Anatoly Karpov is a Russian grandmaster and former world champion who dominated the game in the 1970s and 1980s. He was born on May 23, 1951, in Zlatoust, Russia, and began playing chess at 4, earning his Candidate Master title at 11. At 12, he was admitted into Mikhail Botvinnik’s chess school. Botvinnik remarked - “The boy does not have a clue about chess, and there’s no future at all for him in this profession.”
Karpov first gained international attention in the late 1960s. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1969 and earned the title of International Grandmaster in 1970 at the age of 19. Karpov's first major tournament victory came in 1971, when he won the USSR Chess Championship.
Three years later, he won the Candidates Tournament, earning the right to challenge reigning world champion Bobby Fischer. However, when Fischer refused to defend his title Karpov was declared world champion by default.
Karpov successfully defended his title twice against Viktor Korchnoi in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Karpov then ran into the wall of Garry Kasparov, who became his chief rival in the 1980s. They met in the World Championship in 1984 (which was halted after 48 games - 5 Karpov wins, 3 Kasparov wins, and 40 draws), again in 1985 (Kasparov won 13 points to 11), again in 1986 (Kasparov won 12.5-11.5), again in 1987 (which ended tied 12-12 but Kasparov kept the title), and lastly in 1990 (Kasparov won 12.5-11.5). All in all - they played 144 games against each other in the World Championship - Kasparov winning 21, Karpov winning 19, and 104 draws.
The World Championship of 1993 saw Kasparov and Nigel Short withdraw from the World Championship to form the Professional Chess Association stripping them of their titles and official ratings. Karpov was then listed as the Defending Champion and faced Jan Timman, easily winning 12.5-8.5. Karpov then beat Gata Kamsky in 1996. Karpov beat Viswanathan Anand in tiebreaks in 1998.
In 1999, the format of the Championship was changed to a knockout style bracket to determine the champion. In protest, Karpov (along with Kasparov and Anand) refused to play.
During his career, Karpov won numerous tournaments, including the Linares tournament, which he won a record seven times, the Soviet Championship nine times, and was a key member of the Soviet national team, helping win numerous Chess Olympiads and European Team Championships on top of being in 11 World Championship matches (winning 6 of them).
He was known for his positional style of play, which was characterized by ability to slowly build up an advantage and then methodically grind down his opponents.
He was a dominant player during his prime, and his positional style of play remains an inspiration to many young chess players today. He has won numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2012. His contribution to chess theory, style of play, and longevity in the game make him one of the greatest chess players of all time.
Today, we are traveling to Round 16 of the USSR Championships of 1971 before he became the World Champion.
Anatoly Karpov versus Mark Danilovich Tseitlin.
Now, if we’re ready… let’s begin.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Nc3 Nd4 5. Ba4 Nf6 6. Nxe5 fxe4 7. O-O Bc5 8. Nxe4 Nxe4 9. Qh5+ g6 10. Nxg6 Nf6 11. Qe5+ Be7 12. Nxh8 b5 13. Qxd4 bxa4 14. Re1 Kf8 15. d3 Rb8 16. Qe5 Ng8 17. Qh5 Kg7 18. Nf7 Qe8 19. Bh6+ Nxh6 20. Qxh6+ Kxf7 21. Qxh7+ Kf8 22. Re3 Rb6 23. Rg3 1-0
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