| BOTVINNIK | Mikhail ___, winner of the World Chess Championship from 1948-57 (9) |
| CAPTAINCY | Position George Young held from 1948-57 (9) |
| FISCHER | Bobby ___, winner of the World Chess Championship from 1972-75 (7) |
| EUWE | Max ___, winner of the World Chess Championship from 1935-37 (4) |
| LERMONTOV | Mikhail ___, 19th-century Russian author of the novel A Hero of Our Time (9) |
| KASPAROV | Garry ___, 1985 winner of the World Chess Championship (8) |
| GORBACHEV | Soviet president awarded the 1990 Nobel Peace Prize, Mikhail ___ (9) |
| PETROSIAN | Tigran -, 1963-69 World Chess Championship title holder (9) |
| NIGELSHORT | English chess player who challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess Championship in 1993 |
| NIGEL | English chess player who challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess Championship in 1993 (5,5) |
| SHORT | English chess player who challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess Championship in 1993 (5,5) |
| UPTON | Who was the mental conditioning coach for D. Gukesh when he won the World Chess Championship in 2024? (5) |
| PADDY | Who was the mental coach for D. Gukesh when he won the World Chess Championship last year? (5) |
| ICEL | Where Fischer played Spassky for the World Chess Championship (abbr.) |
| BORISSPASSKY | Who did Bobby Fischer beat to win the World Chess Championship in 1972? (5,7) |
| IAN | Nepomniachtchi who lost the World Chess Championship in April |
| INFIDELITY | A member of the World Chess Federation left it why I heard for cheating (10) |
| CARLSEN | Last name of the world chess champion Gukesh faced in Zagreb Rapids on 03 Jul 2025. (7) |
| BONN | This former capital of West Germany was the site of the 2008 World Chess Championship |
| VASILY | -- Smyslov, winner of the 1957 world chess championship match against Mikhail Botvinnik (6) |
