The first officially recognized world Chess championship was held in 1886, when Wilhelm Steinitz beat Johannes Zukertort in a match held in the USA. The outstanding players before this date are well known, but there were no official champions. Each champion has their own particular brand of play - be it aggressive, attacking, tactical or strategic - which is just as personal as their signature.  --Chesmayne

Viswanathan Anand wins the World Championship in Mexico City and becomes the undisputed World Chess Champion. Anand finishes undefeated with 9.0 points out of 14 games in an 8-player, double round robin tournament. Kramnik takes second place.

World #1 Magnus Carlsen becomes the undisputed World Chess Champion by defeating Viswanathan Anand in Chennai, India by 6.5 - 3.5 points without losing a single game. In February 2013, he attained a rating of 2872 which was the highest in history.

Chess champion Magnus Carlsen retained his title defeating GM Viswanathan Anand in the 11th round of their title match by 6.5 - 4.5 points. On move 24, Anand went for an exchange sacrifice giving up his Rook for Carlsen’s black Bishop ending up without sufficient counter play. The match was held from Nov. 7 / Nov. 28, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

GM Magnus Carlsen retained his world title against challenger Sergey Karjakin from Russia winning the rapid tie-break 3 to 1 after the 12 game match ended in a draw with a 6.0-6.0 score. Carlsen wins tie-break game #4 with a spectacular Queen sacrifice final move. This match took place in New York City, from November 11 to November 30, 2016.

Magnus Carlsen defeats Fabiano Caruana and remains the world champion by winning the rapid tie-breaks games after the 12 game match ended in a draw with a 6-6 score. Both had drawn all 12 games, something unprecedented in the 132-year history of the competition. This match was held in London, UK from Nov. 9 to Nov. 28, 2018.