Hello, readers!

Today, I present the fifth episode of this series, and the last one covering the 20th century. For many of you, it already seems like yesterday, but time flies.

For those who don’t know, the idea is to explain how the chess scenario was going during significant events in human history. Together, we will explore how our beloved game was affected by them and what kind of world the masters were playing in.

Below are links to the first four episodes. Each text can be read independently, so feel free to start with whichever one you like.

• The Chessboard Of The World: 1900-1920

• The Chessboard Of The World: 1920-1940

• The Chessboard Of The World: 1940-1960

• The Chessboard Of The World: 1960-1980

It’s time to start discussing the period between 1980 and 2000!

Please note that the facts mentioned do not always have a direct impact on chess. Nevertheless, I believe it is important to understand the context and what was happening in both worlds during the same period.

These two decades were very eventful, marking the end of the famous Cold War. Again, I also included an aviation-related chapter, although this time it was not such a happy story.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. 1982

2. 1989

3. 1991

4. 1994

5. 1996

CONCLUSION

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1982

World - The Falklands War

Perhaps the greatest war in modern South American history took place this year, when Argentine troops seized the British overseas territory of the Falkland Islands (also known in Spanish as the Malvinas Islands), an archipelago located in the Patagonia region near the South Pole.

On 2 April, the military government led by dictator Leopoldo Galtieri ordered the invasion of the archipelago, which had been under British rule since 1833, in an attempt to regain control and claim it for Argentina. The occupation was intended to boost nationalism among the population and spread propaganda for his authoritarian regime.

Argentina probably expected that there would be no concrete retaliation from the United Kingdom. However, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent troops to retake the islands, also with some logistical support from New Zealand. The armed conflict lasted approximately two months and resulted in 907 deaths: 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers, and three civilians.

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Chess - Rivalry Also At The Olympiad

As is often the case during wars, they do not only occur in the military field, but also extend to propaganda, culture, and, very often, sport. Perhaps the most famous example is Maradona's infamous 'Hand of God' goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Similarly, despite its lesser popularity, chess was also a stage for this battle.

Between 29 October and 16 November, during the 25th Chess Olympiad in Lucerne, Switzerland, the two countries competed fiercely for a place in the top 10 of the final rankings.

Although Argentina was no longer at its peak, it still had strong players representing it and was by far the most powerful South American nation. Among the English team, who had a higher average rating, were famous names such as John Nunn and Kiwi GOAT Murray Chandler.

Fate did not bring their teams face-to-face. Nevertheless, they fought fiercely to determine who would finish in a higher position. In the end, both had exactly 32 points. However, England had a better tiebreaker and therefore secured their spot among the top 10 countries in the world. Meanwhile, Argentina finished just one place behind.

Obviously, I won't claim that chess is as important as football. I'm sure the Argentinians were happy enough to beat England in the FIFA World Cup four years later, which they consider to be their revenge.

And, in case you are wondering, the winner of this Olympiad edition was the USSR (Oh, what a surprise!), followed by Czechoslovakia and the United States.

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1989

World - Fall Of The Berlin Wall

Surely the most famous event during the twenty years covered in this blog, the fall of the Berlin Wall took place on 9 November 1989. After being divided for more than 28 years, with crossing prohibited, the population of the German capital finally regained the freedom to move around their own city.

However, what it symbolised is much more important than the fall itself, as that day marked the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Those who experienced the celebrations on both sides of the city still describe them with pride.

Less than a year later, West and East Germany officially reunited to become one of the world's leading economic powers. To this day, Germany remains the most powerful and influential country in Europe, at least financially. Who would have thought that breaking down barriers instead of building them would bring prosperity?

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Chess - GMA World Cup Series

While Germany was being reunified, the chess world was undergoing the opposite process, with the first signs of a rift between its leading players and FIDE becoming apparent.

One such move was the establishment of the Grandmaster Association (GMA) in 1988, which boasted over a hundred of the world's strongest grandmasters as members. This alliance later gave rise to the Professional Chess Association (PCA) in 1993, founded by Garry Kasparov.

But if it was in 1988, why am I talking about it? Because the main event organised by this association was a series of six World Cup tournaments held in 1988 and 1989, to which some of the world's best players were invited. The last three competitions took place in 1989.

Although they had a slightly different format, these events were quite similar and could even be considered the predecessors of the FIDE World Cup, which many of you will probably be watching on the day this article is published.

The three editions held between April and September 1989 took place in Barcelona (Spain), won by Garry Kasparov and Ljubomir Ljubojević; Rotterdam (the Netherlands), won by local player Jan Timman; and Skellefteå (Sweden), which saw Anatoly Karpov claim victory.

Ultimately, however, it was Garry Kasparov who emerged as the overall champion of this series of tournaments, pocketing the $175,000 prize, equivalent to around $450,000 in 2025.

Interestingly, there is no English Wikipedia page for the GMA, but I found more information about it in German. I thought this was intriguing!

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1991

World -  Dissolution Of The USSR

Two years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, what everyone knew would happen finally came to pass. The Soviet Union collapsed and broke up into 15 different nations, which then became independent countries. I will not list them all here, but some of the most notable ones are Ukraine, the Baltic states, and several in Central Asia.

The consequences of this break were not only political, but also social and economic, affecting many other neighbour countries. While not official members, some nations had always lived under strong Soviet influence and were finally able to strengthen ties with the West, including Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary.

The official dissolution took place on 26 December 1991, following a decision by the Supreme Soviet. Besides that, I would also like to mention that in the same year, the first website was launched on August 6, created exactly to explain the World Wide Web project.

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Chess - New Federations Arise

Of course, the dissolution of the most powerful chess nation would have a significant impact on our beloved game. From this point onwards, the country that had won almost every single Chess Olympiad suddenly ceased to exist.

