Citizendia
Your Ad Here

Anatoly Karpov
Full name Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov
(Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов)
Country Flag of Russia Russia
Born May 23, 1951 (1951-05-23) (age 57)
Zlatoust, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Title Grandmaster (1970)
World Champion 1975-1985
1993-1999 (FIDE)
FIDE rating 2655
(No. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Zlatoust (Златоу́ст is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Ay River (the Kama basin) 160 km The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. 66 on the April 2008 FIDE ratings list)
Peak rating 2780 (July 1994)

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess He was undisputed World Champion from 1975 to 1985, repeatedly challenged to regain the title from 1986 to 1990, then was FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the

His tournament successes include 161 first-place finishes. He had a peak Elo rating of 2780. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go.

Since 2005 he has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. The Public Chamber (In Russian: Общественная палата is a state institution with 126 members created in 2005 in Russia to analyze He has lately been involved in several humanitarian causes, such as advocating the use of iodised salt.

Contents

Early life

Karpov was born on May 23, 1951 at Zlatoust in the Urals region of the former Soviet Union, and learned to play chess at the age of four. Events 1430 - Siege of Compiègne: Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compiègne Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Zlatoust (Златоу́ст is a city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Ay River (the Kama basin) 160 km Riphean redirects here For the time period see Riphean stage The Ural Mountains (Ура́льские го́ры Uralskiye The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 He has been an excellent student throughout his life. His early rise in chess was swift, as he was a Candidate Master by age 11. The Candidate Master ( CM) title is awarded by the world Chess governing body Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE At age 12, he was accepted into Mikhail Botvinnik's prestigious chess school. Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (mʲixaˈiɫ̺ mʌiˈs̺ʲɛjɛvʲiʧʲ bʌt̺ˈvʲin̺n̻ʲik Михаи́л Моисе́евич Ботви́нник) ( &ndash May Ironically, Botvinnik had this to say about the young Karpov: "The boy does not have a clue about chess, and there's no future at all for him in this profession. "[1] Karpov acknowledged that his understanding of chess theory was very confused at that time, and wrote later that the homework which Botvinnik assigned really helped him, since it required that he consult chess books and work diligently. [2] Karpov improved so quickly that he became the youngest Soviet National Master in history at 15 in 1966; this tied the record established by Boris Spassky in 1952 at the same age. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian French Karpov won the title in his first international chess tournament (Trinec 1966-67) several months later. In 1967 he won a European Junior Invitational tournament at Groningen. Groningen is the capital city of the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. Karpov won a Gold Medal for academic excellence in high school, and entered Moscow State University in 1968 to study Mathematics. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and He later transferred to Leningrad State University, eventually graduating from there in Economics. Saint Petersburg State University ( Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a Russian federal state-owned higher Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. One reason for the transfer was to be closer to his coach, Grandmaster Semyon Furman, who lived in Leningrad. Semyon Abramovich Furman ( December 1 1920 – March 17 1978) was a Soviet chess International Grandmaster and trainer In his writings, Karpov credits Furman as a major influence on his development as a world-class player. In 1969 Karpov became the first Soviet player since Boris Spassky (1955) to win the World Junior Chess Championship, with a score in the finals of 10 out of 11 at Stockholm. Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian French The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 Chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition organized ('stɔkhɔlm is Sweden 's Capital and its largest City. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the parliament, and the Soon afterwards he tied for 4th place at an international tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, and became a Grandmaster. Caracas (kaˈɾakas is the Capital and largest city of Venezuela. Venezuela (ˌvɛnəˈzweɪlə) officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish República Bolivariana de Venezuela) is a country on the The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE.

Candidate

The early 1970s showed a big improvement in his game. He won the 1971 Alekhine Memorial tournament ahead of a star-filled field, for his first significant adult victory. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October His Elo rating shot up from 2540 in 1971 to 2660 in 1973, when he came in 2nd in the USSR Chess Championship, and placed first in the Leningrad Interzonal Tournament. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation The latter qualified him for the 1974 Candidates' Tournament, which determined who was allowed to challenge the reigning World Champion, Bobby Fischer. The Candidates Tournament was a triennial Chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the Robert James "Bobby" Fischer ( March 9 1943 – January 17 2008) was an American -born Chess Grandmaster

Karpov beat Lev Polugaevsky by +3=5 in the first Candidates' match, to face former World Champion Boris Spassky in the next round. Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky ( Russian: Лев Абрамович Полугаевский) (sometimes transliterated as Lyev Polugayevsky) ( Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian French Karpov was on record saying that he believed Spassky would easily beat him and win the Candidates' cycle to face Fischer, and that he (Karpov) would win the following Candidates' cycle in 1977.

