List of world championships in mind sports
This article gives a list of world championships in mind sports which usually represent the most prestigious competition for a specific board game, card game or mind sport. World championships can only be held for most games or mind sports with the ratification of an official body. Some Eastern games only have amateur world championships and separate professional competitions as can be seen for Go (list of professional Go tournaments).
Mind Sports Olympiad All-round
World championships organized by Mind Sports Olympiad, that consist of competitions across multiple events to find the strongest games all-rounders.
Sport / Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Last Held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decamentathlon World Championship[1] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2019 | 2020 | One year |
Modern Abstract Games World Championship[2] | Individuals | 2008 | ![]() | 2022 | 2023 | One year |
Pentamind World Championship[3] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2024 | 2025 | One year |
Classic/traditional board games
Major world championships for classic strategy board games, such as chess or go.
Category | Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Last held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Backgammon | Backgammon | Backgammon World Championship | Individuals | 1967 | ![]() | 2023 | 2024 | One year |
Chaturanga variants | Chess | World Chess Championship | Individuals | 1886 | ![]() | 2023 | 2024 | Two years |
Shogi | Meijin (shogi) [a] | Individuals | 1937 | ![]() | 2022 | 2023 | One year | |
Xiangqi | World Xiangqi Championship | Individuals | 1990 | ![]() | 2022 | 2024 | Two years | |
Draughts | International draughts | Draughts World Championship | Individuals | 1885 | ![]() | 2023 | 2024 | One year |
English draughts | World Checkers Championship | Individuals | 1840 | ![]()
| 2022 2022 | 2024 2024 | Two years | |
Brazilian draughts and Russian draughts | World Draughts-64 Championship | Individuals | 1985 1993 | ![]() ![]() | 2018 2020 | ? 2021 | ? One year | |
Italian draughts | Italian Draughts World Championship | Individuals | 2024 | ![]() | 2024 | ? | ? | |
Go | Go | Ing Cup [b] | Individuals | 1988 | ![]() | 2023 | ? | Four years |
Five in a row | Gomoku | Gomoku World Championship | Individuals | 1989 | ![]() | 2023 | 2025 | Two years |
Renju | Renju World Championship | Individuals | 1989 | ![]() | 2023 | 2025 | Two years | |
Morris | Morabaraba | Morabaraba World Championship | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2015 | 2016 | One year |
Reversi | Othello | World Othello Championship | Individuals | 1977 | ![]() | 2022 | 2023 | One year |
Classic/traditional card/tile games
World championships in Traditional card games and tile-based games.
Category | Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Last held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Contract bridge | Contract bridge | Bermuda Bowl | Teams | 1950 | ![]() | 2019 | 2021 | Two years |
Dominoes | Dominoes | World Championship Domino Tournament[5] | Individuals | 1976 | ![]() | 2019 | 2020 | One year |
Domino World Championship[6] | Individuals | 1995 | ![]() | 2011 | 2012 | One year | ||
Mahjong | Mahjong | World Mahjong Championship | Individuals | 2002 | ![]() | 2017 | 2019 | Two years |
Riichi mahjong | World Riichi Championship | Individuals | 2014 | ![]() | 2022 | 2025 | Three years | |
Poker | Poker | World Series of Poker Main Event | Individuals | 1970 | ![]() | 2021 | 2022 | One year |
Skat | Skat | World Skat Championship | Individuals | 1978 | ![]() ![]() | 2018 | 2022 | Two years |
Teams | ![]() | |||||||
Nations | ![]() |
Mental disciplines
Competitions using mental tests.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Memory | World Memory Championships[7] | Individuals | 1991 | ![]() | 2022 | One year |
Mental calculation | Mental Calculation World Cup | Individuals | 2004 | ![]() | 2024 | Two years |
MSO Mental Calculation World Championship | Individuals | 1998 | Kaloyan Geshev - 2024 | 2025 | One year | |
Junior Mental Calculation World Championship | Individuals (age restricted) | 2013 | 2023 - Andrej Zivanovic (Juniors 1) | 2024 | One year | |
Calculation League | Individuals | 2024 (Spring) | Wenzel Grüß (gold) | 2024 (fall) | Twice per year | |
Memory and Calculation | Memoriad | Individuals | 2008 | (15 winners) | 2020 | Four years |
Modern board games
Competitions in abstract strategy games and other modern board games.
