Kasparov beats Karpov in rerun of 1984 chess clash

Reuters
Fri Sep 25, 2009 10:16am EDT

MADRID (Reuters Life!) – Russian chess legend Gary Kasparov has won a
re-match of his classic 1984 world championship contest with compatriot
Anatoly Karpov, ending a 12-match clash in the Spanish city of Valencia 9-3.

In relaxed surroundings worlds away from the original clash — played out
amid Cold War tension which had converted Kasparov into a western favorite
— Kasparov won five speed matches in the final eight-match clash late on
Thursday.

The players plan to play again in Paris in December, a spokeswoman for the
Valencia regional government said.

In 1984 Kasparov, now 46 and a leading opponent of Russian Prime Minister
Vladimimir Putin, waged an epic battle with then reigning champion Karpov,
now 58, which was called off after 48 matches because of concern over the
players’ health.

Kasparov said the 1984 match was called off to save Karpov from defeat —
and a nervous breakdown — as the match had come to symbolize the competing
forces then at play in the Soviet Union. Karpov was a darling of the Soviet
establishment.

By the time the 1984 match was halted, Karpov had won five games and
Kasparov three, with 40 draws. Both said they wanted to play on.

(Reporting by Jason Webb, editing by Tim Pearce)