Which chess player died as the current world champion. The only chess player who passed away with the rank of current world champion? Life under occupation

He spoke several European languages, had a doctorate in law, participated in hostilities, was wounded, was in prison and miraculously escaped execution. He was married several times, each time to women much older than himself, and suffered defeats in his personal life one after another. He traveled all over the world without feeling at home anywhere. The meaning of his life was chess.

Alexander Alekhine went down in history not only as the fourth world chess champion, but also as the only world champion so far who retained this title until the end of his days.

He was born 120 years ago, on October 31, 1892, in Moscow, into a wealthy aristocratic family. Mother was the daughter of a Moscow manufacturer, owner of the Trekhgornaya manufactory. Father - leader of the nobility, member of the State Duma.

Alexander Alekhine cannot be called a “chess prodigy”: by his own admission, he began to seriously study chess only at the age of 12. But by studying theory and gradually gaining experience, by the age of 20 he became one of the strongest chess players in the world.

October 1917 deprived him of his nobility and fortune. And in 1919, in Odessa, where Alekhine came to participate in one of the chess tournaments, he was arrested by the Cheka and sentenced to death. Rumors appeared in the West that Alekhine had died. But he was released - someone put in a good word for the chess player.

After his release, Alekhine worked for some time in the Odessa provincial executive committee, but with the beginning of the offensive of Denikin’s troops he returned to Moscow.

In 1920, he won the All-Russian Olympics in Moscow, which is considered the country's first championship, and became the first champion of Soviet Russia. And the following year, having married the Swiss journalist Anna Rügg, Alekhine emigrated from the country.

In 1925, Alekhine received French citizenship by naturalization and defended his doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne on the topic “The Imprisonment System in China.” But his life's work remained chess. In 1927, the 35-year-old chess player, having defeated Capablanca, became the fourth world champion.

Of the 88 tournaments in which Alekhine performed, he was first in 62. He was a supporter of a vibrant attacking style of play, an artist who created complex and effective multi-move combinations. Many of the maestro's roles were awarded prizes for beauty. “For me, chess is not a game, but an art,” he said.

Some noted his forgetfulness and absent-mindedness in everyday trifles, which contrasted sharply with his phenomenal chess memory: he remembered all the games he played and even several years later could accurately repeat and parse them. According to Capablanca, "Alekhine had the most remarkable chess memory that ever existed."

Alekhine was a big cat lover. His Siamese cat named Chess (translated from English as “chess”) was constantly present at competitions as a mascot. It is known, for example, that during a match with the Dutchman Max Euwe, the cat sniffed the board before each game.

It was Euwe who in 1935 temporarily took away from Alekhine chess crown. The Russian champion did not rate his opponent highly and paid for it. Although with difficulty, the young Dutchman achieved victory, becoming his fifth world champion. However, according to the terms of the agreement, Euwe had to confirm his title two years later during a rematch. At the designated time, Alekhine crushed Euwe to smithereens. Having regained the title of champion, he did not lose it to anyone else until his death.

In 1946, at the age of 53, Alekhine died suddenly. He was buried in Paris. The inscription on the monument is extremely simple: “Alexander Alekhine. Chess genius of Russia and France."

In 1970, when the participants in the “Match of the Century” (USSR vs. the rest of the world) were asked to name best chess player of all times, the majority named Alexander Alekhine.

Follow us

Hockey player Gordie Howe, weightlifter Leonid Zhabotinsky and many others. RT remembers the legends and idols of millions and pays tribute to those who have left our world.

Floated like a butterfly, stung like a bee

In early June, the world lost one of the most outstanding boxers, who was called the greatest even during his professional career. On June 3, Mohammed Ali died, a man whose name was known even to that category of people who are not interested in sports in principle.

Already at the age of 18, born Cassius Clay won an Olympic gold medal. He was proud of his achievement and appeared everywhere with his award. But after one of the establishments in his native Louisville refused to serve Clay, he left in upset feelings and on the same day threw the medal into the Ohio River.

