July 20 has been seen as International Chess Day by the players around the world since 1966. On this day, International Chess League (FIDE) was laid out in Paris 99 years ago in 1924. It is generally estimated that the Chess was begun in India up to a long time back and historically was known by the name ‘Chaturanga’. Like in each and every other game, even in Chess, World Championships take place and the tournaments have been going on since 19th century.
The very first World Championship in Chess occurred in 1886 when Wilhelm Steinitz brought home the championship to be delegated as the very first World Chess Champion. Wilhelm, who was considered as ‘father of positional chess’, defeated Johannes Zukertort in the last. Steinitz proceeded with his strength in the following three championships too holding the title in 1889, 1890 and 1892. Emanuel Lasker of Germany broke the dominance of Wilhelm in 1894 to turn into the second World Chess Champion ever.
He held the title for six competitions and across a massive 27 years and thus, is recognized as quite possibly of the most flexible and dominant player throughout the entire existence of Chess. José Capablanca of Cuba who quickly rose through the ranks in the sport, was the following hero as broke the series of wins of Lasker. These are the main three World Chess Champions and with regards to India, Vishwanathan Anand made history to turn into the primary Best on the planet in Chess from the country.
He challenged for the title against Garry Kasporov in 1995 yet dominated the game from 2007 to 2013 bringing home the title upwards of four times. He was likewise the FIDE World Champion from 2000 to 2002. Magnus Carlsen of Norway showed up in 2013 then to govern the Chess world till 2023 and presently the ongoing boss in the realm of Chess is Ding Liren of China.
Here is the list of World Chess Champions:
| Player | Years Won |
| Wilhelm Steinitz | 1886, 1889, 1890, 1892 |
| Emanuel Lasker | 1894, 1896, 1907, 1908, 1910 (twice) |
| Jose Capablanca | 1921 |
| Alexander Alekhine | 1927, 1929, 1934, 1937 |
| Max Euwe | 1935 |
| Mikhail Botvinnik | 1948, 1951, 1954, 1958, 1961 |
| Vasily Smyslov | 1957 |
| Mikhail Tal | 1960 |
| Tigran V. Petrosian | 1963, 1966 |
| Boris Spassky | 1969 |
| Bobby Fischer | 1972 |
| Anatoly Karpov | 1975, 1978, 1981, 1984 |
| Garry Kasparov | 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995 |
| Vladimir Kramnik | 2000, 2004, 2006 |
| Viswanathan Anand | 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 |
| Magnus Carlsen | 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 |
| Ding Liren | 2023-present |
| Player | Years Won |
| Anatoly Karpov | 1993, 1996, 1998 |
| Alexander Khalifman | 1999 |
| Viswanathan Anand | 2000 |
| Ruslan Ponomariov | 2002 |
| Rustom Kasimdzhanov | 2004 |
| Veselin Topalov | 2005 |
