World Chess Championship 1986 / games

The list of games of the 1986 World Chess Championship shows all the games that were played in the competition for the world chess title between the reigning world champion Garry Kasparov and the challenger Anatoly Karpov (both Soviet Union ). The referee of the duel from July 28th to October 8th 1986 was Lothar Schmid .

The world championship went over 24 games, the 1st to 12th in the ballroom of the London Park Lane Hotel and 13th to 24th in the concert hall of the Hotel Leningrad in Leningrad . The condition for winning the competition was reaching at least 12.5 points. In the event of a tie, Kasparov was allowed to keep his title according to the regulations; Kasparov won 12.5: 11.5 and remained world champion. Two and a half hours were set as the time to think about 40 trains; when these were played, the game could be continued at will, or each player could, if it was his turn, go to the suspended game, after which the game was continued the next day.

The competition showed a strong dominance of white - the color balance was 8: 1, and black's victory was basically a given away by white.

The games are reproduced and commented on in algebraic notation , with the moves actually made being shown in bold and variants in normal type. In the table, the normal scoring is assumed, i.e. one point for a win and half a point for a draw .

Game overview

	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23	24	Victories	Points
Garry Kasparov	½	½	½	1	0	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	½	1	½	1	0	0	0	½	½	1	½	½	5	12½
Anatoly Karpov	½	½	½	0	1	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	0	1	1	1	½	½	0	½	½	4th	11½

1st game

The first game was played on July 28th at 5 p.m. At around 2:30 p.m. the seats were sold out. In the meantime Kasparov had his chair changed and two centimeters sawed off after the game - most likely a “gift” to the reporters who could speculate about parallels to the “chair affair” at the 1972 World Cup . The British Minister of Education, George Walden , made the first move on behalf of Karpov, who had been drawn for White the day before for the first game.

Surprisingly, Kasparov responded against Karpov's double step of the queen's pawn with the Grünfeld-Indian defense , which had rarely been seen in his career until then. On move 6, with the queen's loss on a5, he turned into a variant known as risky. Karpov apparently feared an improvement in Kasparov's analysis team and avoided all double-edged sequels: After an early queue exchange, the game quickly ended in a draw with a symmetrical pawn distribution (c and d pawns removed on both sides).

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
London, July 28, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D92

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bf4 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 ?! 7. Rc1 dxc4 8. e3 Qxc5 9. Qa4 + Nc6 10. Bxc4 0–0 11. 0–0 Bd7 12. Qb5 Qxb5 13. Bxb5 Tac8 14. Rfd1 Rfd8 15. h3 h6 16. Kf1 a6 17. Be2 Be6 18. Rxd8 + Rxd8 19. Ne5 Nxe5 20. Bxe5 Rd2 21. b3 and a draw. ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow ½: ½ Karpow)

2nd game

Kasparov - Karpov
2nd game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

After 38th Ke3 – e2! Rf8 – f3? would have the fight already with 39. Rc6 – c7! can be terminated.

For the second game two days later, in which Kasparov had White, the spectators expected an energetic attack from White. Karpov used the Nimzowitsch-Indian Defense and brought an innovation on the 6th platoon. But as in the first game, both of them turned into a quick queen swap.

Kasparov had a slightly better position, but such strategic endgames had always been Karpov's specialty. In many games he had outplayed his opponents by filigree moves in harmless positions, including Kasparov himself, and at least kept worse positions in a draw. But surprisingly, like Karpov, Kasparov played in his prime and posed positional problems for him with limited resources. After two-sided inaccuracies before the time control on move 40, the game was postponed in a draw position.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoli Karpow
London, 30. – 31. July 1986
Nimzowitsch-Indian Defense , three-knight system, E21

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bd2 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Nxd4 10. Nxd5 Bxd2 + 11. Qxd2 Nc6 12. Nf4 Qxd2 + 13. Kxd2 Bd7 14. Thc1 Ke7 15. Nd3 Thc8 16. Nc5 Tab8 17. Rc3 Nd8 18. Tac1 Bc6 19. Nd3 Bd7 20. Ne5 Rxc3 21. Rxc3 Be8 22. b4 a6 23. Be4 h6 24. a3 f6 25. Nd3 Bc6 26. Bxc6 Nxc6 27.Nc5 Ne5 28. f4 Nd7 29. Nb3 Kd6 30. e4 g5 31. Ke3 e5 32. fxg5 fxg5 33. Sa5 g4 34. Rc2 h5 35. Rc1 b6 36. Rc6 + Ke7 37. Nc4 Rf8 38. Ke2! Rf3? (see diagram) This move loses because of 39. Rc6 – c7 !. There is a threat of 40. Rc7xd7 + Ke7xd7 41. Nc4xe5 + along with Ne5xf3 and the winning endgame or the e5 pawn falls without replacement. Instead, 39 followed . Ne3? Nf6 40. Rxb6 Nxe4 41. Rxa6 Rf2 + 42. Kd3 Nd6 43. Ra7 + Ke6 44. Rh7 e4 + 45. Kc3 Nb5 + 46. Kc4 Nxa3 + 47. Kd4 Rxh2 48. Rh6 + Kd7 49. Nd5 h4 50. Rxh3 52 .xh4 gxh4 Nf4 Nc2 + with a draw. ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 1: 1 Karpow)

3rd game

In the third game both swiveled into a variant of the Gründfeld Indian with an approximately symmetrical positional structure. In the following lavier position, in which the king jumpers repeated moves several times, Karpov achieved a slight advantage, but he did not try to return the favor with a similar pressure game as Kasparov in the previous game. Apparently he found black counterattacks with all conceivable offensive plans. Without moments of tension, a draw was given on move 35.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
London, August 1, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D79

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 0–0 8. Ne5 e6 9. 0–0 Nfd7 10. Nf3 Nc6 11. Bf4 Nf6 12. Ne5 Bd7 13. Dd2 Nxe5 14. Lxe5 Bc6 15. Rfd1 Nd7 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. Rac1 Nf6 18. Qf4 Qb8 19. Qxb8 Taxb8 20. f3 Rfd8 21. Kf2 Rbc8 22. e3 Ne8 23. Rd2 Nd6 24. Tdc2 Kf8 25. Bf1 Ke7 26. Bd3 f5 27. h4 h6 28. b3 g5 29. Ne2 Bd7 30. Rc5 b6 31. Rc7 Rxc7 32. Rxc7 Ra8 33. Ng1 Ne8 34. Rc1 Rc8 35. Rxc8 and draw. ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 1½: 1½ Karpow)

4th game

In the 4th game Karpow tried again an innovation in Nimzowitsch-Indian: He played his queen's knight on move 10 to a5. This turned out to be strategically wrong, however, as Karpov subsequently made the mistake of hiding his second knight on e7 instead of supporting the one on a5. Kasparov promptly aligned his game against this very same and brought him under control with a triangular maneuver with the queen , as is otherwise known from kings to take advantage of forced positions in endgames . Nobody saw the queens exchange (again with symmetrical pawns) as a draw sign: the advantage of Kasparov's position was too great, White won the a-pawn if the positional advantage persisted.

