Undefeated. History of the first chess king from Russia
In 1946, he, at that time an outcast in Portugal, was to meet in a match for the world chess crown with the champion of the USSR Mikhail Botvinnik. But the meeting, which the chess world was looking forward to, never took place. Alexander Alekhine died suddenly. His death is still considered mysterious.
A chess genius was born in Moscow in 1892 in a wealthy noble family. His father was the leader of the nobility of the Voronezh province, and his mother was the daughter of a textile manufacturer. In 1911, the family moved to St. Petersburg, where Alekhin graduated from the Imperial Institute of Jurisprudence and was assigned to the Ministry of Justice. Alekhin learned to play chess as a child, and thanks to his phenomenal memory, he immediately achieved brilliant success. Already at the age of 13, he won the first prize in the correspondence tournament.
In 1914, he took third place at the international tournament in St. Petersburg, losing only to the great Lasker and Capablanca. When the First World War began, Alekhine was interned in Mannheim, Germany, where an international tournament was held. But he was soon released, and he managed to return to Russia.
Due to heart disease, the chess player was not taken into the army, but Alekhine nevertheless went to the front as a volunteer, as an authorized representative of the Red Cross. For saving the wounded on the battlefield, he was awarded two St. George medals. Was twice shell-shocked.
After the October Revolution, Alekhine lost all his property and ended up in Odessa, where he was arrested on charges of having links with the White Guards and sentenced to death. However, he was released as a well-known chess player at the special request of the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine, Rakovsky, who turned out to be a great chess lover. For some time Alekhin worked as an investigator in the Moscow wanted list, where he dealt with the search for foreigners who disappeared during the revolution and the Civil War, and worked in the apparatus of the Comintern as a translator. In 1920 Alekhine won the All-Russian Chess Championship. Passed the tournament path without defeat: nine wins and six draws. This competition is considered the first official championship of the RSFSR, and the USSR championships are also counted from it.
Alekhine even became a candidate member of the party.
In May 1921, the chess player boarded a train to go on a trip abroad. Legally, with the permission of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, he left the USSR for Riga, and then for Berlin and Paris, not yet knowing that he would never return...
Abroad, Alekhine travels around the world, plays a lot. He becomes an unsurpassed master of the simultaneous game on several boards, in New York he sets a world record for playing blindly on 26 boards at once. According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, Alekhin was a versatile educated and charming conversationalist, he spoke six languages. Grandmaster Grigory Levenfish recalled: “Alekhine had a phenomenal chess memory... He could completely restore a game played many years ago. But no less surprising was his distraction. Many times he left a valuable cigarette case with a large emerald clasp at the club. Two days later we came to the club, sat down at the board. A waiter would appear and, as if nothing had happened, handed Alekhine a cigarette case. Alekhine politely thanked.
The master also had his own quirks. Alekhine was a great lover of cats. His Siamese cat Chess (translated from English means "Chess") was constantly present at the competitions as a talisman. During the first match with Euwe, Alekhine made the cat sniff the board before each game.
He was one of the few chess players for whom the game became a profession. It was Alekhine that Vladimir Nabokov had in mind, creating in his "chess" novel the image chess genius: « Recent times he played a lot and randomly, and he was especially tired of playing blindly, a rather expensively paid performance, which he willingly gave.
He found deep pleasure in this, there was no need to deal with visible, audible, tangible figures, which, with their elaborate carvings, their wooden materiality, always interfered with him, always seemed to him a rough, earthly shell of charming, invisible chess forces. Playing blind, he felt these diverse forces in their original purity.
At that time he did not see either the steep mane of the knight, or the shiny heads of the pawns, but he clearly felt that this or that imaginary square was occupied by a certain concentrated force, so that the movement of the piece seemed to him like a discharge, like a strike, like lightning, and everything was chess. the field trembled with tension, and he dominated this tension, here collecting, there releasing electric force ... ".
The dream of the world chess crown becomes the goal of Alekhine's life. In those years, the legendary Jose Raul Capablanca was the world champion. Candidates tournaments have not yet been held - the applicant himself had to send a personal challenge to the reigning champion, in which fee conditions were stipulated. The conditions of the arrogant Capablanca turned out to be onerous: the applicant was obliged to provide a prize fund of $ 10,000, of which 20% automatically went to the Cuban as the current champion; the remaining amount was divided between the winner and the loser in the ratio of 60 to 40. In addition, the Russian “had the honor” to pay other expenses associated with the match. Alekhin with great difficulty managed to raise the necessary money, and in 1927 the Argentine government considered the duel of two geniuses a prestigious affair and helped organize the confrontation.
Capablanca at that time was reputed to be invincible. But Alekhine believed in himself.
Before the match, the Russian grandmaster said: "I can't imagine how I can win six games against Capablanca, but even less how Capablanca will be able to win six games against me!" Few believed in Alekhine's victory, but there was a sensation: 6:3 - this was the result of a grueling match.
Alekhine was hailed as a chess genius who brought the theoretical preparation for games to unprecedented heights, invented new openings and became famous for his attacking style of play.
The Russian emigration rejoiced. The emigrant writer Boris Zaitsev enthusiastically wrote: “This gloomy morning has been colored for us by your victory. Hooray!