Most expected the Spassky-Karpov match to be a one-sided rout by the ex-champ Spassky. Although Spassky won the first game as Black in good style, tenacious and aggressive play from Karpov secured him a match win by +4-1=6. Karpov was certainly not hurt by the fact that Spassky's chief opening analyst, 1955 Soviet Champion Efim Geller, defected to Karpov's side several months before the match. This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. Efim Petrovich Geller (Ефим Петрович Геллер March 8 1925 &ndash November 17 1998) was a Soviet Chess

The Candidates' final was set in Moscow against fellow Soviet Viktor Korchnoi, a notable fighting player. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (also Korchnoy Kortchnoy Kortschnoi etc Korchnoi was a Leningrad resident who had frequently sparred with Karpov after the latter moved there, and the two had played a drawn six-game training match in 1971. Intense games were fought, including one "opening laboratory" win against the Sicilian Dragon. The Sicilian Defence is a Chess opening that begins with the moves 1 Karpov went up 3-0, but tired towards the end and allowed Korchnoi two wins, making for a nervy finish. However, Karpov prevailed +3-2=19. Thus he won the right to challenge Fischer for the World Championship.

The Big Match that never was

Though the world championship match between Karpov and Fischer was highly anticipated, the match never came about. Fischer insisted that the match be the first to ten wins (draws not counting), but that the champion would retain the crown if the score was tied 9—9. The sticking point was the 9—9 clause, which was widely seen as unfair on Karpov. FIDE, the International Chess Federation, refused to allow this condition, and so Fischer resigned his crown, to the huge disappointment of the chess world. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the Karpov later attempted to set up another match with Fischer, but all the negotiations fell through. This thrust the young Karpov into the role of World Champion without having defeated the reigning champion.

Garry Kasparov argued that Karpov would have had the better chances, because he had beaten Spassky convincingly and was a new breed of tough professional, and indeed had higher quality games, while Fischer had been inactive for three years. Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet [3] Spassky thought that Fischer would have won in 1975 but Karpov would have qualified again and beaten Fischer in 1978. [4]

World champion

Karpov participated in nearly every major tournament for the next ten years. He convincingly won the very strong Milan tournament in 1975, and captured his first of three Soviet titles in 1976. Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. He created the most phenomenal streak of tournament wins against the strongest players in the world. This tournament success even eclipsed the pre-war tournament record of Alexander Alekhine. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October Karpov held the record for most consecutive tournament victories (9) until it was shattered by Garry Kasparov (14). Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet

In 1978, Karpov's first title defence was against Viktor Korchnoi, the opponent he had defeated in the previous Candidates' tournament. The situation was vastly different from the previous match, because in the intervening years Korchnoi had defected from the Soviet Union. The match was played at Baguio in the Philippines, and a vast array of psychological tricks were used during the match, from Karpov's Dr. Geography The three main access roads leading to Baguio from the lowlands are Kennon Road, Marcos Highway The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Zukhar who allegedly attempted to hypnotize Korchnoi during the game, to Korchnoi's mirror glasses to ward off the hypnotic stare, Korchnoi's offering to play under the Jolly Roger flag when he was denied the right to play under Switzerland's, to Karpov's yogurt supposedly being used to send him secret messages, to Korchnoi inviting two local cult members (on trial for attempted murder) into the hall as members of his team. The Jolly Roger is the name given to any of various Flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates The flag most usually identified as the Jolly Roger today Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation In English Criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit Unlawful homicide and at the same time having a specific intention

The off-board antics are better remembered than the actual chess match. Karpov took an early lead, but Korchnoi staged an amazing comeback very late in the match, and came very close to winning. Karpov narrowly won the last game to take the match 6–5, with 21 draws.

Three years later Korchnoi re-emerged as the Candidates' winner against German finalist Dr. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Robert Hübner to challenge Karpov in Merano, Italy. Robert Hübner (born November 6, 1948 in Cologne, West Germany) is a respected German Chess Grandmaster, chess writer Merano ( Italian, now most common in English German: Meran, also used in English Ladin: Meran; Archaic (857 AD Mairania Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest This time the psychological trick was the arrest of Korchnoi's son for evading conscription. Conscription (also known as the draft, the call-up or national service) is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority Again the politics off the board overshadowed the games, but this time Karpov easily won (11–7, +6 -2 =10) in what is remembered as the "Massacre at Merano".

