chessgames.com

  WCC Overview
 
  << previous HISTORY OF THE WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP next >>  
  << previous FIDE CHAMPIONSHIPS next >>  
Kasparov vs Anand, 1995
New York City

Although stripped of his title by FIDE for holding his 1993 match with Short outside the world chess body's auspices, Kasparov was nevertheless widely considered the legitimate World Champion. The Professional Chess Association (PCA) created by Kasparov held a series of a series of candidate matches to choose an opponent for him. Viswanathan Anand succeeded in becoming the champions opponent.

 Kasparov vs Anand
 Kasparov and Anand play above New York City
Anand's rise in the chess world was meteoric. Born in India he quickly emerged as his nation's greatest player. At age fifteen, he became the youngest Indian to win the Intrnational Master title. At the age of sixteen he was crowned India's National Champion. In 1987 he was the first Indian to win the World Junior Championship. In 1988, at the age of eighteen, he became the first official Grandmaster of India. Anand qualified for the PCA World Championship final by winning the candidates matches against Michael Adams and Gata Kamsky. 1

The 1995 PCA title match was played on the Observation Deck on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center in New York City. The prize fund was 1,500,000 US$, with 2/3 for the winner. Ten percent of the fund would to go to the PCA. In case of a tied match, Kasparov would retain the PCA title, but the prize would be split. The match was to last 20 games instead of the traditional 24, each game played at 40 moves in 2 hours, then 20 moves in 1 hour, followed by 30 minutes to complete the game, There were to be no timeouts and no adjournments.

The match started with eight straight draws (a record for the opening of a world championship match) until Anand drew first blood by winning game nine. This victory was not to be enjoyed for very long, as Kasparov then rebounded by dominantly winning four of the next five games.

After 18 games, with a final score of 10½ to 7½ Kasparov retained the PCA World Chess Champion title.

click on a game number to replay game 123456789101112131415161718
Anand½½½½½½½½100½00½½½½
Kasparov½½½½½½½½011½11½½½½

FINAL SCORE:  Kasparov 10½;  Anand 7½
Reference: game collection WCC Index [Kasparov-Anand 1995]

NOTABLE GAMES   [what is this?]
    · Game #10     Kasparov vs Anand, 1995     1-0
    · Game #9     Anand vs Kasparov, 1995     1-0
    · Game #11     Anand vs Kasparov, 1995     0-1

1 Wikipedia: Viswanathan Anand

Kasparov-Anand World Championship Match (1995)

 page 1 of 1; 18 games  PGN Download 
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Anand vs Kasparov ½-½27 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
2. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½29 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchE34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
3. Anand vs Kasparov ½-½36 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
4. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½21 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchA17 English
5. Anand vs Kasparov ½-½27 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
6. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½28 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchC80 Ruy Lopez, Open
7. Anand vs Kasparov ½-½25 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
8. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½22 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchC45 Scotch Game
9. Anand vs Kasparov 1-035 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
10. Kasparov vs Anand 1-038 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchC80 Ruy Lopez, Open
11. Anand vs Kasparov 0-131 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB78 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, 10.castle long
12. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½43 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchC78 Ruy Lopez
13. Anand vs Kasparov 0-125 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
14. Kasparov vs Anand 1-041 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB01 Scandinavian
15. Anand vs Kasparov ½-½16 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
16. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½20 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
17. Anand vs Kasparov ½-½63 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
18. Kasparov vs Anand ½-½12 1995 Kasparov-Anand World Championship MatchB84 Sicilian, Scheveningen
 page 1 of 1; 18 games  PGN Download 
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  
 

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Jan-11-07   Sibahi: I think the match was played on WTC so that Kasparov can throw Anand from the roof in case he loses ...
Jan-11-07   Lt. Col. Majid: I really enjoyed this match.

Anand went pawn-4-pawn with the Kasparov for 2 solid weeks and 8 str8 games without a loss. Then he drew 1st blood. The wounded Beast of Baku of hit back with an earth-shattering novelty in game 10, the speed and confidence with which he trashed out the moves, stomping those pieces around the board destroyed Anand's psyche. He lost the match right there and then. This is where Kramnik would have proved much stronger than Anand.

An impressive match by Kasparov the great.

Whilst Kramnik and Anand are more or less equal chess-wise, Kramnik’s superior mental toughness would always give him the nod as far as I am concerned.

Jan-19-07   MJW 72: People are going to go crazy when they finally get to posting the Gazza- Kramnik match
Jan-31-07   Tactic101: That's true. Anand definately deserves to play Kramnik in a match. He certainly would do better than Topalov. At least, he wouldn't go around making ridiculous accusations. He would concentrate on the board, nothing else.
Feb-07-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: Here was a chess match played at a place that no longer exists. Ordinarily,this statement would be a country that has changed hands due to war. Here is a place that disappeared from the landscape in a mere 73 minutes after its twin brother tower was struck on 9/11 and a mere 56 minutes after it was hit.

Even 5 years later,it seems impossible.

Feb-28-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  kevin86: Why did Kasparov play black in the last two games? Anybody know?
Feb-28-07   RookFile: I don't believe he did, but then again I do see what you're saying, in that the way the list is currently sorted above, it looks like he did.
Mar-25-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  ahmadov: <CG> needs to check the text to remove typos.
Mar-30-07   Timex: Once upon a time, Anand was playing Kasparov for the world title. He sat down and suddenly--- ............a crack in the floor appeared.
Kasparov asked, "Have you been gaining weight lately?" Anand blushes and answers, "Oh yes."
Kasparov replies, "Don't tell me you are 400 pounds." Anand, "Oh, I am even better. I am 500 pounds."
Immediately, the floor cracks and both of them fall through 107 floors of the World Trade Center. Note: This is probably what caused the World Trade Center's potential 9/11. :) Anand looks fat in the pic.
Jul-31-07   chessblind: <Timex> If Anand is obese,(your estimate is 500 Pounds) then how about Kramnik?Where will you place him so that the earth under him does not give away?
Jul-31-07   Davolni: I wonder if the picture is real. They really played under the sun? with that view?
Aug-01-07   Sui Generis: The picture is just promotional, the actual games were played under normal conditions. You can find videos of games 8, 9 and 10 at YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Qh...

