The only chess player who died as a world champion. Chess player Alexander Alekhine - biography, career, achievements

Alexander Alekhine is a great Russian chess player, the only world champion who died undefeated. At different times he was called a child prodigy and an alcoholic, a fascist and a genius.

Hereditary chess player

Geniuses usually show their talent in very early childhood; Alekhine was no exception in this sense. Contributed greatly rapid development chess prodigy and family environment. His older brother Alexey was involved in chess, who later also became a famous chess player (of course, not at all on the same scale as his brother) and the publisher of the Chess Bulletin magazine.
But the first one who sat down with Alexander chessboard It was not his brother, but his mother - she began teaching him when Sasha was 7 years old. At 10, Alexander was already playing in tournaments by correspondence, and by correspondence he also won his first tournament victory. And at 16, he won an amateur tournament in a Moscow chess club, took first place in an all-Russian tournament, received the title of maestro and made his debut on the international stage.

Enemy of the Soviets

Alekhine left Soviet Russia back in 1921, but his final break with his homeland took shape 6 years later, after the historic match with Capablanca and winning the world champion title. At a banquet held in his honor at a Parisian club, Alekhine allegedly allowed himself a number of sarcastic remarks about the Bolshevik government. Whether the words were spoken or not, whether it was a provocation, nothing could be changed - the next day, several emigrant newspapers published articles that quoted Alekhine and his wishes: “... so that the myth of the invincibility of the Bolsheviks would be dispelled, just as the myth of the Bolsheviks was dispelled. Capablanca's invincibility. These publications marked the beginning of the chess player’s disgrace in his homeland - many famous compatriots spoke about the incident, and for the chess community in the USSR Alekhine became enemy number one. Even Alekhine’s brother published a statement (most likely he did this under pressure), in which he condemned his brother’s anti-Soviet statements and sentiments.

Drinker

Addiction to alcohol - not a rare companion of genius - did not bypass Alekhine either. In the thirties, after several years of uncompromising triumph, Alekhine's career experienced a significant decline, which was largely facilitated by his addiction to alcoholic beverages. The result of the fall is the match for the world title lost to the Dutch grandmaster Max Euwe. Having lost his title, Alekhine pulls himself together, begins to take training and important meetings much more seriously, and before the rematch he refuses to drink alcohol. He eventually regained the title of world champion, defeating Euwe in the final, but Alekhine was never able to overcome his addiction. Towards the end of his life, the chess player was diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis of the liver.

Anti-Semite

Alekhine's biography contains many contradictory episodes, but it is very difficult to subject these dust-covered facts to history to any critical assessment. One of these dark spots in the biography of the chess genius was a series of anti-Semitic articles under the general title “Jewish and Aryan Chess”, written for one of the Parisian newspapers, as well as participation in tournaments held under the auspices of Nazi Germany. However, Alekhine himself vehemently and repeatedly denied his authorship of the articles, citing the editing done by a newspaper employee, an ardent anti-Semite Gerbetc. Speaking about participation in chess tournaments, it is still worth considering that at that time he was in the tenacious captivity of circumstances - in 1941, Alekhine found himself in the occupied territories and was forced to agree in order to save himself and his family from repression.

Needless to say, Alekhine’s reputation in chess circles suffered greatly - because of his collaboration with the Nazis, many chess players threatened to boycott tournaments in which Alekhine took part, and even insisted on depriving him of the championship title.

Mason

During his stay in Paris, Alekhine became close friends with another Soviet emigrant and chess player, Osip Bernstein. Bernstein and led him to join the local Masonic lodge “Asthenia”. Its members were mainly Russian emigrants, and for Alekhine, joining it was, in a sense, an attempt to break the shackles of the spiritual loneliness that bound him, an opportunity to get along with other cultured Russian people in order to muffle his longing for his homeland. In fact, Alekhine was never an active Freemason - while others were discussing sublime things and arguing about the fate of the world, he and Bernstein played chess more and more and at some point was expelled from the lodge.

Polygamist

Chess remained the most important and, by and large, only passion in Alekhine’s life - things didn’t work out very well with his family. Alekhine had as many as four wives, but he did not live with any of them for more than ten years (he divorced the first one in less than a year), and he saw his son from his second marriage extremely rarely, completely transferring the upbringing to his mother, and after her death - on her acquaintances.

Cat person

It is not surprising that Alekhine was a big cat lover. The only true companion on life path His favorite Siamese cat named Chess became his favorite. Their union was stronger and longer lasting than any of Alekhine’s love affairs - not a single woman lived with the chess player longer than his furry pet. Chess was a real talisman, partner and friend for Alekhine - he took the cat with him all over the world and regularly took him to matches. Alekhine was almost accused of witchcraft - before matches he let the cat sniff the board. The death of Chess was a real blow for Alekhine; he was depressed for a long time and even refused to participate in major chess tournaments.

Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine (1892-1946) is an outstanding Russian and French chess player, the first winner of the RSFSR championship, IV world champion, widely known for his attacking and deep combinational style of play. He was an unsurpassed master of blind play, repeatedly updating his own achievements, the best of which was a session on 32 boards.

Alexander Alekhine was born on October 31, 1892 in Moscow into a noble family. His mother Anisya Ivanovna came from the family of textile magnate I. Prokhorov, and his father Alexander Ivanovich served as a collegiate assessor. Later he became the leader of the nobility and was elected to the Duma of the fourth convocation. The family was quite wealthy and owned an estate in the Voronezh province.

From an early age, young Sasha demonstrated great ability in chess, which his mother taught him to play at the age of seven. He studied at the Moscow classical gymnasium for nine years, after which he entered the Imperial School of Law and became a titular councilor.

Sasha became seriously interested in the ancient game at the age of 10, after he was struck by the chess creativity of the American Harry Pillsbury, who visited Moscow. Impressed by what he saw, he and his older brother begin to play by correspondence. Three years later, Alekhine won the main prize of the Chess Review magazine, and in 1908 he became the champion of Moscow.

The first serious success came in 1909 at the All-Russian tournament in memory of Chigorin, where he won 1st place and received the title of maestro. After moving to the capital, Alexander had no equal at the Nordic Championships (1912), and a year later he shared the laurels of the winner of the representative tournament in Scheveningen. At the All-Russian Masters Tournament (1914), Alekhine and Nimzowitsch win and both qualify for the international “tournament of champions.” And here the talented player did not get lost, missing only and . It was then that Alekhine firmly said that he would prepare for the match for chess crown against the Cuban, although Lasker was the champion at that time.

First World War

At the height of the summer of 1914, Alekhine played another tournament in Mannheim, Germany. Just during the competition, when the Russian was confidently in the lead, the start of war was announced. The organizers decided to interrupt the tournament, awarding Alexander 1st place. Later, together with other chess players (E. Bogolyubov, A. Rabinovich), he will end up in prison. According to his recollections, the detention in the penitentiary institution was very ascetic and chess players entertained themselves all day long by playing blindly. After some time, he was declared unfit for service and deported to his homeland.

On the way home, Alekhine stops in Stockholm, where he gives a simultaneous game session (+18-2=4), and a month later he will hold them in Moscow (+19-9=5), Serpukhov, Petrograd. Alexander will use all the money he earns to help Russian chess players who find themselves in German captivity. In the period 1915-1916, he repeatedly repeated sessions of simultaneous play in various formats (with a handicap, blind), touring Ukraine.

In 1916, despite heart disease, Alekhine volunteered to go to the front. As a result, he ends up in Golicia, leading a Red Cross detachment. Participation in hostilities was not in vain - he received two shell shocks, after which he was forced to return to Moscow. For his courage in saving the wounded, Alexander received the Order of St. Stanislav and two St. George medals.

The events of 1917 did not have the best effect on the fate of the chess player. The resignation of the emperor and the subsequent coming to power of the Bolsheviks deprived Alekhine of his legally owned property. This forced the chess player to leave Russia and move to Ukraine, from where his path was supposed to lie further to the West. But the plans did not come true. In 1919, Alekhine was arrested in Odessa and sentenced to death for participation in espionage activities. But due to someone’s patronage from above, he was acquitted. After the start of the offensive of Denikin's Volunteer Army, Alekhine returns to Moscow. Here in the years Civil War, he managed to take film courses, work as a translator at the Comintern and even work at the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department.

In 1920, Alekhine excelled at the All-Russian Olympics (in the organization of which he personally took part), considered the first national championship. After marrying the Swiss woman Rügg in 1921, he left for Europe, where he plunged headlong into the chess world. Alexander begins an active tournament life, achieving good results in Budapest, The Hague, London, Marienbad. In total, in the period until 1927, Alekhine played in 22 international competitions, of which he won in 14, including Hastings (1922), Baden-Baden (1925), Kecskemet (1927).

At the same time, Alekhine does not ignore his scientific activities, having defended his doctoral dissertation at the Sorbonne. In 1924, an analysis of his previous games entitled “My Best Games” was published.