Karpov's tournament career reached a peak at the exceptional Montreal "Tournament of Stars" tournament in 1979, where he ended joint first with Mikhail Tal ahead of a field of superb grandmasters like Jan Timman, Ljubomir Ljubojevic, Boris Spassky, and Lubomir Kavalek. Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails Jan Timman (born December 14, 1951) is a Dutch Chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to Ljubomir Ljubojević ( Serbian Cyrillic: Љубомир Љубојевић is a Grandmaster of Chess. Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian French Lubomir (Lubosh Kavalek (Lubomír Kaválek born August 9 1943) is a noted Czech - American He dominated Las Palmas 1977 with an incredible 13. 5 / 15. He also won the prestigious Bugojno tournament in 1978 and 1980, the Linares tournament in 1981 and 1994, the Tilburg tournament in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1983, and the Soviet Championship in 1976, 1983, and 1988. Bugojno (Cyrillic Бугојно is a town and municipality of the same name in central Bosnia and Herzegovina on the river Vrbas. The annual Linares chess tournament, usually played around the end of February takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia Tilburg ( is a Municipality and a City in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of Noord-Brabant. This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship.

Karpov represented the Soviet Union at six Chess Olympiads, in all of which the USSR won the team gold medal. The Chess Olympiad is a Biennial Chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other He played first reserve at Skopje 1972, winning the board prize with 13/15. Skopje (Скопје; Shkup or Shkupi is the Capital and largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, with more than a quarter of the population At Nice 1974, he advanced to board one and again won the board prize with 12/14. Nice (nis Niçard Occitan: Niça norm or Nissa, Italian: Nizza or Nizza Marittima, Greek At La Valletta 1980, he was again board one and scored 9/12. Valletta ( Belt Valletta or Città Umilissima) is the capital city of Malta. At Lucerne 1982, he scored 6. Lucerne ( Italian Lucerna) is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne 5/8 on board one. At Dubai 1986, he scored 6/9 on board two. Dubai (in دبيّ,) is one of the seven emirates and most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE His last was Thessaloniki 1988, where on board two he scored 8/10. Thessaloniki (Θεσσαλονίκη), Thessalonica, or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of Macedonia In Olympiad play, Karpov lost only two games out of 68 played.

To illustrate Karpov's dominance over his peers as champion, his score was +11 -2 =20 versus Spassky, +5 =12 versus Robert Hübner, +6 -1 =16 versus Ulf Andersson, +3 -1 =10 versus Vasily Smyslov, +1 =16 versus Mikhail Tal, +10 -2 =13 versus Ljubojevic. Robert Hübner (born November 6, 1948 in Cologne, West Germany) is a respected German Chess Grandmaster, chess writer Ulf Andersson (born June 27[[ 951]] in Västerås Sweden) is a leading Swedish Chess player Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Васильевич Смысло́в (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian Chess Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails

Karpov had cemented his position as the world's best player and world champion when Garry Kasparov arrived on the scene. Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet In their first match, the World Chess Championship 1984, held in Moscow, Karpov quickly built a 4-0 lead, and needed only two more wins to keep his title. The World Chess Championship 1984 was a match between challenger Garry Kasparov and defending champion Anatoly Karpov. Instead, the next 17 games were drawn, and it took Karpov until Game 27 to finally win another game. In Game 31, Karpov had a winning position but failed to take advantage and settled for a draw. He lost the next game, but drew the next 14. In particular, Karpov held a solidly winning position in Game 41, but again blundered terribly and had to settle for a draw. After Kasparov won Games 47 and 48, FIDE President Florencio Campomanes controversially terminated the match, citing the health of the players. Florencio Campomanes (born Manila, February 22 1927 is a Filipino political scientist Chess player and chess organizer Karpov appeared to be in worse health, having lost 10 kg (22 lb) over the course of the match,[5] and lost the last two games. The match, which had lasted an unprecedented five months, with five wins for Karpov, three for Kasparov, and a staggering forty draws.

A rematch was set for later in 1985, also in Moscow. In a hard fight, Karpov had to win game 24 of the 1985 match to retain his title, but lost it and the title 11 to 13 (+3 -5 =16), ending his ten-year reign as champion.

