July 20 has been observed as International Chess Day by the players around the world since 1966. On this day, International Chess Federation (FIDE) was established in Paris 99 years ago in 1924. It is widely speculated that the Chess was originated in India as long as 1500 years ago and historically was known by the name 'Chaturanga'. Like in every other sport, even in Chess, World Championships take place and the tournaments have been happening since 19th century.
The first ever World Championship in Chess took place in 1886 when Wilhelm Steinitz won the title to be crowned as the first ever World Chess Champion. Wilhelm, who was considered as 'father of positional chess', defeated Johannes Zukertort in the final. Steinitz continued his dominance in the next three championships as well retaining the title in 1889, 1890 and 1892. Emanuel Lasker of Germany broke the dominance of Wilhelm in 1894 to become the second World Chess Champion in history.
He held the title for six tournaments and across a massive 27 years and hence, is remembered as one of the most versatile and dominant players in the history of Chess. José Capablanca of Cuba who rapidly rose through the ranks in the sport, was the next champion as broke the winning streak of Lasker. These are the top three World Chess Champions and when it comes to India, Vishwanathan Anand created history to become the first World Champion in Chess from the country.
He contested for the title against Garry Kasporov in 1995 but dominated the sport from 2007 to 2013 winning the championship title as many as four times. He was also the FIDE World Champion from 2000 to 2002. Magnus Carlsen of Norway arrived in 2013 then to rule the Chess world till 2023 and now the current champion in the world of Chess is Ding Liren of China.
Here we bring to you 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 |