Garri Kasparow - Anatoli Karpow
London, 4th August 1986
Nimzowitsch-Indian Defense , three-knight system, E21

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. g3 cxd4 6. Nxd4 0–0 7. Bg2 d5 8. Qb3 Bxc3 + 9. bxc3 Nc6 10. cxd5 Sa5 11. Qc2 Nxd5 12. Qd3 Bd7 13. c4 Ne7? Better is 13.… Nb6 with a double attack against c4. 14. 0–0 Rc8 15. Nb3 Nxc4 16. Bxb7 Rc7 17. Ba6 Ne5 18. De3 Nc4 19. De4! Nd6 20.Qd3! Rc6 21. Ba3 Bc8 22.Bxc8 Ndxc8 23.Rfd1 Qxd3 24.Rxd3 Re8 25.Rad1 f6 26.Nd4 Rb6 27.Bc5 Ra6 28.Nb5 Rc6 29.Bxe7 Nxe7 30.Rd7 Ng6 31.Rxa7 Nf8 32. a4 Rb8 33 .e3 h5 34. Kg2 e5 35. Rd3 Kh7 36. Rc3 Rbc8 37. Rxc6 Rxc6 38. Nc7 Ne6 39. Nd5 Kh6 40. a5 e4 Karpow gave up the hopeless game while the game was stopped . 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 2½: 1½ Karpow)

5th game

Karpov - Kasparov
5th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Before 18.… c6 – c5?

Most observers expected Karpov to take a break after his defeat in the 4th game, but he started on time for the 5th game. The two opponents played the same variant of Grünfeld-Indian as in the first game, but Kasparow deviated on move 7 and, according to his preparation for the opening, turned into a queens exchange that was considered dubious. Despite a later innovation by Kasparov, Karpov played quickly - apparently he was well acquainted with the position. The critical position of the game arose on move 18. Both black bishops are threatened with permanent imprisonment by the pawn structure. Kasparov and his analysis team said that with 18.… c6 – c5 both problems could be solved. After 19. h2 – h4 h7 – h6 he expected 20. Ng1 – f3 Bd7 – c6 with the threat of exchanging on f3 g6 – g5 and freeing the king's bishop. But with his 20th move, Karpov refuted the opposing plans and was on the winning side.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
London, 6 August 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D82

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rc1 Ne4 8. cxd5 Nxc3 9. Qd2 Qxa2 10. bxc3 Qxd2 + 11. Kxd2 Nd7 12. Bb5 0–0 13. Bxd7 Bxd7 14. e4 f5 15. e5 e6 16. c4 Rfc8 17. c6 bxc6 18. d6 (see diagram) 18.… c5? Kasparov should have tried 18.… g6 – g5 here. 19.h4 h6 20.Nh3! Now Black can no longer free himself and is at a loss. After reinforcing his blockade with Rh1 – e1 and f2 – f3, White can move the knight to d3 and then target the c5 pawn with Bf4 – e3. If Black plays his a-pawn on a4 and covers c5 with Ra5, then the white rooks soon penetrate decisively via the b-file; If the pawn runs up to a2, he cannot be stopped in the long run. 20.… a5 21. f3 a4 22. The1 a3 23. Nf2 a2 24. Nd3 Ra3 25. Ra1 g5 26. hxg5 hxg5 27. Bxg5 Kf7 28. Bf4 Rb8 29. Tec1 Bc6 30. Rc3 Ra5 31. Rc2 Rba8 32. Nc1 Kasparov gave up. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 2½: 2½ Karpow)

6th game

Kasparov opened the sixth game for the first time in the competition with 1. e2 – e4, which usually leads to a more open, active fight than 1. d2 – d4 and in this case could also mean a surprise effect. Karpov chose the Russian defense that had proven itself well for him . Kasparov made a pawn sacrifice that he himself had described in an earlier analysis as good for Black, but he came up with reinforcements. But Karpov reacted well and returned the right counterattacks to the white attack. He forced a slightly advantageous endgame for him, which was drawn on move 42 after being abandoned.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoly Karpov
London, August 11, 1986
Russian Defense , Classical System, C42

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. d4 d5 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. 0–0 Bg4 8. c4 Nf6 9. Nc3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Nxd4 11. Qe3 + Ne6 12. cxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. Be4 Qb5 15. a4 Qa6 16. Rd1 Be7 17. b4 0–0 18. Qh3 g6 19. Bb2 Qc4 20.Rd7 Tae8 21. Bd5 Qxb4 22. Bc3 Nf4 23. Bxb4 Nxh3 + 24. gxh3 Bxb4 25.Rxc7 b6 26.Rxa7 Kg7 27.Rd7 Rd8 28.Rxd8 Rxd8 29.Rd1 Td6 30.Rd3 h5 31. Kf1 Td7 32. Kg2 Bc5 33. Kf1 h4 34.Bc4 Re7 35.Rf3 Bd6 36. Kg2 Rc7 37. Bb3 f5 38.Rd3 Bc5 39.Rc3 Kf6 40.Rc4 g5 41.Rc2 Ke5 42. Bc4 draw. ½: ½ (Status: Kasparow 3: 3 Karpow)

7th game

Karpov - Kasparov
7th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Kasparov's unexpected counter-attack 35 ... Rc8 – c5! thwarted Karpov's plans.

