# FIDE World Chess Championship 1996

The FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 was a chess tournament held by FIDE to determine the World Chess Champion.

## Background

At the time the World Chess Champion title was split.
In 1993, Nigel Short had qualified via FIDE's usual format to meet champion Garry Kasparov in a championship match. However, Kasparov and Short broke with FIDE and played under the auspices of a new organization which they had organized, the Professional Chess Association (PCA). Kasparov won this match to remain champion.
With its two top players withdrawn, FIDE awarded the two slots in its 1993 championship match to Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman, both of whom had been defeated in earlier qualification rounds by Short. Karpov won the match to become the FIDE World Champion.
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 was FIDE's first since the 1993 split. Meanwhile, the PCA held its Classical World Chess Championship 1995, in which Kasparov defeated Viswanathan Anand to retain his title.
Many of the same players competed in both organization's qualifying events. However, Kasparov and Short did not compete in the FIDE event.

## 1993 Interzonal tournament

FIDE held an Interzonal tournament in Biel in July 1993, run as a 73 player, 13 round Swiss system tournament.
The top 10 from the Interzonal qualified for a Championship tournament. In the event of a tie break, players were ranked by the sum of their opponents' Elo ratings, excluding the lowest rating.
    1993 FIDE Interzonal Tournament Rating12345678910111213TotalTie break 1 GM Boris Gelfand (Belarus)2670=35+49=6+39=3+43=2+10+17=5=13=9=79 2 GM Paul van der Sterren (Netherlands)2525=51=41+71+31+26=13=1=6=4=7+17=8=38½31545 3 GM Gata Kamsky (United States)2645+12=25+47=28=1=16+32=4+6=17=5=7=28½31470 4 GM Alexander Khalifman (Russia)2645+58=43+45+8-10=6+24=3=2=16+26=5=98½31390 5 GM Michael Adams (England)2630-44+60-22+68+62+65+28+9=7=1=3=4=68½31345 6 GM Leonid Yudasin (Israel)2605+67=44=1=36+48=4+23=2-3=11+29+13=58½31340 7 GM Valery Salov (Russia)2685=49+71=31+55+42+24=10-17=5=2+21=3=18½31285 8 GM Joël Lautier (France)2620+26+62=17-4=22=21+33=16=9=15+27=2+248½31280 9 GM Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)2710-45+19=35+38+55+37=17-5=8+31+16=1=48½31240 10 GM Viswanathan Anand (India)2725=16=22+44+25+4=17=7-1=21=27=18+28=11831435 11 GM Vladimir Epishin (Russia)2655=18=35=38=45=41=36+42+39=13=6=24+15=10831305 12 GM Smbat Lputian (Armenia)2555-3+70-39+71=31=56-14+55=20+52=51+40+32831275 13 GM Alexei Shirov (Latvia)2685=65+53=32=22+47=2=16=29=11+23=1-6+21831195 14 GM Vassily Ivanchuk (Ukraine)2705=22=16=21=65=25=47+12=37=23=29+33=24+27831125 15 GM Ivan Sokolov (Bosnia and Herzegovina)2610+66=23+57-17=21=22=37=27+36=8+35-11+30831030 16 GM Lajos Portisch (Hungary)2585=10=14=40+44+56=3=13=8+29=4-9=18=207½31855 17 GM Evgeny Bareev (Russia)2660+38+39=8+15=24=10=9+7-1=3-2=21=187½31580 18 GM Evgeny Sveshnikov (Latvia)2570=11=29+20-37=50-33+70+43=28+45=10=16=177½31515 19 GM Bosko Abramovic (Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)2460=47-9+53+33=29-26=56+59-31+46=37+45=227½31140 20 GM Judit Polgár (Hungary)2630=34=46-18=27+58=41-35+57=12+43=31+26=167½30850 21 GM Alexey Dreev (Russia)2570+40-24=14+52=15=8+43=31=10+22-7=17-13731795 22 GM Patrick Wolff (United States)2585=14=10+5=13=8=15=31=40+52-21-28+56=19731700 23 GM Yasser Seirawan (United States)2575+63=15=51=56+36=28-6+24=14-13=40=31=33731625 24 GM Mikhail Gurevich (Belgium)2605+69+21=28+43=17-7-4-23+44+39=11=14-8731465 25 GM Lembit Oll (Estonia)2595+70=3=56-10=14-40=46=34=38+65-30+63+51731415 26 GM Dibyendu Barua (India)2510-8+63+41+51-2+19-29+32=35+40-4-20=28731405 27 GM Jeroen Piket (Netherlands)2590-71+59-42=20+61+52=40=15+56=10-8+38-14731360 28 GM Viktor Korchnoi (Switzerland)2625+30+42=24=3=37=23-5-35=18+41+22-10=26731225 29 GM Boris Gulko (United States)2635=46=18=58+35=19=42+26=13-16=14-6+43=31731120 30 IM Xu Jun (China)2535-28=68+72=50-39-51+62+65=32=36+25+37-15730985 31 GM Robert Hübner (Germany)2605+60=57=7-2=12+55=22=21+19-9=20=23=29730980 32 GM Jóhann Hjartarson (Iceland)2605+59=55=13-42+45+39-3-26=30=51+49+35-12730970 33 GM Julio Granda (Peru)2605-55=61+49-19+34+18-8+51=45=35-14+47=23730930 34 GM Ye Jiangchuan (China)2535=20-48=68=46-33+69=57=25=47=42+65=36+45730880 35 GM Eric Lobron (Germany)2575=1=11=9-29+46=48+20+28=26=33-15-32=386½31480 36 GM Vasily Smyslov (Russia)2520=48=37+62=6-23=11=38+41-15=30=52=34=406½31260 37 GM Jon Speelman (England)2605=54=36+46+18=28-9=15=14-40+56=19-30=416½31165 38 IM Ilya Gurevich (United States)2575-17+67=11-9+69=50=36-56=25+44+39-27=356½31155 39 GM Zdenko Kožul (Bosnia and Herzegovina)2595+64-17+12-1+30-32+65-11+42-24-38=48+616½31150 40 GM Kiril Georgiev (Bulgaria)2660-21+66=16+57-43+25=27=22+37-26=23-12=366½30835 41 GM Curt Hansen (Denmark)2590=72=2-26+73=11=20=48-36+66-28+61=51=376½30735 42 GM Evgeny Pigusov (Russia)2585+74*-28+27+32-7=29-11=48-39=34=46=52=49631305 43 GM Ian Rogers (Australia)2595+68=4+48-24+40-1-21-18+59-20+66-29=50631195 44 GM Ľubomír Ftáčnik (Slovakia)2535+5=6-10-16=57+62+50-52-24-38=67=58+68631130 45 GM Loek van Wely (Netherlands)2585+9=50-4=11-32=70+60+47=33-18+48-19-34631090 46 GM Vasil Spasov (Bulgaria)2540=29=20-37=34-35+73=25+50=48-19=42=62=47631040 47 GM Vladimir Akopian (Armenia)2600=19+54-3+61-13=14=51-45=34=50+55-33=46630995 48 GM Jaan Ehlvest (Estonia)2620=36+34-43+58-6=35=41=42=46=49-45=39=52630985 49 GM Jesús Nogueiras (Cuba)2580=7-1-33=60=70+66=55=58+53=48-32=50=42630910 50 GM Simen Agdestein (Norway)2610+61=45-55=30=18=38-44-46+63=47=56=49=43630910 51 GM Predrag Nikolić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)2625=2+72=23-26-65+30=47-33+58=32=12=41-25630840 52 GM Ilya Smirin (Israel)2640-57=69+73-21+63-27+53+44-22-12=36=42=48630800 53 IM Artur Frolov (Ukraine)2535=56-13-19-69+72+71-52+64-49=59-63bye+66630320 54 IM Darcy Lima (Brazil)2475=37-47-65=67-73=68+69=71=57-66bye+59=63630105 55 GM Walter Arencibia (Cuba)2485+33=32+50-7-9-31=49-12+71=62-47=68=565½30935 56 GM Miguel Illescas (Spain)2625=53+65=25=23-16=12=19+38-27-37=50-22=555½30880 57 GM Vidmantas Mališauskas (Lithuania)2540+52=31-15-40=44=59=34-20=54=58=68=66=625½30820 58 GM Ferdinand Hellers (Sweden)2560-4+64=29-48-20=67+72=49-51=57=59=44=605½30690 59 FM Tigran Nalbandian (Armenia)2485-32-27+64-62+68=57+63-19-43=53=58-54bye5½30505 60 IM Lucas Brunner (Switzerland)2475-31-5=66=49=71+61-45=68-65bye=62=64=585½30335 61 GM Alex Sherzer (United States)2500-50=33+69-47-27-60-68+73bye+64-41+67-395½30325 62 GM Semen Dvoirys (Russia)2590+73-8-36+59-5-44-30=67+70=55=60=46=575½30285 63 GM Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)2650-23-26+67=70-52=64-59+72-50+73+53-25=545½30225 64 IM Hichem Hamdouchi (Morocco)2455-39-58-59bye=66=63+73-53=68-61+70=60=655½30200 65 GM Dmitry Gurevich (United States)2575=13-56+54=14+51-5-39-30+60-25-34=69=64530965 66 IM Giorgi Bagaturov (Georgia)2495-15-40=60=72=64-49+67+70-41+54-43=57-53530435 67 IM Amanmurad Kakagaldyev (Turkmenistan)2465-6-38-63=54bye=58-66=62+69=68=44-61=72530330 68 IM Werner Hug (Switzerland)2430-43=30=34-5-59=54+61=60=64=67=57=55-44530255 69 IM Alexandre Lesiège (Canada)2485-24=52-61+53-38-34-54bye-67=72=73=65+71530070 70 IM Pablo Zarnicki (Argentina)2455-25-12bye=63=49=45-18-66-62+71-64=72=734½30270 71 David Gluckman (South Africa)2330+27-7-2-12=60-53bye=54-55-70=72+73-694½30110 72 IM Nikolaos Kalesis (Greece)2410=41-51-30=66-53bye-58-63-73=69=71=70=67430170 73 IM Konstantinos Moutousis (Greece)2425-62bye-52-41+54-46-64-61+72-63=69-71=70430140 74 Esam Aly Ahmed (Egypt)2320-42*0
Esam Aly Ahmed forfeited his first-round game against Pigusov and was dropped from the tournament.

