The Schism: Two World Chess Champions (1993-1996)

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The Schism: Two World Chess Champions (1993-1996)

In 1993, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short announced that they would play their title match outside of FIDE.

Introduction - Two World Champions and two World Championships: 26 February 1993: Only a few days after FIDE President Campomanes had awarded the forthcoming World Chess Championship match to Manchester, England, the two adversaries -- World Champion Garry Kasparov and challenger Nigel Short -- announced that they would play their title match outside the jurisdiction of FIDE. Their decision and subsequent events created a schism in the World Championship which continued long afterwards. It was a defining event in the chess world.
Kasparov's dispute with FIDE: Kasparov had an ongoing dispute with Campomanes since February 1985, when the Filipino cancelled the first title match between Kasparov and then World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Just when Kasparov had succeeded in winning two straight games, Campomanes stopped the match after 48 games. Campomanes later granted Karpov a rematch clause, meaning that Karpov would retain the title if he won either of the next two matches. • See also FIDE World Championship 1948-1990.
Short's dispute with FIDE: Short had surprised most of the chess world when he clawed his way through a 64-player Interzonal and four Candidate matches to emerge as Kasparov's challenger. At the time FIDE announced its decision for Manchester, Short was en route to Greece with his family, unable to be contacted. FIDE rules required that he be consulted and he expected the discussion to take place as soon as he was available. He was shocked when FIDE announced its decision only one day after the bidding period had closed.
The Schism: After arriving in Athens, Short called Kasparov at the GM tournament in Linares and suggested that they play their match outside FIDE. Kasparov replied, 'I have been waiting eight years for this moment.' Shortly afterwards the players announced that they would 'play under the auspices of a new body, the Professional Chess Association' (PCA). Less than a month later, they held a press conference in London to open sealed bids for the match. The eventual venue would be London.
FIDE's reaction: In response to the announcement of the PCA, FIDE said that it had 'legal title to the World Championship and will take all necessary legal steps to protect those rights'. After granting Kasparov one month to reconsider, it stripped him of his FIDE title and dropped Kasparov and Short from the official rating list. It also announced a match between Karpov and Jan Timman, the players whom Short had defeated in the semifinal and final stages of the most recent Candidate match series.
Kasparov - Short match: The 24-game PCA title match, sponsored by The Times of London, started in September 1993 at the Savoy Theater. Kasparov won five of the first nine games and held the lead until he had won the match after 20 games (+6-1=13). During the match, the PCA announced that the qualifying tournament for the next PCA cycle would be held in December. The first seven players in Groningen, plus the loser of the London title match, would then be seeded into a series of Candidate matches.
Karpov - Timman match: The 24-game FIDE title match was beset by difficulties. The first half of the match would be held in the Netherlands on the condition that Oman hosted the second half. After the match started in September 1993, it emerged that the Dutch organizers did not have the agreed funds. The Oman organizers refused to continue with the second half, and dropped their commitment for funding. After a delay of several weeks the match continued in Jakarta, funded by FIDE. Karpov won +6-2=13.
PCA's first cycle: The PCA announced the sponsorship of Intel Corporation in February 1994. The first PCA Qualifier, an 11-round, 54-player event was held December 1993 in Groningen, Netherlands. The winners Adams and Anand joined the next five players plus Short in a series of knockout matches held in New York (June 1994), Linares (September), and Las Palmas (March 1995). After Anand eliminated Adams and Kamsky beat Short in the semifinal matches, Anand beat Kamsky +3-1=7, winning the right to challenge Kasparov.
FIDE's 1994-1996 cycle: Gelfand won the FIDE Interzonal, a 13-round, 73 player event held July 1993 in Biel, Switzerland. He and nine other qualifiers joined Timman and Yusupov in a series of six quarterfinal matches (January 1994 in Wijk aan Zee), three semifinal matches (July in Sanghi Nagar), and, after being joined by Karpov, two final matches (February 1995 in Sanghi Nagar). Karpov beat Gelfand and Kamsky beat Salov to qualify for the next FIDE World Championship match.
