Back Şahmat üzrə dünya çempionlarının siyahısı Azerbaijani Llista de matxs pel campionat del món d'escacs Catalan Liste der Schachweltmeisterschaften German Luettelo shakin maailmanmestaruusotteluista Finnish Encontros polo campionato do mundo de xadrez Galician Sakkvilágbajnokságok listája Hungarian チェスの世界チャンピオン一覧 Japanese Sąrašas:Pasaulio šachmatų čempionatai Lithuanian Мечеви за титулата светски првак во шах Macedonian Lijst van winnaars van het wereldkampioenschap schaken Dutch
The World Chess Championship has taken various forms over time, including both match and tournament play. While the concept of a world champion of chess had already existed for decades, with several events considered by some to have established the world's foremost player, an event explicitly held to decide a world champion did not take place until 1886. World Championships were initially privately organized matches, with each requiring the consent of the incumbent champion in order to take place. After 1948, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) began organizing the Championship under its auspices. The championship was fixed to a three-year cycle, with each challenger decided by a Candidates Tournament. In 1993, the short-lived Professional Chess Association (PCA) split from FIDE, and as a result there were two competing World Championship titles between 1993 and 2006.