In 1993, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short decided to break away from FIDE and play their World Championship match under the auspice of the newly formed Professional Chess Association. In response, FIDE decided to strip them of their champion and challenger statuses and to erase their respective ELO ratings.
The crown chess organization then went on to organize a separate World Championship match for the title of the FIDE World Champion. They invited Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman, the finalist and the semi-finalist of the Candidates cycle, to play the match for the crown. The other semifinalist, Artur Yusupov, might have been considered as a legitimate candidate as well, but was simply excluded, because Karpov and Timman were defeated by the winner of the cycle, Nigel Short.
According to Kasparov, only one leading grandmaster openly declared against FIDE’s decision – Vassily Ivanchuk:
Of the leading grandmasters, the only one who openly condemned this unprecedented decision was Vassily Ivanchuk: on 9 May he sent a letter to FIDE, in which he emphasized that he considered it unlawful to stage a match for the world title between Timman and Karpov, since in the qualifying cycle they had both lost their matches to Short, and in addition the other semi-finalist in the cycle – Yusupov, who had lost to Timman – had completely equal rights with Karpov.
“The loss of a match to Short should not give the right to participate in a match for the world championship or other privileges”, declared Ivanchuk […] “
(Source: Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part Three: 1993–2005)
The Karpov – Timman match was played in Zwolle, Arnhem, Amsterdam and Jakarta, from September to November 1993. It attracted little media interest and financial backing. Colloquially, it became known as the Battle of Losers. Broad chess public completely disregarded FIDE’s cycle and continued to recognize Kasparov as a true World Champion.
The match itself was dominated by Karpov. After the players exchanged the blows in the first two games, Karpov gained the lead by winning the sixth game. In the 10th game, he increased his lead to two points. At this point, Timman somehow crumbled, and the hat trick in games 14-16 sealed the deal. With the convincing 12.5-8.5 score, Karpov became the first ever FIDE World Champion.
It would appear this sudden victory inspired Karpov, who was already at the summit of his career. In 1994 he won the strongest tournament in Linares in spectacular fashion (11/13), as if he wanted to prove he is worthy of the title. He continued playing on top level until 1996 Las Palmas tournament, although he held his FIDE title for a bit longer, thanks to the privileges he enjoyed as a champion in the 1998 cycle.
Sources:
Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part Three: 1993–2005