruana won the 8-player
double round-robin Candidates
Tournament, held in Berlin. He
becomes the challenger to
Magnus Carlsen for the world
championship match, to be
played in London in November
2018. The other Candidate
players were Shakhriyar
Mamedyarov, Sergey
Karjakon, Ding Liren,
Vladimir Kramnik, Wesley So,
and Levon Aronian.

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