World Chess Championship 1987 World Chess Championship 1987 The 1987 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Seville from October 12 to December 19, 1987. Before the 24th game, Kasparov was down 12-11, but in the 24th game, Kasparov made a comeback by using the English Opening to win the final game to retain his title. Three Interzonal tournaments were held in 1985 in Tunis, Taxco, and Biel, with four players qualifying from each. Yusupov, Beliavsky, and Portisch qualified outright, while Chernin beat Gavrikov 3½-2½ in a Moscow playoff to take the fourth spot. Slim Bouaziz also started the
World Chess Championship in later life, dated his reign from this 1866 match. In 1878, Johannes Zukertort won the Paris 1878 chess tournament (though Steinitz did not play), and later won the London 1883 chess tournament by a convincing 3 point margin, ahead of nearly every leading player in the world, including Steinitz. This tournament established Steinitz and Zukertort as the best two players in the world, and led to the inaugural World Championship match between these two, the World Chess Championship 1886. This match, won by Steinitz, though not held under the aegis of any official body, is generally recognized as the