You are now not a Russian Queen, but a Russian King. You can only move one cell, but from now on your step is "royal". Russia has won in your person. Your example should be a refreshment, an encouragement to every Russian, in whatever field he may work.
May God give you strength, health, prosperity to your art.”
But the triumph turned into problems. The newspapers replicated the words, allegedly spoken by Alekhine: "The myth of the invincibility of the Bolsheviks will be dispelled, as the myth of the invincibility of Capablanca was dispelled." He always tried to refrain from political statements, and therefore, most likely, this fatal phrase was attributed to him. Nevertheless, the reaction in Moscow was angry. A devastating article by the head of the Supreme Tribunal of the USSR Nikolai Krylenko appeared in the Chess Bulletin magazine: “After Alekhine’s speech in the Russian Club, everything is over with citizen Alekhine - he is our enemy, and from now on we must interpret him only as an enemy.” The world champion could no longer return to his homeland.
But the years passed, chess in the USSR became more and more popular, a real chess fever flared up. Young masters were gaining strength, in the first place - Mikhail Botvinnik. Alekhin rejoiced at the success of the Russian chess school and still hoped to return to Russia. In 1935, the world champion sent a letter to his homeland: “Not only as a long-term chess worker, but also as a person who understood the enormous significance of what has been achieved in the USSR in all areas of cultural life, I send sincere greetings to the chess players of the USSR on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of the October Revolution. Alekhine.
But soon came the second World War. Alekhine was in Argentina, where the Chess Olympiad was taking place, and called for a boycott of the German team. As captain of the French team, he refused to play with the German team, and the whole team followed suit. In 1940, Alekhine volunteered for the French army and served as an interpreter, and after the end of hostilities against Germany, he settled in the south of the country occupied by the Germans.
In France, Alekhine found himself with his wife, Grace Wishard, an American of Jewish origin.
The grandmaster was hinted that if he did not compete, then Grace would have problems. And what it could mean at that time, it was not difficult to guess. Alekhine had to perform at tournaments under the flag with a swastika, play with German officers, give chess lessons to the Governor-General of Poland Hans Frank.
In the spring of 1941, an article entitled "Jewish and Aryan Chess" was published in the Pariser Zeitung newspaper. Alekhine was again unlucky. The editors, to please the invaders, distorted his words, turning the cautious chess player into a fanatical "Shah Fuhrer". As a result, after the collapse of the Third Reich, European chess players accused Alekhine of collaborationism and declared a boycott against him.
“I played chess in Germany,” Alekhin later justified, “only because it was our only livelihood and, moreover, the price I paid for the freedom of my wife ...”.
He tried to return to the world chess orbit, but all attempts were severely suppressed by his colleagues. The great chess player had to settle in Portugal, in quiet Estoril.
He yearned for his homeland more sharply than before, but the path to the Soviet Union was closed. However, in February 1946, the British embassy unexpectedly handed him a letter from the USSR from Mikhail Botvinnik: “I regret that the war prevented our match in 1939. I again challenge you to the match for the world championship. If you agree, I am waiting for your response, in which I ask you to indicate your opinion about the time and place of the match.
It is clear that in those days Botvinnik himself could not write such a letter to an emigrant abroad - it was a special decision of the Soviet authorities. On March 23, FIDE agreed to a sensational match, but the very next day it became known that Alekhine had died unexpectedly. His ashes were later transported to Paris, where they were buried in a Russian cemetery with an inscription on the grave: "Alexander Alekhine - the genius of chess in Russia and France." He became the only world champion to die undefeated.
In emigre circles, they were convinced that the world champion had become a victim of NKVD agents. It is curious that in those years the chairman of the All-Union Chess Section was NKVD Colonel Boris Weinstein, who fiercely hated the "White Guard" Alekhine.
However, why did the NKVD have to arrange a reprisal against the world champion, if the USSR itself decided to initiate his match with Botvinnik?
Alekhine was found dead in the Park Hotel in the town of Estoril near Lisbon. There were crockery left on the table in his room, indicating that he had dinner with someone. A posthumous photograph of the great chess player appeared in the newspapers. He sits dead in an armchair, for some reason in a coat, and next to him is a chessboard with placed pieces - until the last minute the master was thinking about his favorite game...
According to the official version, the world champion suffocated, allegedly choking on a piece of meat while eating. However, other versions of death immediately appeared. Why did he have dinner without taking off his coat? If he has eaten, why are the plates empty? Is this photo staged at all? Alekhine's son from his first wife leaned towards the version of his father's murder. The doctors who performed the autopsy later admitted that they wrote what they were told, but in fact Alekhine was killed on the eve of the day when his body was discovered. True, one of the doctors spoke about a gunshot wound, and the other about poisoning. It is also known that the Portuguese Catholic priest refused to participate in the burial of Alekhine, since traces of violent death were clearly visible on the face of the deceased.
Mikhail Botvinnik did not believe in the official version either. In an article dedicated to Alekhine's centenary, "A Genius Remains a Man", published in the journal "64 - Chess Review", Botvinnik wrote: "There was a rumor that he died in the street. About 15 years ago, B. Podtserob sent me an article from a German magazine - it was reported that the Portuguese police assumed that the champion had poisoned himself. But if this is so, why, after he took the poison, did he have to have dinner or go for a walk?
In 2009, a sensational article by a certain Boris Smolensky was published in one of the Russian-language newspapers in Chicago.
