World Chess Championship 1984
Encyclopedia
The World Chess Championship 1984 was a match between challenger Garry Kasparov
and defending champion Anatoly Karpov
for the World Chess Championship
title. After 5 months and 48 games, the match was abandoned in controversial circumstances with Karpov leading five wins to three (with 40 draws
), and replayed in the World Chess Championship 1985
.
tournaments were held. The top two finishers in each qualified. Kasparov, aged 19 years old at the time, won the Moscow Interzonal by a convincing 1½ point margin ahead of Alexander Beliavsky
. Zoltán Ribli
won the Las Palmas first Interzonal ahead of 62-year-old former World Champion Vasily Smyslov
, and the Toluca Interzonal was won jointly by Lajos Portisch
and Eugenio Torre
.
and Robert Hübner
, the Candidates finalists from the previous cycle (World Chess Championship 1981
). The eight players participated in a series of knockout matches. The winner was Garry Kasparov.
wheel.
Politics threatened Kasparov's semi-final match against Viktor Korchnoi
, which was scheduled to be played in Pasadena, California
. Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976, and was at that time the strongest active non-Soviet player. Various political manoeuvres prevented Kasparov from playing Korchnoi in the United States, and Kasparov forfeited the match. This was resolved when Korchnoi agreed for the match to be replayed in London, along with the Vasily Smyslov
vs. Zoltán Ribli
match. The Korchnoi-Kasparov match was put together on short notice by Raymond Keene
. Kasparov lost the first game but won the match 7-4 (four wins, one loss).
The championship match between Karpov and Kasparov had many ups and downs, and a very controversial finish. Karpov started in very good form, and after nine games Kasparov was down 4-0 in a "first to six wins" match. Fellow players predicted he would be whitewashed 6-0 within 18 games.
But Kasparov dug in and battled Karpov to 17 successive draws. He lost game 27, then fought back with another series of draws until game 32, his first-ever win against the World Champion. Another 14 successive draws followed, through game 46. The previous record length for a world title match had been 34 games, the 1927 match
between José Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine
. Games 47 and 48 were both won by the contender, making the score 5-3 in favor of Karpov and the eventual outcome far less certain.
Then the match was ended without result by Florencio Campomanes
, the President of Fédération Internationale des Échecs
(FIDE), and a new match was announced to start a few months later. The termination was controversial, as both players stated that they preferred the match to continue. Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match (5 months: September 10, 1984 to February 8, 1985).
The match became the first, and so far only, world championship match to be abandoned without result.
The restarted match (the World Chess Championship 1985
) was best of 24, with the champion (Karpov) to retain his title if the match was tied 12-12. Because Karpov's 2-point lead from the 1984 match was wiped out, Karpov was granted the right of a return match (the World Chess Championship 1986
) if he lost.
(and Kasparov accepted) . Karpov should have won if he had played 37... Rd5! At this point Karpov was leading the match 4-0. If he had won this game, his win in game 27 would have ended the match with a 6-0 victory.
Andy Soltis and Yasser Seirawan discuss this possible scenario. Kasparov would be demoralized after his 0-6 defeat and would not have been the same player that he soon became. Karpov would have remained World Champion for perhaps a decade, and Kasparov would not have split from FIDE as he did in 1993 to form the Professional Chess Association
. The havoc that this split caused in the World Championship for 15 years would not have occurred .
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
and defending champion Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
for the World Chess Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
title. After 5 months and 48 games, the match was abandoned in controversial circumstances with Karpov leading five wins to three (with 40 draws
Draw (chess)
In chess, a draw is when a game ends in a tie. It is one of the possible outcomes of a game, along with a win for White and a win for Black . Usually, in tournaments a draw is worth a half point to each player, while a win is worth one point to the victor and none to the loser.For the most part,...
), and replayed in the World Chess Championship 1985
World Chess Championship 1985
The 1985 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Moscow from September 3 to November 9, 1985. Kasparov won, to become the thirteenth and youngest world champion at the age of 22.-Background:...
.
Interzonals
Three InterzonalInterzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournaments were held. The top two finishers in each qualified. Kasparov, aged 19 years old at the time, won the Moscow Interzonal by a convincing 1½ point margin ahead of Alexander Beliavsky
Alexander Beliavsky
-External links:...
. Zoltán Ribli
Zoltan Ribli
Zoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...
won the Las Palmas first Interzonal ahead of 62-year-old former World Champion Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, and the Toluca Interzonal was won jointly by Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch
Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...
and Eugenio Torre
Eugenio Torre
Eugenio Torre is a chess Grandmaster . He is considered the strongest chess player the Philippines has ever produced during the 1980s and 1990s period, following the heels of Fischer-era Filipino chess champions National Master Ramon Lontoc, International Master Renato Naranja, IM Rodolfo Tan...
.
Candidates
The six Interzonal qualifiers were joined by Viktor KorchnoiViktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
and Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner
Robert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
, the Candidates finalists from the previous cycle (World Chess Championship 1981
World Chess Championship 1981
The 1981 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Meran, Italy from October 1 to November 19, 1981. Karpov won.-Interzonals:Two Interzonal tournaments were held, one in Riga and the other in Rio de Janeiro...
). The eight players participated in a series of knockout matches. The winner was Garry Kasparov.