Rivalry with Kasparov

Karpov remained a formidable opponent (and the world #2) until the early 1990s. He fought Kasparov in three more World Championship matches in 1986 (held in London and Leningrad), 1987 (held in Seville), and 1990 (held in New York City and Lyon). London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Seville ( Spanish: Sevilla, see also different names) is the artistic cultural and financial capital of southern Spain. The City of New York ||-||} Lyon, also known as Lyons in English is a city in east-central France. All three matches were extremely close: the scores were 11. 5 to 12. 5 (+4 -5 = 15), 12 to 12 (+4 -4 =16), and 11. 5 to 12. 5 (+3 -4 =17). In all three matches Karpov had winning chances up to the very last games. In particular, the 1987 Seville match featured an astonishing blunder by Kasparov in the 23rd game, and should have led to Karpov's reclaiming the title. Instead, in the final game, needing only a draw to win the title, Karpov cracked under pressure from the clock at the end of the first session of play, allowing Kasparov to adjourn the game a pawn up. After a further mistake in the second session, Karpov was slowly ground down and resigned on move 64, ending the match and allowing Kasparov to keep the title.

In their five world championship matches, Karpov has 19 wins, 21 losses, and 104 draws in 144 games.

Karpov is on record saying that had he had the opportunity to fight Fischer for the crown like Kasparov had the opportunity to fight him, he (Karpov) could have been a much better player as a result.

FIDE champion again

Karpov in 1996
Karpov in 1996

It came as a surprise, then, that Karpov lost a Candidates Match against Nigel Short in 1992. Nigel David Short MBE (born June 1, 1965 in Leigh, Lancashire) is often regarded as the strongest British Chess But in 1993, Karpov reacquired the FIDE World Champion title when Kasparov and Short split from FIDE. Karpov defeated Jan Timman – the loser of the Candidates' final against Short. Jan Timman (born December 14, 1951) is a Dutch Chess Grandmaster who was one of the world's leading players from the late 1970s to Once again he had become World Champion, and once again he did so controversially, only winning the title because of the absence of Kasparov and Short.

The next major meeting of Kasparov and Karpov was the 1994 Linares chess tournament. The annual Linares chess tournament, usually played around the end of February takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia The field, in eventual finishing order, was Karpov, Kasparov, Shirov, Bareev, Kramnik, Lautier, Anand, Kamsky, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Illescas, Judit Polgar, and Beliavsky; with an average ELO rating of 2685, the highest ever to that point, meaning it was the first Category XVIII tournament ever held. Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov ( Aleksejs Širovs, Алексей Дмитриевич Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, Evgeny Bareev (born in a Tatar family on 21 November 1966) is a Russian chess Grandmaster. Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian Chess grandmaster Joël Lautier (born 12 April 1973) is a French Chess grandmaster. Viswanathan Anand (ʋiɕˈʋəˌnɑˌt̪ʰən ɑnˌənd̪ விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த் (born December 11, 1969) is an Indian Gata Kamsky real name Gataulla Rustemovich Sabirov ( Tatar: Ğata Kamskiy Ğataulla Rөstəm uğlı Sabirov Гата Камский Гатаулла Рөстәм улы Сабиров Veselin Topalov (vɛsɛ'lin to'pɑlof Веселин Топалов (born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Chess grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, also transliterated as Vasyl (Василь Михайлович Іванчук, Vasyl Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk) (born March 18 1969 Boris Abramovich Gelfand (born 24 June 1968) is a Chess grandmaster. Miguel Illescas Córdoba (born December 3, 1965 in Barcelona) is a prominent Spanish grandmaster of Chess. Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian Chess grandmaster. Alexander Henrikhovich Beliavsky (sometimes transliterated as Belyavsky born December 17, 1953) is a Ukrainian Chess grandmaster. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go. Impressed by the strength of the tournament, Kasparov had said several days before the tournament that the winner could rightfully be called the world champion of tournaments. Perhaps spurred on by this comment, Karpov played the best tournament of his life. He was undefeated and earned 11 points out of 13 possible (the best world-class tournament winning percentage since Alekhine won San Remo in 1930), dominating second-place Kasparov and Shirov by a huge 2. 5 points. Many of his wins were spectacular (in particular, his win over Topalov is considered possibly the finest of his career). This performance against the best players in the world put his ELO rating tournament performance at 2985, the highest performance rating of any chess player in any tournament in all of chess history. The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as Chess and Go.