On the way to the championship

In 1922, Alekhine signed the London Agreement, which regulated the organization of championship matches. According to its terms, the applicant was assigned the obligation to form a prize fund ($10 thousand) and pay organizational expenses. Then no one had that kind of money, but a few years later everything changed - Alekhine was firmly moving towards his goal. To raise the required amount, he arranges record-breaking blind matches in New York (26 games) and Paris (27 games), plays in a simultaneous game from an airplane, and organizes chess battles, where the figures were actors. As a result, the Russian’s efforts were rewarded and in 1927 the Argentine government found funds to organize a match in Buenos Aires.

On the eve of the match, public opinion almost unambiguously awarded the victory to Capablanca, who was often called a “thinking machine.” In addition, before this meeting, Jose Raul managed to defeat his opponent three times, but he never defeated him. Alekhine searched for an antidote for a long time, studying his opponent’s games in detail. He managed to find out that Capablanca's excellent intuition sometimes lets him down, as he misses the best moves that require a lot of thought. In just two months, 34 games were played, of which Alekhine won six. This was enough to become the IV world champion. After the victory, he was carried in his arms through the streets of the Argentine capital, and the same warm welcome was organized in Europe.

According to the rules, Capablanca should have challenged Alekhine to a rematch, but he did not do this and E. Bogolyubov played with the champion. Their fight took place in Holland and Germany and ended ahead of schedule with the victory of Alexander Alexandrovich (+11-5=8). They will meet again in 1934 and then Alekhine will again be stronger (+8-3=15).

Emigration to France

After returning from Argentina, Alekhine began to allow himself very free statements against the Soviet regime, which was condemned by many people, including his brother Alexei. All this leads to a final break with his homeland, which does not greatly affect his chess successes. Alekhine leads the French national team at the Chess Olympiads in Hamburg and Prague, Folkestone, becoming the best on the first board each time, and wins strong tournaments in San Remo (1930), Bled (1931), London (1932).

In 1935, the Dutch organized a world championship match for their fellow countryman. Alekhine accepted the challenge and fought the challenger. The match was an even fight and everything was decided in the last thirty game, which Alekhine needed to win, but he did not. As a result, the champion lost one point 14.5:15.5 and resigned. The unyielding character of the Russian chess player did not allow Euwe to rest on his laurels for long, and in 1937, in a rematch (the first in the history of chess), an unconditional victory was won 15.5: 9.5.

In the pre-war years, Alekhine maintained his reputation as the strongest player, winning tournaments in Margate and Montevideo and sharing 1-2 places in Plymouth. But at the ARVO tournament with the participation of the 8 strongest players, he did not win any laurels (+3-3 = 8), however, he still won the micro-match against Capablanca. After the tournament, I sent a proposal to the champion for a new match for the title of the strongest chess player, and he gave preliminary consent, but the Second world war I messed up all my plans.

Last years of life

Alekhine met the news of the war in Argentina, where another Chess Olympiad. After the outbreak of hostilities, Alexander Alexandrovich called for a boycott of the German team, and the organizers supported this impulse. As a result, the German team was given a technical defeat. After receiving the tragic news, many remained in Latin America, but Alekhine firmly decided to return to Europe.

After France comes under occupation, he volunteers to join the French army and serves as a translator there, holding the rank of lieutenant. At this time, negotiations for the match against Capablanca resumed. Quite modest financial conditions and withdrawn ambitions indicated a true intention to measure strength, but the Cuban government did not find the necessary funds, and Capablanca died in 1942.

Due to the fact that his last wife, Grace, refused to move to Portugal, Alekhine, avoiding final plunder, was forced to cooperate with the Germans. He is invited to participate in many tournaments, simultaneous games and matches against the strongest German opponents (P. Keres, K. Junge).

In 1943, the chess player fell ill with scarlet fever and suffered it very seriously. Soon he moves to Spain, where he remains to live, eking out a miserable existence. Here he participates in second-rate tournaments and even gives private lessons.

In 1945, a scandal erupted over allegedly made anti-Semitic statements in the pages of the German publication Pariser Zeitung. Because of this, Alekhine was not allowed to participate in the British tournaments in Hastings and London, then there were calls not to invite him to the competition at all.

Having been subjected to such pressure, Alekhine remains almost completely alone and maintains contact only with the Portuguese champion Francisco Lupi. He played his last match against him in February 1946, winning with a score of 2.5:1.5. At the end of March, news arrived about an agreement on the match with Botvinnik, and on March 25, 1946, Alexander Alekhine passed away. He died in Estoril, Portugal, and then various reasons were put forward: from a heart attack to asphyxia and murder. At first he was buried in Estoril, but in 1956, at the request of his widow, he was reburied in Paris, despite the fact that the Soviet side proposed to do this in Moscow.

Chess achievements

Alexander Alekhine-IV world champion, first winner of the national championship. Throughout his career, he played 1264 match and tournament games. He managed to win 62 out of 87 tournaments.

