Anand held the FIDE World Chess Championship from 2000 to 2002 when the world title was split. This was a knock-out event of a different type from the classical matches. He became the undisputed World Champion in 2007 and defended his title against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008. With this win, he became the first player in chess history to have won the World Championship in three different formats: knockout, tournament, and match. 