In the 7th game Kasparow changed the opening for the time being because of the defeat in the 5th game. The Queen's Gambit , treated in an original way by both players, led to complicated positions that cost both players a lot of time. After White's 25th move, the critical position arose. Kasparov only had 16 minutes left, Karpov around twice as much. That may have prompted him to strive for complications that resulted in a draw after both sides were short of time .

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
London, August 13, 1986
Queen's Gambit , exchange variant , D35

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 c6 6. Qc2 g6 7. e3 Bf5 8. Dd2 Nd7 9. f3 Nb6 10. e4 Be6 11. e5 h5 12. Bd3 Qd7 13. b3 Bh4 + 14.g3 Be7 15.Kf2 Bf5 16. Bf1 Kf8 17.Kg2 a5 18.a3 Qd8 19.Nh3 Bxh3 + 20.Kxh3 Kg7 21.Kg2 Nd7 22nd Bd3 Nf8 23.Be3 Ne6 24.Ne2 Nh6 25.b4! ? Qb6 26.b5 c5 27.Nc3 cxd4 28. Bxh6 + Rxh6 29.Nxd5 Qd8 30. Be4 h4 31. Rhf1 hxg3 32. hxg3 Rc8 33. Rh1 Rxh1 34. Rxh1 Bg5 35. f4 Rc5! (see diagram) Prepare a strong quality sacrifice. 35 would be worse ... Bg5 – h6 or Bg5 – e7, after which White receives a victorious attack. 36. fxg5 Rxd5 37. Bxd5 Qxd5 + 38. Kh2 Qxe5 39. Rf1 Qxb5 40. Qf2 Nxg5? After 40 ... Qb5 – d7! Black could have played to win. 41. Qxd4 + and a draw after abandonment. ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 3½: 3½ Karpow)

8th game

Kasparov - Karpov
8th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

After 29. Kg1 – h1! Kg8 – h8? the game was decided.

In the 8th game the opponents turned to a long-known variant of the Queen's Gambit, in which Black with the early advance c7 – c5 briefly receives an isolated pawn on d5 and can equalize with his advance. Kasparov, however, built a strong attack on the king without any apparent mistake Karpov after this pawn advance, through which Karpov got into time trouble and lost.

Garri Kasparow - Anatoli Karpow
London, August 15, 1986
Queen's Gambit , exchange variant , D35

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bf4 Nf6 6. e3 0–0 7. Bd3 c5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. 0–0 Bg4 10. dxc5 Bxc5 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 d4 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Rad1 Qa5 15. Ng3 dxe3 16. fxe3 Qxa2 The sacrifice below is the only way to repel White's attack. 17. Nf5 De6 18. Bh6 Ne8 19. Qg5 g6 20. Qg4 Kasparow does not accept the sacrifice of quality, but tries to exploit Black's time constraint - only 14 minutes for 19 moves - and try to get tangled up. Ne5 21. Qg3 Bf6 22. Bb5 !? White takes control of the e8-square and forces the black queen to flee to the queenside. Ng7 23. Bxg7 Bxg7 24. Rd6 Qb3 25. Nxg7 Qxb5 26. Nf5 Rad8 27. Rf6 Rd2 28. Qg5 Qxb2 29. Nf5 – h6 + Kg8 – g7 30. Rf6 – f4, after which White 31 # threatens. But that is not possible at the moment, because Black would get 31… f7 – f6! 32.Rf4xf6? Rd2xg2 +! Win material. Therefore Kasparov plays a prophylactic royal move: 29. Kh1! (see diagram) This move takes Black the parade of taking check on g2. Now, the threat appears to be real: 30 Nf5-h6 + Kg8-g7 31 tF6-f4-f7 f6 32. Tf4xf6 Td2xg2 33. Sh6-f5 + Kg7-g8 34. Tf6xf8 + Kg8xf8 35. DG5-e7 + together with Matt . But in fact Black was able to get away with 32.… Rf8xf6! 33. Dg5xf6 + Kg7xh6 resist, and after 34. Df6-f8-Kh6 + g5 (or Kh6-h5) has only a white duration chess . But Karpov could not grasp this with only seconds on the clock and feared knight chess : 29.… Kh8? - an interesting symmetry of the king's moves when the valuation is reversed. Now the attack penetrates the long diagonal: 30. Nd4! After the Ne5 has been deducted, Rf6xf7 wins easily. 30.… Rxd4 31. Qxe5 and Black ran out of time. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 4½: 3½ Karpow)

If Karpov had been able to continue playing, the best game on both sides would have been 31.… Rd4 – d2 32. Qe5 – e7 Rd2 – d8 33. Rf6xf7 Rf8xf7 34. Rf1xf7 Kh8 – g8 (!). Then White has another prophylactic king move available: 35. Kh1 – h2! - after that Black is defenseless against the threat of e3 – e4 – e5 with the black queen's shield and mate attack, while without the move to the king he would have had Qb2 – c1 + plus Qc1 – h6.

9th game

After the very tactical 8th game, the number of visitors was particularly large. But to the disappointment of the audience, the 9th game followed on from the boring games one and three. Kasparow again played his "repaired" Grünfeld Indian. Karpov brought something new: on his 13th move , he questioned two opposing pieces. If Black had exchanged 14. e3xd4 with 13.… Nc6xd4, Karpov would have had an Isolani in the center , as in the previous game , but this time under favorable, promising conditions. Kasparov chose another continuation, whereupon the game was a draw.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
London, August 20, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D82

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rc1 dxc4 8. Bxc4 0–0 9. Nf3 Qxc5 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. 0–0 Qa5 12. h3 Bf5 13. Nd4 Bd7 14. De2 Nxd4 15. exd4 e6 16. Bd2 Qb6 17. Rfd1 Bc6 18. Be3 Da5 19. Bd2 Qb6 20. Be3 Qa5 Draw by repeating positions ½: ½ (status: Kasparow 5: 4 Karpow)

10th game

In the 10th game Karpov opened again with the Queen's Gambit, but Kasparov turned into a different variant than in the 8th game in order to forestall a possible improvement in Karpov. This game was not very spectacular either. The greatest moment of tension arose on move 13 when Karpov blew up the center and opened the position, although he was clearly behind in development. This is usually a strategic mistake, as can also be read in a Karpov chess book; in this case, however, there was no way for Kasparov to take advantage of it enough to win. The result was a final with bishops against knights, which ended in a draw after being canceled.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoli Karpov
London, 22 August 1986
Queen's Gambit declined , D55