He said that an employee of the restaurant in Estoril, where Alekhine dined, allegedly confessed to his relatives before his death that in March 1946 he received a large sum of money from two people who spoke with a strong foreign accent for putting some kind of that powder.
What really happened in distant Portugal? Alas, the mystery of the great chess player's death will probably never be revealed. The version of the involvement of the "insidious NKVD" in it, as we have already written, does not stand up to criticism.
However, there is another version of his death. As if the American intelligence services were involved in the death of Alekhine. The United States feared that Botvinnik would win, and the world chess crown sail away to the USSR, with which the cold war was already flaring up.
Every few years a new world chess champion appears. We have collected all the champions in one place and made a small description of each.
This article contains full list all world chess champions to date. If the article is not relevant, it means that we have not yet added new information. Please write in the comments. Here is a list for faster navigation:
| Title | Who did win | Year |
| 1 world chess champion | 1886 – 1894 | |
| 2 World Chess Champion | 1894 -1921 | |
| 3 World Chess Champion | 1921 – 1927 | |
| 4 World Chess Champion | 1927 – 1935, 1937 – 1946 | |
| 5 World Chess Champion | 1935 – 1937 | |
| 6 World Chess Champion | 1948 – 1957, 1958 – 1960, 1961-1963 | |
| 7th world chess champion | 1957-1958 | |
| 8 World Chess Champion | 1960-1961 | |
| 9 World Chess Champion | 1963-1969 | |
| 10 World Chess Champion | 1969-1972 | |
| 11 World Chess Champion | 1972-1975 | |
| 12 World Chess Champion | 1975-1985 | |
| 13th world chess champion | 1985-1993 | |
| 14 World Chess Champion | 2006 - 2007 | |
| 15 World Chess Champion | 2007 - 2013 | |
| 16th world chess champion | 2013 - present in. |
Chess has been played for over 125 years. For that for a long time the conditions of the game changed many times, and sometimes even her. Therefore, it is quite natural that the criteria for becoming world chess champions in different eras also differed. For example, in the days of Steinitz, tournaments were simultaneously held in several cities at once. Or, for example, the strongest chess player might not agree to accept a challenge to a chess match from a potential new champion if, in his opinion, the opponent does not yet have enough skills and skills to take over the title.
As for today, the conditions and criteria for the inclusion of participants in the fight for the championship title have changed in many ways. A variety of qualifying tournaments are held in several stages, after which the two strongest players meet and compete with each other. Well, now let's look at the list of world chess champions and a brief information about each of them about who went through what on the way to the championship.
1 world chess champion
The first chess champion Wilhelm Steinitz. Place of birth - Prague, year - 1836. Steinitz won this title in 1886, after which he won the game against his main rival - I. Zukertort. Steinitz created a fundamentally new positional game of chess, and also made a great personal contribution to the development of this area.
V. Steinitz began to play at the age of twelve, but the young man did not have the opportunity to show his gift. The first success in chess for Wilhelm was the victory over his father's constant playing partner, a rabbi revered by many. Seriously, the future champion began to play chess only after reaching the age of 23 after graduating from the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna.
2 World Chess Champion
The second world chess champion was Emanuel Lasker. He was born in Poland in 1868 and gained the title of champion in 1894. Lasker was the best player on the planet for 27 years. In addition, he is the author of numerous books on chess.
E. Lasker took over his love for this amazing game from his elder brother Bertolt Lasker, having started playing at the age of 12. However, truly, professionally, the future chess king began to play only during his first year at the university. Most strengths of a chess player, endgame and positional flair were considered. During his career as a chess player, he repeatedly abandoned the game for several years to study philosophy and mathematics.
He became the world champion based on the results of a match that took place for a long period (from mid-March to the end of May) in 1894 in Philadelphia, Montreal and New York, where, after playing 19 games, he defeated the first champion, Steinitz.
3 World Chess Champion
The third world chess champion was Jose Raul Capablanca who was born in Cuba in 1888. He won his title by defeating Emanuel Lasker during a match in 1921. Often they spoke of him as an outstanding chess machine, since Capablanca was distinguished by his brilliant chess technique. The third champion learned to play already at the age of four just in the process of watching his father's games.
4 World Chess Champion
The fourth world chess champion was Alexander Alekhin, born in 1892. He learned the rules of the game and the basic moves of Alekhine at the age of seven thanks to his mother and older brother. A. Alekhine was the greatest master of combination and considered chess an art. The chess player achieved his first success during the St. Petersburg tournament in 1909, just then, at the age of sixteen, a gymnasium student from Moscow won and was awarded the title of maestro.
A little later, the chess player begins to take part in professional tournaments for more high level. Alekhin won the match for the title of world champion against Capablanca in 1927 (Buenos Aires). After that, he defended his title two more times, holding it until his death.
5 World Chess Champion
The fifth world chess champion was Max Euwe, born in 1901 in Amsterdam. He learned the basics of the game at the age of 4, began to play in various amateur tournaments - at the age of twelve he became a member of the chess club in Amsterdam. He started playing professionally at the age of 18. Euwe won the championship match against Alekhine in 1935, but two years later he again lost the championship title to Alekhine.
6 World Chess Champion
The sixth champion was born in 1911. He first got acquainted with the game at the age of 12, after which he began to study from books. Numerous victories in tournaments and championships of the USSR put the young chess player among the best players countries and soon showed that M. Botvinnik was ready to challenge the title of world champion.
