The Candidates Tournament was a triennial chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The winner of the Candidates earned the right to a match for the World Championship against the incumbent World Champion. The number of players in the tournament varied over the years, between eight and fifteen players. Most of these qualified from Interzonal tournaments, though some gained direct entry without having to play the Interzonal. The first Interzonal/Candidates World Championship cycle began in 1948. Before 1965, the tournament was organized in a round-robin format. From 1965 on, the tournament was played as knockout matches, spread over several months. In 1995-1996, the defending FIDE champion (Anatoly Karpov) also entered the Candidates, in the semi-finals, so the winner was the FIDE world champion. FIDE discontinued the Candidates tournaments after 1996, though they have returned in a different form for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007. During its 1993 to 2006 split from FIDE, the "Classical" World Championship also held three candidates tournaments (in 1994-1995, 1998 and 2002) under a different sponsor and a different format each time. In one of these cases (Alexei Shirov in 1998) no title match eventuated, under disputed circumstances (see Classical World Chess Championship 2000). [edit] Results of Candidates Tournaments The tables below show the qualifiers and results for all interzonal, Candidates and world championship tournaments. Players shown bracketed in italics (like this) qualified for the Candidates or were seeded in the Candidates, but did not play. Players shown in italics with an asterisk (like: Stein*) were excluded in 1962 and 1965 from the Candidates by a rule limiting the number of players from one country. Players listed after players in italics only qualified due to the non-participation of the bracketed players. The "Seeded into Final" column usually refers to the incumbent champion, but this has a different meaning for the World Chess Championship 1948, in which five players were seeded into the championship tournament, the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in which eight players were seeded into the final championship tournament, and the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in which four players were seeded into the final championship tournament. [edit] 1948-1996: Interzonal and Candidates tournaments | Years | Interzonal Format | Interzonal Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final | | 1948 | None | Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Euwe | The Hague/Moscow 1948
5 players,
quintuple round robin,
1. Botvinnik 14 / 20
2. Smyslov 11
3.-4. Keres, Reshevsky 10.5 | | 1948–51 | Saltsjöbaden 1948
20 players,
single round robin, 8 qualified | 1. Bronstein, 2. Szabo, 3. Boleslavsky, 4. Kotov, 5. Lilienthal,
6.-9. Najdorf, Ståhlberg, (Bondarevsky[1]), Flohr | Smyslov, Keres
(Euwe, Fine, Reshevsky) | Budapest 1950
10 players,
double round robin
1.-2. Boleslavsky, Bronstein | Bronstein (after playoff match against Boleslavsky) | Botvinnik (1948 champion) | Moscow 1951
Drawn 12–12,
Botvinnik retained title | | 1952–54 | Stockholm 1952
21 players,
single round robin, 8 qualified | 1. Kotov, 2.-3. Taimanov, Petrosian, 4. Geller,
5.-8. Averbakh, Ståhlberg, Szabo, Gligoric | Bronstein, Boleslavsky, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, Najdorf,[2] Euwe[3] | Zürich 1953
15 players,
double round robin | Smyslov | Botvinnik (1951 champion) | Moscow 1954
Drawn 12–12,
Botvinnik retained title | | 1955–57 | Göteborg 1955
21 players,
single round robin, 9 qualified | 1. Bronstein, 2. Keres, 3. Panno, 4. Petrosian, 5.-6. Geller, Szabo, 7-9. Filip, Pilnik, Spassky | Smyslov | Amsterdam 1956
10 players,
double round robin | Smyslov | Botvinnik (1954 champion) | Moscow 1957
Smyslov won 12.5–9.5 | | 1958 | rematch | Botvinnik, Smyslov | Moscow 1958
Botvinnik won 12.5–10.5 | | 1958–60 | Portorož 1958
21 players,
