Final Candidate match
Sponsored by the friend of chess and Minister of Tourism Dato Sabbaruddin Chik, Malaysia welcomed a Candidate’s match for the first time. The Soviet A. Karpov was favorite but the Dutch J. Timman had some extra motivations. Not only the prize fund of SFR. 300,000 but also an million German marks offered by Mephisto Computer Co. to the first westerner qualifying to challenge G. Kasparov.
Game 1
Ruy Lopez
A total disaster for Timman. The Dutch introduced a prepared novelty on move 18, overlooking a trap that had been mentioned in Karpov’s notes in New in Chess whose editor is –Timman! The consequences of his mistake are not insurmountable over the board but a second blunder on move 26 was irreversible
Game 2
Grünfeld Defense
Karpov got a small advantage in a line he had already played against Kasparov and twice against Timman. Later the position is simplified and the Knight endgame slightly better for White but not enough to win.
Game 3
Nimzo-Indian
Very difficult position but Karpov played very coolly in time trouble and managed to reach the adjournment with the most promising position. Then too confident he overlooked a simple win with 42…Bb3 and instead gave to his opponent an incredible comeback.
Game 4
Grünfeld Defense
Another complicated position rised on the board. This time Karpov got the pressure but Timman short of time missed the right continuation. The players attacked on opposite sides of the board all of this under terrible tension, until Timman who had the advantage made a horrible blunder I missing 59…b5. The rest was only a technical question.
Game 5
Ruy Lopez
Following the first seventeen moves of their first game, Karpov secured once more the better position. Many were surprised when suddenly Karpov chosen a drawish line. The main reason was that game 4 still adjourned was schedule to resume later the evening and Karpov wanted to keep some energy for it.
Game 6
Benoni Defense
Forced to win Timman opted for a sharp Modern Benoni but by investing 10 minutes playing 9…a6, he showed that preparation was lacking. Later after 16…Na8 many considered his position as dreadful. He sacrificed a pawn to get breathing space for his pieces but Karpov managed with high precision to reach a won rook endgame. When the endgame looked over, the Dutch tried his last card and succeeded to push his opponent to misplace his rook and force a draw.
Game 7
Ruy Lopez
The best game so far. Again the game 1 was on the grill. Karpov innovated with 15…Ne7, a dubious move, which was well answered by Timman few moves later with a impressive 20. Nh5 giving him a clear advantage. When 22 Rxe4 was the right continuation, Timman chosen and lost all initiative with 22. f3. Karpov immediately eased the tension on the board with few exchanges which made the rest of the game very peaceful.
Game 8
Queen’s Indian
Of course Karpov was not the one to look for complications and let his opponent to do the job. Unfortunately the Dutch, in bad shape, did it but with bad luck. Losing the balance in the middle game Karpov took immediately the initiative and with a wild play finished off his opponent without to give him any chance to comeback.
Game 9
Ruy Lopez
The usual pattern was for the last time in discussion. Better prepared Karpov had no big problem to seize the upper hand in the middlegame. Looking for a quick finish, the former champion lost a lot of time and both players reached double edge position nearby the 40th move. Timman missed the best with his 39th move and Karpov quite happy scored the finale win to get the right to challenge once more G. Kasparov.
Kuala Lumpur, March 1990.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Total | ||
| Timman J | 0 | = | = | 0 | = | = | = | 0 | 0 | 2.5 | |
| Karpov A | 1 | = | = | 1 | = | = | = | 1 | 1 | 6.5 |
Karpov: “I won more easily than I expected. An important factor for me is that on this occasion there have been no traitors in my team, unlike shortly before the match v Yusupov when Beliavsky changed sides. I had not noticed that Timman has been unable to beat me since 1982, but now that you remind me I also believe that I have dominated him psychologically. My victory against Timman could have been even more decisive if I had taken advantage of all the winning positions I had. I have made serious mistakes, although less than against Kasparov. In game 5, 35 …Qd3 was of course, better than 35 … Nd3, but, according to my analysis with Timman, White can get a draw with correct play. Some games were quite complicated and that makes you tired after the fifth hour. But the main problem is the time limit. Why is it that we had only 2 hours, and not 2 as in the world championship, for 40 moves? It is as if, in track-and-field; the sprinter runs 100 meters in the semi finals and 200 in the final. This is simply absurd!”
Timman: “The fourth game was absolutely crucial. I could have won with a forced line that began 59 … b5. I also had a winning position in the seventh game and very favorable positions in the fifth and in the ninth game. I do not know if Karpov dominates me psychologically, but some strange reason must exist so that I do not make winning moves. They were there within my reach but I could not see them. I believe Karpov was stronger in 1984 and Kasparov is the clear favorite for the World Championship Match. He has much more energy than Karpov”.
The ex-champion wins 187,000 Swiss francs after his easy victory over the world No. 3, who takes home 122,500 Swiss francs.
The final
Wellington, New Zeeland and Lyon, France were the two serious bidders for the 1990 world championship final. Lyon led by IGM B. Kouatly got the first acceptance but later under the insistence of G. Kasparov and B. Kok, the French organizers decided to share the match with New York. The official announcement came on March 21. A record prize fund of SFR. 4,100,000 was at stake, of which 80% goes to the players in the proportion five eights to the winner and the rest to the loser. 8.5% will go to FIDE and 8.5 to the GMA and 3% to a non-profit-making association to be founded for the development of chess in the Third World
First part: New York
Not surprisingly there were grand plans here and chess has acquired a rare glamour. The big show started with the gala opening ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel without the Mayor of the city too busy and the FIDE President Campomanes recovering from a deadly car crash in Uganda. The event doubles as fund raiser for the American Chess Foundation’s program for Chess in Schools and was reported to rise $200 000 from charity tables of $5 000 and $10 000 and $35 000.
Funding for the American half of the event emanates from Ted Field’s megacorporation Interscope. On October 8, the match started on The Hudson theatre, crowding about 650 people into its three tiers. Seat prices were sold from $25 till $100 seating. Quite expensive!
Game 1
Game 1
King’s Indian Defense
Kasparov sets the tone for the match by switching the Grünfeld in favor of the more solid King’ s Indian. From a comfortable position Kasparov manages to make trouble for himself after a wrong 19th move. Then Karpov missed the final touch by playing the weak move 22. Ra8 instead of 22. Re8, which could lead to a probable winning endgame. With equality on the board both player agreed to draw on move 30.