The 1990 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....

was played between Garry 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....

 and 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...

. It was the fifth and final Kasparov-Karpov championship match, Kasparov winning by a single point.

Interzonals

Three Interzonal

Interzonal

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 :...

s were held in June-August 1987, with 16 to 18 players playing in each and top three qualifying. In the first one, in Subotica

Subotica

Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...

, Gyula Sax

Gyula Sax

Gyula Sax is a Hungarian chess player and International Arbiter , born in Budapest.He was awarded the IM title in 1972 and the GM title in 1974. He was the Hungarian Chess Champion in 1976 and 1977 . In 1971-72, he was the European Junior Champion, and he placed first at Rovinj-Zagreb 1975,...

, Nigel Short

Nigel Short

Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...

, and Jon Speelman

Jon Speelman

Jonathan Simon "Jon" Speelman is an English Grandmaster chess player, mathematician and chess writer.-Early life and education:He was educated at Worcester College, Oxford, where he studied mathematics, earning a doctorate.-Career:...

 shared the first place with 10½/15 points. In the Szirak Interzonal Valery Salov

Valery Salov

Valery Salov is a Russian chess grandmaster.Salov was awarded the International Master title in 1984 and the Grandmaster title in 1986. He was the World under-17 Champion in 1980 and European Junior Champion in 1983-84...

 and Jóhann Hjartarson

Johann Hjartarson

Jóhann Hjartarson is a chess Grandmaster from Iceland. He earned the International Master title in 1984 and the Grandmaster title a year later. Among his best international tournament results are equal fourth at Reykjavik 1988 , equal third at Tilburg 1988 and sixth at Belgrade 1989...

 finished top of the table with 12½/17, and Lajos Portisch

Lajos Portisch

Lajos Portisch is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname, the "Hungarian Botvinnik"...

 and John Nunn

John Nunn

John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....

 tied for the third. The candidates place was decided in a separate play-off, with Portisch winning 4–2. 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...

 was the winner in the last Interzonal in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, scoring 11 in 16 games and one point ahead of Jaan Ehlvest

Jaan Ehlvest

Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 is a chess player, who was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987 and was named Estonian sportsman of the year in 1987 and 1989...

 and Yasser Seirawan.

Players eliminated in this stage included former World Champions Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....

 and 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...

.

Candidates matches

In addition to nine players from the Interzonals, four quarterfinalists of the previous cycle

World Chess Championship 1987

The 1987 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Seville from October 12 to December 19, 1987. Before the 24th game, Kasparov was down 12-11, but in the 24th game, Kasparov made a comeback by using the English Opening to win the final game to retain his...

 (Andrei Sokolov

Andrei Sokolov

Andrei Yurievich Sokolov is a French chess Grandmaster of Russian origin, now living in France...

, Jan Timman

Jan Timman

Jan Timman is a Dutch chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. At the peak of his career he was considered to be the best non-Soviet player and was known as "The Best of the West"...

, Rafael Vaganian

Rafael Vaganian

Rafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...

, and Artur Yusupov

Artur Yusupov

Artur Mayakovich Yusupov is a German International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-Chess career:...

) were seeded as the Candidates. The organizing federation of the preliminary matches (which were held in Saint John, New Brunswick

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

) nominated one player, Kevin Spraggett

Kevin Spraggett

Kevin Spraggett is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He is the fourth Canadian to earn the grandmaster title, after Abe Yanofsky, Duncan Suttles and Peter Biyiasas. Spraggett is the only Canadian to have qualified for the Candidates' level, having done so in 1985 and 1988...

. 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...

, the challenger in the previous cycle, was seeded into the quarterfinal.

Championship match

The first twelve games were played in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 (8 October – 7 November), the other twelve taking place in Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

, France (26 November – 30 December).

World Chess Championship Match 1990

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	Total
	½	0	½	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	1	0	½	0	½	½	1	½	11½
	½	1	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	0	1	½	1	½	½	0	½	12½

External links

• Game-by-game summary
• Candidates matches
• Interzonals: Subotica, Szirak, Zagreb