Who was the first world chess champion? World chess champions among men

Even in ancient Egypt, chess was loved, as evidenced by the wall paintings of those times. In antiquity Olympiads and various tournaments were held, therefore it is impossible to say who was the first world chess champion in those days. Close monitoring of the development of events in this sphere has only begun since the Middle Ages, when the first books on chess positions and the art of this game begin to be published, as well as more organized competitions.

Background of serious chess competitions

Already in the Middle Ages there were scientific works demonstrating an in-depth analysis of the game. It is possible that the authors of these books could well be winners at international tournaments. Thus, the work of Francis Vicente, released in 1495 in Valencia, is considered lost and almost mythical. But the work of Damiano, published in Rome in 1512, which reached us, is considered by Averbakh as the plagiarism of the book by 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 who was the first world chess champion.

Tournaments and matches of the 16th - the middle of the 19th century

Credible documentary confirmations of serious competitions refer to the tournament in Rome in 1560. It was there that Ruy Lopez de Segura, who beat the strongest chess players of that time, won. In Madrid, the International Chess Congress was held in 1575, it was held at the court of King Philip II. Here Giovanni Leonardo da Coutry from Italy defeated.

The best among the best since 1619 was considered to be Joaquino Greco. 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 Kermour Legal and Andre Filidor Franzua Danikan became famous. The first was especially remembered by the party with Saint-Brie, where he put a unique mate (later named Mat Legal) in a game without a rook. Filidor in his youth gave way to Legal, but in 1747 after the London match with Philippe Stamm was recognized as the best player.

An interesting match of Louis Charles Mae de Labourdone with A. McDonnell, which was held in 1834 in London. The winner was Labourdonna, although the match was interrupted. In the same year also in London, Laburdonne 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 over St. Aman at the match in Paris in the same 1843, remaining champion. In 1949, a tournament was held in London on a knockout system, where Henry Thomas Buckle was the first.

The beginning of a new chess era

The new rise in chess is considered to be the period from 1851, when the great Adolf Andersen appeared, who also won in London by a knockout system. Only the best chess players were invited to this tournament from all countries. So Andersen could also claim the place of the one who was the first world chess champion.

Next bright star went Morphy in 1858. He was able to defeat Andersen in the match in Paris. This chess player received a gold crown and a silver wreath in 1859 in Boston.

Official world chess champions among men

The beginning of counting of official competitions of a world scale is considered all the same in 1866, when in the documents the name "the primacy of the world" slipped. This allowed to stop disputes about who was the first world chess champion. It was announced by Wilhelm Steinitz, who won this match Andersen.

But from 1867 to 1883, the world championships were not held, although the names of Kolisch, Vinaver, Neuman and Chigorin went down in history. Included in the list of champions Johann Zuckertort, who won the London Super Tournament in 1883.

The second in the chess champions came in 1894, the German Emanuel Lasker, who won the USA Steinitz. Although in the super tournament in 1895 in Hastings he moved to third place, but the winner of the tournament Harry Nelson Pilsbury was not announced. But Lasker won in the super tournaments in St. Petersburg in 1914 and in New York in 1924.

In 1921 Lasker lost the title to the Cuban Jose-Raul Capablanca. The next champion was Alexander Alekhine, defeating Capablanca in 1927. The match of 1935 was won by the Dutchman Mahgilis Euwe, who managed to beat Alekhin, but not independently, but with the help of grandmasters led by Lasker. In 1937, Alekhine regained the title, remaining undefeated champion until his death: the chess player was poisoned in 1946.

Since 1948 the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has assumed the organization of matches, where the world championship was determined. In 1948 the victory was won by Mikhail Botvinnik (USSR). He was succeeded by compatriot Vasily Smyslov in 1957. In 1960 Mikhail Tal (USSR) became the winner. In 1963, Botvinnik was beaten by Tigran Petrosyan (USSR), who lost in 1969 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 bypassed by Garry Kasparov.

Falls and ups of the last decades

The period from 1992 to 2006 is considered a troubled time. In 1993, Kasparov quarreled with FIDE, was stripped of his title (Fischer became the 1992 champion), and created his league - the Professional Chess Association. As part of the new organization, Kasparov won at Short and became the 1993 champion by the PCA version, and according to the FIDE version the first was Karpov. So at the turn of the century the world chess champions Kasparov, Karpov, Fisher were the strongest.

Further, FIDE was chosen the format of the knockout system, where such champions as Khalifman, Anand, Ponomarev, Kasymzhanov, Topalov appeared. The PCA fell apart, the league was called the championship by the classical version (victory over the current champion), where Kasparov beat Kramnik in 2000. Only in 2006 they held a unification match between the champions in both versions, where Kramnik defeated Topalov, becoming the absolute champion of the world.

In 2007 Vishwanathan Anand became the strongest. In 2013, he was succeeded by the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen.

The best chess players of the world

If the world chess champions among men are traced back centuries, women took an active part in competitions relatively recently. The countdown has been conducted 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, being a daughter of a Czech and an Englishwoman, she was born and she lived in Moscow until she was 15, only then she moved with her parents to England. Confirmed Menchik his title in numerous matches and tournaments that took place in different cities around the world in the period from 1927 to 1939, but in 1944 she died, and remained the champion.

The next champion was the Soviet chess player Lyudmila Rudenko in 1950, when matches for the world championship resumed. She 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 the best in the world were also Soviet athletes, but from Georgia: Nona Gaprindashvili from 1962. And Maya Chiburdanidze since 1978.

Only in 1991 the strongest was the Chinese Xie Jun, who was second in the Hungarian Zhuge Polgar in 1996 and again rose to the top in 1999. In 2001, Zhu Chen from China became the champion, in 2004 she was best recognized by Antoaneta Stefanova from Bulgaria , And in 2006 the first was the Chinese woman Xu Yuhua. In 2008, the title was awarded to Russian Alexandra Kosteniuk, who was replaced in 2010 by Chinese woman Hou Yifan.

In 2012, Ukrainian Anna Ushenina won the title, but in 2013 Hou Yifan became the best again.