Muhammad Ali globallookpress.com © imago sportfotodienst

Only in 1996, at the home Olympics in Atlanta, the champion was awarded a duplicate gold award. By this time, the boxer became known to everyone as Mohammed Ali. This happened after he firmly associated himself with the American organization “Nation of Islam”.

At 22, he became a world champion, but his refusal to serve in the US military stripped him of all his titles. Ali managed to return to the sport and, in the fight against the great boxers of his time, regained the title of world champion, and his confrontations with Joe Frazier and George Foreman became iconic. Mohammed was not shy about making sharp statements, and some of his phrases later became catchphrases. The most famous of them is “Hands work, eyes see. Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.”

Muhammad Ali globallookpress.com Ali retired from his career in 1980, and four years later he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which causes a disorder of the musculoskeletal system. At the age of 74, the boxer died due to septic shock. He left one of the most touching posts on social networks former champion world boxing champion Mike Tyson. “God has come for his champion. Great for a long time,” Tyson wrote on Twitter.

God came for his champion. So long great one. @MuhammadAli #TheGreatest #RIP pic.twitter.com/jhXyqOuabi

Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) June 4, 2016

Flying Dutchman

While still a football player, Johan Cruyff was close to the title of world and European champion, but in 1974 the Dutch lost to the German national team in the final of the world championship, and two years later at the continental championship they were content with only bronze medals.

Cruyff won title after title with Ajax, but at Barcelona he only managed to celebrate a triumph in the Spanish Championship once. However, as a coach, he filled the gap, leading the Catalans to gold medals four times in eight years.

Johan Cruyff

In the 90s, Barcelona became a dominant force, and under Cruyff's leadership, talents such as Pep Guardiola, Gheorghe Hadgi, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romario and Hristo Stoichkov emerged. In the 1991/92 season, Barcelona won the European Cup for the first time in history. But in 1996, the Dutchman left the Spanish team and never returned to coaching.

“What I love most is watching children play in the yard. This is the most sincere football. That’s exactly what my teams played,” Cruyff said.

He was a heavy smoker and was diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2015. In March 2016, the Dutchman died at the age of 68.

Mister Hockey

Just a week after the death of Muhammad Ali, the sports world suffered another irreparable loss. At the age of 89, Gordie Howe, a hockey legend, died after whom a specific hat-trick is named - a situation when a hockey player scores a puck, gives an assist and fights in one game. He was quite aggressive on the ice and good in attack, which provoked not only the appearance of the mentioned term, but also the nickname “Mr. Elbows”. However, as soon as Howe surpassed the mark of 500 goals scored in his career, the nickname “Mr. Hockey” was assigned to him for life.

Gordie Howe globallookpress.com © Doug Ball/STRTCPI

During his 35-year career, he primarily played for Detroit, with which he won four Stanley Cups. At the age of 43, he announced his retirement, but two years later he returned to big-time sports and joined the roster of the Houston Eros, which was then playing in the WHA. After the WHA and NHL merged, Howe played for the Hartford Whalers, where he ended his professional career in 1980. As a result, Detroit, Hartford and Houston retired Gordy's number 9 as a sign of respect.

IN last years life, health problems made themselves felt. In 2014, he suffered a stroke and died two years later.

Schwarzenegger's idol

One of the first losses of the year was the departure of Leonid Zhabotinsky. The weightlifter died two weeks before his 78th birthday.

In 1963, he set his first world record by lifting a barbell weighing 165 kg. But at the World Championships in Stockholm, such a result was not enough to win and he became a bronze medalist. In total, Jabotinsky set 19 world achievements during his career.

Leonid Zhabotinsky

RIA News

The streak of victories overtook Jabotinsky in the second half of the 60s of the last century. He won two golds - first at the Tokyo Olympics, and four years later in Mexico City. To two Olympic medals of the highest standard, he added four golds from the world championships and brought two from continental championships.

Over the years of his career, the Soviet athlete became a cult figure not only for his colleagues, but also for bodybuilders. The most famous of them, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has repeatedly called Leonid his idol and role model. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been rooting for you. Even during the Tokyo Olympics, although Shemanski and Gubner performed there. Of course, I was worried about them too, but for some reason I wanted you to win…” Schwarzenegger told Jabotinsky during his visit to the USA.

