World Championship 1886: Steinitz – Zukertort

When Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort sat down in 1886, they were playing for a title that had never formally existed. It is now recognised as the first official World Chess Championship, and Steinitz's victory made him the first World Champion in history.

◇Two claimants to the title

Steinitz and Zukertort had long been regarded as the two strongest players alive, and their rivalry was bitter. Their 1886 match — the winner being the first to ten wins, draws not counting — was staged across three American cities: New York, St. Louis, and New Orleans.

Zukertort had won the great London 1883 tournament ahead of Steinitz, and he began the match brilliantly, racing to a lead after the New York games.

◇Steinitz's fightback

As the match moved west, the tide turned completely. Steinitz — whose positional, scientific approach was reshaping how chess was understood — overwhelmed Zukertort in St. Louis and New Orleans, winning the match with ten wins to five and five draws (12½–7½).

Steinitz held the world title until 1894, when he lost it to Emanuel Lasker. His ideas about planning, structure, and the accumulation of small advantages became the foundation of modern chess.