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 0–0 8. Rc1 c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. 0–0 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. h3 exd4 13. exd4 c5 14.Bb3 cxd4 15.Nd5 b6 16.Nxd4 Bxd4 17.Qxd4 Nc5 18.Bc4 Bb7 19.Rfd1 Rc8 20.Qg4 Bxd5 21.Rxd5 De7 22.Rcd1 De4 23.Qxe4 Nxe4 24. Ba6 Nf6 25. Bxc8 Nxd5 26. Ba6 Nf6 27. f4 Re8 28. Kf2 Kf8 29. Kf3 Re7 30. Rd8 + Re8 31. Rxe8 + Nxe8 32. Ke4 Ke7 33. Bc4 Nc7 34. Ke5 f6 + 35. Kf5 Ne8 36. Ke4 Nc7 37. h4 Kd6 38. Kf5 Ke7 39. Kg6 Kf8 40. Kf5 Ke7 41. Ke4 Kd6 42. g4 Ke7 43. b4 Kd6 Draw ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 5½: 4½ Karpow)

11th game

Karpov - Kasparov
11th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Instead of 23. Sexg6 + it would be better to 23.Nh4xg6 +! followed.

The 11th game was the only draw game to a chess highlight of the competition. Both played the same variant as in the 9th game, with Karpov deviating on move 13. On move 15 - his bishop on f4 was attacked - he unexpectedly sacrificed quality instead of retreating . However, Kasparov did not accept it and caused complications in which Karpov did not take advantage of his profit opportunities.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
London, August 25, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D82

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rc1 dxc4 8. Bxc4 0–0 9. Nf3 Qxc5 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. 0–0 Qa5 12. h3 Bf5 13. De2 Ne4 14. Nd5 e5 15. Rxc6 !? The punch line lay in the Knight's circular walk 15.… b7xc6 16. Nd5 – e7 + Kg8 – h8 17. Ne7xc6 Q5 – b6 18. Nc6xe5, after which White has two pawns for quality in a calm position, but no significant advantage. Kasparov, however, chose a continuation with complications: exf4 16. Rc7 Be6 17. De1 Qb5 18. Ne7 + Kh8 19. Bxe6 fxe6 20. Qb1 Ng5 21. Nh4 Nxh3 + 22. Kh2 Qh5? (see diagram) 23. Sexg6 + This looks of course, since the attack line of the tower is exposed c7, and the Springer h4 as a barrier against a black stone discovered check stops. But the decisive factor would have been that the Ne7 pinches the black king and the open h-file becomes the line of attack for White: with 23.Nh4xg6 +! h7xg6 24. Qb1xg6 Karpov would have achieved a decisive advantage, for example after 24.… Qh5 – e5 25. Kh2xh3 Rf8 – f6 26. Kh3 – g4! with a wandering king and a victorious attack on the h-file. Instead it was followed by 23.… hxg6 24. Qxg6 Qe5! 25.Rf7 Rxf7 26.Qxf7 Ng5 27.Ng6 + Kh7 28.Nxe5 Nxf7 29.Nxf7 Kg6 30.Nd6 fxe3 31.Nc4 exf2 32.Rxf2 b5 33.Ne3 a5 34.Kg3 a4 35.Rc2 Rf8 36.Kg4 Bd4 37. Re2 Bxe3 38.Rxe3 Rf2 39. b3 Rxg2 + 40. Kf3 Rxa2 41. bxa4 with a draw. ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 6: 5 Karpow)

12th game

The 12th game, which concluded the London half of the competition, was again a little less spectacular. For the first time it seemed as if Kasparov was not playing with all his might for victory with White. Accordingly, the game was uneventful.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoli Karpov
London, August 27, 1986
Queen's Gambit declined , D55

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 0–0 8. Rc1 c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. 0–0 dxc4 11. Bxc4 c5 12. Qe2 a6 13.Rfd1 cxd4 14.Nxd4 De7 15. Ne4 Be5 16.Nf3 Bb8 17. Qd2 b5 18. Be2 Nf6 19.Nxf6 + Qxf6 20. Qd4 Bb7 21. Qxf6 gxf6 22. b3 f5 23. g3 Bxf3 24. Bxf3 Ta7 25. Rc6 Kg7 26. Be2 Be5 27. h3 Bf6 28. Rdd6 Rfa8 29. Kg2 Be7 30. Rd2 b4 31. g4 fxg4 32.hxg4 a5 33. f4 Rd8 34.Rxd8 and draw ½: ½ (as of: Kasparow 6½: 5½ Karpov)

13th game

Karpov - Kasparov
13th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Position after 33.Bg2xe4 ?!

In the 13th game the same opening was played as in the 3rd game. This time a balanced but nested position was created with many symmetrical elements, especially one strong jumper in the center. Again, the time constraint became the decisive factor, as after 27 moves both players only had about 15 minutes left on the clock. Karpov won a pawn, but Kasparov was able to keep the balance through active play.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
Leningrad, September 5, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , D79

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 0–0 8. Ne5 e6 9. 0–0 Nfd7 10. f4 f6 11. Nf3 Nc6 12. Be3 Nb6 13. Bf2 f5 14. Ne5 Bd7 15. Qd2 Nc8 16. De3 Kh8 17.Rfd1 Nd6 18.b3 Rc8 19.Rac1 Be8 20. Be1 Bf6 21.Na4 b6 22. Nb2 Ne4 23.Nbd3 g5 24.Nxc6 Bxc6 25. Ne5 gxf4 26. gxf4 Be8 27. Qh3 Rg8 28. Kf1 Rxc1 29. Rxc1 h5 30. Bb4 ?! Karpov wants to activate the bishop, but weakens the black fields in his camp. 30.… a5! 31. Ba3? Bxe5! This is now possible because White no longer does the Be1 – h4, which is dangerous for Black! can play. 32. dxe5 Rg4! 33.Bxe4 (see diagram) dxe4? It was tempting to open the d-file for the queen, but after 33 ... f5xe4! the central pawn pair would have become an insoluble problem for White. Now White keeps the balance through active play. 34.Bd6 Rxf4 + 35. Ke1 Rg4 36. Qe3 Qg5 37. Qxg5 Rxg5 38. Rc8 Rg8 39. e3 h4 40. h3 a4 and a draw because of the bishops of different colors . ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 7: 6 Karpow)

14th game

Kasparov - Karpov
14th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

With 24. Bb2xe5 Kasparov broke a number of strategic principles.