Alekhine is known for his deep theoretical studies of positions. It is no coincidence that a number of combinations are named after him, including the Alekhine Defense, one of the variants of the French defense, the Chatard-Alekhine attack, and many continuations in the Vienna, Spanish games, Sicilian Defense and many others. The chess player is the author of over 20 books, mostly collections of his own games with detailed analysis and commentary.

Personal life

The first wife of the chess maestro was Alexandra Bataeva, who worked as a clerk in one of the Soviet organizations. According to other sources, she could have been an officer’s widow, the St. Petersburg artist A. von Severgin, but there is no confirmed information on this matter. A little later, he fell in love with a journalist from Switzerland A-L. Rygg and soon married her. But happy life It didn’t work out and the couple often lived separately. The son, Alexander, who was born, was in the care of friends. The natural divorce that followed put an end to their relationship.

Later, Alekhine married the general’s widow, Nadezhda Vasilyeva, with whom he would be married for about 10 years. The last time the chess player tied the knot was with a British citizen, Grace Wischar, who was 16 years older than him. She was the widow of a tea planter and received a good inheritance. Thanks to this, Alekhine's financial situation improved noticeably.

• Alekhine, like no one else, contributed to the popularization ancient game. He was the first of the planet's champions to take part in world chess tours, traveling around the world and playing 1,320 games.
• Alexander Alekhine is the first champion to win a rematch (against M. Euwe).
• Alekhine is the only world champion who passed away undefeated.
• Like many chess talents, Alekhine was poorly adapted to everyday life, he was often absent-minded and uncollected, which sharply contrasted with his skillful actions at the chessboard.
• Alekhine loved cats. According to some sources, he had at least 10 of them. Cats accompanied Alekhine during serious tournaments.

Video

A documentary film from the series “Geniuses and Villains,” entitled “Alexander Alekhine. The tragedy of a chess genius" (2011).

Best games

The selection includes the best games of Alexander Alekhine played between 1908 and 1943.

Appears every few years new champion world chess. We have collected all the champions in one place and made a short description of each.

This article contains full list all current world chess champions. If the article is not relevant, it means that we have not yet had time to add new information. Please write in the comments. Here is a list for faster navigation:

Chess has been played for over 125 years. During this long time, the conditions of the game changed many times, and sometimes even the game. Therefore, it is quite natural that the criteria for becoming world chess champions also differed in different eras. For example, during Steinitz’s time, tournaments were held simultaneously in several cities. Or, for example, the strongest chess player might not agree to accept a challenge to a chess match from a potential new champion if, in his opinion, the opponent does not yet have enough skills to take over the title.

As for today, the conditions and criteria for including participants in the fight for the championship title have changed in many ways. Various qualifying tournaments are held in several stages, after which the two strongest players meet and compete with each other. Well, now let’s look at the list of world chess champions and short information about each of them about who went through what on the way to the championship.

1 world chess champion

The first chess champion - Wilhelm Steinitz. Place of birth: Prague, year: 1836. Steinitz won this title in 1886, after which he won the game against his main rival, I. Zukertort. Steinitz created a fundamentally new positional game of chess, and also made his own great contribution to the development of this area.

V. Steinitz began playing at the age of twelve, but the young man did not have the opportunity to show his talent. Wilhelm's first success in chess was a victory over his father's constant playing partner, a rabbi revered by many. The future champion began to study chess seriously only after reaching the age of 23 after graduating from the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna.

2 world chess champion

The second world chess champion was Emanuel Lasker. He was born in Poland in 1868 and won the title of champion in 1894. Lasker was the best player on the entire planet for 27 years. In addition, he is the author of numerous books on chess.

E. Lasker adopted a love for this amazing game from his older brother Berthold Lasker, starting to play at the age of 12. However, the future chess king began to play truly, professionally only during his first year at university. Most strengths The endgame and positional sense were considered a chess player's skill. During his career as a chess player, he repeatedly gave up the game for several years to study philosophy and mathematics.

He became the world champion based on the results of a match that took place over a long period (from mid-March to the end of May) in 1894 in Philadelphia, Montreal and New York, where, after playing 19 games, he defeated the first champion, Steinitz.

3 world chess champion

The third chess champion in the world became Jose Raul Capablanca, born in Cuba in 1888. He won his title by defeating Emanuel Lasker in a match held in 1921. He was often spoken of as an outstanding chess machine, since Capablanca was distinguished by his brilliant chess technique. The third champion learned to play at the age of four simply by watching his father play.

