Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns.
Alekhine, c. 1924
Alekhine in 1909
Alekhine (left) vs. Efim Bogoljubov (right); Emanuel Lasker (sitting, center) and others looking on
Grave of Alexander Alekhine in Paris, France (reconstruction of the original which was destroyed in 1999)
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Ding Liren, who defeated his opponent Ian Nepomniachtchi in the 2023 World Chess Championship. Magnus Carlsen, the previous world champion, had declined to defend his title.
Ding Liren of China, the current world champion (2023)
A depiction of the chess match between Howard Staunton and Pierre Saint-Amant, on 16 December 1843.
Louis de la Bourdonnais, the world's strongest player from 1821 to his death in 1840
Howard Staunton, generally reckoned the world's leading player of the 1840s