London has seen three World Championship matches in the post-war period, Kasparov-Karpov 1986, Kasparov-Short 1993 and Kasparov-Kramnik 2000. The game I have chosen to start the new year is Kasparov’s most convincing win from his 1986 title defence at the Park Lane Hotel, a match opened by the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and closed by her predecessor, former Prime Minister James Callaghan.

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