Death of the Brazilian football team

At the end of the year, there was a plane crash in Colombia that killed most of the Brazilian soccer team, Chapecoense. There were 77 people on board, six managed to survive, but the club goalkeeper Danilo died in one of the hospitals. There are five survivors, of which three are football players - 24-year-old goalkeeper Jaxon Follmann, 27-year-old defender Alan Ruschel and 31-year-old defensive player Neto.

FC Chapecoense

globallookpress.com © Marco Galvao/ZUMAPRESS.com Chapecoense went to the first match of the Copa Sudamericana against Atlético Nacional, but this game was not destined to take place. As a result, a proposal was made to declare the Brazilian team the winner of the tournament. The South American Football Confederation accepted it. Matches around the world began with a minute of silence in memory of the victims.

The match for the world chess championship title between Norwegian Magnus Carlsen and Russian Sergei Karjakin has become one of the main sporting events of the past year, not only in the world of chess. Unfortunately, such grandiose events will not be able to compensate for the bitterness of losses in this sport.

On June 6, the legendary grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi passed away. In 1978 and 1981, he twice claimed the chess crown, but lost to Anatoly Karpov on both occasions and was never able to go down in history as world champion.

Victor Korchnoi

RIA News

During the Karjakin-Carlsen meeting, 90-year-old chess player Mark Taimanov died, and the day before his death, grandmaster and former Russian classical chess champion Yuri Eliseev tragically died at the age of 20 - a young man fell from a great height while trying to climb from a window to a balcony .

Yuri Eliseev

© Russian Chess Federation

At the beginning of the year, a 20-year-old man died during training camp. Russian chess player Ivan Bukavshin. The cause of the tragedy was a stroke. Successes at a young age made him one of the most promising in his craft, but Bukavshin’s dreams were not destined to come true.

Ivan Bukavshin

© ladachess.ru A little more than a month was not enough for Samuil Zhukhovitsky to celebrate his 100th birthday. One of the oldest chess players in the world died at the age of 99, and one of the rapid chess competitions became a tournament in his memory.

Samuil Zhukhovitsky

© Wikimedia Commons

Also in the past year, the sports world lost chess player and author Evgeniy Gik, who died at the age of 73. In addition, international chess master Mark Dvoretsky passed away. He was 68 years old.

Evgeniy Gik © Wikimedia Commons

Football and hockey

On January 7, the famous football player and coach Sergei Shustikov, the son of the legendary Torpedo football player Viktor Shustikov, passed away. Sergei managed to play abroad, but did not achieve significant achievements in Spain. In 2004, he completed his career, and in 2009 he became the coach of CSKA. He left the capital's club five years later.

He died at the age of 45 in the arms of his wife. “We called an ambulance when the first attack occurred. When the doctors did not arrive for a long time, the second one happened. I had the earring in my hands. Breathed. I held him. He was weakening,” said Sergei’s wife Natalya after his death.

Sergey Shustikov (left)

RIA News

One of the most talented football players of his generation, Artyom Bezrodny, died at the age of 37. He was a prominent figure in Spartak, won the Russian championship four times, tried to play in Europe, but injuries and a difficult character did not allow him to prove himself as part of the German Bayer. Leaving Spartak in 2002 was the last notable milestone in Bezrodny’s career. Artyom died in his native Sumy.

Artyom Bezrodny

RIA News

In 2016, the football world lost two legends of Soviet football. The 1956 Olympic champions Anatoly Isaev and Anatoly Ilyin, who forged the glory of Moscow Spartak, have passed away.

Anatoly Isaev and Anatoly Ilyin.

globallookpress.com © Dmitry Golubovich/Russian Look

Two-time Olympic volleyball champion Galina Leontyeva died on February 4. In addition to victories at the Olympics, she became European champion twice and world champion once.

