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FIDE World Chess Championship 1998

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FIDE World Chess Championship 1998
 
Defending champion
Challenger
 
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand
  Russia Anatoly Karpov India Viswanathan Anand
 
3 (2)Scores3 (0)
  Born 23 May 1951
46 years old
Born 11 December 1969
28 years old
  Winner of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 Winner of the Candidates Tournament 1997
  Rating: 2735
(World No. 6)
Rating: 2770
(World No. 3)
← 1996
1999 →

The FIDE World Chess Championship 1998 was contested in a match between the FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov and the challenger Viswanathan Anand. The match took place between 2 January and 9 January 1998 in Lausanne, Switzerland. The challenger was determined in a tournament held in Groningen, Netherlands, between 9 December and 30 December 1997. After the championship match ended in a draw, Karpov won the rapid playoff, becoming the 1998 FIDE World Chess Champion.

New World Championship format

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Background

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From 1948 to 1993, the world chess championship had been administered by FIDE, the international chess federation. In 1993, World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov split from FIDE and formed a rival organisation, the Professional Chess Association. FIDE stripped Kasparov of his title, meaning there were now two rival championships: the FIDE title, held by Anatoly Karpov, and the PCA title, held by Kasparov. Karpov and Kasparov had successfully defended their titles at the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 and PCA World Chess Championship 1995 respectively.

From 1948 until 1996, World Chess Championships had followed a similar pattern: a series of qualifying tournaments and matches were held over more than a year, culminating in the Candidates Tournament. The winner of the Candidates tournament was the official challenger for the world title and would play the incumbent champion in a match for world championship. (The 1996 cycle was an exception. The incumbent world champion participated in the Candidates tournament as a seeded in the Candidates final.)

In 1997, FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov proposed a completely new structure: a knockout tournament, consisting of two-game matches (slightly longer in the final rounds), with match tie-breakers using rapid chess and blitz chess if necessary. This format had been done before in tournaments such as Tilburg 1992–94, but never at the world championship level.

In addition to the new format, it was proposed by Ilyumzhinov as a way to unify the two rival world titles. To do this, FIDE champion Anatoly Karpov and PCA champion Garry Kasparov were each to be seeded into the semi-finals.

Kasparov did not want to defend his title under these circumstances and declined his invitation. The format was then modified to have FIDE champion Karpov seeded directly into the final.

Controversies

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The advantages of the new format were:

  • It avoided a long cycle, and was all over in a month or so. This is could all be done in the one venue, it would not have the scheduling problems which had beset some previous world championship cycles. Each round could be played in 3 days (one day for each normal time control game, and one for the tie breaks).
  • More players (up to 128) could be included.
  • There were no special privileges for the incumbent champion or seeded players (although some were preserved in the earlier championships, these were eliminated later on).

Opponents pointed out disadvantages of the format:

  • Short matches (only two games in the earlier rounds) left too much to chance – the stronger player could blunder a game, and it would be difficult to recover from a bad start. (Many world championship and Candidates matches had been won by the player who recovered from an early loss).
  • The rapid playoffs were also seen to be left too much to chance: strength in rapid chess is not the same as strength in chess with normal time controls.
  • These first two considerations, taken together, meant there was a very high chance that the best player would not win, or even that a complete outsider might win, opponents argued.
  • Some people felt that the tradition of the champion being seeded into the final should be preserved, so that a new champion can only be champion by defeating the old champion.
  • However, the scheduling of the match caused great controversy regarding the fairness of the contest: Anand was forced to play a fresh and prepared Karpov a mere three days[1] after his exhausting performance at Groningen.

Prominent non-participants

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  • Kasparov did not want to defend his title under these circumstances, and declined his invitation.
  • Vladimir Kramnik declined to play, in protest against having the final with Karpov shortly after the end of the tournament.

Participants

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All players are grandmasters unless indicated otherwise.

