Looking Back: 9th November 1985
30 years ago on this very day Anatoly Karpov held out his hand in resignation, and thus was crowned the youngest World Champion ever in the history of the game - Garry Kasparov. We have for you the Facebook post made by Garry as well as the interesting points from this 24 game match. Fans of Garry will surely remember his brilliant move 8...d5?!!? which gave him one of the most beautiful victories of his career. Here's your chance to get acquainted with the drama of the 1985 match!
Exactly 30 years ago, on 9th of November 1985, something special happened in the world of chess. Anatoly Karpov held out his hand in resignation and at the age of 22 years Garry Kasparov became the youngest World Champion in the history of the game.
After 30 years, this is what Garry Kasparov had to write on his Facebook page:
"Thirty years ago today! Hard to believe, but it was that long ago when I won the World Championship against Anatoly Karpov. November 9, 1985 at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow. Karpov resigned game 24 at 9:54pm Moscow time. The "worst times ahead" I refer to in that old voiceover was the rematch in 86 and then yet another Karpov match in 1987, when my comments were recorded. Of course there was yet another "K-K" match, the fifth and last, in 1990. I'll see about posting the full video of my ceremony and speech later. Today is a day to remember and celebrate with friends. Thank you everyone!
PS: I like to tell the story of how I was congratulated that day by the wife of former world champion Tigran Petrosian, Rona. I was expecting more kind words, but Rona said to me, "Garry, I feel sorry for you." What?! Sorry for me, now, the day I became the youngest world champion in history? "I feel sorry for you," she went on, "because the happiest day of your life is over." Wow! I couldn't believe it. I could imagine, after all, well, maybe she is right. But her words also gave me a new challenge in my life: to prove her wrong! If you always have new challenges, the happiest day of your life is never over."
You can check out the exclusive video footage that Garry published on his facebook page over here.
Let's have a look at the few defining moments from the games of the 1985 match between the reigning World Champion Anatoly Karpov and the challenger Garry Kasparov.
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.09.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E20"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
Bd2 Bxd2+ 9. Nxd2 Qb6 10. dxc5 Qxb2 11. Rb1 Qc3 12. Qd3 Qxd3 13. exd3 Na6 14.
d4 Rb8 15. Bg2 Ke7 16. Ke2 Rd8 17. Ne4 b6 18. Nd6 Nc7 19. Rb4 Ne8 20. Nxe8 Kxe8
21. Rhb1 Ba6 22. Ke3 d5 23. cxd6 Rbc8 24. Kd3 Rxd6 25. Ra4 b5 26. cxb5 Rb8 27.
Rab4 Bb7 28. Bxb7 Rxb7 29. a4 Ke7 30. h4 h6 31. f3 Rd5 32. Rc1 Rbd7 33. a5 g5
34. hxg5 Rxg5 35. g4 h5 36. b6 axb6 37. axb6 Rb7 38. Rc5 f5 39. gxh5 Rxh5 40.
Kc4 Rh8 41. Kb5 Ra8 42. Rbc4 1-0
Karpov struck back in the fourth game with a beautiful positional decision which each and every student of the game should be aware of:
The knight on d4 is so much superior to the bishop on e6. Yet Karpov took the dead piece on e6 with Nxe6 and after fxe6 made brilliant use of the light squares to launch a deadly attack on the black king. Here's the remainder of the game:
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.09.12"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D55"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/ppr2pp1/1q2bb1p/3p4/3N4/4P3/PP1RBPPP/1Q3RK1 w - - 0 21"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
Rf8 28. Bh5 b5 29. Bg6 Bd8 30. Bd3 b4 31. Qg4 Qe8 32. e4 Bg5 33. Rc2 Rxc2 34.
Bxc2 Qc6 35. Qe2 Qc5 36. Rf1 Qc3 37. exd5 exd5 38. Bb1 Qd2 39. Qe5 Rd8 40. Qf5
Kg8 41. Qe6+ Kh8 42. Qg6 Kg8 43. Qe6+ Kh8 44. Bf5 Qc3 45. Qg6 Kg8 46. Be6+ Kh8
47. Bf5 Kg8 48. g3 Kf8 49. Kg2 Qf6 50. Qh7 Qf7 51. h4 Bd2 52. Rd1 Bc3 53. Rd3
Rd6 54. Rf3 Ke7 55. Qh8 d4 56. Qc8 Rf6 57. Qc5+ Ke8 58. Rf4 Qb7+ 59. Re4+ Kf7
60. Qc4+ Kf8 61. Bh7 Rf7 62. Qe6 Qd7 63. Qe5 1-0
In the fifth game Karpov once again played a fine positional game in the Ruy Lopez with the black pieces to beat Kasparov. It was a smooth effort typical of Karpov's style:
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.09.14"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C92"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[Annotator "ChessBase"]
[PlyCount "82"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
O-O 9. h3 Bb7 10. d4 Re8 11. Nbd2 Bf8 12. a4 Qd7 13. axb5 axb5 14. Rxa8 Bxa8 (
14... Rxa8 $6 15. Ng5 $16) 15. d5 Na5 16. Ba2 $5 {N} c6 17. b4 Nb7 $1 18. c4
Rc8 $5 (18... Nd8 $14) 19. dxc6 $6 (19. c5 $13) (19. Bb2) (19. Qe2 Nd8 20. Bb2
bxc4 21. Nxc4 Qa7 $1 22. Ra1 cxd5 23. exd5 Bxd5 24. Nxd6 Bxd6 25. Bxd5 Qxa1+
26. Bxa1 Rc1+ 27. Kh2 Rxa1 $44) 19... Qxc6 $10 20. c5 $6 (20. Bb2) 20... Nd8
21. Bb2 dxc5 $1 $15 22. bxc5 Qxc5 23. Bxe5 Nd7 24. Bb2 Qb4 $1 25. Nb3 $6 (25.
Qb1) 25... Nc5 $17 26. Ba1 Bxe4 27. Nfd4 Ndb7 28. Qe2 Nd6 29. Nxc5 Qxc5 30. Qg4
Re8 31. Rd1 Bg6 32. Qf4 Qb4 33. Qc1 Be4 34. Re1 Qa5 35. Bb3 Qa8 36. Qb2 b4 37.
