Garry Kasparov wins the double round robin, six-player tournament at
Las Palmas. The tournament is one of the strongest of all time, with an average Elo rating of 2757.
Kasparov defeats
Deep Blue 4–2, despite losing the first game. As the (Philadelphia) contest progresses, he appears to get the measure of the
IBM computer. The world media covers the match with an intense level of scrutiny.
Veselin Topalov has a very successful year, including an outright win at the 3rd Lord Novgorod tournament with 6/10.
The
Yerevan Olympiad is won by Russia (38½/56), ahead of
Ukraine on 35 and USA and England (both 34). Outstanding scorers include the gold medal-winning
Mohammed Al-Modiahki of Qatar (8/10),
Karen Asrian of Armenia (10/12) and
Matthew Sadler of England (10½/13). Kasparov (7/9), Ivanchuk (8½/11) and
Peter Svidler (8½/11) are among the top names that shine. The U.S. team is without Kamsky, but
Alex Yermolinsky takes a silver medal for his board 2 (8/11) performance. There are 114 teams and some 665 players in attendance.
Young Frenchman
Étienne Bacrot proves he is already a formidable opponent, when he defeats former World Champion
Vasily Smyslov by a match score of 5–1.