  1.  Vladimir Kramnik1 (RUS), 2770
  2.  Viswanathan Anand (IND), 2765
  3.  Anatoly Karpov (RUS), 2745
  4.  Veselin Topalov (BUL), 2745
  5.  Vassily Ivanchuk (UKR), 2725
  6.  Alexander Beliavsky (SLO), 2710
  7.  Alexei Shirov (ESP), 2700
  8.  Boris Gelfand (BLR), 2695
  9.  Michael Adams (ENG), 2680
  10.  Valery Salov (RUS), 2680
  11.  Yevgeny Bareev (RUS), 2670
  12.  Kiril Georgiev (BUL), 2670
  13.  Judit Polgár (HUN), 2670
  14.  Matthew Sadler (ENG), 2665
  15.  Vladimir Akopian (ARM), 2660
  16.  Aleksej Alexandrov (BLR), 2660
  17.  Joël Lautier (FRA), 2660
  18.  Nigel Short (ENG), 2660
  19.  Peter Svidler (RUS), 2660
  20.  Alexander Khalifman (RUS), 2655
  21.  Loek van Wely (NED), 2655
  22.  Zurab Azmaiparashvili (GEO), 2650
  23.  Sergei Rublevsky (RUS), 2650
  24.  Alex Yermolinsky (USA), 2650
  25.  Michal Krasenkov (POL), 2645
  26.  Lembit Oll (EST), 2645
  27.  Eduardas Rozentalis (LTU), 2645
  28.  Ulf Andersson (SWE), 2640
  29.  Alexander Chernin (HUN), 2640
  30.  Alexey Dreev (RUS), 2640
  31.  Rafael Vaganian (ARM), 2640
  32.  Arthur Yussupov (GER), 2640
  33.  Peter Leko (HUN), 2635
  34.  Vadim Milov (SUI), 2635
  35.  Ivan Sokolov (BIH), 2635
  36.  Vadim Zvjaginsev (RUS), 2635
  37.  Predrag Nikolić (BIH), 2630
  38.  Jeroen Piket (NED), 2630
  39.  Yasser Seirawan (USA), 2630
  40.  Giorgy Giorgadze (GEO), 2625
  41.  Julio Granda (PER), 2625
  42.  Jan Timman (NED), 2625
  43.  Zoltán Almási (HUN), 2615
  44.  Boris Alterman (ISR), 2615
  45.  Vladimir Malaniuk (UKR), 2615
  46.  Vladislav Tkachiev (KAZ), 2615
  47.  Utut Adianto (INA), 2610
  48.  Jaan Ehlvest (EST), 2610
  49.  Viktor Korchnoi (SUI), 2610
  50.  Lajos Portisch (HUN), 2610
  51.  Jóhann Hjartarson (ISL), 2605
  52.  Zbyněk Hráček (CZE), 2605
  53.  Friso Nijboer (NED), 2605
  54.  Curt Hansen (DEN), 2600
  55.  Grigory Kaidanov (USA), 2600
  56.  Ivan Morovic (CHI), 2600
  57.  Gilberto Milos (BRA), 2590
  58.  Alexander Morozevich (RUS), 2590
  59.  Emil Sutovsky (ISR), 2590
  60.  Sergei Tiviakov (RUS), 2590
  61.  Viktor Bologan (MDA), 2585
  62.  Miguel Illescas (ESP), 2585
  63.  Vasilios Kotronias (GRE), 2585
  64.  Alexander Nenashev (UZB), 2585
  65.  Andrei Sokolov (RUS), 2585
  66.  Joel Benjamin (USA), 2580
  67.  Boris Gulko (USA), 2580
  68.  Kevin Spraggett (CAN), 2575
  69.  Vladimir Epishin (RUS), 2570
  70.  Stefan Kindermann (GER), 2570
  71.  Konstantin Lerner (UKR), 2560
  72.  Margeir Petursson (ISL), 2555
  73.  Paul van der Sterren (NED), 2555
  74.  Larry Christiansen (USA), 2550
  75.  Andrei Istrățescu (ROM), 2550
  76.  Roman Slobodjan (GER), 2550
  77.  Ashot Anastasian (ARM), 2545
  78.  Étienne Bacrot (FRA), 2545
  79.  Bojan Kurajica (BIH), 2545
  80.  Alexander Fominyh (RUS), 2535
  81.  Hichem Hamdouchi (MAR), 2535
  82.  Peng Xiaomin (CHN), 2530
  83.  Peter Wells (ENG), 2530
  84.  Gilberto Hernandez (MEX), 2525
  85.  Thomas Luther (GER), 2525
  86.  John van der Wiel (NED), 2525
  87.  Wang Zili (CHN), 2520
  88.  Dibyendu Barua (IND), 2515
  89.  Šarūnas Šulskis (LTU), 2510
  90.  Igor Glek (RUS), 2505
  91.  Igor Miladinović (GRE), 2500
  92.  Tal Shaked (USA), 2500, IM
  93.  Niaz Murshed (BAN), 2490
  94.  Gildardo Garcia (COL), 2480
  95.  Vasily Smyslov (RUS), 2480
  96.  Helgi Grétarsson (ISL), 2475
  97.  Essam Mohammed2 (EGY), 2460, IM[2]
  98.  Hendrik Hoeksema (NED), 2400, IM
  99.  Watu Kobese (RSA), 2315, IM
  100.  Alexander Umgaev (RUS), unrated, no title

1 Kramnik (ranked 2nd in the world) declined participation on the grounds that Karpov's direct entry into the final was unacceptable.[3]

2 Mohammed did not appear.

Garry Kasparov (ranked 1st in the world), Gata Kamsky (ranked 7th), and Zsuzsa Polgar (Women's world champion) declined participation in advance.

