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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
Linares Tournament

Garry Kasparov8/11(+6 -1 =4)[games]
Boris Gelfand7.5/11(+6 -2 =3)[games]
Valery Salov7/11(+4 -1 =6)[games]
Vasyl Ivanchuk6.5/11(+3 -1 =7)[games]
Nigel Short6/11(+4 -3 =4)[games]
Boris Gulko5.5/11(+3 -3 =5)[games]
Artur Yusupov5.5/11(+3 -3 =5)[games]
Alexander Beliavsky5/11(+3 -4 =4)[games]
Boris Spassky4/11(+1 -4 =6)[games]
Miguel Illescas4/11(+2 -5 =4)[games]
Lajos Portisch4/11(+2 -5 =4)[games]
Ljubomir Ljubojevic3/11(+0 -5 =6)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
Linares (1990)

The 8th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez "Ciudad de Linares" was organized under the direction of Luis Rentero Suarez. The players were World Champion Garry Kasparov (Elo rated #1 in the world), Vassily Ivanchuk (#4) (who won the event in 1989), Valery Salov (#6), Alexander Beliavsky (#7), Nigel Short (#8), Ljubomir Ljubojevic (#11), Artur Yusupov (#14), Boris Gelfand (#15), Boris Gulko (#18), Lajos Portisch (#24), Boris Spassky (#61), and Miguel Illescas (#112). Gelfand, the new star of world chess after his victory in GMA Baleares Open (1989), replaced Manuel Rivas Pastor (#178), and Gulko replaced Robert Huebner (#33), both of whom withdrew due to health reasons. Illescas, who was controversially squeezed out in 1989, was back again. Kasparov had dramatically fled from Baku (Azerbaijan) with his relatives only a month before the tournament started. Spassky was hired by Rentero under a clause that forced him to make at least 40 moves in each game. Gelfand was focused on his first game against Kasparov and did not want to talk with anyone. There were no electronic boards, "like in a luxury hotel with no TV in the rooms" (Leontxo García). The daily bulletin was made by Paco Albalate and Francisco Javier Ochoa. According to Joan Segura, playing time was 3-9 pm.

Kasparov won his first of eight Linares titles with 8/11. He started with 6/7 but lost to Gulko in Round 8. It was the third time he lost to Gulko, who could boast of a plus score against the champion. Three young Soviet players followed closely behind, and the win was secured only in the last round when he beat Illescas. The Soviets took the first four places, and Short took 5th. Gelfand vs Kasparov, 1990 was voted the best game.

Hotel Anibal, Linares, Spain, 18 February - 3 March 1990

Age Elo 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 1 Kasparov 26 2800 * ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 ½ 1 1 1 ½ 8 2 Gelfand 21 2615 ½ * 1 ½ 0 1 0 1 1 1 ½ 1 7½ 3 Salov 25 2645 ½ 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 7 4 Ivanchuk 20 2665 0 ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 6½ 5 Short 24 2635 0 1 0 ½ * 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 6 6 Gulko 43 2610 1 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 5½ 7 Yusupov 30 2615 0 1 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 0 ½ 1 5½ 8 Beliavsky 36 2640 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ * 1 0 1 ½ 5 9 Spassky 53 2560 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 * 1 ½ ½ 4 10 Illescas 24 2530 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 * ½ ½ 4 11 Portisch 52 2605 0 ½ 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ * 1 4 12 Ljubojevic 49 2625 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 * 3

Category: XVI (2629). Chief arbiter: Carlos Falcon Martin.

At the post-tournament press conference, Kasparov said that in the last two months he had no time to prepare for the event as the situation in his country had prevented him. He also revealed that the Kasparov - Karpov World Championship Match (1990) would be jointly held in New York and Lyon. The organizers, FIDE, and the GMA had reached agreement on Saturday (March 3rd). On March 5th, Kasparov held a 'simul' at the Casino de Madrid. Among the players were former Atlético de Madrid president Alfonso Cabeza, the president of the Spanish Billiards Federation and the comedian José Luis Coll. Kasparov won all 32 games.

Bjarke Barth Sahl noted in CHESS that Rentero was nicknamed 'The steam roller' by his fellow citizens due to his successful business methods. Kasparov's opponents were rewarded for winning or even for not agreeing to a draw before move 40. Such extra prizes ranged from £1000-2000. The 21 year old Gelfand trailed the World Champion closely until Kasparov's win in the last round, with Salov, Ivanchuk and Short at times quite close too. All in different styles though; Salov by working immensely hard (his win against Short lasted for a full 162 moves!), Ivanchuk being hard to beat, while Short was more inconsistent with a lot of decisive games. But of the whole lot, rising star Gelfand was the most impressive. He looked casual at the board, played with ease, preserved his energy cleverly and won game after game at the beginning. Only in his game with Short did things go very wrong. Kasparov did as he was expected to, but not as impressively as in Tilburg and Belgrade last year. Kasparov said at the final press conference that "life as a chessplayer is getting tougher".

