The 138-year history of the world chess championship is filled with games of rare precision, imagination and brilliance. Go move by move through 22 of them below

• Explainer: World Chess Championship 2024

From the middle of the 16th century, there have come down to us the names of chess players who have been widely regarded as the strongest of their time. The earliest of these was the Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, after whom one of the most popular openings of modern times is named. Others who followed include the Calabrese Gioachino Greco, François-André Danican Philidor, Louis-Charles Mahé de La Bourdonnais, Alexander McDonnell, Howard Staunton, Adolf Anderssen, Mikhail Chigorin and Paul Morphy, each of whom are lionized for their contributions to the development of theory and strategy as well as their dominance over their board during their respective eras.

But not until Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort sat down in a small room at 80 Fifth Avenue in New York City on the afternoon of 11 January 1886 did a formal competition to determine the best player on the planet come to pass. Their first-to-10-wins encounter was held in three US cities over the next 78 days for a prize fund of $4,000. Since then, the world chess championship has provided the stage for countless unforgettable contests showcasing the precision, imagination and brilliance of the royal game at the highest level. Here are 22 of the most memorable.