Karpov as defending FIDE champion was seeded directly into the championship match. Of the 97 remaining participants, 68 entered the tournament in the first round, 28 in the second round and 1 (Gelfand, loser from Round 3 of the previous Candidates match) in the third round.

Results, rounds 1-4

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Section 1

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
9 England Michael Adams 2
40 Georgia (country) Giorgy Giorgadze 0
40 Georgia (country) Giorgy Giorgadze 4
78 France Étienne Bacrot 3
9 England Michael Adams
60 Russia Sergei Tiviakov ½
27 Lithuania Eduardas Rozentalis
71 Ukraine Konstantin Lerner ½
27 Lithuania Eduardas Rozentalis ½
60 Russia Sergei Tiviakov
9 England Michael Adams 4
19 Russia Peter Svidler 2
19 Russia Peter Svidler
47 Indonesia Utut Adianto ½
47 Indonesia Utut Adianto 2
87 China Wang Zili 0
19 Russia Peter Svidler
69 Russia Vladimir Epishin ½
35 Bosnia and Herzegovina Ivan Sokolov
69 Russia Vladimir Epishin

Section 2

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
4 Bulgaria Veselin Topalov ½
38 Netherlands Jeroen Piket
38 Netherlands Jeroen Piket
21 Netherlands Loek van Wely
21 Netherlands Loek van Wely
91 Greece Igor Miladinović ½
54 Denmark Curt Hansen
91 Greece Igor Miladinović
21 Netherlands Loek van Wely
12 Bulgaria Kiril Georgiev ½
12 Bulgaria Kiril Georgiev
44 Israel Boris Alterman
44 Israel Boris Alterman
83 England Peter Wells ½
12 Bulgaria Kiril Georgiev
34 Switzerland Vadim Milov ½
74 United States Larry Christiansen 4
28 Sweden Ulf Andersson 5
28 Sweden Ulf Andersson 3
34 Switzerland Vadim Milov 4
63 Greece Vasilios Kotronias
34 Switzerland Vadim Milov

Section 3

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
6 Slovenia Alexander Beliavsky
42 Netherlands Jan Timman ½
6 Slovenia Alexander Beliavsky
23 Russia Sergei Rublevsky
23 Russia Sergei Rublevsky 2
68 Canada Kevin Spraggett 0
23 Russia Sergei Rublevsky
92 Israel Tal Shaked ½
92 Israel Tal Shaked 3
56 Chile Ivan Morovic 2
6 Slovenia Alexander Beliavsky 1
18 England Nigel Short 3
18 England Nigel Short
49 Switzerland Viktor Korchnoi
49 Switzerland Viktor Korchnoi
84 Mexico Gilberto Hernandez ½
18 England Nigel Short 2
65 Russia Andrei Sokolov 0
29 Hungary Alexander Chernin 2
75 France Andrei Istrățescu 3
75 France Andrei Istrățescu 0
65 Russia Andrei Sokolov 2
65 Russia Andrei Sokolov
99 South Africa Watu Kobese ½

Section 4

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
22 Georgia (country) Zurab Azmaiparashvili
76 Germany Roman Slobodjan
76 Germany Roman Slobodjan
33 Hungary Peter Leko ½
22 Georgia (country) Zurab Azmaiparashvili
16 Belarus Aleksej Alexandrov ½
16 Belarus Aleksej Alexandrov 3
67 United States Boris Gulko 2
16 Belarus Aleksej Alexandrov
51 Iceland Jóhann Hjartarson
51 Iceland Jóhann Hjartarson
89 LithuaniaŠarūnas Šulskis
22 Georgia (country) Zurab Azmaiparashvili 3
25 Poland Michal Krasenkov 4
11 Russia Yevgeny Bareev 2
45 Ukraine Vladimir Malaniuk 0
45 Ukraine Vladimir Malaniuk 2
81 MoroccoHichem Hamdouchi 0
11 Russia Yevgeny Bareev ½
25 Poland Michal Krasenkov
25 Poland Michal Krasenkov
73 Netherlands Paul van der Sterren ½
25 Poland Michal Krasenkov
94 Colombia Gildardo Garcia ½
59 Israel Emil Sutovsky ½
94 Colombia Gildardo Garcia

