Complete List of World Chess Champions from 1886 till 2024

The World Chess Championship (WCC) is the most prestigious tournament in chess, where the best players compete for the title of World Chess Champion.

It was first held in 1886, marking the beginning of a long and rich tradition in chess. The first world chess champion was Wilhelm Steinitz, who defeated Johannes Zukertort in 1886.

As of 2024, the current world chess champion is D. Gukesh, who made history by defeating Ding Liren in the final held on December 12, 2024.

At just 18 years old, Gukesh became the youngest ever world chess champion. He is the first Indian to win the title since Viswanathan Anand won it in 2012.

In this article, we will explore the complete list of World Chess Championship winners from 1886 to the present day.

#

player

Dates

victory

years earned

1

Anatoly Karpov

1993-99

3

1993, 1996, 1998

2

Alexander Khalifman

1999-2000

1

1999k

3

Viswanathan Anand

February 2000

1

2000k

4

Ruslan Ponomariov

April 2002

1

2002k

5

Rustam Kasimzhanov

May 2004

1

2004k

6

Veselin Topalov

June 2005

1

2005 tons

Note: k: FIDE World Chess Championship retains the championship title in a draw; t: Championship victory