In the 14th game, the audience got to see the Spanish opening for the first time . The two opponents swung into a variant that was current at the time, in which Black left the opponent to dominate the center in order to attack with a pawn roller on the queenside. To prevent a possible white attack on the kingside, Karpov exchanged a few pieces and allowed his pawn position to be broken. Even so, the masters in the analysis room did not rate the position as bad for him. It was not until move 22 that the path of the house analysis was left, and both players had to invest a lot of time. Kasparov's exchange on move 24 contradicted a number of strategic principles: he exchanged his attacking bishop, which also covered a3, improved the black pawn position and released Karpov's bishop on f8. However, this was forced because of Black's unpleasant threat Ne5 – c4. In the further entanglements, Kasparov again had the better chances, and after Karpov chose the wrong path to cover his attacked e5 pawn, Kasparov turned into a winning endgame. The decisive factor was his covered passed pawn on d5, while Karpow's single d-pawn could no longer be held.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoly Karpov
Leningrad, September 8, 1986
Spanish Match , Closed Defense , Saizew Variation , C92

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0–0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0–0 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16.d5 Nd7 17.Ra3 c4 18.axb5 axb5 19.Nd4 Rxa3 20.bxa3 Nd3 21. Bxd3 cxd3 22.Bb2 Da5 23.Nf5 Ne5 (see diagram) 24.Bxe5 dxe5 25.Nb3 Qb6 26.Qxd3 Ra8 27.Rc1 g6 28. Ne3 Bxa3 29.Ra1 Ra4 30.Ng4 Bf8 31.Rc1 Qd6 32.Nc5 Rc4 33.Rxc4 bxc4 34.Nxb7 cxd3 35.Nxd6 Bxd6 36. Kf1! Kg7 37. f3 f5 38.Nf2 d2 39. Ke2 Bb4 40.Nd3 Bc3 41.Nc5 After the game was canceled , Karpov gave up the game. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 8: 6 Karpow)

15th game

Surprisingly, Kasparov took his second time-out after his win, which gave him two points ahead. In the following 15th game Karpov was unable to crack Black's position. Kasparov brought a knight into a temporarily very passive position on c8, from where he could not easily withdraw and on top of that interrupted the connection of the black rooks - both serious strategic disadvantages. But although Karpov had meanwhile won a farmer, he was neither able to achieve sustainable advantage nor to keep the farmer.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
Leningrad, September 12, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , Russian system, Smyslow variant, D98

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 0–0 7. e4 Bg4 8. Be3 Nfd7 9. Rd1 Nc6 10. Be2 Nb6 11. Qc5 Qd6 12. e5 Qxc5 13. dxc5 Sc8 14. Nb5 Rb8 15. Nxc7 e6 16. Nb5 N8e7 17. Rd2 b6 18. cxb6 axb6 19. Bg5 Nf5 20. b3 h6 21. Bf6 Bxf3 22. Bxf3 Nxe5 23. Bxe5 Bxe5 24. 0–0 Rfd8 25.Rfd1 Rxd2 26.Rxd2 Rc8 27.g3 Rc1 + 28.Kg2 Kf8 29. Be4 Ke7 and draw. ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 8½: 6½ Karpow)

16th game

Kasparov - Karpov
16th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

After 35 ... Qe7 – e5: The moment of decision.

In the 16th game, which, according to Hans-Joachim Hecht, was the “most fantastic” of the competition, both quickly repeated the same variant as in the 14th game, obviously trusting that they had the better cards. Kasparov deviated on the 18th move, but Karpov immediately came up with something new. With a pawn sacrifice on move 19, he posed problems for White, which was also reflected in the time he used to think about it: Kasparov had already used one hour to think about it on move 22, but almost all of it for the last four moves, while Karpov only needed 14 minutes would have. Both headed for a maximum tightening: Instead of giving Karpov's pressure game on the queenside counterattack, Kasparov decided on a breakthrough in the center, followed by an uncompromising counterattack on the kingside, which finally led to victory after a turbulent game.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoly Karpov
Leningrad, September 15, 1986
Spanish Match , Closed Defense , Saizew Variation , C92