FIDE's fortunes fall then rise. PCA's rise then fall; it dies. The Schism lives: FIDE's troubles continued. In April 1994, the Greek Federation reported that it could not guarantee financing for the 1994 Olympiad in Thessalonika. The venue was later moved to Moscow. Despite early opposition, but with the backing of Kasparov, Campomanes was re-elected President at the 65th FIDE Congress, which coincided with the Olympiad.
The PCA was doing better. In 1994, it organized the Intel Grand Prix, a series of tournaments held in Moscow, New York, London, and Paris. In early 1995, it announced that the event would be repeated and that a series of 'Super Classic' tournaments would be held, outside the sponsorship of Intel.
Kasparov won the title match against Anand (+4-1=13), played on the Observation Deck at the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Rudolph Giuliani, the mayor of New York, made the first move.
In 1995, FIDE was unable to organize the Karpov - Kamsky title match. One deadline passed on 1 July, another on 15 September, with no bids from potential organizers. Issues of financial and political irregularities arose. At the 66th FIDE Congress, held November in Paris, Campomanes announced that he would resign if succeeded by Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of Kalmykia. The delegates elected the newcomer president for one year.
March 1996: Ilyumzhinov announced that the FIDE title match would be held in Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. Department of State said that Kamsky was not allowed to travel there on a U.S. passport, and it was hastily rescheduled for Elista, the capital of Kalmykia. Karpov beat Kamsky (+6-3=9) to retain the FIDE title. At the 67th FIDE Congress in October, Ilyumzhinov was re-elected FIDE President.
January 1996: Kasparov announced that the contract with Intel was finished. 'I've had enough of being a slave to Intel for the benefit of the other players.' A Kremlin Stars event was held April in Moscow, and a Credit Suisse Masters, PCA Grand Prix, August in Geneva. Other scheduled tournaments were quietly cancelled in September.

The Schism: Two World Chess Champions (1993-1996)
In 1993, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short announced that they would play their title match outside of FIDE.
Introduction - Two World Champions and two World Championships: 26 February 1993: Only a few days after FIDE President Campomanes had awarded the forthcoming World Chess Championship match to Manchester, England, the two adversaries -- World Champion Garry Kasparov and challenger Nigel Short -- announced that they would play their title match outside the jurisdiction of FIDE. Their decision and subsequent events created a schism in the World Championship which continued long afterwards. It was a defining event in the chess world. Kasparov's dispute with FIDE: Kasparov had an ongoing dispute with Campomanes since February 1985, when the Filipino cancelled the first title match between Kasparov and then World Champion Anatoly Karpov. Just when Kasparov had succeeded in winning two straight games, Campomanes stopped the match after 48 games. Campomanes later granted Karpov a rematch clause, meaning that Karpov would retain the title if he won either of the next two matches. • See also FIDE World Championship 1948-1990. Short's dispute with FIDE: Short had surprised most of the chess world when he clawed his way through a 64-player Interzonal and four Candidate matches to emerge as Kasparov's challenger. At the time FIDE announced its decision for Manchester, Short was en route to Greece with his family, unable to be contacted. FIDE rules required that he be consulted and he expected the discussion to take place as soon as he was available. He was shocked when FIDE announced its decision only one day after the bidding period had closed. The Schism: After arriving in Athens, Short called Kasparov at the GM tournament in Linares and suggested that they play their match outside FIDE. Kasparov replied, 'I have been waiting eight years for this moment.' Shortly afterwards the players announced that they would 'play under the auspices of a new body, the Professional Chess Association' (PCA). Less than a month later, they held a press conference in London to open sealed bids for the match. The eventual venue would be London. FIDE's reaction: In response to the announcement of the PCA, FIDE said that it had 'legal title to the World Championship