Candidates controversies
The Smyslov–Hübner match was originally tied at 5-5. After playing four extra games without breaking the tie, the match was resolved by a spin of the rouletteRoulette
Roulette is a casino game named after a French diminutive for little wheel. In the game, players may choose to place bets on either a single number or a range of numbers, the colors red or black, or whether the number is odd or even....
wheel.
Politics threatened Kasparov's semi-final match against Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
, which was scheduled to be played in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
. Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union in 1976, and was at that time the strongest active non-Soviet player. Various political manoeuvres prevented Kasparov from playing Korchnoi in the United States, and Kasparov forfeited the match. This was resolved when Korchnoi agreed for the match to be replayed in London, along with the Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
vs. Zoltán Ribli
Zoltan Ribli
Zoltán Ribli is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and International Arbiter . He was twice a World Championship Candidate and three times Hungarian Champion.-A career in chess:...
match. The Korchnoi-Kasparov match was put together on short notice by Raymond Keene
Raymond Keene
Raymond Dennis Keene OBE is an English chess Grandmaster, a FIDE International Arbiter, a chess organiser, and a journalist and author.p196 He won the British Chess Championship in 1971, and was the first player from England to earn a Grandmaster norm, in 1974. In 1976 he became the second...
. Kasparov lost the first game but won the match 7-4 (four wins, one loss).
Championship match
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karpov Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once... |
= | = | 1 | = | = | 1 | 1 | = | 1 | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = |
| Kasparov Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time.... |
= | = | 0 | = | = | 0 | 0 | = | 0 | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | |
| Karpov Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once... |
= | = | = | = | = | = | 1 | = | = | = | = | 0 | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = |
| Kasparov Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time.... |
= | = | = | = | = | = | 0 | = | = | = | = | 1 | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = |
| 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | |Wins | | | |||||||||||
| Karpov Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once... |
= | = | = | = | = | = | 0 | 0 | 5 | |||||||||||
| Kasparov Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time.... |
= | = | = | = | = | = | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||||||
The championship match between Karpov and Kasparov had many ups and downs, and a very controversial finish. Karpov started in very good form, and after nine games Kasparov was down 4-0 in a "first to six wins" match. Fellow players predicted he would be whitewashed 6-0 within 18 games.
But Kasparov dug in and battled Karpov to 17 successive draws. He lost game 27, then fought back with another series of draws until game 32, his first-ever win against the World Champion. Another 14 successive draws followed, through game 46. The previous record length for a world title match had been 34 games, the 1927 match
World Chess Championship 1927
The 1927 World Chess Championship was played between José Raúl Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine. It was played in Buenos Aires from September 16 to November 29, 1927...
between José Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
. Games 47 and 48 were both won by the contender, making the score 5-3 in favor of Karpov and the eventual outcome far less certain.
Then the match was ended without result by Florencio Campomanes
Florencio Campomanes
Florencio Campomanes was a Filipino political scientist, chess player, and chess organizer.- Education :...
, the President of Fédération Internationale des Échecs
Fédération Internationale des Échecs
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. It is usually referred to as FIDE , its French acronym.FIDE...
(FIDE), and a new match was announced to start a few months later. The termination was controversial, as both players stated that they preferred the match to continue. Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match (5 months: September 10, 1984 to February 8, 1985).
The match became the first, and so far only, world championship match to be abandoned without result.
The restarted match (the World Chess Championship 1985
World Chess Championship 1985
The 1985 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Moscow from September 3 to November 9, 1985. Kasparov won, to become the thirteenth and youngest world champion at the age of 22.-Background:...
) was best of 24, with the champion (Karpov) to retain his title if the match was tied 12-12. Because Karpov's 2-point lead from the 1984 match was wiped out, Karpov was granted the right of a return match (the World Chess Championship 1986
World Chess Championship 1986
The 1986 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in London and Leningrad from July 28 to October 8, 1986. Kasparov won. Anatoly Karpov was already assured of this rematch during his previous year's match which was won by Garry Kasparov.-Results:The match was...
) if he lost.
Crucial game 16
One move in game 16 may have had a profound effect on chess history. In this position, Karpov was tired and offered a drawDraw by agreement
In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw. A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. The relevant portion of the FIDE laws of chess is article 9.1...
(and Kasparov accepted) . Karpov should have won if he had played 37... Rd5! At this point Karpov was leading the match 4-0. If he had won this game, his win in game 27 would have ended the match with a 6-0 victory.
Andy Soltis and Yasser Seirawan discuss this possible scenario. Kasparov would be demoralized after his 0-6 defeat and would not have been the same player that he soon became. Karpov would have remained World Champion for perhaps a decade, and Kasparov would not have split from FIDE as he did in 1993 to form the Professional Chess Association
Professional Chess Association
The Professional Chess Association , which existed between 1993 and 1996, was a rival organisation to FIDE, the international chess organization...
. The havoc that this split caused in the World Championship for 15 years would not have occurred .
External links
- Edward WinterEdward Winter (chess historian)Edward Winter is an English journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author about the game of chess. He writes a regular column on that subject, Chess Notes, and is also a regular columnist for ChessBase.-Chess Notes:...
, The Termination (1988, updated in 2005, 2007, and 2008)