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0–0 Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0–0 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a4 h6 13.Bc2 exd4 14.cxd4 Nb4 15.Bb1 c5 16. d5 Nd7 17.Ra3 c4 18.Nd4 Qf6 19.S2f3 Nc5 20. axb5 axb5 21.Nxb5 Rxa3 22.Nxa3 Ba6 23. Re3 Rb8 24. e5 dxe5 25.Nxe5 Nbd3? Now the fight intensifies: pawns b2 and f2 are attacked. Kasparov had the versatile move 26. Qd1 – c2! what covers b2 and f2, attacks c4 and builds up a strong battery with queen and bishop b1: The knight d3 cannot deduct, because otherwise Qc2 – h7 will result in mate. After that Karpov would have had to fight for the draw (therefore 25.… Nc5 – d3 would have been better, after which Nb4 continues to cover c2). Instead, Kasparov played 26. Ng4 ?! which also covers f2, attacks the queen and targets h6. The next logical step was 26.… Qb6 27. Rg3 g6 28. Bxh6 Qxb2 29. Qf3 Karpov had 49 minutes left, Kasparov only 18 - but now there was no other choice but to play to attack the king. 29.… Nd7 After 29.… Qb2xa3 30. Ng4 – f6 + Kg8 – h8 31. Qf3 – h5! White reaches permanent check (31.… g6xh5? 32. Rg3 – g8 checkmate), and Karpov is playing to win. 30. Bxf8 Kxf8 . Now the attack move Ng4 – h6 is in the air, but at the moment this would be due to Qb2 – c1 +! along with Qc1xh6 are refuted. Therefore Kasparov played exactly the preventive king maneuver that was not carried out in Game 8: 31. Kh2! Karpov consistently continued his storm on the queenside : 31.… Rb3 , but after 32. Bxd3 he used 29 of his 32 remaining minutes in search of a winning path - in vain. He decided to go 32 ... cxd3 ?! - it was safer to take with the tower, as will be seen later. As in the 14th game, the pawn didn't bring Karpow any luck on d3. In the “blitz chess” that followed, Kasparov decided the game. 33.Qf4! A versatile attack, which, among other things, should prevent the black king from escaping to the queenside. Karpov's last chance of a draw was now the pawn sacrifice 33 ... d2! with distraction of the white lady. However, he believed he had an advantage and moved 33 ... Qxa3? 34.Nh6 Qe7 . After Kf8 – e7 White wins with the sequence 35. Rg3 – e3 + Ke7 – d8 36. Nh6 – f7 + Kd6 – c8 37. Nf7 – d6 +, and on Kc8 – c7 (b8) the chess wins 38. Nd6 – c4 + the queen. 35. Rxg6 Qe5 (see diagram) Now Kasparov would not win if he had to swap the tied queen - although he wins the a6 bishop, the d3 pawn ensures the draw. However, Kasparov played 36.Rg8 + Ke7 37. d6 +! Karpow had overlooked that: the queen either falls through a knight fork on f7 or f5, or as in the game. If Karpov had taken with his rook on move 32, the d6-square would have been protected by it. 37 ... Ke6 38. Re8 + Kd5 39. Rxe5 + Nxe5 40. d7 Rb8 41. Nxf7 and Karpow gave up. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 9½: 6½ Karpow)

The audience burst into jubilation like seldom before in chess history. Referee Lothar Schmid tried to restore order, and Kasparov briefly left the stage. Karpov took advantage of this and "fled" without a handshake. Then Kasparov came back and enjoyed the applause.

17th game

Kasparov fell through the general jubilation over his three-point lead in the same mistake as after the 4th game and no longer took Karpov seriously as an opponent. This was evident in the 17th game when he played the same opening as in the 15th, although he had to assume with certainty that Karpov's analysis team would prepare an improvement. In contrast to the 16th game, Karpov got ahead of him with one deviation. Kasparov went down smoothly without finding the best defensive moves. In Kasparov's helplessness, the game is reminiscent of the fifth, to which the a-pawn, again unsuccessfully, also contributes.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
Leningrad, September 17, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , Russian system, Smyslow variant, D98

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 0–0 7. e4 Bg4 8. Be3 Nfd7 9. Rd1 Nc6 10. Be2 Nb6 11. Qc5 Qd6 12. e5 Qxc5 13. dxc5 Sc8 14. h3 Bxf3 15. Bxf3 Bxe5 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Bd4 Bf4 18. 0–0 a5 19.Rfe1 a4 20. Re4 Bh6 21. Be5 a3 22. b3 Sa7 23.Rd7 Bc1 24.Rxc7 Bb2 25.Na4 Nb5 26.Rxc6 Rfd8 27.Rb6 Rd5 28. Bg3 Nc3 29.Nxc3 Bxc3 30. c6 Bd4 31. Rb7 Black gave up. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 9½: 7½ Karpow)

18th game

Kasparov - Karpov
18th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Kasparov played 38 in an advantageous position here. Rh6 – h7 +?

The opening of the 18th game promised a seamless connection to the 16th game, although Kasparov switched back to 1. d2 – d4. As at the beginning of the competition with Nimzowitsch-Indian, Karpow did not equalize. With powerful and yet precise attacks on both wings, Kasparov pinned his opponent and gained an advantage. However, in the search for a compelling route to profit, he ran into time trouble and spoiled an advantageous position for loss.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoli Karpow
Leningrad, 19. – 20. September 1986
Nimzowitsch-Indian Defense , E21

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 Bb7 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 Bxc3 + 8. bxc3 d6 9. Nd2 g5 10. Bg3 Qe7 11. a4 a5 12. h4 Rg8 13. hxg5 hxg5 14. Qb3 Sa6 15. Rb1 Kf8 16. Qd1 Bc6 17. Rh2 Kg7 18. c5 bxc5 19. Bb5 Nb8 20. dxc5 d5 21. Be5 Kf8 22. Rh6 Ne8 23. Qh5 f6 24. Rh7 Ng7 25. Qf3 Kf7 26. Qh5 + Kf8 27.Qf3 Kf7 28.R6 Ne8 29.e4 g4 30. Qf4 Bxb5 31.Rxb5 Nd7 32.Bxc7 Nxc5 33. Qe3 Nxe4 34. Nxe4 dxe4 35.Bxa5 f5 36.Bb4 Qd7 37.Qd4 Ta7 (see Diagram) After this move, victory for Kasparov was within reach. The attack on the king from two sides and the two white passed pawns on the queenside presented Black with insoluble problems. Moves like 38.Bb4 – c5! and 38. Qd4 – e5! with the best defense would have resulted in clearly won finals. But with only a few seconds left, Kasparov went wrong: 38. Rh7 +? This chess only loosens the grip. 38.… Ng7 39. a5? With the penultimate move before the time control, Kasparov throws the game away for good. After 39.Bb4 – c5 he would still have had a chance of winning. 39 ... Kg6 ?! Karpov thus achieves an advantageous endgame, but 39 would be even better ... Qd7xb5! 40. Qd4xa7 + Kf7 – g6 41. Rh7 – h4 Rg8 – d8! and suddenly the tables are turned: Black has a decisive attack on the king. 40. Qxd7 Rxd7 41. Rh4 The special move. When he was resumed the next day, the king of Kasparov and the peasants around him were disturbed by the black towers. White's position can no longer be held. 41 ... Rd8 42. c4 Rd1 + 43. Ke2 Rc1 44. a6 Rc2 + 45. Ke1 Ra2 46. Rb6 Rd3 47. c5 Ra1 + 48. Ke2 Ra2 + 49. Ke1 g3 50. fxg3 Rxg3 51. Kf1 Rgxg2 52.Be1 Rgc2 53. c6 Ra1 54. Rh3 f4 55. Rb4 Kf5 56. Rb5 + e5 57.Ra5 Rd1 58. a7? 58. c6 – c7 would not have offered White any real chances of drawing, but would have posed problems. 41 ... e3 Kasparov resigned because of uncoverable mates. 0: 1 (Stand: Kasparow 9½: 8½ Karpow)

19th game

Karpov - Kasparov
19th game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

With the innovation 14. Nc3 – b5! Karpov surprised his opponent.