Does that mean the other teams will finally have their chance to become champions? Well, not exactly. In the short term, the actual consequences were the opposite. Many of the newly independent countries that used to belong to the Soviet Union still had extremely strong chess squads.

Therefore, they continued to dominate, leaving the rest of the world now with no chance of even winning a medal.

Some of the main federations that began to make a name for themselves on the world stage were those from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan. Many strong players who had previously had no chance of joining USSR teams could now represent their own country.

The repercussions of this could be felt at the 1992 Olympiad the following year. The open section was won by the Russians, who were still very strong, followed by the 'new' nations of Uzbekistan and Ukraine. In the women's tournament, the top two places on the podium were taken by the Ukrainians and the Georgians.

In fact, it was only in 2014 that the dominance of former Soviet Union members was broken, when the Chinese team won the gold medal. Then, in 2016, the title went to the USA, finally bringing an end to an era that had lasted almost a century.

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1994

World - End Of Apartheid

This year was a very special milestone in the fight against racism. On 4 May (were the involved people Star Wars fans?), the Apartheid officially came to an end in South Africa, and Nelson Mandela was recognized as the country's first democratically elected president. This marked the triumph of the black people’s struggle for freedom and human rights.

For those unaware, the Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation and discrimination in South Africa that lasted for almost fifty years, from 1948 to 1994. This cruel legal system enforced the domination of the white, European-descended minority over the non-white and native majority.

The government and its laws controlled almost every aspect of citizens’ lives, including where they could live, work, go to school, and even enjoy leisure activities. Non-white South Africans were confined to segregated, underdeveloped areas and did not have anywhere near the same rights as white people.

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Chess - Kasparov vs. Polgár Controversy

Also this year, one of the most famous chess controversies ever took place. First, to provide some context, the Linares tournament was a very strong event held annually from 1988 to 2010. In the 1990s, it had roughly the same prestige as the Tata Steel does today.

With an average Elo of 2685, the 1994 edition of this competition had the highest average rating ever recorded at that time. The field consisted of legendary names such as Karpov, Kramnik, Ivanchuk, and Anand, as well as the protagonists of the biggest polemic: Garry Kasparov and Judit Polgár.

Ultimately, Karpov clinched the title with a score of 11/13. Sadly for him, however, this is not why this edition is remembered.

I mention this because something much more important happened. The 1994 tournament is notable for an incident in which Garry Kasparov took a move back against Judit Polgár in the fifth round, played on 1 March. The decisive moment is shown in the video below from 0:45.

As you saw, at move 36, he briefly released a knight on the c5 square before realizing it was a blunder. He then moved the knight to f8 instead. Polgár, who was just 17 years old at the time, did not protest, and the arbiter did not intervene. Kasparov won in the end.

To this day, many believe that the world champion cheated, arguing that a legend should be more honest. He has never publicly commented extensively on the matter. Below you can see the full game:

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1996

World - Deadliest Airplane Mid-Air Collision

Usually, I focus on positive aspects of aviation in all the posts in this series. However, this time I need to talk about one of the greatest tragedies in the history of world aeronautics, which happened on 12 November 1996.

The mid-air collision in Charkhi Dadri, India, took place when Saudia Flight 763 took off from Delhi. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, coming from Chimkent, was preparing to land. The two aircraft collided at an altitude of 14,000 feet. All 349 people on board both airplanes were killed, making it the world's deadliest mid-air collision to date.

There are two incredible coincidences surrounding this fact. First, it happened on the day I was born... and I became an air traffic controller. Secondly, ten years later, on 29 September 2006, another mid-air collision occurred in Brazil. One of the planes involved was also operating Flight 1907, the same as the Kazakhstan Airlines.

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Chess - Kasparov vs. Deep Blue

The last chess event to be mentioned here is by far the most famous. In 1996, the first of two six-game matches between Garry Kasparov, the current world champion, and Deep Blue, the supercomputer developed by IBM, took place in Philadelphia, USA.

This eagerly awaited match, held between 10 and 17 February, promised to be the first time that a machine would truly challenge humans in a mental activity, and was anticipated by the entire community.

The media coverage was huge, and even non-chess fans were aware of it; such was the impact! The winner would be awarded $400,000. (What would you do with this money if you were Deep Blue?).

The very first game was already a huge shock, as the IBM computer won playing with the white pieces. However, 1996 would not yet be the year when machines surpassed humanity. Kasparov came back in the match, winning the second, fifth, and sixth games to secure a 4–2 victory.

You can watch Game 5 below, which was the turning point of the match, when the Russian champion finally managed to untie the score. This game is considered an embarrassment for the Deep Blue team because they had previously declined Kasparov's offer of a draw. It was also the only one in the match won by Black.

This triumph was a moment of final relief and self-affirmation for our race. Yet, less than 30 years later, we no longer even dream of beating an engine at its highest level.

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CONCLUSION

Thank you for joining me for another episode! I hope you found it interesting and learnt some new things, not only about chess but also about world history. This was the penultimate article in the series, and next month we will cover the years from 2000 to the present day. Let me know if you are looking forward to it!

The table below summarizes all the information presented above and helps you to better understand how our beloved game fared during the years of the aforementioned impactful events.

Once again, conducting the research for this text has taught me a lot and put things into perspective. The aim is to convey this knowledge to my readers in a more accessible and easily assimilated way. It also reminds us that chess is not separate from the rest of humanity and develops alongside it.

That’s all for today, dear friends! We will meet again on 30 November. I am planning to write one of those 'Choose Your Own Adventure' posts, but they are complex to create, so I am not sure if I will be able to finish it in time!

Let's hope so! Take care, and I'll see you soon!