Karpov defended his FIDE title against Gata Kamsky (+6 -3 =9) in 1996. Gata Kamsky real name Gataulla Rustemovich Sabirov ( Tatar: Ğata Kamskiy Ğataulla Rөstəm uğlı Sabirov Гата Камский Гатаулла Рөстәм улы Сабиров However, in 1998, FIDE largely scrapped the old system of Candidates' Matches, instead having a large knock-out event in which a large number of players contested short matches against each other over just a few weeks. In the first of these events, champion Karpov was seeded straight into the final, defeating Viswanathan Anand (+4 -2 =2). Viswanathan Anand (ʋiɕˈʋəˌnɑˌt̪ʰən ɑnˌənd̪ விசுவநாதன் ஆனந்த் (born December 11, 1969) is an Indian But subsequently the champion had to qualify like other players. Karpov resigned his title in anger at the new rules in 1999.

Towards retirement?

Karpov's outstanding classical tournament play has been seriously limited since 1995, since he prefers to be more involved in politics of his home country of Russia. He had been a member of the Supreme Soviet Commission for Foreign Affairs and the President of the Soviet Peace Fund before the Soviet Union broke up. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR (Верхо́вный Сове́т СССР Verkhóvnyj Sovét SSSR) was the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in In addition, he had been involved in several disputes with FIDE and became increasingly disillusioned with chess. In the April 2008 FIDE rating list, he is 66th in the world with an ELO rating of 2655.

Karpov usually limits his play to exhibition events, and has revamped his style to specialize in rapid chess. In 2002 he won a match against Kasparov, defeating him in a rapid time control match 2. 5-1. 5. In 2006, he tied for first with Kasparov in a blitz tournament, ahead of Korchnoi and Judit Polgar. Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian Chess grandmaster. [6]

Style

Karpov's "boa constrictor" playing style is solidly positional,[7] taking no risks but reacting mercilessly to any tiny errors made by his opponents. As a result, he is often compared to his idol, the famous José Raúl Capablanca, the third World Champion. Karpov himself describes his style as follows: "Let us say the game may be continued in two ways: one of them is a beautiful tactical blow that gives rise to variations that don't yield to precise calculation; the other is clear positional pressure that leads to an endgame with microscopic chances of victory. . . . I would choose the latter without thinking twice. If the opponent offers keen play I don't object; but in such cases I get less satisfaction, even if I win, than from a game conducted according to all the rules of strategy with its ruthless logic. "

Notable games

Notes

  1. ^ Anatoly Karpov's Best Games. Paul Keres ( January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975) was an Estonian Chess grandmaster.
  2. ^ Karpov, A. (1992). Karpov on Karpov: A Memoirs of a Chess World Champion. Atheneum. ISBN 0689120605.  
  3. ^ Kasparov: My Great Predecessors
  4. ^ In an article (PDF) published in 2004 on the Chesscafe website Susan Polgar wrote: "I spoke to Boris Spassky about this same issue and he believes that Bobby would have won in 1975, but that Anatoly would have won the rematch. Zsuzsanna "Susan" Polgar (born April 19, 1969, as Polgár Zsuzsanna) is a Hungarian -born American Chess "
  5. ^ 1984 Karpov - Kasparov Title Match Highlights Mark Weeks' Chess Pages
  6. ^ ChessBase.com - Chess News - The Credit Suisse Blitz – in pictures
  7. ^ Kavalek, Lubomir (2007-06-25). Lubomir (Lubosh Kavalek (Lubomír Kaválek born August 9 1943) is a noted Czech - American Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 524 - Battle of Vézeronce, the Franks defeat the Burgundians Chess. Washington Post. The Washington Post is the largest and most circulated Newspaper in Washington D Retrieved on 2008-04-25. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.

Books

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
Bobby Fischer		 World Chess Champion
1975–1985		 Succeeded by
Garry Kasparov
Preceded by
Garry Kasparov		 FIDE World Chess Champion
1993–1999		 Succeeded by
Alexander Khalifman
Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the ChessGamescom is a large Chess community on the Internet with over 100000 members Robert James "Bobby" Fischer ( March 9 1943 – January 17 2008) was an American -born Chess Grandmaster See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Alexander Valeryevich Khalifman (born January 18, 1966, in Leningrad) is a Jewish Russian Chess Grandmaster and former FIDE
© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic