A list of undisputed world chess champions
| # | Name | Year | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilhelm Steinitz | 1886–1894 | Austria-Hungary, England, United States |
| 2 | Emanuel Lasker | 1894–1921 | Germany |
| 3 | José Raúl Capablanca | 1921–1927 | Cuba |
| 4 | Alexander Alekhine | 1927–1935, 1937-1946 |
Russia, France |
| 5 | Max Euwe | 1935–1937 | Netherlands |
| 6 | Mikhail Botvinnik | 1948–1957, 1958-1960, 1961-1963 |
Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 7 | Vasily Smyslov | 1957–1958 | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 8 | Mikhail Tal | 1960–1961 | Soviet Union (Latvia) |
| 9 | Tigran Petrosian | 1963–1969 | Soviet Union (Armenia) |
| 10 | Boris Spassky | 1969–1972 | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 11 | Robert James Fischer | 1972–1975 | United States |
| 12 | Anatoly Karpov | 1975–1985 | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 13 | Garry Kasparov | 1985–1993 | Soviet Union (Russia) |
| 14 | Vladimir Kramnik | 2006-2007 | Russia |
| 15 | Viswanathan Anand | 2007-2013 | India |
| 16 | Magnus Carlsen | 2013-present | Norway |