A match-tournament for the championship title took place in 1948 (The Hague-Moscow), and according to its results, Botvinnik became the winner, ahead of the chess player who took second place by 3 points. During the tournament, he confidently outperformed all rivals. For achievements in the field of chess, Botvinnik was awarded numerous orders.
7th world chess champion
The Soviet chess player also became the seventh champion. He learned the rules of the game from his father at the age of six. Smyslov met Botvinnik 3 times during world championship matches. Smyslov received the title of the strongest chess player on the planet in 1957, but a year later he lost to Botvinnik in a rematch.
Smyslov was the winner of a large number of World Olympiads, European team championships, as well as one world championship.
8 World Chess Champion
The eighth world chess champion was, who was born in 1936 in Riga. From early childhood, Tal showed genius in many ways - at the age of three he knew how to read well, at 5 he multiplied three-digit numbers, had an amazing memory, after graduating from the first grade he immediately moved to the third. There were many such achievements in Tal's childhood.
Mikhail Tal learned to play chess at the age of 10, at the age of 16 he became the champion of Latvia, at the age of 21 - the champion of the USSR. Tal became the youngest ever world champion, having won the title in 1960 against Botvinnik. The distinguishing features of Tal's game were aggressiveness and constant willingness to take risks, which allowed him to achieve victory, despite the fact that soon, a year later, he lost again.
9 World Chess Champion
Tigran Petrosyan is the ninth world chess champion. Was born in 1929 in Georgia. The boy learned to play at the age of 11, at the age of 16 he becomes the champion of Georgia in chess. The chess player starts playing professionally after moving to Moscow.
Petrosyan won a victory over M. Botvinnik in 1963, he held his championship title for a period that lasted 6 years. For achievements in chess, Petrosyan was awarded numerous medals and orders.
10 World Chess Champion
Boris Spassky tenth world chess champion. Spassky learned the basics of the game at the age of 5. For the first time he became a participant in the championship of the Soviet Union in 1955, during the same period he was awarded the title of grandmaster (at the age of 17). Thus, the chess player at that time became the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess. In 1969, Spassky won the competition for the championship of the planet over Petrosyan and held the title of the tenth champion for 3 years.
11 World Chess Champion
He received the title of the eleventh world chess champion, who was considered a child prodigy and a genius. He learned to play at the age of six. By the age of twelve, Fischer becomes an American champion, at the age of 15 - an international grandmaster. No one before him in this early age did not achieve such high results. Fischer became world champion in 1972, after he defeated B. Spassky.
12 World Chess Champion
Anatoly Karpov- The twelfth world chess champion. The chess player, born in 1951, learned to play when he was only 4 years old. He became a strong master at the age of 15, at the age of 18 the chess player became the champion in a youth tournament, he received the title of grandmaster at 19. Before Karpov became the world chess champion, he was the winner of many international competitions. He received the title of the 12th world champion in 1975. significantly surpassed other well-known players in the history of chess in terms of the number of victories that he won in numerous international tournaments, matches and competitions.
13th world chess champion
Well-known chess player in the USSR and Russia Garry Kasparov is the thirteenth world chess champion. Place of birth - Baku, year - 1963. At the age of thirteen, he became the champion of the country in a youth tournament (in which 18-year-old chess players participated). At the age of 17, Kasparov received the title of grandmaster. The confrontation between the 12th and 13th champions - Karpov and Kasparov was one of the most powerful in the history of chess. In total, these two great chess players played as many as 5 matches for the world title. As a result, according to the results of the match, which lasted from September 1 to November 10, 1985, the chess player defeated Karpov with a score of 13:11, which brought him the title of the 13th world chess champion.
14 World Chess Champion
Vladimir Kramnik is the fourteenth world chess champion. He was born in 1975 in the city of Tuapse (Krasnodar Territory). In 1991, the chess player becomes the world champion in the youth tournament. In the late 90s, the 13th world champion Kasparov himself chose his opponent in the person of Kramnik, who at that time was second in the ratings. Their chess duel took place in 2000, as a result of which Kramnik won and received the title of the 14th champion. After that, in 2004 and 2006 he defended his title twice, defeating Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov.
15 World Chess Champion
Viswanathan Anand- A native of India, in the period from 2007 to 2013 he was the world chess champion, becoming the fifteenth holder of this title. Ananda was taught to play chess by his mother at the age of six, and since then the boy has shown good results in this sport. Already at the age of fourteen, Anand received the title of international master, becoming the youngest holder of the latter in India.
Rapidly moving up the ladder of chess achievements, in 2007 he won the title of world chess champion. The tournament was held in Mexico. In subsequent years (2008, 2010 and 2012), the chess player confirmed his title. At the moment Anand is the only champion in three different styles of play: knockout system, round robin and head-to-head matches with competitors.
16th world chess champion
Magnus Carlsen- Norwegian, sixteenth (and currently the last) world chess champion. He won the world title in 2013, having fought with the fifteenth world champion - Viswanathan Anand. The young champion began to play chess at the age of five with his father, and became seriously interested in the game at eight, starting to study special literature and play the game for 2-3 hours a day.