single round robin, 6 qualified | 1. Tal, 2. Gligorić,
3.-4. Petrosian, Benko,
5.-6. Olafsson, Fischer | Smyslov, Keres | Yugoslavia[4] 1959
8 players,
quadruple round robin | Tal | Botvinnik (1958 champion) | Moscow 1960
Tal won 12.5–8.5 | | 1961 | rematch | Botvinnik, Tal | Moscow 1961
Botvinnik won 13–8 | | 1962–63 | Stockholm 1962
23 players,
single round robin, 6 qualified | 1. Fischer,
2.-3. Geller, Petrosian,
4.-5. Korchnoi, Filip,
6.-8. Stein*, Benko[5] | Tal, Keres | Curaçao 1962
8 players,
quadruple round robin | Petrosian | Botvinnik (1961 champion) | Moscow 1963
Petrosian won 12.5–9.5 | | 1964–66 | Amsterdam 1964
24 players,
single round robin, 6 qualified | 1.-4. Smyslov, Larsen, Spassky, Tal,
5. Stein*, 6. Bronstein*,
7. Ivkov,
8.-9. Portisch[6] | Keres, (Botvinnik), Geller | 1965:
8 players, matches | Spassky
beat Tal in the final | Petrosian (1963 champion) | Moscow 1966
Petrosian won 12.5–11.5 | | 1967–69 | Sousse 1967
23 players,
single round robin, 6 qualified | 1. Larsen,
2.-4. Korchnoi, Geller, Gligorić,
5. Portisch,
6.-8. Reshevsky[7] | Spassky, Tal | 1968:
8 players, matches | Spassky
beat Korchnoi in the final | Petrosian (1966 champion) | Moscow 1969
Spassky won 12.5–10.5 | | 1970–72 | Palma de Mallorca 1970
24 players,
single round robin, 6 qualified | 1. Fischer,
2.-4. Larsen, Geller, Hübner, 5.-6. Taimanov, Uhlmann | Petrosian, Korchnoi | 1971:
8 players, matches | Fischer
beat Petrosian in the final | Spassky (1969 champion) | Reykjavík 1972
Fischer won 12.5–8.5 | | 1973–75 | 1973:
Two 18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each | Leningrad 1973:
1.-2. Korchnoi, Karpov,
3. Byrne;
Petropolis 1973:
1.Mecking,
2.-4.: Portisch,
Polugaevsky[8] | Spassky, Petrosian | 1974:
8 players, matches | Karpov
beat Korchnoi in the final | Fischer (1972 champion) | 1975:
Karpov won on forfeit | | 1976–78 | 1976:
Two 20 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each | Biel 1976:
1. Larsen,
2.-4. Petrosian, Portisch[9]
Manila 1976:
1. Mecking,
2.-3. Polugaevsky, Hort | Korchnoi, (Fischer), Spassky | 1977-78:
8 players, matches | Korchnoi
beat Spassky in the final (1977-78) | Karpov (1975 champion) | Baguio City 1978
Karpov won 6–5
(draws not counting) | | 1979–81 | 1979:
Two 18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each | Riga 1979:
1.-2. Tal, Polugaevsky,
3.-4. Adorján[10];
Rio de Janeiro 1979:
1.-3. Portisch, Petrosian, Hübner | Korchnoi, Spassky | 1980:
8 players, matches | Korchnoi
beat Hübner in the final | Karpov (1978 champion) | Meran 1981
Karpov won 6–2
(draws not counting) | | 1982–85 | 1982:
Three 14 players, single round robin Interzonals; 2 qualified from each | Las Palmas 1982:
1. Ribli, 2. Smyslov;
Moscow 1982:
1. Kasparov, 2. Beliavsky;
Toluca 1982:
1.-2. Portisch, Torre | Korchnoi, Hübner | 1983-84:
8 players, matches | Kasparov
beat Smyslov in the final (1984) | Karpov (1981 champion) | Moscow 1984-85
Unlimited match abandoned after 48 games with Karpov leading 5–3
(draws not counting) | | 1985 | replay : Karpov, Kasparov | Moscow 1985
Kasparov won replay 13–11 | | 1986 | rematch | Karpov,
Kasparov | London/Leningrad 1986
Kasparov won 12.5–11.5 | | 1985–87 | 1985:
Three 16–18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 4 qualified from each | Biel 1985:
1. Vaganian, 2. Seirawan, 3. Sokolov,
4.-6. Short;[11]
Taxco 1985:
1. Timman, 2. Nogueiras,
3. Tal, 4. Spraggett;
Tunis 1985:
1. Yusupov, 2. Beliavsky, 3. Portisch,
4.-5. Chernin[12] | Karpov (seeded in final),
Korchnoi, Ribli, Smyslov, Spassky (seeded in tournament) | Montpellier 1985:
16 players,
single round robin tournament,
1.-3. Yusupov, Sokolov, Vaganian,
4.-5. Timman[13]
1986: Top 4 played matches;
Yusupov beat Timman ; Sokolov beat Vaganian and Yusupov. | Linares 1987:
Karpov
beat matches winner (Sokolov) in the final. | Kasparov (1985 champion) | Seville 1987
Drawn 12–12,
Kasparov retained title | | 1987–90 | 1987:
Three 17–18 players, single round robin Interzonals; 3 qualified from each | Subotica 1987:
1.-3. Sax, Short, Speelman;
Szirák 1987:
1.-2. Salov, Hjartarson,
3.-4. Portisch;[14]
Zagreb 1987:
1. Korchnoi,
2.-3. Seirawan, Ehlvest | Karpov (seeded in second round),
Sokolov, Timman, Vaganian, Yusupov,
Spraggett[15] | 1988-90:
15 players,
matches | Karpov
beat Timman in the final (1990) | Kasparov (1987 champion) | New York/Lyon 1990
Kasparov won 12.5–11.5 | | 1990–93 | Manila 1990
64 players Swiss, 11 qualified | 1.-2. Gelfand, Ivanchuk,
3.-4. Anand, Short,
5.-11. Sax, Korchnoi, Hübner, Nikolić, Yudasin, Dolmatov, Dreev | Karpov (seeded in second round),
Timman, Yusupov, Speelman | 1991-93:
15 players,
matches, | Short
beat Karpov in semi-finals (1992) and Timman in the final (1993) | Kasparov (1990 champion) | London
September-October 1993:
Kasparov defeated Short 13–8 under the auspices of the PCA; | Netherlands[16]/Djakarta[17] September-November 1993:
Karpov defeated Timman 12.5–8.5 under the auspices of FIDE | | 1993–95 (PCA) | Groningen December 1993
54 players Swiss, 7 qualified | 1.-2. Adams, Anand,
3.-7. Kamsky, Kramnik, Tiviakov, Gulko, Romanishin | Short | 1994-95:
8 players, matches | Anand
beat Kamsky in the final (1995) | Kasparov (1993 PCA champion) | New York 1995
Kasparov won 10.5–7.5 | | 1993–96 (FIDE) | Biel July 1993
73 players Swiss, 10 qualified | 1. Gelfand,
2.-9. Van der Sterren, Kamsky, Khalifman, Adams, Yudasin, Salov, Lautier, Kramnik,
10.-15. Anand[18] | Karpov (seeded in the semi-finals),
Timman, Yusupov | 1994-95: matches,
12 players played two rounds of matches, then Karpov joined winners (Gelfand, Kamsky, Salov) in the semi-finals. | Semi-finals:
Karpov beat Gelfand,
Kamsky beat Salov | Elista 1996
Karpov won 10.5–7.5 | [edit] 1997-present After 1996, interzonals ceased to exist. | Years | Qualification format | Qualifiers | Seeded into Candidates | Candidates Format | Candidates Winner(s) | Seeded in Final | Championship Final | | 1997–98 (FIDE) | Groningen December 1997,
100 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament
(Kramnik refused to participate on the grounds that 1996 FIDE champion Karpov's direct entry into the final was unacceptable; 1995 classical champion Kasparov, 1996 finalist Kamsky and 1996 Women champion Zsuzsa Polgar didn't participate.) | Anand
beat Adams in the final | Karpov (1996 FIDE champion) | Lausanne January 1998
Drawn 3–3;
Karpov won rapid playoff 2–0 | | 1998 (Classical) | None | Kramnik, Shirov
(on rating) | Cazorla
May-June 1998
match | Shirov won 5.5–3.5 | Kasparov (1995 champion) | match never took place | | 1999 (FIDE) | Las Vegas July-August 1999,
100 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament
(1998 FIDE champion Karpov, 1998 FIDE finalist Anand and 1995 classical champion Kasparov refused to participate)
1998 classical championship candidates Shirov and Kramnik were present (eliminated by Nispeanu and Adams in quaterfinals) | Semi-finals:
Khalifman beat Nispeanu,
Akopian beat Adams | Las Vegas 1999
Khalifman won 3.5–2.5 | | 2000 (Classical) | None | Kramnik
(on rating) | Kasparov (1995 champion) | London October-November 2000
Kramnik won 8.5–6.5 | | 2000 (FIDE) | New Delhi November-December 2000
100 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament
(Classical champions Kasparov, Kramnik and 1998 FIDE champion Karpov didn't participate) | Semi-finals:
Anand beat Adams,
Shirov beat Grischuk | Tehran
December 2000
Anand won 3.5–0.5 | | 2001–2002 (FIDE) | Moscow November-December 2001
128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls
(Classical champions Kramnik and Kasparov didn't participate)
1998 FIDE champion Karpov was present (eliminated in first round) | Semi-finals:
Ponomariov beat Svidler,
Ivanchuk beat Anand | Moscow
January 2002
Ponomariov won 4.5–2.5[19] | | 2004 (FIDE) | Tripoli June-July 2004
128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament with relatively quick time controls
(Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik, Svidler, Ponomariov, Leko, Morozevich, J. Polgar, Gelfand, Bareev, Karpov and Israelian players didn't participate) | Semi-finals:
