Karpov Diem: Happy Birthday, Tolya!

In this period of clear dominance, in 1978, Karpov defended his title for the first time against Korchnoi at Baguio in the Philippines. He won with six wins, five losses and twenty-one draws. Three years later Korchnoi re-emerged as the challenger, and this time, Karpov won the match in Merano, Italy, handily with a six wins, two losses, and ten draws.

Korchnoi-Karpov, WCC 1978 (Notes by GM Karsten Mueller)

Karpov remained the undisputed King of the chess world for a decade, when another Soviet phenom Garry Kasparov rose to the challenge, becoming the title contender for the infamous 1984 World Championship match.

Karpov amassed a commanding lead of five points over his younger rival, needing to hit one last nail in the coffin — just one point — to become champion again.

But Kasparov just wouldn't give up, eventually scaling back with two consecutive victories in games 47 and 48. The match was abandoned after forty-eight games, amidst a lot of ruckus and mudslinging. Karpov was still leading 5-3, with forty draws, but the match had dragged on for five months.

Kasparov has been vocal in crediting Karpov as the reason behind the increase in his own standard of play. The match was very close with Kasparov dethroning his illustrious rival 12.5-11.5.

But not before this beautiful victory by Karpov that was hailed by experts across the world as 'a light square symphony'.

After the split between Kasparov and FIDE, which resulted in the creation of the Professional Chess Association (PCA), Karpov took his chance to win the "FIDE World Championship" in 1992 by beating Jan Timman, who had lost the Candidates match against Nigel Short, the challenger of the reigning champion Garry Kasparov.

The strength of the twelfth edition of the Linares super tournament was awe-inspiring for the time, so much so that it propelled Garry Kasparov to comment that the winner could consider himself the world champion of tournament chess.

Karpov won with 11.0/13 and scored a rating performance of 2985, that stood for almost two decades until Carlsen took it down with his 3002 performance at Nanjing 2009. He finished a clear 2.5 points ahead of Kasparov. Watch this game where he delivers a 'Karpov Masterclass' to the young Topalov.

Karpov-Topalov, Linares (Notes by IM Oliver Reeh)

Karpov defended his FIDE title against Gata Kamsky in 1996. After that FIDE scrapped the old system of Candidates' matches, instead having a large knock-out competition for the title. In the first of these events, in 1998, Karpov was seeded straight into the final and defeated our own Viswanathan Anand. In the subsequent cycle, the format was changed, with the champion having to qualify. Karpov refused to defend his title and ceased to be FIDE World Champion after the FIDE World Chess Championship of 1999.

Some more choice tactics:

Karpov is no longer active in competitive chess and usually limits his play to exhibition events at rapid time controls. In 2002, he won a rapid chess match against Kasparov 2½-1½, and in 2006, he tied for first with Kasparov in a blitz tournament, ahead of Korchnoi and Judit Polgár. Karpov and Kasparov played a mixed 12-game match in 2009, in Valencia, Spain, which Kasparov won 9-3. Karpov played a match against Yasser Seirawan in 2012 in St Louis, Missouri, an important center of the North American chess scene, with Anatoly Karpov winning the match 8–6.  In November 2012, he won the Cap d'Agde rapid tournament which bears his name (Anatoly Karpov Trophy) by beating Vassily Ivanchuk (ranked 9th in the October 2012 FIDE world rankings) in the final.

Solutions:

Karpov-Csom, 1977: 50. Nf5!! exf5 51. Qh2+ Kg8 52. Qg3+ Kh8 53. Qg7# 1-0

Tatai-Karpov, 1977: 23...Qd3!! 0-1

Karpov-Topalov, 1994: 30. Nf6!! Kxf6 (30... Qxf3 31. Nxe8+) 31. Be5+ Kxe5 $8 32. Qxe4+ Kxe4 33. Re1+ Kf5 34. Rxe8 $18 Be6 35. Rxf8 Bxa2 36. Rc8 {/\Rc7} 1-0

Photos and video from the Chessbase archives.

Anatoly Karpov Masterclass!

We are sure you enjoyed the games of Anatoly Karpov presented here. On this DVD, a team of experts looks closely at the secrets of Karpov’s games. In more than 7 hours of video, the authors examine four essential aspects of Karpov’s superb play. Niclas Huschenbeth takes a look at Karpov’s openings. Our tactics expert Oliver Reeh tests your skills with interactive exercises, challenging you to find Karpov’s brilliant moves. Mihail Marin sees in Karpov’s play great similarities to Magnus Carlsen: by the time the opponent understands what is happening, it is already too late. For endgame expert Dr. Karsten Müller, Anatoly Karpov is “a living legend”. For him, Karpov has “an incredible feeling for the coordination and harmony of his pieces”, something which also shows in his endgames.

• Video running time: 7 hours (English)
• Interactive tactics test with video feedback
• Collection of all Karpov’s games, crosstables and a short biography
• “Karpov’s Powerbook”: The 12th World Champion’s repertoire as an opening tree
• Tactics training based on 189 of Karpov’s games: 472 training questions with a maximum of 875 points

Contact us at chessbaseindia@gmail.com now to get this DVD for only Rs. 999/-!