The uncrowned kings

Closest to the crown

• 1886 World Chess Championship 1886 (New York / St. Louis / New Orleans): Contested the first official World Chess Championship match against Wilhelm Steinitz
• 1886 World Chess Championship 1886 Early Stage: Led 4–1, then lost four of the last five games and the match 12½–7½

Why the title never came

• His health suffered after the 1886 match, and he was much weaker in his last two years source
• He never approached Steinitz's understanding of positional play, and Steinitz often outmanoeuvred him source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1883 Triumphant victory at London 1883, scoring 22/26 and finishing 3 points ahead of Steinitz
• 1883 London 1883 established him and Steinitz as the two best players in the world
• 1888 Was leading a tournament at Simpson's Divan when he died in 1888

Closest to the crown

• 1889 World Chess Championship 1889, Havana: First world championship challenge against Wilhelm Steinitz, losing 10.5–6.5
• 1892 World Chess Championship 1892, Havana: Second world championship challenge against Steinitz, narrowly losing 12.5–10.5

Why the title never came

• In game 23 of the 1892 match, his 32.Bb4?? allowed mate, ending the game and the match source
• Blundered in games 22 and 23 after leveling the 1892 title match at 8–8 source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1895 Second place at the legendary Hastings 1895 tournament ahead of Lasker, Tarrasch, and Steinitz
• 1889 Tied for first at the 1889 New York tournament with Max Weiss
• 1890 Won both games of the 1890 theoretical cable match against Wilhelm Steinitz

Closest to the crown

• 1892 World Championship Opportunity 1892: Dominant score (+3–0=1) against Steinitz, but declined a world title challenge
• 1908 World Chess Championship 1908, Germany: Lasker finally agreed to a title match in 1908; Lasker won +8−3=5

Why the title never came

• Prioritized his profession as a medical doctor during his competitive peak in the early 1890s source
• Decisively defeated by Emanuel Lasker in the 1908 World Championship match source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1894 Won four major consecutive European super-tournaments
• 1890 May have been the best player in the world in the early 1890s
• 1914 At St Petersburg 1914, behind only Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine

Closest to the crown

• 1895 Hastings 1895 Chess Tournament: Won at 22, one of the strongest tournaments of the time
• 1896 Saint Petersburg 1895–96 Quadrangular Tournament: Lost a critical fourth-cycle game to Lasker; Kasparov has suggested a win could have forced a title match

Why the title never came

• Poor mental and physical health, from a syphilis infection, held him back for the rest of his life source
• He died of the illness in 1906, aged 33 source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1895 Won Hastings 1895, one of the strongest tournaments of the time
• 1897 Reigned as United States Champion from 1897 until his death in 1906
• 1904 Maintained an even lifetime record (+5−5=4) against World Champion Emanuel Lasker

Closest to the crown

• 1914 World Chess Championship Match against Emanuel Lasker: Scheduled to challenge Emanuel Lasker for the world championship in 1914, but cancelled due to World War I
• 1909 St. Petersburg Tournament: Tied for first place with reigning World Champion Emanuel Lasker and defeated Lasker in their individual game

Why the title never came

• The outbreak of World War I in 1914 cancelled his agreed world title match against Emanuel Lasker source
• After 1932 he withdrew from tournament play: his social anxiety showed signs of schizophrenia during a mental health breakdown source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1912 Historic 1912 season: won five consecutive major international tournaments
• 1909 First place tie with Emanuel Lasker at St. Petersburg 1909
• 1930 Won the 1930 Hamburg Olympiad unbeaten, with 13 wins and 4 draws

Closest to the crown

• 1938 AVRO Tournament: Won, which led to negotiations for a title match with Alekhine; the war stopped it
• 1953–1962 Candidates Tournaments: Finished runner-up on four consecutive occasions (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962)

Why the title never came

• The outbreak of World War II in 1939 halted negotiations for a title match with Alexander Alekhine after his AVRO 1938 triumph source
• After the war he was suspected of collaborating with the Nazis and questioned by the Soviet authorities source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1938 Winner of the elite AVRO 1938 Tournament
• 1947–1951 Won the USSR Championship three times, including Leningrad 1947 and Moscow 1950
• 1954–1964 Seven consecutive Olympiad team golds and five board gold medals

Closest to the crown

• 1951 World Chess Championship Match, Moscow: Tied 12–12 (+5−5=14) against reigning champion Mikhail Botvinnik; Botvinnik retained title under FIDE rules
• 1950 Budapest Candidates Tournament: Tied for first with Isaac Boleslavsky, won the playoff match to challenge for the world championship

Why the title never came

• Led by one point with two games to go in the 1951 match, but lost game 23 and drew game 24, enabling Botvinnik to retain the title on a tie source
• Botvinnik blamed a tendency to underestimate endgame technique and a weakness in simple positions source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1948 Winner of the Saltsjöbaden Interzonal
• 1948–1949 Shared the Soviet Championship in 1948 (with Kotov) and 1949 (with Smyslov)
• 1952–1958 Four Olympiad team golds and individual board prizes across four Olympiads

Closest to the crown

• 1974 Candidates Final: Lost 11.5–12.5 to Anatoly Karpov; Karpov became World Champion when Fischer declined to defend
• 1978 World Chess Championship Match, Baguio City: Lost 5–6 with 21 draws to Anatoly Karpov
• 1981 World Chess Championship Match, Merano: Lost 2–6 with 10 draws to Anatoly Karpov

Why the title never came

• Before the 1974 Candidates final he could hardly find a grandmaster to help him; Bronstein apparently did, and was punished for it source
• During the 1981 match his wife and son were still refused permission to leave the Soviet Union; his son was later drafted source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1960 Four-time USSR Chess Champion
• 1977 Won the Candidates matches in two consecutive cycles (1978 and 1981)
• 2009 Swiss National Champion at age 78

Closest to the crown

• 2002 FIDE World Chess Championship 2002, Moscow: Reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship knockout tournament
• 1991 Linares 1991: Won half a point ahead of Kasparov, beating him in their game

Why the title never came

• The Week in Chess put his erratic play down to 'poor temperament' source
• Because of FIDE obligations he didn't play the 2002 Dortmund Candidates for the Classical title source

Against the champions

Best results

• 1991 Three-time Linares champion (1989, 1991, 1995)
• 2007 World Blitz Champion in 2007 and World Rapid Champion in 2016
• 2016 Captured the World Rapid Championship in Doha with 11/15

Closest to the crown

• 2006 World Chess Championship 2006 (Reunification Match), Elista: Lost the reunification match to Kramnik
• 2010 World Chess Championship 2010, Sofia: Challenged Viswanathan Anand for the undisputed title, losing 6.5–5.5

Why the title never came

• Losing the 2006 reunification match cost him his place in the 2007 title tournament source
• Resigned game 12 of the 2010 match, letting Anand keep the title source

Against the champions

Best results

• 2005 San Luis 2005: 6½/7 in the first half, winning by 1½ points
• 2005 Won the FIDE World Chess Championship title in 2005
• 2005 Awarded the Chess Oscar for best player of 2005

Closest to the crown

• 2018 World Chess Championship Match, London: Tied all 12 classical games 6–6 against Magnus Carlsen; lost rapid tiebreaks 0–3
• 2018 Berlin Candidates Tournament: Won, becoming the first American challenger for the undisputed title since Fischer in 1972

Why the title never came

• Lost the rapid tiebreak playoff 0–3 to Magnus Carlsen after drawing all 12 classical games in the 2018 World Championship match source
• In the last round of the 2024 Candidates he had a winning advantage against Nepomniachtchi but couldn't convert it, and Gukesh won the tournament source

Against the champions

Best results

• 2014 Historic 3098 performance rating at the 2014 Sinquefield Cup
• 2014 Peak FIDE classical rating of 2844, third-highest in chess history
• 2023 Won the 2023 Grand Chess Tour with a record point total

Closest to the crown

• 2021 World Chess Championship 2021, Dubai: Qualified as challenger by winning the 2021 Candidates; lost 7.5–3.5 to Magnus Carlsen
• 2023 World Chess Championship 2023, Astana: Tied 7–7 in classical games against Ding Liren; lost in rapid playoff tiebreaks

Why the title never came

• Carlsen beat him 7½–3½ in 2021 source
• Lost to Ding in the fourth rapid tiebreak game in 2023, with White source

Against the champions

Best results

• 2022 Highest Candidates score in modern format history with 9.5/14 undefeated
• 2020 Two-time Russian Champion (2010, 2020) and 2010 European Individual Champion
• 2022 Won two consecutive Candidates Tournaments (2020–2021 and 2022)