Sources

FIDE rating list January 1990 (https://web.archive.org/web/2022100...)
Bjarke Kristensen (= Bjarke Barth Sahl) in CHESS Magazine, May 1990, p. 22
Jaque 279 (1 March 1990), pp. 148-149 (https://www.olimpbase.org/leagueES/...)
Leontxo García in El País, 6 March 1990 (https://elpais.com/diario/1990/03/0...)
Leontxo García in El País, 18 February 1990 (https://elpais.com/diario/1990/02/1...)
Leontxo García et al. in Jaque 280, pp. 162-179 (https://www.olimpbase.org/leagueES/...)
Joan Segura in El Mundo Deportivo, 18 Feb 1990, p. 64 (http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.co...)
Joan Segura in El Mundo Deportivo, 19 Feb 1990, p. 77 (http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.co...)
Joan Segura in El Mundo Deportivo, 3 March 1990, p. 50 (http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.co...)
Joan Segura in El Mundo Deportivo, 4 March 1990, p. 65 (http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.co...)
Joan Segura in El Mundo Deportivo, 5 March 1990, p. 73 (http://hemeroteca.mundodeportivo.co...)
Kjell Krantz in Tidskrift för Schack, April 1990, pp. 153-155 (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1990...)
Jesus Maria de la Villa Garcia in Jaque 281, pp. 223-225, 235 (https://www.olimpbase.org/leagueES/...)
William John Donaldson in Inside Chess, 2 April 1990, pp. 4-16 (https://ia801700.us.archive.org/vie...)

Original collections: Game Collection: Linares 1990 by User: suenteus po 147 and Game Collection: Linares 1990 by User: Tabanus. Round dates (from El Mundo Deportivo): February 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, March 1, 3. Thanks to User: Paint My Dragon for information fom CHESS, and thanks to User: Retireborn, User: OhioChessFan and User: Annie K. for suggestions and improving the English.

Previous: Linares (1989). Next: Linares (1991)

 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 66  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Short vs Ivanchuk  ½-½311990LinaresB52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack
2. M Illescas vs Salov  0-1321990LinaresB89 Sicilian
3. Spassky vs A Yusupov 0-1371990LinaresC77 Ruy Lopez
4. Portisch vs Ljubojevic 1-0461990LinaresA35 English, Symmetrical
5. Gelfand vs Kasparov ½-½451990LinaresE98 King's Indian, Orthodox, Taimanov, 9.Ne1
6. A Beliavsky vs Gulko 1-0361990LinaresD86 Grunfeld, Exchange
7. Ivanchuk vs Portisch 1-0611990LinaresC92 Ruy Lopez, Closed
8. Kasparov vs Short 1-0481990LinaresA26 English
9. Salov vs Gelfand  0-1571990LinaresA48 King's Indian
10. Ljubojevic vs Spassky  ½-½461990LinaresC92 Ruy Lopez, Closed
11. A Beliavsky vs M Illescas 0-1421990LinaresD34 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tarrasch
12. Gulko vs A Yusupov  ½-½491990LinaresD02 Queen's Pawn Game
13. Spassky vs Ivanchuk ½-½261990LinaresA59 Benko Gambit
14. Portisch vs Kasparov 0-1271990LinaresE97 King's Indian
15. A Yusupov vs Ljubojevic 1-0341990LinaresE15 Queen's Indian
16. M Illescas vs Gulko  ½-½401990LinaresC07 French, Tarrasch
17. Short vs Salov 0-11621990LinaresC53 Giuoco Piano
18. Gelfand vs A Beliavsky 1-0581990LinaresD37 Queen's Gambit Declined
19. Salov vs Portisch  1-0591990LinaresD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
20. Gulko vs Ljubojevic 1-0781990LinaresE00 Queen's Pawn Game
21. A Beliavsky vs Short  0-1411990LinaresE20 Nimzo-Indian
22. Ivanchuk vs A Yusupov  ½-½421990LinaresC82 Ruy Lopez, Open
23. M Illescas vs Gelfand  0-1341990LinaresB87 Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin with ...a6 and ...b5
24. Kasparov vs Spassky 1-0291990LinaresE34 Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation
25. Portisch vs A Beliavsky  0-1421990LinaresD58 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (Makagonov-Bondarevsky) Syst
 page 1 of 3; games 1-25 of 66  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Sep-29-24  ColdSong: For some reason,Spassky's last serious tournament with the World elite,at 53,and not really a bad one.
Sep-29-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: In subsequent years, Spassky played less and less; there was also the matter of the contract he signed for Rentero, which, it will be seen, was violated.

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