Is there a meaningful distinction between “the champion of the chess world” and “the chess champion of the world”? The answer to this often unasked question has, as we shall see, important ramifications about who does or does not belong in the pantheon of world chess champions.

The conventional, though by no means universal, wisdom is that the family tree of world title holders is a mere sapling, dating back only to 1886, when Wilhelm Steinitz defeated Johann Zukertort in “the first official match,” as the phrase goes, for the world chess championship. But in our “THE KINGS OF CHESS: A 21-PLAYER SALUTE," we extend the world championship line back to the mid-18th century and Andre Philidor, thereby adding seven champions to the 14 commonly or officially recognized from Steinitz to the present-day kingpin.