Possessing extraordinary abilities, Magnus quickly developed professional skills. Experts predicted Magnus the title of champion back in 2004. World-class grandmasters note that Magnus is not a unique strategist, but his ability to find solutions where others would agree to a draw, and to feel the opponent's psychology is amazing.
So far, it remains the first and only champion in three categories at the same time: classic game, blitz and rapid.
Good day, dear friend!
The strongest is always in sight. Everyone wants to know about him, to imitate his manners, style of behavior, methods of preparation. World Chess Champions not an exception. In today's article, we will remember who has held this title over the past 130 years.
If you want to follow the championship path, you have a lot of work ahead of you. And you can and should start with special training programs for chess players.
Why there are 16 champions
At the end of 2016 Magnus Carlsen defended the title of chess champion in a difficult match against Sergey Karjakin. Carlsen in chess world considered the 16th world champion.
And now about those fifteen outstanding chess players who were his predecessors.
It should be noted that the period 1993 to 2006. in the chess world it is customary to call it "time of troubles". At that time, the title existed in two versions - FIDE and PSHA. In addition, the title of the champion during this period was not played in matches, but in a tournament format. The winner of the tournament with the participation of contenders received the title of world champion.
No one detracts from the importance of victory in the fight for the championship.However, the value of the championship during this period of time is somewhat lower than the title won match . This is not an author's opinion, but an assessment of the chess world.
It is believed that there are 16 recognized champions in classical chess. These are the champions who won the title in a full official match. Let's talk about them in more detail. Who was champion in the 19th and 20th century, and who became champion literally today, at the end 2016.
All champions
The following is a list of men's champions in chronological order in classical chess. If you prefer detailed by years and in a more compact form, you are welcome here: history table.
1 world champion - Wilhelm STEINitz
Championship period 1886 - 1894. Represented Austria.
Steinitz - the very first official champion. The title was won as a result of winning the match with Zuckertort. Steinitz then defended his title twice. In 1889 in the first match M Chigorin and in 1892. - in the second. Between these two matches with the great Russian chess player, Steinitz beat I. Gunsberg.
Lost the title in 1894 in a match with Lasker.
Steinitz, like most chess players of the 19th century, was an adherent of the combination game. However, his approach already clearly showed a strategic approach to the game and the match as a whole. In particular, Steinitz knew how to save his strength for the final spurt and often outplayed his opponent at the very end of the match.
Last game of the match for the title against Zukertort
Steinitz,W - Zukertort,J
World Championship 1st USA (20) 3/29/1886
2 world champion - Emmanuil LASKER
Championship period 1894 - 1921. Represented Austria.
Second world champion. He is the champion in the duration of the championship - 27 years.
After the victory over Steinitz in 1894. he sat on the throne until 1921, when he lost the match to Capablanca.
Lasker is a universal style chess player. He had an excellent positional instinct and was especially strong in the endgame. Perhaps the first of the great chess players, gave great importance psychological aspects of the game. In addition to chess, he achieved fame as a mathematician.
"Championship" game of the match for the title against Steinitz
Lasker,E—Steinitz,W
World Championship 5th USA/CAN (19) 05/26/1894
3 world champion - Jose Raul CAPABLANCA
Championship period 1921 - 1927. Country - Cuba
Capablanca was a chess prodigy. Already in childhood, he began to show quite masterful results. In 1911 "thrown down the gauntlet to Lasker" in order to take the title away from him. The match, however, took place only in 1921. In Havana. As expected, Capablanca confidently defeated the fading champion.
Capablanca had the fame of a "chess machine". His playing style was distinguished by filigree technique, precise calculation of variations. Capablanca was a supporter of the theory of "draw death" of chess, believing that when the right game games must end in a draw.
In this he was mistaken, which was shown by the subsequent history of the development of chess. In chess, more and more new layers were opened up. Truly there is no limit to fantasy, creativity, psychology of influence.
In 1927 a historic match with Alexander Alekhine took place. Contrary to the expectations of Capablanca's victory, Alekhine won the match.
The confrontation between the great chess players lasted another twenty years. But they did not manage to meet in the match for the world championship.
Winning game of the title match against Lasker:
Lasker,E - Capablanca,J
World Championship 12th Havana (14) 04/20/1921
4 world champion - Alexander ALEKHIN
The period of "reign" 1927 - 1935, then 1937 - 1946. Represented Russia and France.
The first Russian world champion.
Alekhin was born in Russia. After various dramatic upheavals of the First World War, the proletarian revolution, in 1921, already being one of the leading chess players in the world, he finally left his homeland and settled in France.
In 1927 in the match for the world championship, he defeated J.R. Capablanca. In 1935 briefly lost the title to Max Euwe. Then he took revenge. The only champion who passed away with the title of world champion.
Alekhine is a versatile chess player. Analyst, researcher, writer. And of course a player of exceptional practical strength. Considered one of the strongest world champions of all time.
Final game of the championship match against Capablanca
Alekhine,A - Capablanca,J
World Championship 13th Buenos-Aires (34) 11/26/1927
5 world champion - Max EYWE
Championship period 1935 - 1937. Represented Holland.
The victory in the match over Alekhine was perceived as a sensation. Even Euwe's compatriots did not expect this, not to mention Alekhine himself, who easily agreed to play on the “opponent's field”. Whatever they say, Euwe's victory was deserved and won in a fair fight.
