Garry Kasparov vs Viswanathan Anand, Chess Classics Giants

Round 6 of the 1998 Chess Classics Giants exhibition match was a draw between Kasparov and Anand. The Chess Classics Giants was an exhibition tournament held in 1998 featuring Kasparov, Anand, and Kramnik in a triangular round-robin format.

The Kasparov-Anand pairing was particularly anticipated. They had played a World Championship match in New York 1995 (won by Kasparov 10.5-7.5); Anand was widely seen as the strongest non-PCA challenger of the period. The 1998 exhibition was the first major event between them after their 1995 encounter.

The draw was a balanced positional game in a Spanish Opening structure. Both players had clearly studied each other’s preparation extensively; the middlegame produced no clear winning chances for either side; the endgame was drawn around move 40.

The exhibition format of Chess Classics Giants was a precursor to the elite invitational events that became common in the 2000s. The format — small field, classical time control, double round-robin — was used by several subsequent events including the Linares super-tournaments through 2003-2007. The 1998 edition was won by Kramnik, with Kasparov second and Anand third.

Game record

This game between Kasparov, Garry and Anand, Viswanathan was played at the Chess Classics Giants in Frankfurt in 1998. Played in round 6. At the time of the game, the players were rated 2825 (White) and 2770 (Black). The game lasted 23 moves, ending with a drawn outcome. It is part of the late-Soviet and Cold-War chess era.

Opening context

The opening sequence runs 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6, after which the players entered the middlegame proper.

See also

For more on this game’s protagonists and theory, see Kasparov, Garry and Anand, Viswanathan.

Match notes

This Chess Classics Giants game sits in Kasparov dominance and the PCA split. Master-level chess of the period was published in tournament bulletins, magazine annotations, and — for the most-studied games — in published opening monographs by the participants and their successors. This game is preserved in the open historical record and can be replayed in full above.