The match on this page, sponsored mainly by Ravi Sanghi and the Sanghi Industries but also Vipul Securities Ltd., was one of two (!) Candidates final matches held in Sanghi Nagar, India, from 6 to 15/18 February 1995. The other match was the Karpov - Gelfand Candidates Final (1995). The draw for pairings was held by FIDE on 8 August 1994, the day after the last game of the semifinals had ended. The matches were held in order to reach a 'superfinal' match in 1996 for the title of FIDE World Champion.

Kamsky had qualified for the match from the Kamsky - Anand Candidates Semifinal (1994), and Salov had qualified from the Salov - Timman Candidates Semifinal (1994). Kamsky was seconded by Roman Dzindzichashvili and Alexander Shabalov, except that Shabalov left the scene the day after Rustam Kamsky punched him in the face for having talked with someone in the camp of Boris Gelfand. Salov was seconded by Sergey Ionov. The match was best of 10 games, or the first to achieve 5½ points. Games were scheduled to start at 1 pm. Price fund (per match): $250,000, with 5/8 to the winner and 3/8 to the loser. Chief arbiters: Nasiruddin Ghalib and Yuri Lobanov.

Sanghi Nagar, India, 6-15 February 1995

       Age Elo   1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Kamsky  20 2710  1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½  5½
Salov   30 2715  0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½  1½

"The matadors in Sanghi Nagar include the American grandmaster Gata Kamsky, who faces the Russian Valery Salov. Salov, who now lives in Spain and has applied for Spanish citizenship, has enjoyed a run of success recently almost as great as that of Kamsky himself. Meanwhile, in the parallel semi-final, Karpov meets the Belarussian grandmaster Boris Gelfand. Compared with the Professional Chess Association Championship, now set for Cologne from 12 September to 16 October later this year, where Garry Kasparov will defend his title against either Kamsky or Anand, Sanghi Nagar is very much a sideshow. Nevertheless, it is not without its own importance. The recent rapprochement between Fide and the PCA orchestrated by Kasparov and the Fide President Campomanes, foresees separate championships for both organisations this year, with a mutually lucrative grand reunification final between the respective champions scheduled for 1996. One eventuality could derail this ambitious project; it would involve an outcome quite unwelcome both to the PCA and to Fide. The outspoken Gata Kamsky is a thorn in the side of both bodies, yet he is the only player to have survived in both cycles. Were he to beat Salov in Sanghi Nagar, and go on to win the Fide Championship, while simultaneously qualifying through the PCA cycle and then launching a successful challenge against Kasparov in Cologne, Kamsky would unify both titles in his own person and thus seize the whip hand in all future negotiations both with Campomanes and with Kasparov. Still, the hurdles for the young American to overcome remain enormous, and he may not even succeed in bludgeoning the super-solid Salov out of his path." (Keene)

"If Salov was to beat Kamsky his opening repertoire had to be better than this. He only put serious pressure on Kamsky in game 4. But it isn't enough to say this. Kamsky outplayed his opponent in every phase of the game in this match. Especially in the first four games when the match was "alive". Kamsky has developed into a very Fischer like player. No excessively complicated opening variations, remorseless in his tactical pressure and resourceful in defence. Next up Anand starting March 8th. (this of course is in the PCA cycle) Anand (who was present as a commentator at the FIDE matches) hasn't played since the Sicilian Theme tournament last year, surely his longest break from professional chess. He will be fresh, but probably not sharp at the start of the event. He is sure to have been working towards his own push for the title. This is a match to look forward to. However in my opinion Kamsky has arrived and he is tough." (TWIC)

Souces

Mark Weeks' website (https://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/94...)
Jaque 383, August 1994, p. 6 (http://www.bartelski.pl/olimpbase/l...)
TWIC 19, 12 February 1995 (https://theweekinchess.com/html/twi...)
TWIC 20, 19 February 1995 (https://theweekinchess.com/html/twi...)
FIDE rating list January 1995 (https://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo19...)
Norsk Sjakkblad, No. 2 1995, pp. 14-19 (https://dnkjuhc6if10z.cloudfront.ne...)
Sakkélet, 30 October 1995, pp. 302-303 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Sak...)
Tidskrift för Schack, March 1995, pp. 128-138 (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1995...)
Leontxo Garcia in Jaque 396, March 1995, pp. 14-43 (http://www.bartelski.pl/olimpbase/l...)
Raymond Keene in The Spectator, 11 February 1995, p. 52 (https://archive.spectator.co.uk/art...)
Anatoly Karpov in Chess Life, June 1995, pp. 21-22, 46-47 (https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C...)

Original collection: Game Collection: Kamsky - Salov Candidates Final by User: Tabanus. Game dates (February 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15) are from TWIC 19 and Dutch newspapers at https://www.delpher.nl/.