Games - World Chess Championship

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	Games - World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Both men and women are eligible to contest this title.

In addition, there is a separate event for women only, for the title of "Woman's World Champion", and separate competitions and titles for juniors, seniors and computers. However, these days the strongest competitors in the junior, senior, and women's categories often forego these niche title events in order to pursue top level competition, although they continue to be part of chess tradition. Computers are barred from competing for the open title.

As of 2005, there is no consensus on who owns the title. Vladimir Kramnik is considered by many to be World Champion (having defeated the last undisputed World Champion Garry Kasparov as well as drawing his challenger in 2004, Péter Lékó), but Veselin Topalov is the official FIDE World Champion, having won the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005.

Some of the controversy has come because up until the 1990s the World Chess Championship was determined either in individual match play or in a small round robin event, at "classical" (long) time controls. The FIDE events beginning in 1997 were played with over 100 players at faster time controls in a knockout format. Very fast games were used to resolve ties at the end of each round, a format which some felt did not necessarily recognize the highest quality play. GM Kramnik, GM Kasparov, and a few other top players refused to participate in the new format, and GM Kramnik's title matches were held under traditional conditions. The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 attempted to resolve this by altering the format to a small round robin tournament of elite players, at classical time-controls.

The World Champion is not necessarily the highest-rated player in the world: Garry Kasparov, Veselin Topalov, Viswanathan Anand, Peter Svidler, and Levon Aronian are the five highest-ranked players on the January 2006 FIDE rating list, but only Topalov holds a championship title. Kramnik is ranked 6th in the world while the previous FIDE Champion Kasimdzhanov is ranked 32nd.

Reigns of the Champions

See also image gallery and List of chess world championship matches.

Unofficial World Champions

Pedro Damião
, ~1520, Portugal
Ruy López de Segura
, ~1560, Spain
Paolo Boi
and Leonardo da Cutri, ~1575, Italy
Alessandro Salvio
, ~1600, Italy
Gioacchino Greco
, ~1620, Italy
Legall de Kermeur
, ~1730–1747, France
Francois-André Philidor, ~1747–1795, France
Alexandre Deschapelles
, ~1800–1820, France
Louis de la Bourdonnais, ~1820–1840, France
Howard Staunton
, 1843–1851, England
Adolf Anderssen
, 1851–1858, Germany
Paul Morphy, 1858–1859, United States
Adolf Anderssen
, 1858–1866, Germany
Wilhelm Steinitz
, 1866–1886, Austria

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