4 world chess champion

The fourth world chess champion was Alexander Alekhine, born in 1892. Alekhine learned the rules of the game and basic moves at the age of seven thanks to his mother and older brother. A. Alekhine was the greatest master of combination and considered chess an art. The chess player achieved his first successes during the St. Petersburg tournament in 1909, it was then, at the age of sixteen, that a high school student from Moscow won and was awarded the title of maestro.

A little later, the chess player begins to take part in professional tournaments for more than high level. Alekhine won the match for the world championship title against Capablanca in 1927 (Buenos Aires). After that, he defended his title two more times, holding it until his death.

5 world chess champion

The fifth world chess champion was Max Euwe, born in 1901 in Amsterdam. He learned the basics of the game at the age of 4, began performing in various amateur tournaments - at the age of twelve he became a member of the chess club in Amsterdam. He started playing professionally at the age of 18. Euwe won the championship match against Alekhine in 1935, but after two years he again lost the championship title to Alekhine.

6 world chess champion

The sixth champion was born in 1911. He first became acquainted with the game at the age of 12, after which he began studying from books. Numerous victories in tournaments and championships of the USSR brought forward young chess player in number best players countries and soon showed that M. Botvinnik was ready to challenge the title of world champion.

The match tournament for the championship title took place in 1948 (The Hague-Moscow), and as a result, Botvinnik became the winner, ahead of the chess player who took second place by 3 points. During the tournament, he confidently beat all his opponents. For his achievements in the chess field, Botvinnik was awarded numerous orders.

7 world chess champion

The seventh champion was also a Soviet chess player. He learned the rules of the game from his father at the age of six. Smyslov met Botvinnik 3 times during the world championship matches. Smyslov received the title of the strongest chess player on the planet in 1957, but a year later he lost to Botvinnik in a rematch.

Smyslov was the winner large quantity World Olympiads, European team championships, as well as one world championship.

8 world chess champion

The eighth world chess champion was, who was born in 1936 in Riga. Ever since early childhood Tal showed genius in many ways - at the age of three he could read well, at the age of 5 he could multiply three-digit numbers, had an amazing memory, and after finishing the first grade he went straight to the third. There were many such achievements in Tal's childhood.

Mikhail Tal learned to play chess at the age of 10, already at 16 he became the champion of Latvia, at the age of 21 - the champion of the USSR. Tal became the youngest world champion, winning the title in 1960 from Botvinnik. Distinctive features Tal's game was aggressive and constant willingness to take risks, which allowed him to achieve victory, despite the fact that soon, a year later, he lost again.

9 world chess champion

Tigran Petrosyan- ninth world chess champion. He was born in 1929 in Georgia. The boy learned to play at the age of 11, and at the age of 16 he became the Georgian chess champion. The chess player begins to play professionally after moving to Moscow.

Petrosyan won the victory over M. Botvinnik in 1963; he held his championship title for a period that lasted 6 years. For his achievements in chess, Petrosyan was awarded numerous medals and orders.

10th world chess champion

Boris Spassky- tenth world chess champion. Spassky learned the basics of the game at the age of 5. For the first time he became a participant in the championship Soviet Union in 1955, during the same period he was awarded the title of grandmaster (at the age of 17). Thus, the chess player at that time became the youngest grandmaster ever. chess history. Spassky won the competition for the championship of the planet over Petrosyan in 1969 and held the title of tenth champion for 3 years.

11th world chess champion

He was considered a child prodigy and a genius and received the title of eleventh world chess champion. He learned to play at the age of six. By the age of twelve, Fischer becomes the American champion, and at the age of 15, an international grandmaster. No one before him in this early age did not achieve such high results. Fischer became world champion in 1972, after defeating B. Spassky.

12th world chess champion

Anatoly Karpov- Twelfth world chess champion. The chess player, born in 1951, learned to play when he was only 4 years old. He became a strong master at the age of 15, at the age of 18 the chess player became a champion in a youth tournament, and received the title of grandmaster at 19. Until Karpov became the world chess champion, he was the winner of many international competitions. He received the title of 12th world champion in 1975. significantly surpassed other famous chess players in history in the number of victories he won in numerous international tournaments, matches and competitions.

13th world chess champion

Famous chess player in the USSR and Russia Garry Kasparov is the thirteenth world chess champion. Place of birth: Baku, year: 1963. At the age of thirteen, he became the national champion in a youth tournament (in which 18-year-old chess players participated). At the age of 17, Kasparov received the title of grandmaster. The confrontation between the 12th and 13th champions, Karpov and Kasparov, was one of the most powerful in the entire chess history. In total, these two great chess players played as many as 5 matches for the world title. As a result, according to the results of the match, which lasted from September 1 to November 10, 1985, the chess player defeated Karpov with a score of 13:11, which brought him the title of the 13th world chess champion.

