In order to select a challenger for World Champion Anatoly Karpov, this match was played in the White Hall of the Palace of Artworkers in Vilnius, Soviet Union (Lithuanian SSR). The hall had 300 semi-luxury chairs, a press center located next to it, and a hub for long distance and international calls. The match was best of 16 games or the first to have 8½ points. If 8-8, four tiebreak games would be played, and if still equal the players could choose between two more tiebreak games or have the match decided by lottery. The event was opened on 9 March by FIDE president Florencio Campomanes, with Miguel Najdorf and nearly 200 journalists present. The games started every other day at 4 pm. There was no rest day, but each player could request two two-day postponements. The contestants had two large rooms for rest located right behind the stage, each furnished with a piano, an armchair, a table, and a vase with flowers, specially grown for the match by gardeners from Vilnius.

Photo: http://www.aritearu.com/pic/Smyslov...

Kasparov (21) had qualified from the Kasparov - Korchnoi Candidates Semifinal (1983), while ex-World Champion Smyslov (63) had won the Smyslov - Ribli Candidates Semifinal (1983). Kasparov was assisted by Aleksander Nikitin, Yevgeniy Vladimirov, Alexander Shakarov and Gennadij Timoscenko, and Smyslov was assisted by Yuri Averbakh and Viktor Kupreichik. Mainly due to Smyslov's age, the bookmakers had Kasparov as the favorite by 10 to 1. Chief arbiter Vladas Mikenas was assisted by I. Aronov and Marijonas Rocius.

Vilnius, Soviet Union (Lithuania), 10 March - 9 April 1984

          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3	
Kasparov  ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½  8½
Smyslov   ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½  4½

"Gary Kasparov of the Soviet Union triumphed yesterday in his final candidates chess match by drawing the 13th game with his countryman Vasily Smyslov. The final score was Kasparov 8 1/2, Smyslov 4 1/2. The brilliant 20-year-old Kasparov thus becomes the challenger against the world champion, Anatoly Karpov of the Soviet Union, in a title match tentatively scheduled to begin Sept. 10. The site has not yet been determined. Throughout the series in Vilnius, in the Soviet Republic of Lithuania, Kasparov displayed extraordinary skill in areas of the game for which he had previously not gained sufficient recognition. He was supposedly a shoot-from-the-hip gambit proponent, but his performance in defense ranged only from excellent to brilliant. Moreover, his handling of end games was superb." (Byrne)

"Smyslov, who is 63 and was world champion in 1957, did the best he could against such a formidable opponent but did not succeed in winning a game. He drew nine and lost four. Kasparov's error-free play made it especially difficult for Smyslov by denying him chances to press for wins. In the 13th game, Smyslov employed the Cambridge Springs Defense for the fourth time in the match. Kasparov, needing only a draw to accumulate the winning 8 1/2 points, put aside the sharp 7 PxP, NxP; 8 Q-Q2, with which he had won the third and ninth games, in favor of the tranquil 7 N-Q2, which had produced a draw in the seventh game." (Byrne)

"When Gary Kasparov won the 12th game of the final Candidates' match, he established a four-point lead which virtually ensured victory over his Soviet countryman Vassily Smyslov. A chief reason for Smyslov's failure to win a single game in the match was his inability to refute Kasparov's Tarrasch Defense to the Queen's Gambit, which Kasparov used in five of the games in which he had the Black pieces." (Bisguier)

Sources

Rigas Bals, 10 April 1984 (http://periodika.lv/periodika2-view...)
Spordileht, 12 March 1984 (https://dea.digar.ee/cgi-bin/dea?a=...)
Spordileht, 11 April 1984 (https://dea.digar.ee/cgi-bin/dea?a=...)
Photo of chief arbiter Mikenas: https://web.archive.org/web/2015040...
Leonid Sandler in Jürmala, 27 April 1984 (http://periodika.lv/periodika2-view...)
Leonid Sandler in Jürmala, 11 March 1984 (http://periodika.lv/periodika2-view...)
Leonid Sandler in Jürmala, 14 March 1984 (http://periodika.lv/periodika2-view...)
Raymond Keene in The Spectator, 7 April 1984 (http://archive.spectator.co.uk/arti...)
Alexander Koblents in Rigas Bals, 20 March 1984 (http://periodika.lv/periodika2-view...)
Jack Peters in Chess Life, July 1984, pp. 24-26 (https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C...)
Andras Ozsvath in Új Tükör, 29 April 1984, p. 34 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Tuk...)
Margareta Juncu in Flacara, 6 April 1984, p. 21 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Fla...)
Robert Byrne in The New York Times, 1 April 1984 (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/01/...)
Robert Byrne in The New York Times 10 April 1984 (https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/10/...)
Interview with Kasparov in Sports (Riga), 11 April 1984 (http://periodika.lv/periodika2-view...)
Ove Kinnmark in Tidskrift för Schack, May 1984, p. 132 (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1984...)
Zenon Franco Ocampos in ABC Color, 9 October 2012 (https://www.tabladeflandes.com/zeno...)
Miguel Najdorf in Jaque 151, 15 April 1984, pp. 229-236 (http://www.bartelski.pl/olimpbase/l...)
Arthur Bisguier in The Christian Science Monitor, 26 March 1984 (https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0326...)
Arthur Bisguier in The Christian Science Monitor, 23 April 1984 (https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/0423...)

Original collections: Game Collection: WCC Index (Kasparov-Smyslov 1983) by User: Hesam7, Game Collection: 99999_Kasparov-Smyslov 1984 Candidates final by User: whiteshark and Game Collection: Kasparov - Smyslov Candidates Final by User: Tabanus.]