Zoltán Ribli won the Las Palmas Interzonal ahead of 61-year-old former World Champion Vasily Smyslov.

[1] Kasparov, 19 years old, won the Moscow Interzonal by a 1½ point margin ahead of Alexander Beliavsky.

The six Interzonal qualifiers were joined by Viktor Korchnoi and Robert Hübner, the Candidates finalists from the previous cycle (World Chess Championship 1981).

After playing four extra games without breaking the tie, the match was resolved by a spin of the roulette wheel.

[5] Politics threatened Kasparov's semi-final match against Viktor Korchnoi, which was scheduled to be played in Pasadena, California.

Announcing his decision at a press conference, Campomanes cited the health of the players, which had been strained by the length of the match (5 months: 10 September 1984 to 8 February 1985).