The match on this page, sponsored mainly by Ravi Sanghi and the Sanghi Industries but also by Vipul Securities Ltd., was one of two (!) Candidates finals held in Sanghi Nagar, India, from 6 to 15/18 February 1995. The other match was the Kamsky - Salov 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.

Karpov was seeded into this match — according to new regulations even the FIDE World Champion now had to qualify as a Candidate. Gelfand had qualified from the Gelfand - Kramnik Candidates Semifinal (1994). Karpov was seconded by Vladimir Epishin, Mikhail Podgaets and Ron Henley, while Gelfand was seconded by Alexander Huzman and Valery Atlas. 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, 6-18 February 1995

        Age Elo   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Karpov   43 2765  ½ ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1  6
Gelfand  26 2700  ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0  3

"A second beneficiary of the shift in public sentiment has been the Fide champion Anatoly Karpov. In the past it was always difficult to sympathise with him. He suffered from winning the title by default against Fischer in 1975 and another blow to his credibility was dealt when Campomanes stopped Kasparov's first challenge against Karpov in Moscow ten years later. Karpov's public image was further handicapped by his evident predilection for the Soviet regime. Now, all this has changed. The Soviet Union has been swept away and Karpov's allegiance to it more or less forgotten. Additionally Karpov has gained points for his staunch, if unreciprocated, loyalty to Fide while they were in extremis, and the notably ungracious handling he received from the organisers of the Moscow Olympiad, where, even though he is reigning Fide champion, Karpov was virtually excluded from all of the official ceremonies in his own home town. There is definitely a wave of support for him now, one that is reinforced by the excellent chess he continues to produce. In Sanghi Nagar he started slowly against Gelfand, a most formidable opponent, scoring just one point from the first three games. Thereafter, Karpov rose like a phoenix from the ashes, taking an amazing five points from the next six games ..." (Keene)

"Another day at the office for Karpov. Gelfand had a minor victory against the Caro-Kann but wasn't prepared to play against Karpov's Ruy Lopez. Gelfand allowed Karpov to play the type of positions he enjoys. In any manoevering position there was a massive gulf in class. Karpov showed nothing special in any of his openings, he has a narrow repertoire that he knows well, it leads to the kind of positions he plays best." (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...)
Tidskrift för Schack, March 1995, pp. 128-138 (https://tfsarkiv.schack.se/pdf/1995...)
Sakkélet, 12 September 1995, pp. 203-206 (https://adt.arcanum.com/en/view/Sak...)
Leontxo Garcia in Jaque 396, March 1995, pp. 14-43 (http://www.bartelski.pl/olimpbase/l...)
Raymond Keene in The Spectator, 4 March 1995, p. 50 (https://archive.spectator.co.uk/art...)
Anatoly Karpov in Chess Life, June 1995, pp. 21-22, 46-47 (https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C...)
Anatoly Karpov in Chess Life, July 1995, pp. 34-36 (https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C...)

Original collections: Game Collection: WCC Index (Karpov-Gelfand 1995) by User: Hesam7 and Game Collection: Karpov - Gelfand Candidates Final by User: Tabanus. Game dates (February 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18) are from TWIC 19 and Dutch newspapers at https://www.delpher.nl/.