Magnus successfully defended his title four times (in a rematch against Vishy, and then against Karjakin, Fabi, and Nepo) before stepping aside. Ding Liren won, and then lost to Gukesh. Now Gukesh has been playing poorly, and seems likely to lose even before his challenger has been selected.

Who will be the next classical World Chess Champion to successfully defend their title, i.e. win as challenger and then win against the first person to challenge them?

Resolves N/A if FIDE dissolves without an obvious successor organization, or if the world championship moves away from a defending-champion type model.