In order to select a challenger for World Champion Garry Kasparov, this match was played at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington, USA, 28 January - 5 February 1989. It was best of six games, and the first to achieve 3½ points would go to the semifinal. In case of 3-3, two more games would be played. If 4-4, one 1 hour sudden death game, and if 4½-4½, one 30 min game. If 5-5, 15 min games until there was a winner. The other quarterfinal matches were held elsewhere: Timman - Portisch Candidates Quarterfinal (1989), Speelman - Short Candidates Quarterfinal (1988) and Yusupov - Spraggett Candidates Quarterfinal (1989). The draw for pairings had been announced a year ago, on 7 February 1988, by FIDE president Florencio Campomanes at the press conference and awards ceremony following the eighthfinals in Saint John, Canada.

Photo: https://web.archive.org/web/2024022...

Sponsored by Gene Fischer and The Goodwill Games, the Seattle match was organized by Robert Karch and Bob Walsh. Karpov was seeded into the match, by having 'lost' the Kasparov - Karpov World Championship Match (1987). Hjartarson had qualified from the Hjartarson - Korchnoi Candidates Eighthfinal (1988). Karpov's seconds were Igor Zaitsev and Mikhail Podgaets, and Hjartarson's seconds were Margeir Petursson and Elvar Gudmundsson. The games started at 5 pm local time. Time controls: 2 hours to complete 40 moves and 3 hours to complete 60 moves. The match winner received $50,000, the loser $30,000. Chief arbiter Carol Jarecki was assisted by Lin Sing.

Seattle, USA, 28 Jan - 5 Feb 1989

           Age Elo   1 2 3 4 5
Karpov      37 2750  ½ 1 1 ½ ½  3½
Hjartarson  25 2615  ½ 0 0 ½ ½  1½

"Anatoly Karpov, the former world titleholder from the Soviet Union, was almost everyone's favorite to win his quarterfinal world championship candidates match with the Icelandic grandmaster Johann Hjartarson, which ended Feb. 6 in Seattle, and he did, by 3 1/2 to 1 1/2. Indeed, right from the start of these elimination matches, Karpov has been unanimously expected to zip on through to another title bout with his countryman Gary Kasparov. Hjartarson, on the other hand, failed to evince the bright attacking play that led to his rapid advancement last year. For example, in Game 3, below, he went astray early as White, ceding the initiative to Karpov, who quickly broke through with a winning attack. Karpov chose one of his mainstays, the Flohr-Zaitsev (9...Re8 and 10...Bb7) Defense to the Ruy Lopez. But instead of attempting to maintain a solid, passive position on the queenside after 15 Bb2, he anticipated White's intended expansion with a4, c4 and so on by dredging up an almost forgotten move, the line-opening 15...a5!?, which the British international master Robert Wade played in 1968." (Byrne)

Sources

Mark Weeks' website (https://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/88...)
FIDE rating list January 1989 (https://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo19...)
Norsk Sjakkblad, 2/89, pp. 30-32 (https://dnkjuhc6if10z.cloudfront.ne...)
Morgunblaðið, 25 January 1989, p. 17 (https://timarit.is/files/59009472#s...)
Morgunblaðið, 28 January 1989, p. 4 (https://timarit.is/page/1697362?iab...)
Jaque 257, 1 March 1989, pp. 98-110, 118 (http://www.bartelski.pl/olimpbase/l...)
Tidskrift för Schack, February 1989, pp. 49-54 (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1989...)
Chess Life, February 1989, pp. 42, 44, 65-66 (https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C...)
Chess Life, May 1989, pp. 24-25, 28-29 (https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C...)
Yasser Seirawan in Jaque 256, 15 February 1989, pp. 66 (http://www.bartelski.pl/olimpbase/l...)
Robert Byrne in The New York Times, 14 February 1989 (https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/14/...)
Jon Arnason in Dagblaðið Vísir, 27 January 1989, p. 2 (https://timarit.is/page/2554561?iab...), and subsequent reports by him.

Original collections: Game Collection: WCC Index (Karpov-Hjartarson 1989) by User: Hesam7 and Game Collection: Karpov - Hjartarson Candidates Quarterfinal by User: Tabanus. Game dates (January 28, 30, February 1, 3, 5) are from Icelandic newspapers at https://timarit.is/.