The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013; he most recently defended it in the World Chess Championship 2021 against the challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia.
William Steinitz was an Austrian and later American chess player, and the first official World Chess Champion, from 1886 to 1894. He was also a highly influential writer and chess theoretician.
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he is widely renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play.
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years, from 1894 to 1921, the longest reign of any officially recognised World Chess Champion in history. In his prime, Lasker was one of the most dominant champions, and he is still generally regarded as one of the strongest players in history.
Frank James Marshall was the U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936, and one of the world's strongest chess players in the early part of the 20th century.
Siegbert Tarrasch was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest ones, and one of the most influential chess theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.
This is a timeline of chess. See also: Timeline of women in chess.
Norman Tweed Whitaker was an American International Master of chess, a lawyer, a civil servant, and a chess author. He was convicted of several crimes, was disbarred from the practice of law, and served several terms in prison. His most infamous criminal escapade was a confidence trick involving the Lindbergh kidnapping in 1932.
The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004, to October 18, 2004, in Brissago, Switzerland. Vladimir Kramnik, the defending champion, played Peter Leko, the challenger, in a fourteen-game match.
William Ewart Napier was an American chess master of English birth.
Hermann Helms was an American chess player, writer, and promoter. He is a member of the United States Chess Hall of Fame, organized as part of the World Chess Hall of Fame.
The 1921 World Chess Championship was played between José Raúl Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker. It was played in Capablanca's native Havana from March 18 to April 28. Capablanca won the match by a score of 9-5 to become the third World Chess Champion.
The World Chess Championship 1896–1897 was a match for the World Chess Championship, contested between Emanuel Lasker and Wilhelm Steinitz. It was played in Moscow between November 6, 1896, and January 14, 1897. Lasker won by a score of 10 wins to 2, thus retaining his title.
Emanuel Lasker faced Siegbert Tarrasch in the 1908 World Chess Championship. It was played from August 17 to September 30, 1908 in Düsseldorf and Munich, Lasker successfully defending his title.
Emanuel Lasker faced Carl Schlechter in the 1910 World Chess Championship. It was played from January 7 to February 10, 1910 in Vienna and Berlin. The match was tied and Lasker retained his title.
Emanuel Lasker faced David Janowski in the second 1910 World Chess Championship. The second of two Championship matches played in 1910 was contested from November 8 to December 8, 1910 in Berlin, Lasker successfully defending his title. In terms of the score it was the most one-sided World Chess Championship match in history.
A school of chess denotes a chess player or group of players that share common ideas about the strategy of the game. There have been several schools in the history of modern chess. Today there is less dependence on schools – players draw on many sources and play according to their personal style.
Zürich 1934 was an international chess tournament held in Zürich from 14 to 29 July 1934 to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Schachgesellschaft Zürich. Alexander Alekhine won, followed by Max Euwe and Salo Flohr tied for second-third. The tournament also served as the 1934 Swiss Championship, won by Hans Johner as the highest-ranking Swiss player.
The 1904 Cambridge Springs International Chess Congress was the first major international chess tournament in America in the twentieth century. It featured the participation of World Champion Emanuel Lasker, who had not played a tournament since 1900 and would not play again until 1909. After the tournament Lasker moved to America and started publishing Lasker's Chess Magazine, which ran from 1904 to 1907. However, that was not the only chess magazine spawned by the tournament. The Daily Bulletins produced by Hermann Helms proved so popular that Helms started the American Chess Bulletin as a direct consequence of the tournament. Volume 1, Issue 1 of the magazine was devoted to Cambridge Springs. Helms was somewhat more successful than Lasker as a publisher and American Chess Bulletin would be edited and published by Helms from 1904 until his death in 1963. The surprising upset victory of Frank Marshall marked his rise to prominence in American chess and he would eventually reign as champion of the United States for twenty-six years.
Emanuel Lasker 
Frank J. Marshall 
