Editing Fast chess (section)

=== World Blitz championships before 2012 ===
The first unofficial ''Speed Chess Championship of the World'' (or World Blitz Championship) was held in [[Herceg Novi]] on 8 April 1970. This was shortly after the first [[Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World|USSR versus the rest of the world]] match (in Belgrade), in which ten of these players also competed. Eleven [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmasters]] and one [[International Master]] played a double [[round-robin tournament]]. [[Bobby Fischer]] won first place, with a score of 19 points out of a possible 22. Fischer scored seventeen wins, four [[draw (chess)|draws]], and one loss (to [[Viktor Korchnoi]]). [[Mikhail Tal]] was a distant second, 4½ points behind.<ref>Brady, 1973, p. 164</ref> Fischer won both games against each of Tal, [[Tigran Petrosian]], and [[Vasily Smyslov]]; all of them were past [[World Chess Championship|World Champions]].

By 1971, the Russian and Moscow five-minute championships had been going several years, with Tal, [[David Bronstein|Bronstein]], and Petrosian all having success. That year, Fischer played in a blitz tournament organised by the [[Manhattan Chess Club]], and scored 21½/22.<ref>[[Barden, Leonard]], ''The value of blitz chess'', [[The Guardian]], 4 October 1971</ref> There were also strong tournaments in Bugojno (in 1978), which was won by Karpov; and Nikšić (in 1983), which was won by Kasparov.<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web|url=http://worldblitz2008.kz/about/championship_history |title=Blitz Championship History (archived) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081224224849/http://worldblitz2008.kz/about/championship_history |archive-date=24 December 2008 }}</ref>

In 1987, the S.W.I.F.T. super-tournament was held in Brussels, Belgium; first prize was shared by [[Garry Kasparov]] and [[Ljubomir Ljubojević]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/18th-april-1987/44/chess |title=CHESS; 18 Apr 1987; The Spectator Archive |last=Keene |first=Raymond |date=1987-04-18 |website=The Spectator Archive |access-date=2018-01-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1015539 |title=1987 S.W.I.F.T. Brussels |access-date=2018-01-12}}</ref> The first FIDE-sponsored World Blitz Championship was won by [[Mikhail Tal]] in 1988.<ref name="web.archive.org"/>

In 1992, FIDE held the Women's World Rapid and Blitz Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Both Rapid and Blitz Championships were won by [[Susan Polgar]].<ref name="auto"/>

In 2000, Anand won the ''Plus GSM World Blitz Chess Cup,''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/01/11/stories/07110208.htm | archive-url=https://archive.today/20160316080300/http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/01/11/stories/07110208.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2016-03-16 | work=[[The Hindu]] | title=The Hindu story about Anand winning the "Cup"}}</ref> which has since been referred to as a world championship,<ref name="Vishy2000">{{cite web | url=http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/presentation/25-anand | title=Organizer's vita of Anand at 2012 Champs | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127032925/http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/presentation/25-anand | archive-date=27 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/static/html/fl2420/stories/20071019508813200.htm | title=King Anand | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127032925/http://moscow2012.fide.com/en/presentation/25-anand | archive-date=27 November 2014}}</ref> albeit inconsistently.

The second FIDE-recognized World Blitz Championship was won by [[Alexander Grischuk]] in 2006 in [[Rishon Lezion]], Israel;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=3334 |title=Grischuk wins FIDE World Blitz Championship |publisher=ChessBase.com |date=12 September 2006 |access-date=19 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="web.archive.org"/> the third World Blitz Championship was won by [[Vassily Ivanchuk]] in 2007.<ref name="web.archive.org"/> The 4th World Blitz Championship was held in Almaty in 2008, and it was won by [[Leinier Domínguez|Leinier Dominguez Pérez]] of Cuba.<ref name="2008blitz2">{{cite web | url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/dominguez-perez-wins-world-blitz-championship-in-almaty | title=Dominguez-Perez wins World Blitz Championship in Almaty | publisher=chessbase.com | date=11 August 2008 | access-date=14 June 2016}}</ref><ref name="web.archive.org"/>

In 2009 and 2010, there was an event called the ''World Blitz Championship'', held after the [[Tal Memorial]] in Moscow in November. It was won by [[Magnus Carlsen]] (in 2009)<ref name="2009blitz"/> and [[Levon Aronian]] (in 2010),<ref name="fide.com"/> with the Women's Championship being won by [[Kateryna Lagno]] (in 2010).<ref name="women2010blitz"/> There is no record of a 2009 blitz event in the FIDE Calendar for that year;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fide.com/index.php?option=com_fidecalendar&view=fidearchive&ny=2009 | title=2009 FIDE Calendar}}</ref> however, the October 2009 FIDE Congress discussed whether it should be a "proper" Championship (given the qualification scheme), and it left the decision to the corresponding internal Commission.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fide.com/fide/minutes/4228-80th-fide-congress-executive-board-minutes-and-annexes.html | title=80th FIDE Congress, Halkidiki (Oct 2009), Minutes 5.39 and Annex 33}}</ref> For 2010, it was organized in conjunction with FIDE from the beginning.<ref name="fide.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.fide.com/index.php?option=com_fidecalendar&view=archiveview&aid=705 | title=FIDE Archive: World Blitz Championships – Finals}}</ref> However, in neither case was an arbiter's report presented to the next FIDE Congress or General Assembly, as would be expected for a World Championship, and indeed occurred previously with the 2008 Blitz Championship.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2008/79th_fide_congress/annex_35_2008.pdf | title=Arbiter's Report, Annex 35 to 79th FIDE Congress (Dresden 2008)}}</ref> The 2012 Arbiter's report refers to ''7th World Blitz Championship'' thus seeming to imply that 2009 and 2010 events were indeed Championships;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fide.com/images/stories/NEWS_2012/Congress/Annex_48_-_Chief_Arbiters_and_Appeals_Committee_Chairman_reports_on_World_Rapid_and_Blitz_Championships_2012.pdf | title=Arbiter's Report, Annex 48 to the General Assembly (Istanbul 2012)}}</ref> although this report can be faulted for referring to the rapid championship of 2012 as being the ''1st World Rapid Championship'', which at the very least forgets Anand's official Rapid Championship in 2003. The balance of the evidence favors these Blitz Championships as being counted as official.

In 2011, there was no official blitz championship held, but FIDE was involved with the Sport Accord Mind Games blitz won by [[Maxime Vachier-Lagrave]], with [[Hou Yifan]] winning the women's division.<ref>{{cite web |url =http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/5792-sport-accord-mind-games-blitz-results.html |title =Sport Accord Mind Games: blitz results |access-date =15 October 2015 |archive-date =4 March 2016 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191357/http://www.fide.com/component/content/article/1-fide-news/5792-sport-accord-mind-games-blitz-results.html |url-status =dead }}</ref>