Wilhelm Steinitz (Austria, USA) 1886-1894
Emanuel Lasker (Germany) 1894-1921
Jose Raul Capablanca (Cuba) 1921-1927
Alexander Alekhine (France) 1927-1935; 1937-1946
Max Euwe (The Netherlands) 1935-1937
Mikhail Botvinnik (USSR) 1948- 1957; 1958-1960; 1961-1963
Vasily Smyslov (USSR) 1957-1958
Mikhail Tal (USSR) 1960-1961
Tigran Petrosian (USSR) 1963-1969
Boris Spassky (USSR) 1969-1972
Bobby Fischer (USA) 1972-1975
Anatoly Karpov (USSR) 1975-1985
Garry Kasparov (USSR) 1985-1993
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia) 2006-2007
Viswanathan Anand (India) 2007-2013
Magnus Carlsen (Norway) 2013-2023
Ding Liren (China) 2023