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Why was the 1886 match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johann Zukertort important?

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A chessboard showing the standard starting position for a game, with white and black pieces arranged in two rows on each side: rooks, knights, bishops, queen, and king on the back row, and pawns in front. — chess Position of chess pieces at the beginning of a game. The pieces are placed on the two ranks closest to the player. In the closest rank, pieces are arranged from left to right: rook, knight, bishop, queen, king, bishop, knight, and rook. In front of that rank, each square has a pawn.

The 1886 match between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johann Zukertort was a landmark event in chess history because it was the first contest specifically designated as being for the world championship.

Prior to this match, the title of world champion was unofficial, despite the game's long history of high-level competition. By 1886, Steinitz had already established himself as the world's foremost player after defeating Adolf Anderssen in 1866, and he took the initiative to formalize the championship by setting specific rules and financial conditions for title defenses.1

This match solidified the transition toward a more structured era of professional chess, where the champion held the authority to determine the terms of their title defenses. Steinitz, who is regarded as the first player to adopt a scientific approach to the game, used this platform to further his "modern school" of positional play, which emphasized the accumulation of small advantages and the theory of equilibrium.12