I must admit that in my younger days, I was never an admirer of Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov. He grabbed the crown from my generation’s hero, Bobby Fischer, and was among those who persecuted Soviet defector Vicktor Korchnoi against whom he played three matches.
In those days, moreover, Karpov seemed like a lawn mower and all his opponents were Bermuda grass. He was so strong and so dominant that it took the chess world 10 years just to produce someone worthy to play against him. I refer, of course, to Garry Kasparov, who is 12 years younger than the 12th champion. But in their first match in 1984, Kasparov was nearly wiped out by Karpov who, in turn, underestimated his younger opponent’s fighting spirit. They would face each other in four more title matches, and although Kasparov was already at the peak of his powers, he could only eke out a plus 2 score against Tolya: +21 -19 =104. Kasparov now says that his greatest teacher was Karpov. Gary, in fact, believes one of the reasons Fischer refused to play against Karpov was that the American sensed how formidable his young Soviet opponent was.
Karpov’s style has been compared to his idol, Capablanca. Said ex-world champ Euwe: “Karpov’s games initially startle you by their strategy, which seems illogical, but soon it becomes clear that…his play is extremely logical. [T]here have been no such champions before him.” According to Botvinnik, another former champ: “He has no equals in the art of harmoniously arranging his pieces…. He does not wait; he plays actively.” Smyslov admitted being “staggered” by Karpov’s “amazing ability to soberly and absolutely evaluate the position on the board.” Tal compared Karpov to a “tank which cannot be diverted from its goal. His iron persistence is torture for the faint hearted.” A “chess genius” and his “toughest opponent ever” was how Spassky described Karpov. “I can’t play against you,” Boris would later tell Tolya. “I don’t understand your play, your course of thinking….”
Game of the week. Here is the former world champ against one of Hungary’s top players in a game that won the first brilliancy prize in the tournament and was named the best partie of Chess Informant Vol. 35. Karpov himself annotates.
White: A. Karpov (2710)
Black: G. Sax (2560)
Sicilian Defense
Linares 1983
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cd4 4.Nd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.g4 h6 7.Rg1 Be7 8.Be3 Nc6 9.Qe2 Bd7 [a novelty; 9…Nd4] 10.h4 Nd4 11.Bd4 e5 12.Be3 Bc6 13.Qd3! Qa5 [13…Nh7 14.g5 hg5 15.Nd5 and White is slightly better] 14.0-0-0 Ne4 [14…0-0-0 15.g5 d5 16.gf6 de4 17.fe7 ed3 18.ed8Q with the idea Bd3; 17.Qc4!?] 15.Ne4 d5 16.Qb3! [16.Nd2 Qa2 17.Nb3 a5; 16.Qd2 Qa2 (16…Qd2 17.Nd2 d4) 17.Nc3 Qa1 18.Nb1] de4 17.Bc4 Rf8 only move [17…0-0 18.g5 with attack] 18.Rd5! [18.g5 hg5 19.hg5 a) 19…Rc8 20.g6 fg6 21.Be6 with the idea 21…Ba4 22.Qb7!; b)19…Qb4 20.g6! fg6 (20…Qb3 21.gf7 Rf7 22.ab3) 21.Qb4 Bb4 22.Rg6; c) 19…g6 (only move) 20.Bd5 and White is slightly better] Bd5 [18…Qc7 19.Rgd1] 19.Bd5 Rd8 [19…Qb4 20.Bb7 Qb3 21.ab3 Rb8 22.Bc6 Kd8 23.Ba7 Kc7 24.Bb8 Rb8 25.Be4 and White is superior, ending] 20.Bc4! Bb4! [20…Bd6 21.Qb7 Qc7 22.Qe4 and White is superior] 21.c3 b5! 22.Be2 Bd6 23.Qd5! Ke7?! [23…Qc7 24.Bb5 (24.g5) Ke7 25.Qe4] 24.Bc5! Bc5 only move [24…f6 25.Bc4! Rd7 26.Rd1 and White is winning] 25.Qe5 Kd7 26.Qc5 Qc7 27.Qf5 Ke7 [27…Kc6 28.Qb5 Kd6 29.Qb4 and White is winning] 28.Qe4 Kd7 29.Qf5 Ke7 30.Re1 Rd6 31.Bc4 Kd8 32.Bb5 a6 33.Ba4! [diagonal a4-e8] g6 34.Qf3! Kc8 35.Re7! Rd1 [35…Qe7 36.Qa8 Kc7 37.Qa7 Kd8 38.Qb8 mate] 36.Kd1 Qe7 [36…Rd8 37.Rd7 Rd7 38.Bd7 Qd7 39.Kc1 and White is winning] 37.Qa8 Kc7 38.Qa7 Kd6 39.Qb6 [39… Kd5 40.Qd4 Ke6 41.Bb3 mate] and 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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