Karpov then went on to scalp Polugaevsky, Spassky and, after a protracted match, Korchnoi. Such was Fischer’s aura of invincibility that most everyone believed he, despite not playing since winning the crown in 1972, would beat the young Soviet. In the fall of 1974, however, one American chess writer, Jude Acers, predicted: “Karpov beats Fischer 6-5 or 6-4 at best in 35 games if the match goes all the way. Otherwise Karpov wins by forfeit. There is no way, repeat, no way that Bobby Fischer has a chance to beat Karpov in a fair match.” Fischer demanded a match with unlimited games, with the first to score 10 wins declared the champion. The Soviet chess federation eventually agreed, but not to Fischer’s other condition: that in case of a 9-9 score the champion — i.e., Fischer — would retain the title. In other words, Karpov must not only win 10 games; he must not allow Fischer to win 9. Said Acers: “Can you imagine Fischer beating Karpov 10 times in 50 games? Can you imagine Fischer showing up on time for all 50 games?” Acers added, “Consider the record. Against three of the top five players in the world Karpov has lost exactly two games in 38 times at bat by the time of this writing. Karpov is unbelievably hot right now. The man has positively to learn how to lose again…. Consider Fischer three years ago in his greatest hour. The Brooklyn wizard went through four of the top 10 players in the world and lost exactly five games in 42 times at bat!”
Karpov, in an interview, admitted that he wasn’t “very happy that Fischer didn’t appear for the [1975] match and I made many efforts to play another match…. I wanted to play Fischer and I met him for several times, but I believe he had psychological problems at that moment.… First of all he couldn’t accept to lose even one game. And so you could feel it when we had discussions. He thought that when he became world champion he had no right to make one mistake or especially to lose a chess game. And with such approach it is very difficult to play chess because when you meet a player who is on the same level and very strong, you can’t avoid losing a game.”
Kasparov said he would consider Karpov the favorite in 1975. “He was more flexible, he was from a new generation. Karpov’s chess was multifaceted. Fischer would have had a very hard time, and I think Fischer knew that. I doubt Fischer would have avoided a match with Korchnoi or Spassky. Fischer was watching. Karpov beat Spassky in a more convincing way than Fischer did in 1972. Spassky played better against Karpov in 1974 than against Fischer in 1972, and he lost 7-4!”
Korchnoi, not exactly a fan of Karpov, had to admit after their 1981 match that his opponent’s superiority was “so unbelievable.”
Asked to describe his playing style, Karpov in an interview last year said: “I am…a positional player, [an] active positional player…. I could defend difficult positions…. I could resist in positions where other players probably would resign…. I never gave up. I…was stubborn as a chess player, and so I tried to defend even very bad positions, and in many cases succeeded. I’m a fighter, you know. And I don’t give up and if I believe I’m correct, I’m right, then I work and I fight…. I never lost the will to fight.”
How does he remain calm after realizing he has made a poor move?
Karpov replied: “[That’s] a good question…. In my life, I tried and I succeeded in many cases to forget everything that was in the past. So, of course you need to make some analysis and not to repeat mistakes, but it’s extremely important to accept the situation like it is, the real situation, not with thoughts of regrets of what you missed…. Chess is getting ideas on how to accept the real situation and how to be objective.
To be objective and to meet unexpected situations and to adapt to this immediately and to start to think and to solve the problems. You have to develop this. I don’t think it comes from your childhood or with birth.”
Game of the week. Russian GM I. Zaitsev, Karpov’s trainer and second, annotates our featured partie, which was voted the best game in Chess Informant Vol. 45.
White: A. Karpov (2715)
Black: G. Kasparov 2750
Gruenfeld Defense
Belfort 1988
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cd5 Nd5 5.e4 Nc3 6.bc3 Bg7 7.Bc4 c5 8.Ne2 Nc6 9.Be3 0-0 10.0-0 Bg4 11.f3 Na5 12.Bf7 Rf7 13.fg4 Rf1 14.Kf1 Qd6 15.e5 Qd5 16.Bf2 Rd8 17.Qa4! (a novelty) b6 18.Qc2! Rf8 [18…Qc4 19.dc5; 19.Qe4! weak point c6] 19.Kg1 Qc4! 20.Qd2 [20.Qe4!? Bh6; 20…Nc6 with the idea Ne5 unclear] Qe6 [20…Bh6 21.Qh6 Qe2 22.Qe3 and White is slightly better; 20…Qf7 21.Ng3 with the idea 22.Ne4, 22.Qe2 and White is slightly better] 21.h3 Nc4 22.Qg5![and White is superior, with the idea 23.Nf4, 23.Bh4] h6 23.Qc1 Qf7 [23…Qd5 24.Qc2! and White is superior; 23…h5!? and White is superior, with counterplay] 24.Bg3 g5?! [24…Qd5!? 25.Nf4 Qe4 26.Ne6 a) 26…Rc8 27.Qb1! with the idea 27…Qe3 28.Bf2 Qc3 29.Qg6 Qa1 30.Kh2 and White is winning; b) 26…Ne3 27.Qd2 (only move) Nc4 (27…cd4 28.cd4 Rc8 29.Re1 Rc2 30.Re3 Qc6 31.d5 and White is winning) 28.Qe1 Ne3 29.Qe2 cd4 30.Nf8 (30.cd4? Rc8!) Bf8 (30…d3 31.Qf2 and White is winning) 31.cd4 Qd4 32.Re1 and White is superior; c) 26…cd4!? c1) 27.cd4 Ne3 28.Qb2 (28.Qd2 Nc4 29.Qe1 Ne3 30.Qe2 Rc8 31.Rd1 Rc2 32.Rd2 Rc1) Rc8; c2) 27.Nf8 Ne3 28.Qd2 dc3 29.Qe2 and White is superior, with the idea 29…Bf8 30.Qf3] 25.Qc2 Qd5 26.Bf2 b5 27.Ng3 Rf7 [27…b4 28.Nf5 Rf7 29.e6 Qe6 30.Re1Qd7 31.cb4 and White is winning] 28.Re1 [28.Rc1 and White is superior] b4 29.Qg6 Kf8 [29…bc3 30.Nf5 Kf8 31.e6 Rf5 32.gf5 Nd6 33.dc5 and White is winning] 30.Ne4 [30.Nf5 e6 31.Nh6 Rf4 32.Qg5 and White is superior] Rf2 31.Kf2 bc3 32.Qf5 Kg8 33.Qc8 Kh7 34.Qc5 Qf7 35.Kg1 c2 36.Ng3 Bf8 37.Nf5 (and White is winning) Kg838.Rc1 1-0.
Puzzler.
White: Ka5, Nb5, Qc1, Bd3, pawn on d4
Black: Kd5, Ne5, pawns on a6 and f3
White to play and mate in three moves.
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