That match was controversially stopped by chess authorities , citing concerns about the health of the contestants after 48 grueling games . But the next year in Moscow , Kasparov beat Karpov in a rematch and went on to hold the number-one world chess ranking almost without interruption until his retirement in 2005 . The two last met , in their fifth match , in 1990 , with games played in New York and Lyon , France . Kasparov won . In a total of five world championship matches , Kasparov has the edge with 21 wins , 19 losses and 104 ties in a total of 144 games . Karpov , now 58 , and Kasparov , 46 , told Spanish newspaper El Pais they hoped the rematch in Valencia would put chess in the spotlight again . Karpov came from Russia to Valencia more than a week ago , with a team of elite trainers , organizers said . Kasparov arrived last Sunday from his home in Croatia , where he had been training . The match , at Valencia 's Palace of Arts , has attracted interest from ticket buyers on five continents , organizers said .
MADRID , Spain -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Chess legends Garry Kasparov and Anatoli Karpov faced off again in Spain on Tuesday , 25 years after their epic first world championship battle in Moscow , in what organizers are calling a `` historic revenge match . '' Garry Kasparov , right , and Anatoli Karpov play chess at the Arts Palau in Valencia , on Tuesday . Revenge or not , the past chess champs will receive undisclosed sums for playing the three-day , 12-game match in the eastern port city of Valencia . There will be no additional cash prize for the winner of the exhibition event , which the regional Valencia government is organizing under the title `` Valencia , cradle of modern chess , '' event spokesman Rafa Carretero told CNN . But bragging rights , yes , and perhaps with more on the line for Kasparov , who dominated the chess world for 20 years . Kasparov carried on that legacy on Tuesday , winning the first two games in this rematch , Spain 's state new agency EFE reported . Karpov was world champion when they began their initial five-month match in 1984 in Moscow .