## 1994–96 Championship tournament

The top 10 from the Interzonal were joined by 1993 FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov, 1993 FIDE runner-up Jan Timman, and 1993 Candidates semi-finalist Artur Yusupov. (The other 1993 semi-finalist was the excluded Nigel Short).
The first round matches were held in Wijk aan Zee in January 1994, and the second round matches and third round matches in Sanghi Nagar in July–August 1994 and February 1995, respectively. If tied after the specified number of games (which happened only in the Kamsky-Anand match), rapid chess games were played as tie breaks.
The format was a departure from all previous world championships, in that the reigning champion (Karpov) was not seeded directly into a championship match. Instead, he joined the competition at the third round (Candidates final).
| First round (best of 8) | First round (best of 8) | First round (best of 8) | Second round (best of 8) | Second round (best of 8) | Second round (best of 8) | Third round (best of 10) | Third round (best of 10) | Third round (best of 10) | | Championship match | Championship match | Championship match |
| Gata Kamsky | Gata Kamsky | 4½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Paul van der Sterren | Paul van der Sterren | 2½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Paul van der Sterren | Paul van der Sterren | 2½ | Gata Kamsky | Gata Kamsky | 6 | | | | | | | |
| | | | Viswanathan Anand | Viswanathan Anand | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Viswanathan Anand | Viswanathan Anand | 4½ | Viswanathan Anand | Viswanathan Anand | 4 | | | | | | | |
| Artur Yusupov | Artur Yusupov | 2½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Artur Yusupov | Artur Yusupov | 2½ | | | | Gata Kamsky | Gata Kamsky | 5½ | | | | |
| | | | | | | Valery Salov | Valery Salov | 1½ | | | | |
| Jan Timman | Jan Timman | 4½ | | | | | | | Valery Salov | Valery Salov | 1½ | | | | |
| Joël Lautier | Joël Lautier | 3½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Joël Lautier | Joël Lautier | 3½ | Jan Timman | Jan Timman | 3½ | | | | | | | |
| | | | Valery Salov | Valery Salov | 4½ | | | | | | | |
| Alexander Khalifman | Alexander Khalifman | 1 | Valery Salov | Valery Salov | 4½ | | | | | | | |
| Valery Salov | Valery Salov | 5 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Valery Salov | Valery Salov | 5 | | | | | | | | Gata Kamsky | Gata Kamsky | 7½ |
| | | | | | | | | | | Anatoly Karpov | Anatoly Karpov | 10½ |
| Boris Gelfand | Boris Gelfand | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | Anatoly Karpov | Anatoly Karpov | 10½ |
| Michael Adams | Michael Adams | 3 | | | | | | | | | | |
| Michael Adams | Michael Adams | 3 | Boris Gelfand | Boris Gelfand | 4½ | | | | | | | |
| | | | Vladimir Kramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 3½ | | | | | | | |
| Leonid Yudasin | Leonid Yudasin | 2½ | Vladimir Kramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 3½ | | | | | | | |
| Vladimir Kramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 4½ | | | | | | | | | | |
| Vladimir Kramnik | Vladimir Kramnik | 4½ | | | | Boris Gelfand | Boris Gelfand | 3 | | | | |
| | | | | | | Anatoly Karpov | Anatoly Karpov | 6 | | | | |

## 1996 Championship match

The final was held in Elista, Russia in June–July 1996 and played as best of 20 games.
    FIDE World Chess Championship Match 1996 Rating123456789101112131415161718Total  Anatoly Karpov (Russia)2770 10½1½11½10½½½1½0½½10½  Gata Kamsky (United States)2735 01½0½00½01 ½½½0½1½½7½
Karpov won and retained his title.