| Comp1: | Wilhelm Steinitz |
| Comp2: | Isidor Gunsberg |
| Title1: | Defending champion |
| Title2: | Challenger |
| Flag1: | USA |
| Flag2: | Austria-Hungary |
| Flag1 Variant: | 1890 |
| Flag2 Variant: | transleithania |
| Dob1: | 14 May 1836 |
| Age1: | 54 years old |
| Dob2: | 1 November 1854 |
| Age2: | 36 years old |
| Prev: | 1889 |
| Prev Link: | World Chess Championship 1889 |
| Next: | 1892 |
| Next Link: | World Chess Championship 1892 |
| Score1: | 10½ |
| Score2: | 8½ |
The third World Chess Championship was held in New York City from 9 December 1890 to 22 January 1891. Holder Wilhelm Steinitz (known as William Steinitz since his naturalisation as an American citizen) narrowly defeated his Hungarian challenger, Isidor Gunsberg.
In 1887 the American Chess Congress started work on drawing up regulations for the future conduct of world championship contests. Steinitz actively supported this endeavor, as he thought he was becoming too old to remain world champion – he wrote in his own magazine "I know I am not fit to be the champion, and I am not likely to bear that title for ever".[1]
The American Chess Congress's final proposal was that the winner of a tournament to be held in New York in 1889 should be regarded as world champion for the time being, but must be prepared to face a challenge from the second or third placed competitor within a month.[1] [2] Steinitz wrote that he would not play in the tournament and would not challenge the winner unless the second and third placed competitors failed to do so.[3] The tournament was duly played, but the outcome was not quite as planned: Mikhail Chigorin and Max Weiss tied for first place; their play-off resulted in four draws, and Weiss then wanted to get back to his work for the Rothschild Bank, conceding the title to Chigorin.
However, the third prize-winner Isidor Gunsberg was prepared to play for the title. The match was played in New York in 1890 and ended in a 10½–8½ victory for Steinitz. The American Chess Congress's experiment was not repeated, and Steinitz's last three matches were private arrangements between the players.[4] [5]
The winner would be first to 10 wins (draws not counting), or most wins after 20 games. A draw would be declared if the score reached 9 wins each.
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Wins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |||
| ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ |