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. Games 1-12 were played at the Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, and games 13–24 at the Hotel Leningrad. Anatoly Karpov was already assured of this rematch during his previous year's match, which was won by Garry Kasparov.
The rematch had been demanded by Florencio Campomanes, President of FIDE, citing a ruling introduced in 1978. Kasparov initially refused and, for the first time, threatened to divide the chess world by seceding from FIDE. However, the match was finally held after an agreement between the two players. Kasparov won with 12.5 to 11.5 points, thus defending his title of World Champion.
This match was the first world championship between two Soviets to take place outside of Moscow. The match would be won by the player who got the best of 24 games. Kasparov taking a lead in game 8 and maintained it until Karpov consecutively won games 17, 18 and 19

Background

Karpov had been world champion since 1975. Kasparov qualifed as the challenger in 1984, but their
1984-1985 match was controversially called off after 48 games. The abandoned match was replayed in 1985, and Kasparov won, making him world chess champion. The rules at the time allowed the defeated champion to a rematch, and FIDE president Florencio Campomanes threatened to relinquish Kasparov's title in favour of Karpov if he did not accept the rematch. Kasparov accused FIDE of favouritism towards Karpov and by extension the Soviet chess establishment.
In an interview with Welt am Sonntag, Kasparov said that he wanted to fight Campomanes for "democracy in world chess." He would only be willing to play an "unnecessary" rematch if the chess world wanted it.
Karpov consistently stated in interviews that he would insist on the match. However, he hinted that the start date set by Campomanes on February 10, 1986, was too early for him as well. The Soviet Chess Federation did not take a clear position; in any case, Kasparov was not prevented from describing the rematch as absurd, even via the Soviet news agency TASS.
Under these circumstances, Campomanes felt in too weak a position to follow through with his announced dismissal of Kasparov for January 7. He postponed his decision to the 16th, then to January 24. Even before this date, however, Kasparov and Karpov had reached an agreement with the approval of the Soviet Chess Federation, but without the participation of FIDE. The World Championship match was not to take place until the end of July or the beginning of August in Leningrad, after a break necessary for both players. The loser would later play a match against the winner of the 1987 Candidates Cycle for the qualification for the 1987 World Chess Championship. Campomanes was then able to ensure that the first half of the match was played in London. According to a FIDE decision, London was the preferred "uninvolved" venue and had offered 1.8 million Swiss francs for the match, while Leningrad had offered only 1 million.
This match was the first world championship between two Soviets to take place outside of Moscow. In London, Kasparov was outspoken against FIDE over the incidents in the preceding year, whose officials he referred to as an "international mafia" on Wogan.

Results

The match was played as the best of 24 games. If it ended 12-12, Kasparov would retain his title. The time control was 40 moves in 2½ hours, and 16 moves per hour thereafter. As was usual at the time, games were adjourned after 5 hours' play.
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Garry Kasparov>'Garry Kasparov'|Soviet Union

Games

Game 1: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 2: Kasparov-Karpov, 1/2-1/2

Game 3: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 4: Kasparov-Karpov, 1-0

Game 5: Karpov-Kasparov, 1-0

Game 6: Kasparov-Karpov, 1/2-1/2

Game 7: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 8: Kasparov-Karpov, 1-0

Game 9: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 10: Kasparov-Karpov, 1/2-1/2

Game 11: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 12: Kasparov-Karpov, 1/2-1/2

Game 13: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 14: Kasparov-Karpov, 1-0

Game 15: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 16: Kasparov-Karpov, 1-0

Game 17: Karpov-Kasparov, 1-0

Game 18: Kasparov-Karpov, 0-1

Game 19: Karpov-Kasparov, 1-0

Game 20: Kasparov-Karpov, 1/2-1/2

Game 21: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 22: Kasparov-Karpov, 1-0

Game 23: Karpov-Kasparov, 1/2-1/2

Game 24: Kasparov-Karpov, 1/2-1/2