In game 19, Karpov served up an innovation on move 14 that made Black's opening bad and forced Kasparov to sacrifice quality - this step and the subsequent position evaluation was controversial. Karpow finally ended the entanglements to his advantage: He scored a runner-against-knight endgame with an extra pawn.

Anatoli Karpow - Garri Kasparow
Leningrad, September 24, 1986
Grünfeld-Indian Defense , Russian System, D97

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 dxc4 6. Qxc4 0–0 7. e4 Sa6 8. Be2 c5 9. d5 e6 10. 0–0 exd5 11. exd5 Bf5 12. Bf4 Re8 13.Rad1 Ne4 14. Nb5! (see diagram) Qf6 15. Bd3 Nb4 16. Nc7 Nxd3 17. Nxe8 Rxe8 18. Qxd3 Qxb2 19. Tde1 Qb4 20. Nd2 Da4 21. Qc4 Qxc4 22. Nxc4 Bc3 23. Nd2 Bxd2 24. Bxd2 Bd7 25. Bf4 Bb5 26 f3 g5 27.Bxg5 Bxf1 28. Kxf1 Nd6 29. Be7 Nc8 30. Bxc5 Td8 31. Re5 f6 32.Rf5 b6 33.Bd4 Ne7 34. Bxf6 Rxd5 35. Rg5 + Rxg5 36. Lxg5 Nc6 37. Ke2 Kf7 38. Kd3 Ke6 39. Kc4 Ne5 + 40. Kd4 Nc6 + Kasparow gave up the game without resuming the game after it was stopped. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 9½: 9½ Karpow)

20th batch

After his unexpected equalizer, Karpov took his last break, although he gave Kasparov time to recover. Presumably he saw a need for better preparation for the opening after losing three times in a row with Black. In the 20th game, both ended their negative series and were content with a modest draw after the Catalan opening and 21 moves - the only short draw in the competition in which Kasparov had White.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoli Karpov
Leningrad, September 29, 1986
Catalan opening , closed variant, E06

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 0–0 6. 0–0 dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Nbd2 Rc8 13. Nb3 c5 14. dxc5 Bd5 15. Rfd1 Bxb3 16. Qxb3 Qc7 17. a4 Qxc5 18. axb5 axb5 19. Nd4 b4 20. e3 Rfd8 21. Rd2 Qb6 Draw. ½: ½ (as Kasparow 10: 10 Karpov)

21st game

In the 21st game Kasparov surprised by answering for the first time with the Queen's Indian Defense . Karpov tried hard to put him under pressure, but the game in the middle and end game always stayed within the draw range.

Anatoly Karpov - Garry Kasparov
Leningrad, October 1, 1986
Women's Indian Defense , E15

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Ba6 5. b3 Bb4 + 6. Bd2 Be7 7. Bg2 0–0 8. 0–0 d5 9. Ne5 c6 10. Bc3 Nfd7 11. Nxd7 Nxd7 12. Nd2 Rc8 13. e4 dxc4 14. bxc4 b5 15. Re1 bxc4 16. Qc2 Qc7 17. Nf1 e5 18. Ne3 exd4 19. Bxd4 Bc5 20. Bxc5 Nxc5 21. Nxc4 Rfd8 22.Rad1 Rxd1 23.Rxd1 Rd8 24.Rxd8 + Qxd8 25.h4 Qd4 26.Qb2 Qxb2 27.Nxb2 f6 28. f3 Kf7 29. Bf1 Bb5 30. Kf2 Ke6 31. Bc4 + Kd6 32. Ke3 Nd7 33. f4 Nb6 34.Bg8 h6 35. Nd3 Nd7 36. Kd4 c5 + 37. Kc3 Bc6 38.Nf2 Nb6 39.Bb3 Sa8 40. Kd3 Nb6 41. Bc2 Bb5 + 42. Kc3 Sa4 + 43. Kd2 c4 44. e5 + fxe5 45. Ne4 + Ke6 Draw ½: ½ (stand: Kasparow 10½: 10½ Karpow)

22nd game

Kasparov - Karpov
22nd game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Kasparov gave the winning move 41. Ne5 – d7! from.

The factual decision of the competition in favor of Kasparov was made in the 22nd game. Karpov tried the Queen's Gambit again; in the need to win another game, however, he renounced the advance c6 – c5 played in the 10th and 12th game in favor of active piece development. After Karpov's three inaccuracies in a row, Kasparov took an advantage and turned him into a victory.

Garry Kasparov - Anatoli Karpow
Leningrad, 3rd – 4th October 1986
Queen's Gambit declined , D55