14th world chess champion

Vladimir Kramnik is the fourteenth world chess champion. He was born in 1975 in the city of Tuapse ( Krasnodar region). In 1991, the chess player became the world champion in the youth tournament. At the end of the 90s, the 13th world champion Kasparov himself chose his opponent in the person of Kramnik, who at that time was second in the rankings. Their chess match took place in 2000, as a result of which Kramnik won and received the title of the 14th champion. After that, in 2004 and 2006, he defended his title twice, defeating Peter Leko and Veselin Topalov.

15th world chess champion

Viswanathan Anand- a native of India, in the period from 2007 to 2013 he was the world chess champion, becoming the fifteenth owner of this title. Anand's mother taught him to play chess at the age of six, and since then the boy has shown good results in this sport. Already at the age of fourteen, Anand received the title of International Master, becoming the youngest holder of the latter in India.

Quickly moving up the ladder of chess achievements, in 2007 he won the title of world chess champion. The tournament took place in Mexico. In subsequent years (2008, 2010 and 2012), the chess player confirmed his title. Currently Anand is the only champion in three different styles of play: knockout system, round-robin tournament and head-to-head matches with competitors.

16th world chess champion

Magnus Carlsen- Norwegian, sixteenth (and currently last) world chess champion. He won the world title in 2013, fighting against the fifteenth world champion, Viswanathan Anand. The young champion began playing chess at the age of five with his father, and became seriously interested in the game at eight, starting to study specialized literature and practice the game for 2-3 hours a day.

Possessing extraordinary abilities, Magnus quickly developed professional skills. Experts predicted Magnus the champion title back in 2004. World-class grandmasters note that Magnus is not a unique strategist, but his ability to find solutions where others would agree to a draw, and to subtly sense the psychology of his opponent is amazing.

So far, he remains the first and only champion in three categories simultaneously: classic game, blitz and rapid.

Over the long history of professional boxing, there are not many boxers who completed their sports career undefeated. While collecting information, I counted only 8 professional boxers who completed their careers and had an impeccable track record. By a perfect list, I mean that:

1. The boxer was undefeated in the professional ring.

2. The boxer had a zero in the draw column of his record.

3. The boxer was a world champion in one of the four main boxing organizations: WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF.

I’ll start with, perhaps, the most famous and worthy one, whose record many strive for.

1. Rocky "Brockton Blockbuster" Marciano(49 (43 KO) - 0 - 0) - American professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division, the absolute world champion according to the NYSAC and NBA heavyweight versions from September 23, 1952 to April 27, 1956.

At that time, these two organizations were the main ones.

NYSAC - The New York State Athletic Commission was founded in 1920, organized championship fights until the mid-70s, and then became part of the World Boxing Council (WBC).

NBA - National Boxing Association was founded in 1921, in 1962 it was renamed the World Boxing Association (WBA)

Marciano made his professional debut in March 1947 at the age of 24. During his 8-year career as a professional boxer, Marciano fought 49 fights in the professional ring, 43 of which he completed ahead of schedule, and of all 49 he emerged victorious.

In the initial stages of his professional career, Rocky fought more than 10 fights a year, but he entered the championship fight in his 43rd fight in September 1952 against the then-current champion Jersey Joe Walcott. Marciano's 15-round title fight against Walcott ended with Marciano winning by knockout in the 13th round. Rocky was then knocked down for the first time in his career and lost on points, but he found strength and knocked out the champion, taking his NYSAC and NBA world heavyweight champion titles. Then the following year, in a rematch, Marciano knocked out Walcott in the first round. After 2 fights with Walcott, Rocky made 5 more successful defenses of his titles.

In 1954, he twice met former world champion Ezzard Charles in the ring and defeated him twice. And your last Stand In the professional ring, he fought against the legendary light heavyweight champion Archie Moore, defeating the latter by knockout in the 9th round.

Marciano also has another victory over the legendary Joe Louis. He met with Louis Marciano in October 1951 and defeated him by technical knockout in the 8th round. That fight was not a title fight.

After defeating Moore, Marciano did not return to the ring due to back problems. Rocky Marciano is the only heavyweight boxer with a title who has never been defeated in the professional ring in 49 fights.

Fig 1. Archie Moore - Rocky Marciano

2. Pichit Sitbanprachan(24 (18 KO) - 0 - 0) - Thai professional boxer who competed in the flyweight category, world champion in the flyweight category according to the IBF from November 29, 1992 to November 25, 1994.

Fig 2. Pichit Sitbanprachan

Pichit Sitbanprachan made his professional debut in March 1988 at the age of 22. During his career as a professional boxer, Sitbanprachan fought 24 fights in the professional ring, 18 of which he completed ahead of schedule, of all 24 he emerged victorious. He spent all his fights in his homeland, Thailand.