Galina Leontyeva

© Wikimedia Commons

Soviet track and field athlete Faina Melnik passed away on December 16. She had no equal in discus throwing at the 1972 Olympics. Melnik won the continental championships twice more (1971 and 1974).

Good day, dear friend!

The strongest is always in sight. Everyone wants to know about him, imitate his manners, style of behavior, and 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 path of a champion, you have a lot of work ahead of you. But we can and should start with special training programs for chess players.

Why are there 16 champions?

At the end of 2016 Magnus Carlsen defended his title of chess champion in a difficult match with 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 said that the period 1993 to 2006. in the chess world it is usually called “times of troubles”. At this time, the title existed in two versions - FIDE and PSA. In addition, the champion title during this period was played out not in matches, but in a tournament format. The winner of the tournament with the participation of candidates received the title of world champion.

Nobody belittles the significance of victory in the fight for the championship.However, the value of a championship during this period of time is somewhat lower than the title won match . This is not the 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 centuries, and who became champion literally today, at the end 2016.

All champions

Below is a list of men's champions in chronological order in classical chess. If you prefer details by year and in a more compact form, you are welcome here: table for the entire history.

1 world champion - Wilhelm STEINITZ

Championship period 1886 – 1894. Represented Austria.

Steinitz is the very first champion who has received official status. The title was won as a result of winning the match with Zukertort. Steinitz then defended his title twice. In 1889 in the first match by 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 a supporter of combination play. However, his approach already clearly showed a strategic approach to the game and the match as a whole. In particular, Steinitz knew how to conserve his strength for the finishing push and often outplayed his opponent at the end of the match.

Last game of the championship title match against Zukertort

Steinitz, W — Zukertort, J

World Championship 1st USA (20) 03/29/1886

2 world champion - Emmanuel LASKER

Championship period 1894 – 1921. Represented Austria.

Second world champion. He is the record holder for the longest championship - 27 years.

After the victory over Steinitz in 1894. sat on the throne until 1921, when he lost the match to Capablanca.

Lasker is a chess player of a universal style. He had excellent positional sense and was especially strong in the endgame. Perhaps the first of the great chess players, he 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 champion 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 “threw down the gauntlet” to Lasker” in order to take the champion title 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 and precise calculation of options. Capablanca was a proponent of the “draw death” theory of chess, believing that when proper game games must end in a draw.

In this he was wrong, as the subsequent history of the development of chess showed. More and more layers were opening up in chess. There truly is no limit to imagination, creativity, and the psychology of influence.

In 1927 A historic match took place with Alexander Alekhine. Contrary to expectations of Capablanca's victory, Alekhine won the match.

The confrontation between the great chess players lasted another twenty years. But they failed to meet in the world championship match.

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.

First Russian world champion.

Alekhine was born in Russia. After various dramatic events of the First World War and the proletarian revolution, in 1921, already 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 H.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 chess player of versatile talent. 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 EUWE

Championship period 1935 - 1937. Represented Holland.

The victory over Alekhine in the match 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.” No matter what they say, Euwe’s victory was deserved and won in a fair fight.

Max Euwe was an intelligent and versatile person in life. He taught mathematics and had the title of professor. Later he served as the head of FIDE.

The turning point in the match with Alekhine for the championship title:

Alekhine,A — Euwe,M

World Championship 16th NLD (25) 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 risen to a leading position in Soviet and world chess.

Everyone was looking forward to the championship match with Alexander Alekhine. But the war got in the way. After the death of Alekhine in 1948, a world championship match tournament was held, 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 the thoroughness of his preparation, taking into account the psychological characteristics of his opponent, and a real 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

7 world champion - Vasily SMYSLOV

World champion in 1957 - 1958 Country: USSR

Vasily Smyslov is a brilliant chess theorist and an outstanding practitioner. As a member of the USSR team, he won the 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 in victory for Smyslov. About a year later, Mikhail Botvinnik convincingly took revenge.

Decisive winning game in the match against Botvinnik

Smyslov,V — Botvinnik,M

World Championship 21th Moscow (20) 04/23/1957

8 world champion - Mikhail TAL

World champion in 1960 – 1961 USSR

Tal defeated Mikhail Botvinnik in the championship match at the age of 23. This is a record for that time.