Games made for 2 players:
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arimaa | Arimaa World Championship[8] | Individuals | 2004 | ![]() | 2020 | One year |
Bōku | Bōku World Championship[9] | Individuals | 2000 | ![]() | 2017 | One year |
Entropy/Hyle | Entropy World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2019 | One year |
GIPF | Project Gipf World Championship | Individuals | 2008 | ![]() | (2008) | |
Kamisado | Kamisado World Championship[9] | Individuals | 2011 | ![]() | 2017 | One Year |
Lines of Action | LoA World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2017 | One year |
Stratego | Stratego World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2020 | One year |
Twilight Struggle | International Twilight Struggle League[10] | Individuals | 2005 | ![]() | 2022 | One year |
Twixt | TwixT World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2017 | One Year |
Games supporting 3 or more players:
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diplomacy | World Diplomacy Convention[11] | Individuals | 1988 | ![]() | 2022 | One year[12] |
Hare and Tortoise | Hare and Tortoise World Championships[13] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2017 | One year |
Monopoly | Monopoly World Championships[14] | Individuals | 1973 | ![]() | TBD | No regular schedule |
Settlers of Catan | Catan World Championships[16] | Individuals | 2002 | ![]() | 2020 | Two years |
4 games | German Board Game Championship[17] | Teams (4 players) | 1984 | ![]() | 2024 | One year |
4 games | Europe Masters - European Board Game Championship[18] | Teams (4 players) | 1988 | ![]() | 2024 | One year |
Modern card games
Competitions in collectible card games and other modern card games.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Last held | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Magic: The Gathering | Magic: The Gathering World Championship | Individuals | 1994 | ![]() | 2023 | 2024 | One year |
World Magic Cup[19] | Teams | 1995 | ![]() | 2018 | Discontinued[20] | One year | |
Pokémon Trading Card Game | Pokémon World Championships[21] | Individuals | 2004 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | 2024 | 2025 | One year |
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game | Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championships[23] | Individuals | 2003 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | 2023 | 2024 | One year |
Wizard Card Game | Wizard World Championship[24] | Individuals | 2010 | ![]() | 2022 | 2023 | One year |
Speaking competitions
World championships in speaking.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Auctioneering | World Livestock Auctioneer Championship | Individuals | 1963 | ![]() | 2019 | One year |
Debating | World Universities Debating Championship[25] | Pairs | 1979 | ![]() | 2019 | One year |
World Schools Debating Championships | Nations | 1988 | ![]() | 2019 | One year | |
Debating (Spanish) | World Universities Debating Championship in Spanish Campeonato Mundial Universitario de Debate en Español[25] | Pairs | 2011 | ![]() | 2018 | One year |
Debating (Portuguese) | World Debating Championship in Portuguese Campeonato Mundial de Debate em Língua Portuguesa[25] | Pairs | 2018 | ![]() ![]() | TBD | One year |
Tile games
World championships held in tile-based games include:
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carcassonne | Carcassonne World Championship[26] | Individuals | 2006 | ![]() | 2024 | One year |
Continuo | Continuo World Championship[9] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2017 | One year |
Hexago | Hexago World Championship[9] | Individuals | 2007 | ![]() | (2007) | |
Saboteur | Saboteur World Championship[27] | Individuals | 2016 | ![]() | 2023 | One year |
Tantrix | Tantrix World Championship (online)[28] | Individuals | 1998 | ![]() | 2023 | One year |
Tantrix World Open (real tiles)[29] | Individuals | 2009 | ![]() | 2023[30] | One year (irregular) |
Word games
World championships in word games.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scrabble (English) | World Scrabble Championship[31] | Individuals | 1991 | ![]() | 2020 | Two years; one year since 2013 |
Scrabble (Spanish) | Spanish World Scrabble Championship[32] | Individuals | 1997 | ![]() | 2018 | One year |
Scrabble (French) | French World Scrabble Championship Duplicate[33] | Individuals | 1972 | ![]() | 2018 | One year |
French World Scrabble Championship Classic[33] | Individuals | 2006 | ![]() | 2018 | One year |
Information technology
World championships in competitive programming.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Competitive programming | Topcoder Open | Individuals | 2001 | ![]() | 2020 | once a year |
Corewars | ICWS | Individuals/teams | 1985 | ? | ? | yearly |
Quizzing
Quizzing competitions organized by the private company International Quizzing Assoc.
