Even in ancient Egypt, they loved chess, as evidenced by wall paintings of those times. In antiquity, olympiads and various tournaments were held, so it is impossible now to say who was the first world chess champion in those times. They began to closely monitor the development of events in this area only from the Middle Ages, when the first books about chess positions and the art of this game began to be published, as well as more organized competitions.
Background of serious chess competitions
Already in the Middle Ages, scientific works appeared demonstrating a deep analysis of the game. It is possible that the authors of these books could well be winners in international tournaments. Thus, the work of Francis Vicente, released in 1495 in Valencia, is considered lost and almost mythical. But the work of Damiano that came to us, published in Rome in 1512, Averbach considers just plagiarism of the book of Vicente.
Another famous author was Luis Ramirez de Lucena, who published his book in 1497 in Salamanca. It is his candidacy that many consider most suitable when considering the issue of who was the first world chess champion.
Tournaments and matches of the 16th - mid-19th century
Reliable documentary evidence of serious competitions belong to the tournament in Rome in 1560. It was there that the winner was Ruy Lopez de Segura, who defeated the strongest chess players of that time. In Madrid, the International Chess Congress was held in 1575, and took place at the court of King Philip II. Giovanni Leonardo da Coutri from Italy defeated here.
Since 1619, Joachino Greco was considered the best among the best. This chess player traveled to different countries, including France, Italy, England, Spain and America, defeating the strongest players everywhere.
In the 18th century such chess champions as Kermur Legal and Andre Filidor Francois Danican became famous. The first was especially remembered by the game with Saint-Brie, where he put a unique checkmate (then called Mat Legal) in a game without a rook. Filidor in his youth was inferior to Legal, but in 1747, after the London match with Philip Stamm, he was recognized as the best player.
An interesting match is Louis Charles Mahe de Labourdonne with A. McDonnell, which took place in 1834 in London. Labourdonne was declared the winner, although the match was interrupted. In the same year, also in London, Labourdonne lost two matches to Alexander McDonnell. The match of 1843 in London, where Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Aman beat Howard Staunton, was not so bright. That period is considered a decline. Staunton took revenge on Saint-Aman at a match in Paris in the same 1843, remaining the champion. In 1949, a knockout tournament was held in London, where Henry Thomas Buckle was the first.
The beginning of a new chess era
The period from 1851, when the great Adolf Andersen appeared, who also won in London by knockout system, is considered a new take-off in chess. Only the best chess players were invited to this tournament from all countries. So Andersen could also claim to be the one who was the first world chess champion.
Morphy ascended after a bright star in 1858. He managed to defeat Andersen in a match in Paris. This chess player received a gold crown and a silver wreath in 1859 in Boston.
Official World Chess Champions for Men
Nevertheless, 1866 was considered the starting point of official world-class competitions, when the name “world championship” slipped in the documents. This made it possible to stop the debate about who was the first world chess champion. It was Wilhelm Steinitz who announced the victory of Andersen in this match.
But from 1867 to 1883 there were no world championships, although the names of Kolish, Vinavera, Neumann and Chigorin went down in history. Johann Zuckertort, who won the London Super Tournament in 1883, was included in the list of champions.
The second to get into chess champions was in 1894 the German Emanuel Lasker, who defeated Steinitz in the USA. Although he moved to third place in the 1895 super tournament in Hastings, the winner of the tournament, Harry-Nelson Pilsbury, was not declared champion. But Lasker won the super tournaments in St. Petersburg in 1914 and in New York in 1924.
In 1921, Lasker lost the title to Cuban Jose-Raul Capablanca. The next champion was Alexander Alekhine, defeating Capablanca in 1927. The match of 1935 was won by Dutchman Mahgilis Euwe, who managed to beat Alekhine, but not independently, but with the help of grandmasters led by Lasker. In 1937, Alekhine regained his title, remaining an undefeated champion until his death: the chess player was poisoned in 1946.
Since 1948, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has undertaken the organization of matches where the world championship was determined. In 1948, Mikhail Botvinnik (USSR) won. He was replaced by compatriot Vasily Smyslov in 1957. In 1960, Mikhail Tal (USSR) was the winner. In 1963, Botvinnik was defeated by Tigran Petrosyan (USSR), and in 1969 he lost to Boris Spassky. The victory in 1972 went to the American Robert James Fisher. Next was the Russian Anatoly Karpov in 1975, and in 1985 he was circumvented by Garry Kasparov.
Falls and highs of recent decades
The period from 1992 to 2006 is considered a troubled time. In 1993, Kasparov quarreled with FIDE, was stripped of his title (Fischer was considered the champion of 1992), and created his own league - the Professional Chess Association. Within the framework of the new organization, Kasparov beat Short and became the champion of 1993 according to the PSA, and according to FIDE, Karpov became the first. So at the turn of the century, the most powerful world champions were Kasparov, Karpov, Fisher.
Further, FIDE chose the format of the knockout system, where such champions as Khalifman, Anand, Ponomarev, Kasymzhanov, Topalov appeared. PSA fell apart, the league was called the championship according to the classic version (victory over the current champion), where Kasparova beat Kramnik in 2000. Only in 2006 did they have a unifying match between the champions in both versions, where Kramnik defeated Topalov, becoming the absolute world champion.
In 2007, Viswanathan Anandu became the strongest. In 2013, he was replaced by the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.
The best chess players of the planet
If the world chess champions among men can be traced back centuries, then women began to take an active part in competitions relatively recently. The countdown has been going on since 1927, when the women's world championship was officially held in London. Vera Menchik is the first world chess champion. It is noteworthy that, as the daughter of a Czech and an Englishwoman, she was born and until 15 years old she lived in Moscow, only then she moved with her parents to England. Menchik confirmed her title in numerous matches and tournaments that took place in different cities of the world from 1927 to 1939, but in 1944 she died, and remained a champion.
The next champion was the Soviet chess player Lyudmila Rudenko in 1950, when matches for the world championship resumed. It was replaced by compatriot Elizaveta Bykova in 1953. Another Soviet chess player Olga Rubtsova won the title in 1956, but again lost to Bykova in 1958. Then, Soviet athletes also became the best in the world, but from Georgia: Nona Gaprindashvili since 1962. and Maya Chiburdanidze since 1978
Only in 1991, Chinese woman Xie Jun became the strongest, losing to Hungarian Zhuzhe Polgar in 1996 and again rising to the top in 1999. In 2001, Zhu Chen from China became the champion, in 2004, Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria was recognized the best. , well, and in 2006, the first was Chinese Xu Yuhua. In 2008, the title was given to the Russian woman Alexandra Kosteniuk, who was replaced in 2010 by the Chinese woman Hou Yifan.
In 2012, Ukrainian Anna Ushenina won the title, but since 2013, Hou Yifan has become the best again.