Max Euwe in life was an intelligent and versatile person. He taught mathematics and had the title of professor. In the future, he served as the head of FIDE.
A turning point in the match with Alekhine for the championship title:
Alekhine, A - Euwe, M
World Championship 16th NLD U25 12/01/1935
6 world champion - Mikhail BOTVINNIK
Championship periods: 1948 - 1957, then from 1958 to 1960, then from 1961 to 1963. Country - USSR.
The very first world champion from the USSR.
Mikhail Botvinnik learned chess at the age of twelve. Nevertheless, perseverance, perseverance and a "scientific" approach to chess did their job - by the age of 30, Botvinnik had moved to a leading position in Soviet and world chess.
Everyone was looking forward to the match for the title of champion with Alexander Alekhin. But the war got in the way. After the death of Alekhine in 1948, a match-tournament for the world championship took place, which brought a landslide victory for Botvinnik.
The only champion who twice regained the title of champion, defeating Mikhail Tal and Vasily Smyslov in rematches.
Botvinnik was distinguished by thoroughness of preparation, taking into account the psychological characteristics of his opponent, and a true champion's character.
The game in the match against Bronstein, in which Botvinnik equalized the score and retained the “crown”
Botvinnik,M - Bronstein,D
World Championship 19th Moscow (23) 05/08/1951
7th world champion - Vasily SMYSLOV
World Champion in 1957 - 1958. Country: USSR
Vasily Smyslov is a brilliant chess theorist and outstanding practitioner. As part of the USSR team, he won chess Olympiads ten times.
In 1957 won the qualifying round and got the opportunity to play a match with the world champion. The match with M. Botvinnik ended with the victory of Smyslov. Approximately a year later, Mikhail Botvinnik convincingly took revenge.
Decisive winning game in the match against Botvinnik
Smyslov,V - Botvinnik,M
World Championship 21th Moscow U20 04/23/1957
8 world champion - Mikhail TAL
World champion in 1960 - 1961. USSR
Tal defeated Mikhail Botvinnik in a championship match at the age of 23. This is a record for that time.
Tal professed an attacking combinational style of play. Did not take into account the victims on the altar of the attack. This manner impressed the audience very much. Mikhail Tal, without exaggeration, was everyone's favorite.
The Almighty generously endowed Tal with talent. But did not give health at all. Diseases became a common companion of Mikhail Nekhemievich in everyday life. And the sports mode for him was not something sacred.
Nevertheless, the huge talent and accumulated experience allowed Tal to be one of the leading chess players in the world until the last days.
Decisive game in the match for the title against Botvinnik
Tal,M - Botvinnik,M
World Championship 23th Moscow U19 05/03/1960
9th world champion - Tigran PETROSYAN
Championship period 1963 - 1969. USSR
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosyan won the right to contest the title in 1962 when he won the Candidates Tournament. The duel with M. Botvinnik took place in 1963. brought victory to Petrosian. Three years later he defended the title in a match with Boris Spassky. And yet three years later, in 1969. ceded the title to the latter.
Tigran Petrosyan was an outstanding "defender" and a master of positional play. With incredible ingenuity, he led the defense of difficult positions, at the first opportunity turning into a counterattack. Petrosyan's tactical vigilance was also at its best.
Petrosyan is an outstanding theoretician who generously shared his skills with young chess players. Conducted public work, was the editor-in-chief of the magazine "64". PhD in Philosophy.
Winning game in the title match against Botvinnik:
Petrosian,T-Botvinnik,M
World Championship 25th Moscow U19 05/11/1963
10 world champion - Boris SPASSKY
World champion in the period 1969 - 1972. Country: USSR, France
Boris Spassky back in 1955. won the junior world championship. It took another long fourteen years to get to adult triumph. That day came in 1969. the field of victory in the match over Petrosyan The second match in a row.
In 1972, a notorious match with Robert Fischer took place in which Boris Vasilyevich lost the crown to an outstanding American grandmaster.
Spassky is one of the most versatile chess players in best years he had no weaknesses and was incredibly difficult to defeat.
In the early eighties he moved to France. But he does not lose touch with his homeland, he visits Russia and helps young chess players. There are a few chess schools under the patronage of Spassky.
Winning game in the match against Petrosyan
Spassky,B-Petrosian,T
World Championship 27th Moscow U21 11.06.1969
11 world champion - Robert FISHER
Championship period 1972 - 1975. US citizenship
Robert Fischer devoted himself entirely to chess. Even dropped out of school. At fifteen, he is already a grandmaster. The youngest in history at that time.
In America, there was no state program for the development of chess, and in this regard, Fischer had a hard time. This is a man who made himself a world champion exclusively by himself. Talent, hard work, exceptional devotion to chess are the hallmarks of Robert Fischer.
Fischer has achieved exceptional game strength and is one of the strongest champions.
He won the title of champion in 1972, defeating all the contenders in the qualifying matches: Larsen, Taimanov (both dry -6: 0!), Petrosyan. In the match for the title, without visible effort, he defeated Boris Spassky.
Oddly enough, the final game of the match against Spassky turned out to be the last in Fischer's official career. He refused the match with Karpov, despite lengthy negotiations. Fischer never played more than one game in official tournaments. This is one of the biggest mysteries in chess history that remains unsolved to this day.
