Niksic 1983
In the summer of 1983 the Montenegrin town of Nikšić assembled one of the strongest tournaments of the year — a Category XIV field studded with former world champions. The story, though, was a twenty-year-old. Garry Kasparov, already climbing the Candidates ladder toward the world title, tore through the event with 11 points from 14 games and finished two full points clear of Bent Larsen, a dominant performance that announced the game's next great force.
An elite field in Montenegro
Held in August 1983 in Nikšić, then in the Yugoslav republic of Montenegro, the tournament was a fifteen-player round-robin rated Category XIV — among the strongest events of its day. The field was extraordinary: three former world champions in Boris Spassky, Mikhail Tal and Tigran Petrosian; the elite grandmasters Bent Larsen, Lajos Portisch, Jan Timman, Ulf Andersson, Anthony Miles, Yasser Seirawan, Ljubomir Ljubojević and Svetozar Gligorić; and, rated highest of all, the twenty-year-old Kasparov.
Kasparov runs away with it
Kasparov was on the rise. Earlier that year he had won his Candidates quarterfinal against Alexander Beliavsky, and he was the only player in the field still in the world championship cycle. He was nearly unbeatable over the fortnight: nine wins, four draws and one loss, to Spassky in round eight, for 11 from 14. Larsen was clear second on 9, Portisch and Spassky shared third and fourth on 8, and Andersson and Miles came next on 7½.
The two-point margin over a field of former champions and established elite grandmasters made the result one of the most emphatic of Kasparov's early career. His win over Portisch is widely admired as one of his finest positional games.
On the road to the crown
A little over a year after Nikšić, Kasparov had won the Candidates final and sat down against Anatoly Karpov for the world championship, the first of their five title matches.
Final standings
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasparov, Garry | 11/14 | +9 -1 =4 | games |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 9/14 | +6 -2 =6 | games |
| =3 | Portisch, Lajos | 8/14 | +4 -2 =8 | games |
| =3 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 8/14 | +3 -1 =10 | games |
| =5 | Andersson, Ulf | 7½/14 | +3 -2 =9 | games |
| =5 | Miles, Anthony John | 7½/14 | +3 -2 =9 | games |
| =7 | Timman, Jan H | 7/14 | +2 -2 =10 | games |
| =7 | Tal, Mikhail | 7/14 | +1 -1 =12 | games |
| =9 | Seirawan, Yasser | 6½/14 | +4 -5 =5 | games |
| =9 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 6½/14 | +3 -4 =7 | games |
| =11 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 6/14 | +1 -3 =10 | games |
| =11 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 6/14 | +1 -3 =10 | games |
| 13 | Nikolic, Predrag | 5½/14 | +1 -4 =9 | games |
| 14 | Sax, Gyula | 5/14 | +1 -5 =8 | games |
| 15 | Ivanovic, Bozidar | 4½/14 | +1 -6 =7 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kasparov, Garry | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Larsen, Bent | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Portisch, Lajos | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 4 | Spassky, Boris Vasilievich | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 5 | Andersson, Ulf | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | |
| 6 | Miles, Anthony John | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 7 | Timman, Jan H | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 8 | Tal, Mikhail | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 9 | Seirawan, Yasser | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Ljubojevic, Ljubomir | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Gligoric, Svetozar | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 12 | Petrosian, Tigran V | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 13 | Nikolic, Predrag | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | |
| 14 | Sax, Gyula | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | |
| 15 | Ivanovic, Bozidar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.