and will take all necessary legal steps to protect those rights'. After granting Kasparov one month to reconsider, it stripped him of his FIDE title and dropped Kasparov and Short from the official rating list. It also announced a match between Karpov and Jan Timman, the players whom Short had defeated in the semifinal and final stages of the most recent Candidate match series. Kasparov - Short match: The 24-game PCA title match, sponsored by The Times of London, started in September 1993 at the Savoy Theater. Kasparov won five of the first nine games and held the lead until he had won the match after 20 games (+6-1=13). During the match, the PCA announced that the qualifying tournament for the next PCA cycle would be held in December. The first seven players in Groningen, plus the loser of the London title match, would then be seeded into a series of Candidate matches. Karpov - Timman match: The 24-game FIDE title match was beset by difficulties. The first half of the match would be held in the Netherlands on the condition that Oman hosted the second half. After the match started in September 1993, it emerged that the Dutch organizers did not have the agreed funds. The Oman organizers refused to continue with the second half, and dropped their commitment for funding. After a delay of several weeks the match continued in Jakarta, funded by FIDE. Karpov won +6-2=13. PCA's first cycle: The PCA announced the sponsorship of Intel Corporation in February 1994. The first PCA Qualifier, an 11-round, 54-player event was held December 1993 in Groningen, Netherlands. The winners Adams and Anand joined the next five players plus Short in a series of knockout matches held in New York (June 1994), Linares (September), and Las Palmas (March 1995). After Anand eliminated Adams and Kamsky beat Short in the semifinal matches, Anand beat Kamsky +3-1=7, winning the right to challenge Kasparov. FIDE's 1994-1996 cycle: Gelfand won the FIDE Interzonal, a 13-round, 73 player event held July 1993 in Biel, Switzerland. He and nine other qualifiers joined Timman and Yusupov in a series of six quarterfinal matches (January 1994 in Wijk aan Zee), three semifinal matches (July in Sanghi Nagar), and, after being joined by Karpov, two final matches (February 1995 in Sanghi Nagar). Karpov beat Gelfand and Kamsky beat Salov to qualify for the next FIDE World Championship match. FIDE's fortunes fall then rise. PCA's rise then fall; it dies. The Schism lives: FIDE's troubles continued. In April 1994, the Greek Federation reported that it could not guarantee financing for the 1994 Olympiad in Thessalonika. The venue was later moved to Moscow. Despite early opposition, but with the backing of Kasparov, Campomanes was re-elected President at the 65th FIDE Congress, which coincided with the Olympiad. The PCA was doing better. In 1994, it organized the Intel Grand Prix, a series of tournaments held in Moscow, New York, London, and Paris. In early 1995, it announced that the event would be repeated and that a series of 'Super Classic' tournaments would be held, outside the sponsorship of Intel. Kasparov won the title match against Anand (+4-1=13), played on the Observation Deck at the 107th floor of the World Trade Center. Rudolph Giuliani, the mayor of New York, made the first move. In 1995, FIDE was unable to organize the Karpov - Kamsky title match. One deadline passed on 1 July, another on 15 September, with no bids from potential organizers. Issues of financial and political irregularities arose. At the 66th FIDE Congress, held November in Paris, Campomanes announced that he would resign if succeeded by Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, President of Kalmykia. The delegates elected the newcomer president for one year. March 1996: Ilyumzhinov announced that the FIDE title match would be held in Baghdad, Iraq. The U.S. Department of State said that Kamsky was not allowed to travel there on a U.S. passport, and it was hastily rescheduled for Elista, the capital of Kalmykia. Karpov beat Kamsky (+6-3=9) to retain the FIDE title. At the 67th FIDE Congress in October, Ilyumzhinov was re-elected FIDE President. January 1996: Kasparov announced that the contract with Intel was finished. 'I've had enough of being a slave to Intel for the benefit of the other players.' A Kremlin Stars event was held April in Moscow, and a Credit Suisse Masters, PCA Grand Prix, August in Geneva. Other scheduled tournaments were quietly cancelled in September.