The final game of the match with Spassky:
Spassky,B—Fischer,R
World Championship 28th Reykjavik U21 08/31/1972
12 world champion - Anatoly KARPOV
The period of "reign" 1975 - 1985. Country: USSR / Russia
Anatoly Karpov returned the championship title to our country. And although the match with Fischer did not take place, Karpov's championship is not questioned in objectivity. At that time, he was the strongest grandmaster (not counting Fischer), who confidently won the qualifying round.
In the early 80s, the era of confrontation between Karpov and Kasparov began, who played several protracted matches between themselves. The last of them, in 1985, ended with the victory of Garry Kasparov.
Karpov is notable for his outstanding mastery of positional maneuvering and his pragmatic attitude to the game. In terms of the number of tournaments won, Anatoly Karpov is far superior to everyone else.
Anatoly Evgenievich is still in the ranks, periodically successfully participating in major tournaments.
The famous winning game against Viktor Korchnoi at 5:5
Karpov,A - Kortschnoj,V
World Championship 29th Baguio City (32) 10/17/1978
13th world champion - Garry Kasparov
World champion in the period 1985 - 2000. USSR / Russia
The star Garry Kasparov quickly rose on the chess horizon by the beginning of the 80s.
In 1981 he became the youngest champion of the country. Then the era of confrontation with Karpov began. In 1985 Harry finally tried on the crown of the champion.
For about 20 years, Kasparov had the highest rating among chess players, reaching a value of 2850 points. An astronomical figure for those times.
The independence of Kasparov's views also played a role in the emergence of disagreements with FIDE. As a result of which Kasparov organized an alternative organization - the PCA.
In recent years, Garry Kimovich has moved away from active chess.
Kasparov is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding chess players. It is distinguished by active, even aggressive style games, excellent opening preparation, accurate calculation of variations
Winning game in a match against Karpov in 1985.
Karpov, A - Kasparov, G
World Championship 32th-KK2 Moscow U24 09.11.1985
14th world champion - Vladimir KRAMNIK
World champion in the period 2000 - 2007. Represents Russia.
In 2006 Vladimir Kramnik won the match against Veselin Topalov and became the 14th world champion. It wasn't a surprise. Before fighting for the top title, Kramnik won the World Youth Championships twice and became the PCA World Champion. Thus both titles were merged.
About a year later, Kramnik lost the championship title to Anand.
Vladimir Kramnik's playing style is reminiscent of Karpov's. A chess player of exceptional strength, Kramnik is still among the elite of world chess, consistently occupying a place in the top five.
Decisive game against Kasparov for the title of champion according to the PSHA
Kramnik,V — Kasparov,G
BGN World Chess Championship London (10) 10/24/2000
15th world champion - Viswanathan ANAND
Championship period 2007 - 2013. Country: India
First International Grandmaster in India.
Vishy Anand became world champion by winning the championship tournament in Mexico City in 2007.
Then he successfully defended his title three times. The 15th world champion is exceptionally quick-thinking and a recognized master of rapid and blitz chess.
Known in chess as a true gentleman. Anand's attractive image combines the charm of José Rul Capablanca, Botvinnik's will to win, and Kasparov's energy and talent.
Resigned as World Champion in 2013 after losing a match to Carlsen.
Decisive game of the match against Kramnik:
Anand,V - Kramnik,V
WCh Bonn GER (6) 10/21/2008
16 world champion - Magnus CARLSEN
World Champion from 2013 to present. Norway
Magnus Carlsen is, without exaggeration, a chess prodigy. He became a grandmaster at the age of 13, breaking all conceivable records.
Magnus became the world champion in 2013, defeating Anand in a match. Has the highest rating in the history of chess.
More recently, at the end 2016defended his title in a match against Sergey Karjakin. Contrary to expectations, the match was difficult for the champion. Karjakin was at his best. According to other estimates, Carlsen was not in the best shape. One way or another, Magnus won only in a tie-break.
Magnus Carlsen is a public person. He travels a lot, goes in for sports, starred in commercials. I think we will hear his name for a long time. Both in connection with chess and outside of it.
Last winning game against Anand in the 2013 title match
Anand-Carlsen World Championship (9)
And a couple more words about champions
In conclusion, I will say that the titles of world chess champions exist, of course, not only among men and in classical chess. I consider it unnecessary to overload the article too much, I will simply list:
Women's World Champion: Hou Yifan, China
Blitz world champion 2017: Sergey Karyakin, Russia
World champions "tournament" in the period of "troubles" 1993-2006. - in this table at the end.
We will discuss these topics in more detail in future articles.
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On a cold January morning, Bukavshin was found dead in the room of the Togliatti sanatorium "Scarlet Paruses", where coaching camps were taking place. The doctors version is a stroke. The version of investigators is an accident. The verdict of the parents - the son was poisoned by envious people. And friends believe that Vanya was killed because of debts in the bookmaker's office. To unravel the knot, I had to go to Tolyatti and meet with those who saw Ivan a couple of hours before his death, and check out the most diverse versions of the death of a talented chess player - from real to the most insane.
Version number 1. Stroke
Ivan Bukavshin's mother, a 50-year-old woman who has not taken off her black scarf for almost a year, shows an SMS message from Ivan. “Mom, please collect the first aid kit. Don't forget the vitamins," the son asks.