Re3 Bg6 38. Rxe8 Qxe8 39. Qc1 Ne4 40. Bd5 Nc5 41. Nb3 Nd3 0-1
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.10.01"]
[Round "11"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r3k1/pb1r1pp1/1pn2q1p/3B4/6Q1/P4NP1/1P3PP1/3RR1K1 b - - 0 22"]
[PlyCount "6"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.10.15"]
[Round "16"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B44"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[PlyCount "80"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. exd5 Nb4 11. Be2 Bc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Bf3 Bf5 14. Bg5 Re8
15. Qd2 b5 16. Rad1 Nd3 17. Nab1 h6 18. Bh4 b4 19. Na4 Bd6 20. Bg3 Rc8 21. b3
g5 22. Bxd6 Qxd6 23. g3 Nd7 24. Bg2 Qf6 25. a3 a5 26. axb4 axb4 27. Qa2 Bg6 28.
d6 g4 29. Qd2 Kg7 30. f3 Qxd6 31. fxg4 Qd4+ 32. Kh1 Nf6 33. Rf4 Ne4 34. Qxd3
Nf2+ 35. Rxf2 Bxd3 36. Rfd2 Qe3 37. Rxd3 Rc1 38. Nb2 Qf2 39. Nd2 Rxd1+ 40. Nxd1
Re1+ 0-1
After the 16th game, Kasparov was leading the match by a full point. He further strengthened his lead with a nice victory in the 19th game.
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.10.24"]
[Round "19"]
[White "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Black "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E21"]
[WhiteElo "2700"]
[BlackElo "2720"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
Bxc3 9. bxc3 Na5 10. c5 d6 11. c4 b6 12. Bd2 Nxd2 13. Nxd2 d5 14. cxd5 exd5 15.
e3 Be6 16. Qc3 Rf7 17. Rfc1 Rb8 18. Rab1 Re7 19. a4 Bf7 20. Bf1 h6 21. Bd3 Qd7
22. Qc2 Be6 23. Bb5 Qd8 24. Rd1 g5 25. Nf3 Rg7 26. Ne5 f4 27. Bf1 Qf6 28. Bg2
Rd8 29. e4 dxe4 30. Bxe4 Re7 31. Qc3 Bd5 32. Re1 Kg7 33. Ng4 Qf7 34. Bxd5 Rxd5
35. Rxe7 Qxe7 36. Re1 Qd8 37. Ne5 Qf6 38. cxb6 Qxb6 39. gxf4 Rxd4 40. Nf3 Nb3
41. Rb1 Qf6 42. Qxc7+ 1-0
With just five games to go it seemed as if it was all over. Kasparov was leading the match by two points and only needed 1.5 points out of the five rounds to win the title. But Karpov was not someone who would be going down easily. In the 22nd game, he beat Kasparov and thus narrowed his lead by just one point.
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.11.05"]
[Round "22"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[PlyCount "83"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
c6 9. g4 Bg6 10. Ne5 Nfd7 11. Nxg6 fxg6 12. Bg2 Nb6 13. O-O Kh8 14. Ne2 g5 15.
Bg3 Bd6 16. Qd3 Na6 17. b3 Qe7 18. Bxd6 Qxd6 19. f4 gxf4 20. exf4 Rae8 21. f5
Nc7 22. Rf2 Nd7 23. g5 Qe7 24. h4 Qe3 25. Rd1 Nb5 26. Qxe3 Rxe3 27. Kh2 Nb6 28.
Ng3 Nc8 29. Nf1 Re7 30. Rd3 Ncd6 31. Ng3 Ne4 32. Bxe4 dxe4 33. Re3 Nxd4 34. Kh3
Re5 35. Kg4 h5+ 36. Kxh5 Nxf5 37. Rxf5 Rfxf5 38. Nxf5 Rxf5 39. Rxe4 Kh7 40. Re7
b5 41. Rxa7 b4 42. Kg4 1-0
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1985.11.09"]
[Round "24"]
[White "Karpov, Anatoly"]
[Black "Kasparov, Garry"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B85"]
[WhiteElo "2720"]
[BlackElo "2700"]
[PlyCount "84"]
[EventDate "1985.09.03"]
[EventType "match"]
[EventRounds "24"]
[EventCountry "URS"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]
O-O 9. Kh1 Qc7 10. a4 Nc6 11. Be3 Re8 12. Bf3 Rb8 13. Qd2 Bd7 14. Nb3 b6 15. g4
Bc8 16. g5 Nd7 17. Qf2 Bf8 18. Bg2 Bb7 19. Rad1 g6 20. Bc1 Rbc8 21. Rd3 Nb4 22.
Rh3 Bg7 23. Be3 Re7 24. Kg1 Rce8 25. Rd1 f5 26. gxf6 Nxf6 27. Rg3 Rf7 28. Bxb6
Qb8 29. Be3 Nh5 30. Rg4 Nf6 31. Rh4 g5 32. fxg5 Ng4 33. Qd2 Nxe3 34. Qxe3 Nxc2
35. Qb6 Ba8 36. Rxd6 Rb7 37. Qxa6 Rxb3 38. Rxe6 Rxb2 39. Qc4 Kh8 40. e5 Qa7+
41. Kh1 Bxg2+ 42. Kxg2 Nd4+ 0-1