Chess History Stories: World Champions, Grandmasters and Their Times

Chessboard with a black king piece outlined in yellow and a small yellow tag

Chess history is usually told through its title holders, yet the game’s past also lives in scoring experiments, composed problems, set designers and festivals where players of many games meet. The chess history stories collected here move between those threads. Some follow a person, some follow a rule, and a few follow a single position on the board.

World champions history: from Steinitz to FIDE

The first world championship match that is generally recognised was played in 1886 between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort, and Steinitz won it. Some writers date his reign from an earlier match against Anderssen in 1866, which is why the start of the list is still discussed. After Alexander Alekhine died in 1946, FIDE took over the administration of the title, and the 1948 tournament made Mikhail Botvinnik the first champion under its control.

The world champions history under FIDE begins there, and it is also the start of a long Soviet run. Bobby Fischer beat Boris Spassky 12½–8½ in Iceland in 1972 and ended 24 years of Soviet domination. In 1993 Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short broke away and played under a rival body, so two champions existed until the titles were unified in 2006.

Botvinnik is the figure most of this part of the world champions history circles. The article on Mikhail Botvinnik and Soviet Politics sets his own words about his convictions beside the 1938 negotiations for an Alekhine match and the way historians read his position. A second piece, on Lev Khariton and Botvinnik’s Last Decades, follows the champion after he stopped playing in 1970: the school he founded in 1963, the Pioneer chess program and the English edition of his memoir.

Grandmasters and the titles behind them

Before 1950 the word grandmaster was informal. FIDE then created the title and gave it to 27 players, Botvinnik among them. Today a player needs three norms and a rating of at least 2500 at some point, and the title is held for life. As of 2025 there were about 2,000 grandmasters, of whom 44 were women.

Grandmasters and near-grandmasters fill many of the stories, and two players of very different kinds appear here. Israel Zilber was born in Riga in 1933, won the Latvian title and later played in Israel and the United States, and a character in the film Searching for Bobby Fischer is based on him. David Levy held the lower International Master title and is remembered less for his over-the-board results than for a ten-year bet against computers and for his work in organising computer events.

Stories about rules, scoring and festivals

Few arguments run as long as the one about drawn games. The piece on BAP scoring explains a scheme in which a draw with White scores nothing, and sets it beside the Sofia rules of 2005, which banned draws by agreement, and the 3-1-0 system that football adopted in 1994. FIDE’s own thirty-move rule of 1929 lasted, in changing forms, until 1964.

Outside the standard game, the Mind Sports Olympiad began in 1997 at the Royal Festival Hall in London and brought chess together with other mind sports. The World Xiangqi Championship has been held since Singapore in 1990, and its Munich edition of 2015 is one of the stops. Xiangqi is played on a board of nine by ten lines with sixteen pieces a side, and a player with no legal move loses, which is the opposite of the chess stalemate rule.

Problems, notation and objects

A chess problem is a composed position, and a mate in n asks White to force checkmate within a stated number of moves. Most are short. The article on Mate in 64 looks at a long forced mate and how engines solve it, and it compares the position with the much longer mate in 203.

Language and objects belong to chess history as well. Russian Chess Terms and Notation for Readers explains the piece letters and the words for check, mate and zugzwang, and Peter Ganine Chess Sets traces a sculptor whose Classic set of 1961 reached the screen in the Star Trek tri-dimensional board. Among the chess history stories on the margins is one odd entry, The Art of Trolling, asks where the word troll comes from and what researchers found about who trolls and why.

All chess history stories on this site

HistoryAugustus Mongredien: Corn Merchant, Free-Trade Writer and Chess PlayerAugustus Mongredien (1807-1888) was a London corn merchant, free trade writer and strong amateur chess player who met Morphy and played in London 1862.HistoryBAP Scoring: The Ballard Anti-Draw Point System in ChessHow the Ballard Anti-Draw Point (BAP) system scores chess games, why a draw as White earns nothing, and how it compares with 3-1-0 and other anti-draw measures.HistoryDavid Levy: Chess Player, Author and Computer Chess PioneerDavid Levy's career: Scottish champion, International Master, the ten-year computer chess bet, Mind Sports Olympiad co-founder and computer games organiser.HistoryIsrael Zilber: Latvian Champion and Washington Square Park LegendIsrael Zilber, born in Riga in 1933, won the Latvian title, beat Mikhail Tal, played in Israel and the US, and inspired a Searching for Bobby Fischer character.HistoryLev Khariton and Botvinnik's Last Decades: School and ComputersLev Khariton, assistant to Mikhail Botvinnik, and the champion's later work: his chess school, the Pioneer chess program and the English edition of his memoir.HistoryThe Mate in 64 Problem: A Very Long Forced Mate ExplainedA queen and king against sixteen black pieces: the mate in 64 position, its 1879 newspaper source, engine solutions and how it compares with the mate in 203.HistoryMikhail Botvinnik and Soviet Politics: Conviction, Caution and ChessBotvinnik and the Soviet state: his stated convictions, the 1938 Alekhine negotiations, institutional favour, and how historians describe his stance on it.HistoryMind Sports Olympiad: History, Events and Satellite FestivalsHow the Mind Sports Olympiad began in 1997, what the Pentamind and Decamentathlon measure, where it has been held, and which cities hosted satellite festivals.HistoryPeter Ganine Chess Sets: The Sculptor and His DesignsPeter Ganine, the sculptor behind the Superba Gothic and Classic chess sets, his career from Tiflis to Hollywood, and the Star Trek tri-dimensional chessboard.HistoryRussian Chess Terms and Notation: A Reader's GlossaryThe Russian piece letters, the words for check, mate, draw and zugzwang, and how figurine notation lets readers follow Russian chess books without the language.HistoryThe Art of Trolling: Where the Word Comes From and What Research ShowsHow the word troll entered online talk, what studies of toxic comments and trolling found, and why ordinary people can troll when mood and context push them.HistoryWorld Xiangqi Championship: History, Winners and Munich 2015The World Xiangqi Championship from Singapore 1990 to Shanghai 2025, the Munich edition of 2015, the main title winners and how Chinese chess differs.

Questions

Who was the first world chess champion?

Wilhelm Steinitz, who won the 1886 match against Johannes Zukertort that is generally treated as the first official world championship. A minority view starts his reign with a victory over Adolf Anderssen in 1866.

When did FIDE take over the world championship?

After Alexander Alekhine died in 1946. The 1948 tournament, won by Mikhail Botvinnik, was the first title contest under FIDE. The split of 1993 ended with reunification in 2006.

How does a player become a grandmaster?

Through three norms, at least one from a qualifying event, and a FIDE rating of at least 2500 at some point. FIDE first awarded the title in 1950 to 27 players.

Where can chess history stories about draws and scoring be found?

The article on BAP scoring covers one anti-draw system, and it compares the Sofia rules, the 3-1-0 system and the old thirty-move rule that FIDE used between 1929 and 1964.