After the abrupt finish of the previous World Championship Match in February, 1985, a new match between Kasparov and Karpov was to begin in September 1985. The initial score was set to 0-0 and the…
Browsing Category World Chess Championship History
Kasparov – Karpov World Championship Match 1984
After his successful title defence against Korchnoi in 1981, it appeared Karpov would have no equal for a long time. The old generation was fading slowly, but surely, and it seemed that it would take…
Karpov – Korchnoi World Championship Match 1981
(Cover photo credit: Douglas Griffin Twitter) After the nail-biting defeat at Karpov’s hands in the controversial 1978 World Championship match in Baguio City, Viktor Korchnoi was seeded directly in the quarter-final phase of the Candidates…
Karpov – Korchnoi 1978 World Championship Match
Starting from the early 60s, Viktor Korchnoi has always been one of the top Soviet Grandmasters. As a four times Soviet Champion and a regular participant in the Candidates tournament, he actively participated in the…
Fischer – Karpov 1975 World Championship Match
THE MATCH THAT NEVER HAPPENED Upon his return to America after his triumph in the Match of the Century, Fischer was treated like a celebrity. He got invited to talk shows, his face appeared in…
Fischer – Spassky World Championship Match 1972
THE MATCH OF THE CENTURY Ever since he qualified for the 1959 Candidates tournament at the age of 15, everybody realized there is something special about Robert James Fischer. By devouring chess books on a…
Petrosian – Spassky World Championship Match 1969
After the customary Zonal Tournaments, the Interzonal tournament of the 1967 – 1969 World Championship Cycle took place in Sousse, Tunisia. 23 players battled for six places in the Candidates, since Boris Spassky (as a…
Petrosian – Spassky World Championship Match 1966
After the controversy regarding the „Russian pact“ in the previous edition of the Candidates tournament, FIDE decided to change the format of the 1963-1966 World Championship qualifying cycle. Instead of the all-play-all tournament, Candidates knock-out…
Botvinnik – Petrosian World Championship Match 1963
While Botvinnik and Tal were contesting their first match in 1960, the Zonal tournaments for the next qualifying cycle have already started. Since more than 50 countries have become FIDE members, an additional zone was…
Botvinnik – Tal World Championship Return Match 1961
According to the return match clause, after the war of antipodes of 1960 between Botvinnik and Tal, negotiations about the new match began. Already toward the end of the 1960 match, Botvinnik started thinking about…
Botvinnik – Tal World Championship Match 1960
While Botvinnik and Smyslov battled in the 1957 match and in the 1958 return match, the remainder of the chess world was struck by a flash of genius like never before. In 1957, a bright…
Botvinnik – Smyslov Return Match 1958
According to the FIDE rules, after his defeat in the 1957 match against Smyslov, Botvinnik was entitled to a return match for the crown. Smyslov had to play Botvinnik again in the spring of 1958;…