# Who is the greatest world chess champion of all time?

> Seventeen men have held the title since 1886, and almost none of them held it the same way. Some crushed the field, some squeaked through, one never played a game for it.

*By YPB Team · Published September 16, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/who-is-the-greatest-world-chess-champion-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Garry Kasparov** — score 1000/1000
   Champion from 1985 to 2000 and world number one for 255 months.
2. **Ding Liren** — score 724/1000
   Champion from 2023 to 2024 and the first Chinese player to hold the title.
3. **Mikhail Tal** — score 724/1000
   The Magician from Riga, champion in 1960 at the age of 23.
4. **José Raúl Capablanca** — score 689/1000
   Champion from 1921 to 1927, famous for winning without visible effort.
5. **Wilhelm Steinitz** — score 665/1000
   The first official world champion, crowned in 1886.
6. **Mikhail Botvinnik** — score 665/1000
   Champion across three separate reigns and the architect of the Soviet chess school.
7. **Alexander Alekhine** — score 517/1000
   Champion from 1927 to 1935 and 1937 to 1946, and the only one to die holding the title.
8. **Tigran Petrosian** — score 517/1000
   Champion from 1963 to 1969 and close to impossible to attack.
9. **Gukesh Dommaraju** — score 517/1000
   The youngest undisputed world champion, crowned in 2024 at 18.
10. **Bobby Fischer** — score 423/1000
   Champion in 1972 after the most watched match the game has ever staged.
11. **Viswanathan Anand** — score 423/1000
   Champion from 2007 to 2013 and the first Indian to hold the title.
12. **Anatoly Karpov** — score 310/1000
   Champion from 1975 to 1985, then FIDE champion again through the 1990s.
13. **Vladimir Kramnik** — score 310/1000
   Took the title from Kasparov in 2000 without losing a single game.
14. **Max Euwe** — score 310/1000
   Champion from 1935 to 1937 and later the president of FIDE.
15. **Vasily Smyslov** — score 310/1000
   Champion in 1957 and a title contender across three decades.
16. **Magnus Carlsen** — score 0/1000
   Champion from 2013 to 2023 and holder of the highest rating ever recorded.
17. **Emanuel Lasker** — score 0/1000
   Held the title for 27 years, longer than anyone before or since.
18. **Boris Spassky** — score 0/1000
   Champion from 1969 to 1972 and the other half of the Reykjavik match.

Tags: sports, chess, players, legends, all-time