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Kasparov: A Look Back (Part I)

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Kasparov: A Look Back (Part I)

The chess world was shocked last week to hear that Garry Kasparov would be retiring from serious chess to persue other interests, including writing and politics. Kasparov's announcement leaves a void at the top of the chess landscape, as he was not only the world's greatest player, but also the game's most recognizable name.

While we can't be sure if Garry will ever return to competitive chess, it is clear that he has left a legacy in the game. With that in mind, Chess Review Online takes a look back at the career of Garry Kasparov.

The Early Years

Garry Kasparov was born with the name Gari Weinstein in 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan. He took his current name - his mother's surname - after his father died while Garry was still a child.

His talent as a chess player was quickly apparent in childhood. After training extensively with Mikhail Botvinnik, Kasparov made his first mark on the chess world by winning back-to-back Soviet Junior Championships in 1975 and 1976. He gained international fame just a few years later, when in 1980, he won the World Junior Chess Championship, becoming the World Under 20 Champion at the age of 17. At this point he had already become a grandmaster with a rating of nearly 2600.

It was quickly becoming apparent that Kasparov would be a contender for the World Championship. By the time came for the Moscow Interzonal tournament in 1982, Kasparov's rating had climbed to 2675, and he was the clear favorite to win the event. With a score of 10/13, Kasparov finished 1.5 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Alexander Beliavsky. Against 12 of the world's best players, Kasparov had not lost a single game.

The Road to the Championship

Next for Kasparov were the candidate's matches. In 1983, he easily dispatched Beliavsky by the score of 6-3. In the semifinals, Kasparov took on seasoned veteran Viktor Korchnoi, a fixture in the battle for the world title. After losing his first game, Kasparov again rose to the occasion, winning 7-4.

Kasparov's final test before getting his championship match would be against Vassily Smyslov, a former world champion with designs on earning one more chance at the crown. Once again, Kasparov proved to be too much for his opponent, winning 8.5-4.5 without losing a single game in the match.

This set the stage for one of the great confrontations in chess history - the first World Championship match between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. The match was to be played until one player won 6 games, with no limit on the total number of games.

The match started terribly for Kasparov. Karpov won game 3, then games 6 and 7, and again in game 9. Suddenly, Karpov seemed sure to win the match - he needed just two more victories in order to claim victory, and Kasparov seemed unable to win even a single game against the current champion.

Kasparov, however, was able to settle down, and the match turned into a long series of drawn games. It wasn't until the 27th game until Karpov struck again, winning with white to make the score 5-0, and seemingly ending any chance Kasparov had of taking the title.

Amazingly, Kasparov fought back again. After several more draws, he took the 32nd game to register his first win of the match. After 14 more draws, Kasparov shocked Karpov by registering back to back wins in games 47 and 48. Suddenly, it was Karpov who looked tired and against the ropes, and Kasparov had all the momentum.

Unfortunately, Kasparov never had a chance to take advantage of the situation. In a surprise move, FIDE President Florencio Campomanes stopped the match without result immediately after Kasparov's 3rd win. While Campomanes cited the players health for the stoppage, Kasparov clearly wanted to continue playing, and Karpov stated that he too would have wanted the match to go on.

A new match was quickly organized for early 1985. The match format was changed to ensure a result; instead of a target number of wins, the match was to be played for 24 games. In the case of a 12-12 tie, Karpov would retain his title.

This time, it was Kasparov who jumped out to the early lead, winning the first game of the match. Karpov was determined to keep the pressure on, however, and struck back by winning games 4 and 5 to take a 3-2 lead. Kasparov against tied the score at 5.5 each by winning game 11.

Kasparov now started to take control of the match. After four draws, he won game 16 to take a 8.5-7.5 lead, then extended his lead by winning game 19. After 21 games, Kasparov had 11.5-9.5 advantage, and seemed assured the title, needing just one point in three games to finally become World Champion.

Karpov fought back once again. A win with white in game 22, and a draw in game 23 left Karpov down just 12-11. Another win with white in the final game would secure a draw in the match, and allow Karpov to hold on to his title yet again. Game 24 proved to be the most important game of Kasparov's career yet.

White: GM Anatoly Karpov
Black: GM Garry Kasparov
32nd World Championship Match, Game 24
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.0-0 Be7 8.f4 0-0 9.Kh1 Qc7 10.a4 Nc6 11.Be3 Re8 12.Bf3 Rb8 13.Qd2 Bd7 14.Nb3 b6 15.g4 Bc8 16.g5 Nd7 17.Qf2 Bf8 18.Bg2 Bb7 19.Rad1 g6 20.Bc1 Rbc8 21.Rd3 Nb4 22.Rh3 Bg7 23.Be3 Re7 24.Kg1 Rce8 25.Rd1 f5 26.gxf6 Nxf6 27.Rg3 Rf7 28.Bxb6 Qb8 29.Be3 Nh5 30.Rg4 Nf6 31.Rh4 g5 32.fxg5 Ng4 33.Qd2 Nxe3 34.Qxe3 Nxc2 35.Qb6 Ba8 36.Rxd6 Rb7 37.Qxa6 Rxb3 38.Rxe6 Rxb2 39.Qc4 Kh8 40.e5 Qa7+ 41.Kh1 Bxg2+ 42.Kxg2 Nd4+ 0-1

With a win in the final game, Garry Kasparov had finally become World Champion - a title he wouldn't relinquish for 15 years. Next week, we'll look at Kasparov's reign as champion, his split with FIDE, and his infamous matches with Deep Blue.

14th Amber Tournament Set To Begin

Always one of the most interesting tournaments on the chess calendar, the 14th Annual Amber Blindfold and Rapid Chess Tournament begins on March 19th, in Monaco.

As always, the Amber field is impressive. Viswanathan Anand, Vladimir Kramnik, Veselin Topalov, Peter Leko and Alexei Shirov head the list, and will be joined by Boris Gelfand, Evgeny Bareev, Vassili Ivanchuk, Alexander Morozevich, Peter Svidler, Francisco Vallejo Pons and Loek Van Wely.

What truly makes the Amber event special, however, is the format. Each day consists of the grandmasters playing two games: one rapid game, and one blindfold game! Although the quality of play may not be as high as in slower events (not to mention ones where the players have their eyes open), the format promotes more creative, fun games of chess - a refreshing break from the typically slow and deliberate events typically seen at the highest levels.

The Amber tournament runs until March 31st, with two rest days. We will be providing complete coverage in upcoming issues.