Tal professed an attacking, combinational style of play. He did not take into account the victims on the altar of the attack. This manner greatly impressed the audience. Mikhail Tal, without exaggeration, was everyone's favorite.

The Almighty generously gifted Tal with talent. But it didn’t give me any health at all. Illnesses became Mikhail Nekhemievich’s usual companion in everyday life. And the sports mode was not something sacred for him.

Nevertheless, the enormous talent and accumulated experience allowed Tal to last days to be one of the leading chess players in the world.

Decisive game in the title match against Botvinnik

Tal,M — Botvinnik,M

World Championship 23th Moscow (19) 05/03/1960

9 world champion - Tigran PETROSYAN

Championship period 1963 – 1969. USSR

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosyan won the right to challenge the championship title in 1962, when he won the Candidates Tournament. The duel with M. Botvinnik took place in 1963. brought victory to Petrosyan. Three years later he defended his title in a match with Boris Spassky. And yet, three years later, in 1969. lost the title to the latter.

Tigran Petrosyan was an outstanding defender and master of positional play. With incredible ingenuity, he defended difficult positions, launching a counterattack at the first opportunity. Petrosyan's tactical vigilance was also excellent.

Petrosyan is an outstanding theorist who generously shared his skills with young chess players. He carried out social work and was the editor-in-chief of “64” magazine. Candidate of Philosophical Sciences.

Winning game in the title match against Botvinnik:

Petrosian,T — Botvinnik,M

World Championship 25th Moscow (19) 05/11/1963

10th world champion - Boris SPASSKY

World champion in the period 1969 – 1972. Country: USSR, France

Boris Spassky back in 1955 won the world championship among youths. It took another fourteen long years to reach adult triumph. This day came in 1969. field of victory in the match over Petrosyan The second match in a row.

In 1972, the infamous match with Robert Fischer took place in which Boris Vasilyevich lost the crown to the outstanding American grandmaster.

Spassky is one of the most versatile chess players in best years he didn't have weak points and it was incredibly difficult to defeat him.

In the early eighties he moved to France. But he doesn’t lose touch with his homeland, he visits Russia and helps young chess players. There are several chess schools under the patronage of Spassky.

Winning game in the match against Petrosyan

Spassky,B — Petrosian,T

World Championship 27th Moscow (21) 06/11/1969

11th world champion - Robert FISCHER

Championship period 1972 – 1975 US Citizenship

Robert Fischer devoted himself entirely to chess. I even dropped out of school. At the age of 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 difficult time. This is a man who made himself a world champion entirely on his own. Talent, efficiency, and exceptional dedication to chess are the hallmarks of Robert Fischer.

Fischer has achieved exceptional playing power and is one of the strongest champions.

He won the champion title in 1972, defeating all the contenders in the qualifying matches: Larsen, Taimanov (both dry -6:0!), Petrosyan. In the match for the title, he defeated Boris Spassky without any visible effort.

Oddly enough, the final game of the match with Spassky turned out to be the last in Fischer's official career. He refused the match with Karpov, despite lengthy negotiations. Fischer never played another game in official tournaments. This is one of the biggest mysteries in chess history, not solved to this day.

Final game of the match with Spassky:

Spassky,B — Fischer,R

World Championship 28th Reykjavik (21) 08/31/1972

12th world champion - Anatoly KARPOV

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 objectively questioned. 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 them. The last of them, in 1985, ended with the victory of Garry Kasparov.

Karpov is distinguished by his outstanding skill in positional maneuvering and pragmatic attitude to the game. In terms of the number of tournaments won, Anatoly Karpov far surpasses everyone else.

Anatoly Evgenievich is still in the ranks, periodically participating in major tournaments with success.

The famous winning game against Viktor Korchnoi with the score 5:5

Karpov,A - Kortschnoj,V

World Championship 29th Baguio City (32) 10/17/1978

13th world champion - Garry KASPAROV

World champion from 1985 to 2000. USSR/Russia

Garry Kasparov's star quickly rose on the chess horizon by the early 1980s.

