 Representing the Soviet Union at the Thessaloniki 1984 and Dubai 1986 Chess Olympiads, his performances were assured, scoring close to 67% on each occasion and contributing to two team gold medals.Sokolov's career highlight was the 1987 World Championship cycle, where he reached the final of the Candidates Tournament.After qualifying through the Interzonal and round-robin Candidates Tournament, he won matches against Rafael Vaganian (6–2), and Artur Yusupov (7½–6½).