Section 5

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
95 Russia Vasily Smyslov 0
58 Russia Alexander Morozevich 2
58 Russia Alexander Morozevich ½
26 Estonia Lembit Oll
72 Iceland Margeir Petursson ½
26 Estonia Lembit Oll
26 Estonia Lembit Oll
46 Kazakhstan Vladislav Tkachiev
80 Russia Alexander Fominyh ½
46 Kazakhstan Vladislav Tkachiev
46 Kazakhstan Vladislav Tkachiev 3
10 Russia Valery Salov 1
46 Kazakhstan Vladislav Tkachiev
8 Belarus Boris Gelfand
88 India Dibyendu Barua 2
52 Czech Republic Zbyněk Hráček 3
52 Czech Republic Zbyněk Hráček ½
17 France Joël Lautier
17 France Joël Lautier 2
8 BelarusBoris Gelfand 4
 
 

Section 6

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
98 Netherlands Hendrik Hoeksema ½
64 Uzbekistan Alexander Nenashev
64 Uzbekistan Alexander Nenashev ½
30 Russia Alexey Dreev
30 Russia Alexey Dreev
14 England Matthew Sadler ½
86 Netherlands John van der Wiel ½
48 Estonia Jaan Ehlvest
48 Estonia Jaan Ehlvest 2
14 England Matthew Sadler 4
30 Russia Alexey Dreev 3
36 Russia Vadim Zvjaginsev 1
55 United States Grigory Kaidanov 2
36 Russia Vadim Zvjaginsev 4
66 United States Joel Benjamin 2
36 Russia Vadim Zvjaginsev 3
36 Russia Vadim Zvjaginsev
39 United States Yasser Seirawan
39 United States Yasser Seirawan 3
77 Armenia Ashot Anastasian 1
39 United States Yasser Seirawan
5 Ukraine Vassily Ivanchuk ½

Section 7

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
96 Iceland Helgi Grétarsson
62 Spain Miguel Illescas ½
96 Iceland Helgi Grétarsson ½
32 Germany Artur Yusupov
32 Germany Artur Yusupov ½
43 Hungary Zoltán Almási
82 China Peng Xiaomin ½
43 Hungary Zoltán Almási
43 Hungary Zoltán Almási
13 Hungary Judit Polgár ½
43 Hungary Zoltán Almási 0
2 India Viswanathan Anand 2
90 Russia Igor Glek
53 Netherlands Friso Nijboer
53 Netherlands Friso Nijboer 0
20 Russia Alexander Khalifman 2
20 Russia Alexander Khalifman
2 India Viswanathan Anand
37 Bosnia and Herzegovina Predrag Nikolić 0
2 India Viswanathan Anand 2

Section 8

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First round Second round Third round Fourth round
            
100 Russia Alexander Umgaev 0
61 Moldova Viktor Bologan 2
61 Moldova Viktor Bologan 0
31 Armenia Rafael Vaganian 2
31 Armenia Rafael Vaganian 3
15 Armenia Vladimir Akopian 4
85 Germany Thomas Luther
50 Hungary Lajos Portisch
85 Germany Thomas Luther ½
15 Armenia Vladimir Akopian
15 Armenia Vladimir Akopian ½
7 Spain Alexei Shirov
57 Brazil Gilberto Milos 2
93 Bangladesh Niaz Murshed 0
57 Brazil Gilberto Milos 2
70 Germany Stefan Kindermann 0
70 Germany Stefan Kindermann 3
24 United States Alex Yermolinsky 2
57 Brazil Gilberto Milos
7 Spain Alexei Shirov
79 Bosnia and Herzegovina Bojan Kurajica
41 Peru Julio Granda
41 Peru Julio Granda ½
7 Spain Alexei Shirov

Results, rounds 5–7

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
9 England Michael Adams
21 Netherlands Loek van Wely
9 England Michael Adams 4
18 England Nigel Short 3
18 England Nigel Short 2
25 Poland Michal Krasenkov 0
9 England Michael Adams 4
2 India Viswanathan Anand 5
8 Belarus Boris Gelfand
30 Russia Alexey Dreev
8 Belarus Boris Gelfand ½
2 India Viswanathan Anand
2 India Viswanathan Anand
7 Spain Alexei Shirov ½

Championship match

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The match was played over 6 games in Lausanne, Switzerland (on January 2-3-4 and 6-7-8) and ended in a 3–3 tie. Two rapid games were then played on January 9. Karpov won both, retaining his FIDE title.

World Chess Championship Match 1998
Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 R1 R2 Points
 Anatoly Karpov (Russia) 2735 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 1 5
 Viswanathan Anand (India) 2770 0 1 ½ 0 ½ 1 0 0 3

References

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  1. ^ "Karpov - Anand FIDE World Championship Match (1998)".
  2. ^ "The Week in Chess 212".
  3. ^ "World Chess Championship, 1997 FIDE Knockout Matches".
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