In November 1992, in his 14th professional fight, Sitbanprachan won the IBF flyweight world title, defeating its owner, Colombian professional boxer Rodolfo Blanco, by knockout. In total, Pichit defended his title 5 times, including a split decision victory over Jose Luis Zepeda. After defeating Zepeda in May 1994, Sitbanprachan retired from boxing.

Sitbanprachan returned to boxing in October 1996, fighting against Sammy Sordilla. Then he left boxing again and returned only in 2000 at the age of 34. In 2000, he had two non-title fights, and then finally retired from boxing, leaving as one of the few undefeated professional boxers.

3. Mihai Leu(28 (10 KOs) - 0 - 0) - Romanian professional boxer, who competed in the welterweight category, world champion in the welterweight category according to the WBO from November 22, 1997 to 1998.

Fig 3. Mihai Leu

Mihai Leu made his professional debut in September 1991 at the age of 22. During his career as a professional boxer, Leu had 28 fights in the professional ring, 10 of which he completed ahead of schedule, and out of all 28 he emerged victorious.

On February 22, 1997, in his 27th fight in the professional ring, Mihai Leu entered his first title fight against Panamanian professional boxer Santiago Samaniego. The WBO world welterweight title, which was at stake before the fight, was vacant. The result of the 12-round title fight was the victory of the Romanian on points.

In his first title defense, Leeu met with Irish professional boxer, 1992 Olympic champion Michael Carratt. The result of the fight was Leu's victory by split decision. After this fight, Leu never entered the ring again due to health reasons. Thus, Mihai Leu only managed to take part in fights for the world title twice, but he is one of the few who managed to leave undefeated.

4. Joe "Italian Dragon" Calzaghe(46 (32 KOs) - 0 - 0) - British professional boxer of Italian origin, who competed in the 2nd middle weight category, world champion in the second middle weight category according to WBO (1997-2008), IBF (2006), WBC (2007-2008), WBA (2007-2008).

Joe Calzaghe made his professional debut in October 1993 at the age of 21. During his career as a professional boxer, Calzaghe had 46 fights in the professional ring, 32 of which he completed ahead of schedule, and of all 46 he emerged victorious.

In October 1997, in his 23rd professional fight, Joe Calzaghe entered his first title fight against legendary compatriot Chris Eubank Sr. The vacant WBO super middleweight title was at stake. The result of the fight was Calzaghe's victory by unanimous decision.

In total, Calzaghe managed to defend his WBO title 21 times. Calzaghe spent all of his title fights in his native Britain.

In March 2006, having been a champion for 9 years, Calzaghe entered a unification match against the then undefeated IBF super middleweight world champion Jeff Lacy. The fight turned out to be intense and ended with Calzaghe winning by decision. As a result, Joe managed to unify two world titles. He later renounced the IBF titles.

In November 2007, Joe Calzaghe entered a unification match against the WBA and WBC super middleweight world champion, Danish professional boxer Mikkel Kessler. The Welshman emerged victorious from that fight, unifying the WBO, WBC and WBA super middleweight titles.

Then, for the first time in his career, in April 2008, Calzaghe traveled to the United States to fight the legendary Bernard Hopkins, whom he defeated by a split decision in a close fight. In the same year, Calzaghe again traveled to the USA to fight against the legendary Roy Jones. Joe defeated Jones by unanimous decision. The fights against Hopkins and Jones took place at light heavyweight and were not title fights.

Fig 4. Roy Jones - Joe Calzaghe

After defeating Jones, Calzaghe retired from boxing undefeated with a record of 46-0.

5. Harry "Terminator" Simon(29 (21 KO) - 0 - 0) - professional boxer from Namibia, who competed from the first middle weight category to light heavyweight, world champion in the first middle weight category according to WBO, middle weight category according to WBO, light heavy weight category according to IBF.

Fig 5. Harry Simon

Harry Simon made his professional debut in January 1994 at the age of 20. During his career as a professional boxer, Simon had 29 fights in the professional ring, 21 of which he completed ahead of schedule, and of all 29 he emerged victorious.

In August 1998, in his 17th fight in the professional ring, Simon entered the title fight against the WBO junior middleweight world champion, the famous American professional boxer Winky Wright. In an equal fight, Wright was awarded victory by a majority vote of the judges, but after some time they reported that an error had occurred and in fact Harry Simon won by a majority vote. Simon defended his title four times and then moved up to middleweight. Already in his second fight in the middle weight category in April 2002, he entered the title fight against the WBO champion, Swedish professional boxer Armand Krajnc and won last decision judges, taking away his title.

Then Simon had an accident and did not fight until 2007. Having fought one fight in 2007, he did not fight until 2010. From 2010 to 2013, he fought 4 fights against little-known opponents and in September 2013 entered the light heavyweight title fight against Serbian professional boxer Jeard Aetovich. After 12 rounds, he won by unanimous decision and won the IBF light heavyweight title.

After the fight with the Serbian, he did not return to the ring and left undefeated with a record of 29-0.

6. Floyd "Money" Mayweather(49 (26 KOs) - 0 - 0) - undefeated American professional boxer, world champion in the 2nd featherweight (WBC version, 1998-2001), lightweight (WBC version, 2002-2003), 1st welterweight (WBC version, 2005), welterweight (IBF version, 2006; WBC version, 2006, 2007 and since 2011; WBA version, since 2014; WBO version, since 2015), 1st middleweight (WBC version, 2007 and since 2013; WBA, since 2012).

Fig 6. Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather made his professional debut in October 1996 at the age of 19. During his career as a professional boxer, Mayweather had 49 fights in the professional ring, 26 of which he finished ahead of schedule, and out of all 49 he emerged victorious.

On October 3, 1998, in just his 18th professional bout, Floyd defeated WBC junior lightweight champion Genaro Hernandez and immediately achieved boxing superstar status. After the fight, the dethroned champion, considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers, said of Floyd: “I didn’t think I’d lose like that. He is incredibly fast and technical." Mayweather promoter Bob Arum: “Floyd is the successor to Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Sugar Ray Leonard. He is an extraordinary boxer."

What followed was a series of defenses and wins of world titles at higher weights. As a result, Floyd became the world champion in five weight categories in various versions. He has victories over such names as Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Oscar De La Hoya, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Haton, Shane Mosley, Miguel Cotto, Saul Alvarez, Marcos Maidana, Manny Pacquiao. In September 2015, after a successful 19-year career, Floyd Mayweather announced his retirement as a professional boxer and retired from boxing with a record of 49-0, repeating the 60-year-old record held by Rocky Marciano.

7. Sven "Phantom" Ottke(34 (6 KO) - 0 - 0) - German professional boxer, who competed in the 2nd middle weight category, world champion in the 2nd middle weight category according to IBF (1998-2004) and WBA (2003-2004) .

Sven Ottke made his professional debut in March 1997 at the age of 30. During his career as a professional boxer, Ottke fought 34 fights in the professional ring, only 6 of which he completed ahead of schedule, of all 34 he emerged victorious.

Just a year and a half after his debut in the pro ring, in his 13th fight in the pro ring, Ottke entered the fight for the IBF super middleweight world champion title. He was opposed by then-current champion Charles Brewer, whom Ottke defeated by split decision in a 12-round fight. As a result, Ottke managed to defend his world title 21 times. And in March 2003, he even managed to unify the titles, defeating the then WBA world champion in the same weight, Byron Mitchell, by a split decision.

Fig 7. Sven Ottke - Charles Brewer

Ottke also has victories over world light heavyweight champion Glen Johnson and WBC super middleweight world champion Robin Reed.

In 2004, 37-year-old Sven Ottke left the professional ring as an undefeated world champion with a record of 34-0.

8. Edwin "Dynamite" Valero (27 (27 KOs) - 0 - 0)- Venezuelan professional boxer who competed in the first lightweight category, world champion according to the WBA in the first lightweight category (2006-2008), according to the WBC in the lightweight category.

Edwin Valero made his professional debut in July 2002 at the age of 21. During his career as a professional boxer, Valero had 27 fights in the professional ring, all of which he completed ahead of schedule, and out of all 27 he emerged victorious. He finished his first 18 fights in the professional ring in the first round, thus setting a world record.

In August 2006, Valero entered the title fight against the WBA Super lightweight champion, Panamanian professional boxer Vincete Mosquera, and won by technical knockout in the 10th round, winning the first title in his career. During his two years of holding the title, Valero made 4 successful defenses, and then moved to the lightweight category, where he became the WBC world champion.

Fig 8. Edwin Valero - Antonio DeMarco

Edwin Valero holds a unique record of 27-0, 27 of which by knockout.

There were, of course, also those who never lost, but ended their fights in a draw. Among them were the Mexican Ricardo Lopez 51 (38 KOs) -0-1, the Englishman Terry Marsh 26 (KO 10) -0-1, the South Korean Ji Won Kim 16 (KO 7) -0-2, there was also the Thai Samson Dutch Boy Jim with a record of 43 (36 KOs)-0-0, but he did not hold a full world title. And I didn’t single them out because they are not as unique and undefeated as those I wrote about above.

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