Adams beat Radjabov,
Kasimdzhanov beat Topalov | Tripoli July 2004
drawn 3–3;
Kasimdzhanov won rapid playoff 1.5–0.5[19] | | 2002–2004 (Classical) | Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2002
Dortmund July 2002
preliminaries: two four players double round robins;
(Kasparov, Anand and other players engaged in the FIDE championship declined the invitation)
group 1: 1.Shirov, 2.Topalov, 3.Gelfand, 4.Lutz
group 2: 1.Bareev, 2.Leko, 3.Adams, 4.Morozevich | Semi-finals:
the first from each group met the second from the other group in mini-matches
Topalov beat Bareev
Leko beat Shirov | Leko
beat Topalov in the final | Kramnik (2000 classical champion) | Brissago: September-October 2004
drawn 7–7,
Kramnik retained title | | 2005 (FIDE) | None | Kasimdzhanov, Adams (as FIDE 2004 finalists);
Anand, Morozevich, Topalov (on rating),
Leko, (Kramnik) (as classical 2004 finalists); (Kasparov)[20],
J. Polgar and Svidler (on rating) | San Luis: September-October 2005
8 players, double round robin
1. Topalov : 10/14
2.-3. Anand and Svidler : 8,5/14
4.Morozevich: 7/14 | | 2006 | Reunification match | Topalov (FIDE champion),
Kramnik (classical champion) | Elista 2006
drawn 6–6,
Kramnik won rapid playoff 2.5–1.5 | | 2005-2007 | Chess World Cup 2005
Khanty-Mansiysk
November-December 2005
128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament;
+ mini-matches to establish places 1 through 16.
top 10 qualify | 1.Ponomariov, 2.Aronian, (3.Bacrot,[21])
4.Grischuk, 5.Bareev, 6.Gelfand, 7.Rublevsky, 8.Gurevich, 9.Kamsky, 10.Carlsen, 11.Malakhov | Kasimdzhanov, Leko, Adams, Polgar (5th-8th of 2005 championship), Shirov, Bacrot
(on rating) | Elista 2007
16 players,
two rounds of matches,
4 players qualify for championship tournament | Aronian
beat A.Shirov,
Gelfand
beat Kamsky,
Grischuk
beat Rublevsky,
Leko
beat Bareev | Anand, Svidler, Morozevich (2nd–4th in 2005);
Topalov was replaced by Kramnik (2006 Champion), | Mexico City 2007
8 players, double round robin
1. Anand 9/14
2.-3. : Kramnik and Gelfand: 8/14 | | 2008 | rematch | Kramnik, Anand | Bonn 2008
Anand won 6.5-4.5 to retain the title. | | 2007-2010 | Chess World Cup 2007
Khanty-Mansiysk November-December 2007
128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | Kamsky
beat A. Shirov 2.5-1.5 in the final. | Topalov
(2005 FIDE champion) | Sofia 2009,
8 games match | Topalov won 4.5-2.5 | Anand (2008 champion) | Sofia April 2010 | | 2009-2011 | Chess World Cup 2009
Khanty-Mansiysk November-December 2009
128 players, 7 round, mini-match, knockout tournament | | | | | | [edit] References - ^ Bondarevsky was replaced in Candidates tournament because of illness
- ^ from previous Candidates
- ^ from 1948 Championship
- ^ Bled, Zagreb, Beograd
- ^ In the play-off, Stein finished first before Benko, and Gligoric third. Stein was eliminated because only three soviet players could qualify from the interzonal to the candidates tournament.
- ^ Portisch beat Reshevsky in play-off.
- ^ Hort and Stein were eliminated having a worse Berger tie-break (Neustadtl score), the play-off had ended with all players having 4 / 8.
- ^ Geller eliminated after play-off
- ^ Tal eliminated after play-off
- ^ Ribli eliminated after playoff
- ^ Van Der Wiel and Torre eliminated after playoff
- ^ Gavrikov eliminated after playoff
- ^ Timman eliminated Tal in play-off
- ^ Nunn eliminated after Playoff
- ^ chosen by the organizating federation
- ^ Zwolle (games 1-3) / Arnhem (games 4-6) / Amsterdam (games 7-12)
- ^ (games 13-21)
- ^ Epichine, Lputian, Shirov, Ivanchuk and I. Sokolov were eliminated by the tie-break (sum of the opponents Elo ratings).
- ^ a b Reunification Match with Kasparov never took place
- ^ Kramnik, who declined the invitation, and Kasparov, who had retired from competition, were replaced by J. Polgar and Svidler on rating
- ^ Bacrot was qualified on rating
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