Sport | Competition name | Competing entities | First held | Current holder | Next | Held every |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quiz | World Quizzing Championship | Individuals | 2003[34] | ![]() | 2025 | yearly |
See also
- Esports
- Mind Sports Organisation
- International Association of Memory
- World Memory Championships
- World Junior Memory Championships
- World Memory Tournament Federation
- World Mind Sports Games
- Mind Sports Olympiad
- International Philosophy Olympiad
- World cup competition
- World championship
- List of world championships
- List of world cups and world championships for juniors and youth
- Hex map
- Mensa
References
- ^ "Full results for 2019 Decamentathlon World Championship - Mind Sports Olympiad".
- ^ "2020 Medal Table - Mind Sports OlympiadMind Sports Olympiad - Mind Sports Olympiad".
- ^ "Ankush Khandelwal Wins the 2020 Pentamind World Championship - Mind Sports Olympiad".
- ^ "1st World Championship Italian Draughts Final standings". FMJD Results. 2024-04-27. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
- ^ by Rotary Club:"World Championship Domino Tournament page". Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2011-02-16.
- ^ by Fédération Internationale de Domino (FIDO): "Fédération Internationale de Domino (FIDO): World Championship page".
- ^ Omonira-Oyekanmi, Rebecca; Moyer, Justin (2010-09-13). "For this champion, life is (mostly) a memory game". The Washington Post.
- ^ Arimaa World Championship results pages, http://arimaa.com/arimaa/wc/, 31 Dec 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mind Sports Olympiad results pages, http://www.boardability.com/results.php, 15 February 2011
- ^ "ITSL Season 10 Hall of Fame". www.twilight-league.com.
- ^ Peery, Larry. "A History of World DipCon". Diplomatic Corps.
- ^ Two years until 1994 then one year since 1994 but no world championship in 2020 and 2021 (coronavirus).
- ^ "2015 Results". Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ "Italy Defeats Defending Champion". www.businesswire.com.
- ^ "Nicoló Falcone of Italy Defeats Defending Champion Bjørn Halvard Knappskog of Norway to Win 2015 Monopoly World Championship! – Business Wire". businesswire.com. September 8, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
- ^ "CATAN World Championship 2018 in Cologne: The new world champion comes from Mexico". Retrieved 10 May 2016.
- ^ "German Board Game Championship for teams / www.DMMiB.de".
- ^ "EuropeMasters - Open European Championships Boardgames".{}
- ^ "2018 World Magic Cup - Deux fois c'est bien". Retrieved 20 January 2019.
- ^ Chase, Elaine. "The Next Chapter for Magic: Esports". Wizards of the Coast.
- ^ "2023 Pokémon World Championships | News". Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ "Meet the Winners of the 2024 Pokémon World Championships". The Pokémon Company International. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2023 (WCS2023)".
- ^ "Wizard Tournaments".
- ^ a b c World Debating website, http://www.debating.ie//
- ^ Moder, Peter Janshoff / Thomas. "Carcassonne - World Championship 2022 - Finals". www.spielezentrum.de. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ^ "Saboteur Tournaments".
- ^ Tantrix official results (online) 2022 http://tournaments.tantrix.co.uk/auto/index.php?page=showph2&comp=WTC&do=final&year=2022
- ^ Tantrix official results 2022 http://www.tantrix.com/tournaments/index.php?page=home&comp=WTO&year=2022
- ^ World Tantrix Open 2023 http://tantrix.com/tournaments/index.php?page=home&comp=WTO&year=2023]
- ^ Official Scrabble World Championship site, http://www.wscgames.com/
- ^ FISE Scrabble site, http://fisescrabble.org/torneos/mundiales/
- ^ a b FISF Scrabble site, http://www.fisf.net
- ^ "History – World Quizzing Championships". Retrieved 2022-11-25.