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 7. e3 0–0 8. Rc1 c6 9. Bd3 Nd7 10. 0–0 dxc4 11. Bxc4 e5 12. h3 exd4 13. exd4 Nb6 14. Bb3 Bf5 15. Re1 a5 16. a3 Re8 17. Rxe8 + Qxe8 18. Qd2 Nd7 This innovation from Karpow gives White the initiative. 19. Qf4 Bg6 20. h4 Qd8 21. Sa4 h5 Karpov prevents White's threat of Qf4 – g4 to attack the bishop g6, which is dangerous in some variations, since the pawn f7 is tied up. The constellation Bg6 / Bh5, however, became just as weak as the g5 square. 22. Re1 b5 ?! Karpov tried a counterplay on the queenside, but the weakness of c6 that has now developed becomes a problem. 23. Nc3 Qb8 24. Qe3 White has conquered the e- file . 24.… b4 ?! That is harmless and only drives the jumper to where he wanted to anyway. After these three inaccuracies from Karpov, Kasparov gained a clear advantage. In the following, Black has to watch out for his pawn weaknesses. 25. Ne4! bxa3 26.Nxf6 + Nxf6 27.bxa3 Nd5 28. Bxd5 cxd5 29. Ne5! With that Kasparov had a strong knight on e5, which put the bishop g6 under pressure. The resulting time-consuming and grueling defense was not able to be carried out optimally by Karpov. 29.… Ne5 Qd8 30. Qf3 Ra6 31. Rc1 Kh7 32. Qh3 Rb6 33. Rc8 Qd6 34. Qg3! If the black rook should leave the sixth row, Rb8 – h8 + wins! together with Ne5xf7 + the black queen. 34 ... a4? 35. Ra8 Now the a-pawn is lost, since 35.… Rb6 – a6? 36. Ne5xf7! Bg6xf7 (otherwise mate) 37. Qg3 – d3 + wins the Ra6. Only active counterplay with the rook can give Black hope. 35.… Qe6 36. Rxa4 Qf5 37. Ra7 Rb1 + 38. Kh2 Rc1 39. Rb7 Rc2 40. f3 Rd2 (see diagram) The game has now been broken off and Kasparov's winning move continued the next day: 41.Nd7! There is a threat of 42. Nd7 – f8 + along with Rb7 – b8 and irreparable mate threats. There is no remedy for this. 41 ... Rxd4 42. Nf8 + Kh6 43. Rb4! After 43.… Rd4xb4 44. a3xb4 d5 – d4 with both pawns running through White decides the game with a triple threat . 43.… Rc4 44. Rxc4 dxc4 45. Qd6! (threatens Qd6 – d2 #) 45.… c3 46. Qd4! . Because of the threat Qd4 – e3 # Black loses the c3-pawn, after which the white a-pawn guarantees at least one winning endgame. Karpov gave up. 1: 0 (Stand: Kasparow 11½: 10½ Karpow)

This game was voted the best of the second half of 1986 by the chess informator . In general, she received extraordinary praise from all sides, including ex-world champions Michail Botvinnik , Wassily Smyslow and Michail Tal . Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf called the game "exceptional and exquisite". In particular 41. Ne5 – d7! was praised for its outstanding strength and importance for a royalty train.

23rd game

Karpov - Kasparov
23rd game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Kasparov launched the unorthodox attack 16.… Rc5 – f5 !, threatening Nf6 – g4

Despite the fact that he had to win the last two games to become world champion again, Karpov did nothing that could have put Kasparov under pressure. However, for the first time he did not open with 1. d2 – d4. In the quiet positional game, on the contrary, Kasparov set the tone, especially with an unusual, offensive tower maneuver. After the draw on move 31, Kasparov's world title was secured.

Anatoli Karpow - Garry Kasparow
Leningrad, October 6, 1986
English symmetry variant , A30

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 b6 3. g3 c5 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. 0–0 g6 6. d4 cxd4 7. Qxd4 Bg7 8. Nc3 d6 9. Rd1 Nbd7 10. b3 Rc8 11. Bb2 0–0 12. Qe3 Re8 13.Rac1 a6 14. La1 Rc5 15. a4 Qa8 16. Ne1 (see diagram) Rf5! 17. Bxb7 Qxb7 18. f3 h5 19.Ng2 Rc5 20. Bb2 Rcc8 21. La3 Nc5 22. Rb1 Ne6 23. Qd3 Sc7 24.Nf4 b5 25. cxb5 axb5 26.Nxb5 Nxb5 27.Qxb5 Qxb5 28. axb5 Rb8 29. Bb2 Rb7 30. b6 Teb8 31. b4 Nd7 32.Bxg7 Kxg7 Draw ½: ½ (Stand: Kasparow 12: 11 Karpow)

24th game

In the 24th and last game, neither of them made any serious attempts to win. The last moment of tension was Kasparov's 16. d4 – d5, after which 16.… e6xd5 ?! 17. e5 – e6! White would have given dangerous attack. The continuation chosen by Karpow, however, led to a general exchange with settlement in a completely tension-free rook ending .

Garry Kasparov - Anatoly Karpov
Leningrad, October 8, 1986
Women's Indian Defense , E16

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Bb4 + 6. Bd2 a5 7. 0–0 0–0 8. Bg5 Be7 9. Qc2 h6 10. Bxf6 Bxf6 11. Nc3 g6 12. Rad1 d6 13. h4 h5 14. e4 Nd7 15. e5 Bg7 16. d5 Nxe5 17. Nxe5 Bxe5 18. dxe6 Bxg2 19. exf7 + Kxf7 20. Kxg2 Bxc3 21. Qxc3 Qf6 22. Qxf6 + Kxf6 23. a4 Tae8 24. Rfe1 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Rd8 26.Rd1 c6 27. Kf3 Ke5 28. Ke3 Rf8 29. f3 Th8 30. Re1 Rb8 31. Kd3 + Kf6 32. Re4 d5 33. cxd5 cxd5 34. Re2 b5 35. Kd4 bxa4 36. Kxd5 Rb3 37. Ke4 Rb4 + 38. Kd5 Rb5 + 39. Kd4 Rb4 + 40. Kd5 Rb3 41. Ke4 and draw ½: ½ (status: Kasparow 12½: 11½ Karpow)

Kasparov had thus defended his world title with 12.5: 11.5 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Chessgames archive
2. ↑ Anatoli Karpow and Anatoli Mazukewitsch: "Position assessment and plan", Edition Olms, ISBN 3-283-00510-9 .
3. ↑ Aleksandar Matanović , “Schach ist Schach”, Rau-Verlag 1991, ISBN 3-7919-0366-7 .
4. ^ Analysis and collection of comments by Life Master AJ Goldsby

literature

• Hans-Joachim Hecht and Gerd Treppner: World Chess Championship revenge fight 1986 . Special issue of the SchachReport. Beyer-Verlag 1986, ISBN 3-88805-064-2 .
• Helmut Pfleger , Otto Borik and Michael Kipp-Thomas: The chess revenge . Falken-Verlag 1986, ISBN 3-8068-0831-7 .
• Garry Kasparov and Kenneth P. Neat: London-Leningrad Championship Games: Rematch Championship Games With Annotations by the World Champion . Macmillan Pub Co. 1987, ISBN 0-08-032053-8 .

Web links

• Games to replay
• Download the .pgn file with the 1986 World Cup matches

This version was added to the selection of informative lists and portals on April 9, 2009 .