Linares 1993
The eleventh Linares was a Category XVIII tournament, an average rating of 2677 that made it one of the strongest fields ever assembled to that point. World Champion Garry Kasparov won it undefeated on 10/13, a point and a half clear — but the tournament is remembered just as much for a 17-year-old debutant named Vladimir Kramnik, who finished a startling fifth.
◈Kasparov above a titanic field
By 1993 Linares had grown into the toughest annual round-robin on earth, and this edition — Category XVIII — was the strongest yet: Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Salov, Beliavsky, Timman, and the young Alexei Shirov and Gata Kamsky all in one hall. Kasparov met it head-on, going through all thirteen rounds without a loss to finish on 10/13.
His pursuers could not close the gap. Anatoly Karpov and Viswanathan Anand tied for second on 8½, the placings settled on tie-break with Karpov ahead; Anand took the tournament's brilliancy prize for his win over Boris Gelfand. Shirov followed in fourth on 8, capping a fortnight of relentlessly high-level chess.
◈Kramnik arrives
The lasting image of Linares 1993, though, was a newcomer. Seventeen years old and rated 2685, Vladimir Kramnik was playing his first tournament of this magnitude — and he finished fifth on 7½, ahead of established stars like Ivanchuk and Beliavsky.
It was, as commentators noted at the time, a debut that boded well for the future. Seven years later Kramnik would take the world title from the very man who won this event; Linares 1993 was where the chess world first saw what he could do.
◈Final Standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasparov, Garry | 10/13 | +7 -0 =6 | games → |
| =2 | Anand, Viswanathan | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games → |
| =2 | Karpov, Anatoly | 8½/13 | +6 -2 =5 | games → |
| 4 | Shirov, Alexei | 8/13 | +5 -2 =6 | games → |
| 5 | Kramnik, Vladimir | 7½/13 | +4 -2 =7 | games → |
| 6 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | 6½/13 | +4 -4 =5 | games → |
| 7 | Salov, Valery | 6½/13 | +3 -3 =7 | games → |
| 8 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | 6/13 | +4 -5 =4 | games → |
| 9 | Kamsky, Gata | 5½/13 | +4 -6 =3 | games → |
| 10 | Bareev, Evgeny | 5½/13 | +3 -5 =5 | games → |
| 11 | Timman, Jan H | 5/13 | +3 -6 =4 | games → |
| 12 | Jussupow, Artur | 5/13 | +0 -3 =10 | games → |
| 13 | Gelfand, Boris | 4½/13 | +2 -6 =5 | games → |
| 14 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 4/13 | +2 -7 =4 | games → |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasparov, Garry | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Anand, Viswanathan | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Karpov, Anatoly | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Shirov, Alexei | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Kramnik, Vladimir | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 6 | Ivanchuk, Vassily | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Salov, Valery | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 8 | Beliavsky, Alexander G | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 9 | Kamsky, Gata | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | |
| 10 | Bareev, Evgeny | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 11 | Timman, Jan H | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 12 | Jussupow, Artur | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | |
| 13 | Gelfand, Boris | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | |
| 14 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 |
Each cell shows the row player's per-game results against the column player (in round order). ● = same player.
“Kasparov eventually won the tournament, undefeated... The 5th place by 17-year-old debutant Kramnik also boded well for the future. The brilliancy prize went to Anand, for Gelfand vs Anand, 1993.”