| Reign | Unofficial World Champions 1821–1883 | Nation | Opponent | Nation | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1821–1840 | Louis-Charles Mahé de la Bourdonnais | France | Alexander McDonnell | England | 45 | 13 | 27 |
| 1840–1843 | Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant | France | Howard Staunton | England | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| 1843–1851 | Howard Staunton | England | Pierre Saint-Amant | France | 11 | 4 | 6 |
| 1851–1858 | Adolf Anderssen | Prussia | Marmaduke Wyvill | England | 4 | 1 | 2 |
| 1858–1862 | Paul Morphy | USA | Adolf Andersen | Prussia | 7 | 2 | 2 |
| 1862–1866 | Adolf Anderssen | Prussia | Louis Paulsen | Germany | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 1866–1883 | Johannes Zukertort | England | Wilhelm Steinitz | Austria | 22 | 0 | 4 |
| No. | Reign | Official World Champions 1886–present | Nation | Opponent | Nation | W | D | L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1886–1894 | Wilhelm Steinitz | Austria | Johannes Zukertort | England | 10 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | 1894–1921 | Emanuel Lasker | Germany | Wilhelm Steinitz | US | 10 | 4 | 5 |
| 3 | 1921–1927 | José Raùl Capablanca | Cuba | Emanuel Lasker | Germany | 4 | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | 1927–1935 | Alexander Alekhine | Russia | José Raùl Capablanca | Cuba | 6 | 25 | 3 |
| 5 | 1935–1937 | Max Euwe | Netherlands | Alexander Alekhine | France | 9 | 13 | 8 |
| 4 | 1937–1946 | Alexander Alekhine (d. 1946) | France | Max Euwe | Netherlands | 10 | 11 | 4 |
| 6 | 1948–1957 | Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR (Russia) | Vasily Smyslov | USSR (Russia) | 14 | ||
| 7 | 1957–1958 | Vasily Smyslov | USSR (Russia) | Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR (Russia) | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 6 | 1958–1960 | Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR (Russia) | Vasily Smyslov | USSR (Russia) | 7 | 11 | 5 |
| 8 | 1960–1961 | Mikhail Tal | USSR (Russia) | Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR (Russia) | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| 6 | 1961–1963 | Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR (Russia) | Mikhail Tal | USSR (Russia) | 10 | 6 | 5 |
| 9 | 1963–1969 | Tigran Petrosian | USSR (Georgia) | Mikhail Botvinnik | USSR (Russia) | 5 | 15 | 2 |
| 10 | 1969–1972 | Boris Spassky | USSR (Russia) | Tigran Petrosian | USSR (Georgia) | 6 | 13 | 4 |
| 11 | 1972–1975 | Bobby Fischer | USA | Boris Spassky | USSR (Russia) | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| 12 | 1975–1985 | Anatoly Karpov | USSR (Russia) | Bobby Fischer (default) | USA | |||
| 13 | 1988–2000 | Garry Kasparov | USSR (Russia) | Anatoly Karpov | USSR (Russia) | 5 | 16 | 3 |
| 14 | 2000–2007 | Vladimir Kramnik | USSR (Russia) | Garry Kasparov | Russia | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| 15 | 2007–2013 | Viswanathan Anand | India | Kramnik/Gelfand | Russia/Israel | |||
| 16 | 2013–2023 | Magnus Carlsen | Norway | Viswanathan Anand | India | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 16 | 2023– | Ding Liren | China | Ian Nepomniachtchi | Russia | 3 | 8 | 3 |
| Reign | FIDE World Champions 1993–2006 | Nation | Opponent | Nation | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1996 | Anatoly Karpov | Russia | Jan Timman | Netherlands | 6 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1999–2000 | Alexander Khalifman | Russia | Vladimir Akopian | Armenia | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2000–2002 | Viswanathan Anand | India | Alexei Shirov | Latvia | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2002–2004 | Ruslan Ponomariov | Ukraine | Vassily Ivanchuk | Ukraine | 2 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2004–2005 | Rustam Kasimdzhanov | Uzbekistan | Michael Adams | England | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2005–2006 | Veselin Topalov | Bulgaria | Anand/Peter Svidler | India/Russia |