Aug-27-07   contra: Yusupov's ideas worked wonders for Kasparov in this match.
Dec-24-07   mistreaver: I wonder what would have happened if Anand used Scandinavian in the 10th game after he took the lead. It would certainly be more effective and would put Garry in hard situation.
Jul-08-08   Jim Bartle: "The match started with eight straight draws (a record for the opening of a world championship match)"

Providing lots of fodder for David Letterman, who joked about the high drama of the match.

Sep-22-08   offramp: Without a doubt one of the very worst matches in history. Definitely the worst World Championship match EVER.
Sep-22-08   anandrulez: The thing about this dual is that the play was veyr much theory oriented and none actually wanted to deviate from it . When Anand won , Kaspy struck back with vengance . Anand never recovered from that . The quality of Anands games were much below his par . I think after 2000 Anand really squared up with Kaspy though .
Oct-17-08   Akuni: <offramp: Without a doubt one of the very worst matches in history. Definitely the worst World Championship match EVER.>

Says the kibitzer who lists James Mason as his favorite player...

Oct-20-08   VaselineTopLove: It doesn't seem to me that Anand had a Plan B for the second half of the match, like Kasparov did (such as playing the Dragon with black). Anand continued playing the same openings after game 10 which he had been playing from game 1. So there was no surprise element from Anand's side, except for game 14 when he used the Scandinivian, but I doubt that he seriously considered employing it in all his black games, as he switched to more conventional openings after his loss with the Scandinivian. So I don't think he had prepared it that thoroughly.

His decision to play 1...d5 may have been caused by a) desperation b) get Kasparov on unfamiliar territory c) play a one off, off-beat game because your seconds found a novelty, or a good, promising continuation - unfortunately for Anand, he was unable to convert the advantage he obtained and lost instead.

So the Scandinivian seems more like a one-off game, rather than a thoroughly prepared Plan B.

Oct-21-08   VaselineTopLove: You can't compare Kasparov's 4-1 thrashing of Anand in 1995 to Anand's thrashing of Kramnik now. Back in 1995, an inexperienced Anand was playing a mature and seasoned Kasparov and most of Anand's losses came in the second half after a tough first half, and that too when played over 18 games.

Here both Kramnik and Anand are seasoned enough and were considered equal before the match, but no one expected a 3-0 in the first 6 games!

Oct-21-08
Premium Chessgames Member
  acirce: It almost feels like this match was 13 years ago or something.
Oct-21-08   Hesam7: And the match was not as bad for Anand as the result indicates or people make it out be. I have said this before, he forced Kasparov to abandon Najdorf!
Nov-25-08   Ladolcevita: Old picture always looks so beautiful
Oct-26-09   Jim Bartle: Sports Illustrated's report on the match:

In a soundproof glass cage a quarter of a mile above Wall Street, a couple of cavemen named Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand spent the past month clubbing it out at the Intel World Chess Championship. Caveman is the chess term for a player of primitive and brutal instincts. Kasparov, the champion who treats chess as blood sport, showed he's still the game's top troglodyte by bludgeoning his opponent in the best-of-20 series.

The $1.5 million battle ($1 million goes to the winner) on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center, had promised to be the worst mismatch since Tyson-McNeeley. Kasparov, a 32-year-old Russian, was expected to pin his 25-year-old Indian challenger to the ropes early, bounce him around at will and score a quick knockout.

It didn't play out that way. For eight games Anand jabbed, probed and feinted with astonishing speed, frustrating Kasparov's best efforts and earning draws. Then Anand, the mild, jokey son of a Madras railroad executive, won the ninth game in a display of tactical genius that left his rival stunned. "You catch a tiger by the whiskers, next day he's going to be ferocious," Anand reckoned.

He was right. Kasparov mauled Anand in Game 10. And Game 11. And two of the three after that. Then, on Monday, Kasparov drew Game 17 to secure his fifth title defense since 1985. "Anand showed he could hold his own," said one grandmaster analyst. "But he's an intuitive player, and you can't beat Kasparov on intuition alone."

In the tournament's final days, the question was not whether Anand would win another game, but whether he would survive to play championship chess again after his psychological and intellectual battering. The $500,000 loser's share may help him recover. Even cavemen have to eat.

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2 OF 2 ·  Later Kibitzing >
NOTE: You need to pick a username and password to post a reply. Getting your account takes less than a minute, totally anonymous, and 100% free--plus, it entitles you to features otherwise unavailable. Pick your username now and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should login now.
Please observe our posting guidelines:
  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.
  3. No personal attacks against other users.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
Blow the Whistle See something which violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform an administrator.


NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page. This forum is for this specific tournament and nothing else. If you want to discuss chess in general, or this site, you might try the Kibitzer's Café.
Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
Spot an error? Please suggest your correction and help us eliminate database mistakes!


home | about | login | logout | F.A.Q. | your profile | preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | new kibitzing | chessforums | new games | Player Directory | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Little ChessPartner | privacy notice | contact us
Copyright 2001-2009, Chessgames.com
Web design & database development by 20/20 Technologies