See for yourself, there are no serious drugs on the list, - says Elena Bukavshina, - iodine, brilliant green, adhesive plaster, citramone ... He had excellent health. Before the training camp, I underwent a cardiogram. Doctors joked that they could be sent into space. What kind of stroke can be ...
And who established this cause of death? - we ask the lawyer Bukavshin Vladimir Zubkov.
Nurse. Imagine, the most ordinary nurse, - says Vladimir. - And the district police officer wrote it down from her words, even no one called the investigators.
No investigators - no case. Only six months later, at the request of the prosecutor's office, the case of Bukavshin's death was returned for additional investigation, because there was not enough evidence pointing to a stroke.
Version number 2. Poisoning
Let's make a reservation right away that only Ivan's parents and the lawyer believe in it. And that's why. The forensic medical examination showed that the day before the guy had taken a lethal dose of no-shpa, which entered the body in liquid form.
No traces of alcohol or drugs were found in the blood, continues the family's lawyer. - But the concentration of no-shpy in the stomach, liver, kidney was simply monstrous. According to the conclusion of the examination, these are concentrations exceeding the minimum lethal by several times.
But Vanya himself could not eat so many pills.
They dissolved them in grapefruit juice, which he often drank, the mother is sure.
It turns out that someone went into his room with Vanya while he was busy, poured the crushed pills into the juice and left. But who? Bukavshin had many friends, however, as well as envious people who were haunted by the fame of a young successful grandmaster. Bukavshin from the age of 10 won in various chess tournaments, received fees. Looking ahead a little, let's say that by the age of 21 he had saved 1.5 million rubles. The money was in a bank account.
When Ivan died, the mother of one of his rivals called me, I told her about the death of my son, so she answered me, they say, thank God, ”recalls Elena Bukavshina. - Why did she say that?
Some of his fellow rivals had Ivan's victories like a bone in their throat. So this time they met, as they say, face to face: Sanan Syugirov, Dmitry Frolyanov, Alexander Predke, Yakov Geller, Igor Lysy and Ivan Bukavshin.
Passed in February big tournament from a Russian airline, Bukavshin's friends tell us on condition of anonymity. - Prize fund- 10 million rubles. Everyone kept saying that Ivan would win. He was already a world champion. Prepare for these competitions. At the training camp, because of the competition, he quarreled with Andrei Mitin *. This is another guy who wanted to win. They scolded a lot. But then Andryukha, in a fit of anger, shouted, they say, anyway, you will not participate.
The investigation does not believe in such a coincidence. And he does not consider the version about poisoning, but works out another one - an accident.
Ivan drank the medicine, due to negligence, an overdose occurred, which led to an accident, - comments the senior assistant to the head of the Investigative Committee of the ICR for Samara region Elena Shkaeva.
This cannot be, - Elena Bukavshina insists. - He did not take no-shpu.
Version number 3. debts
We have already said that Ivan had a very decent amount in his account - 1.5 million rubles. Bukavshin's parents and friends knew about the money.
Ivan wanted to buy a good car, - says Elena Bukavshina. - We agreed. He earned himself - let him spend it himself, but not on some nonsense.
But time passed, and Vanya was in no hurry to buy a car. Chose. And then my mother found out that her son had been betting at a bookmaker for six months.
There was a conversation with him, but he assured me that the stakes were small, and he almost did not lose, - my mother recalls. - I don’t really understand anything about betting, I trusted him completely.
But those who have ever encountered gambling, knows how addictive it is. So Ivan got hooked.
By the end of last year, his debt in the office was almost a million rubles, say the chess player's friends. - He began to withdraw money from the card, then he generally lost money. But he was calm, he promised creditors that if I win 10 million, I will give everything back.
In the bookmaker’s office, Ivan was not particularly “pressed”, they knew that the guy was an athlete, responsible, they expected that he would give the money away, he would not go anywhere. But no - so they will not remain silent, they will inform the coach, and Ivan was afraid of this most of all. Suddenly removed from all competitions. After the death of Bukavshin, the investigators took the computer for study and mobile phone Ivan.
But why then die? Maybe he just didn't want to embarrass himself. After the version with a stroke, the investigation considered another version - suicide, but assumed that Ivan committed suicide because of unrequited love, and not because of debts.
The version of suicide due to unrequited love was originally, but now it is not being considered, - they explain in the Investigative Committee. - But the fact that there are many inconsistencies in the case, we know. We are working.
*According to the law, the surname and name of the hero have been changed.
Chess - board logic game figures on the 64 cell board. Each figure moves along certain cells-routes.
For the first time, chess is mentioned in records dating back to the 4th-5th centuries AD. They appeared in India. Chess came to our country straight from Persia around 820.
The title of world chess champion began to be played for the first time in 1886 and the first champion was Wilhelm Steinitz, a grandmaster from Austria. In the future, the official title was worn by about 20 more people.
But the only chess player who passed away with the rank of current world champion was Alexander Alekhine is a Russian grandmaster who also plays for France. 
He became the fourth world champion in history. Alekhine was an extremely versatile chess player. He is best known for his attacking style of play and spectacular, deeply calculated combinations. He is considered the greatest chess player of the 20th century. This will be the correct answer to the question.
The rest of the champions from this list: Mikhail Tal, José Raul Capablanca, Wilhelm Steinz gave their titles to other chess players in their lost matches during their lifetime.