In 1981, he became the youngest national champion. Then the era of confrontation with Karpov began. In 1985 Harry finally tried on the champion's crown.

For about 20 years, Kasparov had the highest rating among chess players, reaching 2850 points. The figure was astronomical for those times.

Kasparov’s independence of views also played a role in the emergence of disagreements with FIDE. As a result, Kasparov organized an alternative organization - PSA.

In recent years, Garry Kimovich has retreated from active chess.

Kasparov is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding chess players. He is distinguished by his active, even aggressive style games, excellent opening preparation, accurate calculation of options

The winning game in the match against Karpov in 1985.

Karpov, A — Kasparov, G

World Championship 32th-KK2 Moscow (24) 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. This was not a surprise. Before competing for the top title, Kramnik won the world junior championships twice and became the PSA world champion. Thus both titles were combined.

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 one of the elite of world chess, consistently occupying a place in the top five.

Decisive game against Kasparov for the title of PCA champion

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 a 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 distinguished by exceptionally fast thinking and is a recognized master of rapid chess and blitz.

Known in chess as a true gentleman. Anand's attractive image combines the charm of Jose Ruhl Capablanca, the will to win of Botvinnik, and the energy and talent of Kasparov.

He resigned as world champion in 2013, losing a match to Carlsen.

Decisive game of the match against Kramnik:

Anand,V — Kramnik,V

WCh Bonn GER (6) 10/21/2008

16th 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 imaginable records.

Magnus became the world champion in 2013, defeating Anand in a match. Has the highest rating in the history of chess.

Just 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 tiebreaker.

Magnus Carlsen is a public person. Travels a lot, plays sports, acts in commercials. I think we will be hearing his name for a long time. Both in connection with chess and beyond it.

Last winning game against Anand in the 2013 championship match

Anand-Carlsen World Championship (9)

And a few more words about the 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 think it’s unnecessary to overload the article, I’ll just list:

Women's World Champion: Hou Yifan, China

World blitz champion 2017: Sergey Karyakin, Russia

“Tournament” world champions during the period of “turmoil” 1993-2006. - in this table at the end.

We will discuss these topics in more detail in the following articles.

Thank you for your interest in the article.

If you found it useful, please do the following:

1. Share with your friends by clicking on the social media buttons.
2. Write a comment (at the bottom of the page)
3. Subscribe to blog updates (form under the social media buttons) and receive articles in your email.

Have a nice day!

So, today is Saturday, May 20, 2017, and we traditionally offer you answers to the quiz in the “Question and Answer” format. We encounter questions ranging from the simplest to the most complex. The quiz is very interesting and quite popular, we are simply helping you test your knowledge and make sure that you have chosen the correct answer out of the four proposed. And we have another question in the quiz - Who was the only chess player who died as the current world champion?

• Wilhelm Steinz
• Mikhaid Tal
• Jose Raul Capablanca
• Alexander Alekhine

The correct answer is D - Alexander Alekhine

Alexander Alekhine (1892 1946) - Russian chess player, fourth world chess champion - from 1927 (after defeating Capablanca) to 1935 and from 1937 (after defeating Max Euwe) to 1946. In 1921 he emigrated to France. Alekhine is a representative of the Russian chess school Alexander Petrov and Mikhail Chigorin. A brilliant combinational chess player, world record holder in blindfold play. Alekhine is the only chess player who died while being the current world champion.

Chess - tabletop logic game pieces on a 64-cell board. Each figure moves along certain square routes.

Chess was first 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 champion in chess began to be played for the first time in 1886 and the first champion was Wilhelm Steinitz, a grandmaster from Austria. Subsequently, about 20 more people bore the official title.

But the only chess player who passed away with the rank of current world champion was Alexander Alekhine - Russian grandmaster also playing 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, Jose Raul Capablanca, Wilhelm Steinz, during their lifetime, gave up their title in lost fights to other chess players.