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A hardcore guide to analyze your chess games FMCharlyAZ Follow Updated: May 17, 2018, 1:27 PM| 39 This article was originally published here * I knew this would not be short, but what can I say - this will be useful for the rest of your chess career … Or maybe you will decide to end it right now after reading this! :D So before you start, go to the bathroom, then grab yourself a snack and a soda and start reading like you have all the time in the world... *** Why should we analyze our games? Because... A- We can compare our decisions against concrete evidence. B- We can look deep inside our thought processes. C- If done correctly, we will learn about the openings we play, the structures presented in those openings, and the endgames that we never had a chance to practice. If the analysis is completed new ideas will appear and you will know a little more about yourself when started. D- When you analyze your games properly, all your mistakes come to the surface (knowledge, mental processes, recurring errors, etc.), and you will be one step further towards correcting them. The sweat you spend analyzing is worth its weight in gold. *** The guidelines for analyzing your chess games: To analyze your game, it takes certain steps. The first and the second take place during the game. * 1 - Write down the time spent in the game on every move as you play. The fact that you spend more time on one move than another, or in one phase of the game, or in certain positions can sometimes be an indication of gaps in your knowledge or playing technique. A compilation of these records over time can give you an idea where you might be failing * 2 - During the game create code signs on your score sheet to point out the critical moments of the game. As the game changed phases, were you disoriented in the position? Did you overlook a tactic? These are all critical times. For more information, go to Step Six. * 3 - Immediately after the game, write down what you remember from the game. Write down what went through your head during the game, the reasons for your decisions, all the plans and calculations that you did. If you did a post mortem with your opponent try to avoid mixing analysis done during that time with these thoughts. It’s good to also include that post mortem analysis, but separate it from your own train of thought during the game. This will help you successfully perform Step Nine. * 4 - Write at least three things you learned from the game you just completed Jacob Aargard in his excellent book Excelling at Positional Chess recommends three, but if there are more than that, then that’s even better. Go the extra mile - think and try to extract some new ideas. Did you correctly assess the position? How many times did you had to do it again because you missed something, or because you realized the plans you made were not correct? Each deviation of the game that you wanted is an opportunity to learn and to verbalize what you know and what you don’t, what you thought was right during your initial calculations but had to correct in the course of the game .. * 5 - (IMPORTANT!) Identify the critical moments of the game ... ... and add what you found after the game to those recorded using code signs on your score sheet, (Step Two). This is necessary because they are starting points from which you can begin to analyze and also offer valuable information both purely chess related as well as stuff inside your head. “But,” you ask, “What are the critical moments of the game? How do I identify them?” Easy: every change, whether done or not (i.e. either actually played over the board, or just appearing in analysis variations) is a critical position. The first is when you run out of moves that you know in the opening you played. No matter who made the “novelty”, the important thing here is your thought process. Did the move surprise you? What plan did you implement after the novelty? Did you assess the resulting position as good or bad for you? How could you identify another critical moment in the game? The pattern is that every change in the game is a critical moment, as stage and state transitions: Stage transitions: From opening to Middlegame Middlegame to the Endgame. State Transitions: A quiet game into a tactic storm (or vice versa), or a drawish endgame to a lost one. The conversion of advantages in others (or change of plans, or when the configuration of pawns changes drastically, or a massive trade of pieces) Your mood changes during the game And last but not least, situations where you find yourself “lost” in the position: that is, you were unable to find a plan or you had to make a new one because the last one was useless, or you overlooked a continuation, tactical or not. Sure, it’s a lot of information to collect, but the more you collect, the better for you. Therefore it is advisable to do so after almost immediately after finishing your game (“almost immediately” because first you should analyze the game with your opponent). Another way to do it is in the same game … how come? I hear you say, “I will spend more time writing than thinking about the game!” No, I am not suggesting you to write a novel, I am suggesting you come up with a couple of codes (something like “*” for the end of the opening, or “+” for the endgame and so, etc.). Then, every time you identify a critical moment in the game you write it down next to the annotated move. Surely it will be difficult the first times, but then the process will become easier, and you won’t spend more than a second or two doing so. * Soviet master Nikolai Riumin This is an interesting anecdote told by Kotov in his novel-autobiography "Notes of a Chess Player". I don’t remember it precisely so I have to recreate it: Nikolai Ryumin (or perhaps another Russian master, I’m not 100% sure), a master from Soviet times, used to record everything that was going through his head in a little notebook during his games. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Once, a rival wanted to take advantage of the “bad habit” of the master Ryumin, making his move and getting behind him, to read what he was writing. It was a complicated game, and at first Ryumin tried to keep the player behind him from reading what he was writing down, but then he gave up … or he seemed so. The game acquired a bloody character and at one point Ryumin wrote in his notebook “I fear the sacrifice on g6.” It was an idea that was around long ago in the minds of both players, and now with the Ryumin’s confirmation, the opposing player calculated a couple of moves, the he sacrificed his knight on the g6-square and with evident pleasure, he went to stand behind his rival. Ryumin, the wrote down in the little notebook: “I was afraid of the sacrifice, but it is wrong one” and then gobbled up the knight, winning the game afterwards So you know what you can do with some curious opponents ;) * 6 - After establishing the critical points, you can begin to analyze them. Put the most effort into this, no need to use aid such as other player or a program like Rybka or Fritz. Always remember to separate what you saw during the game with the things that you’ve been discovering. This is of enormous importance and it will help you in Step Eight. * 7- Check opening theory (Starting from the moment you were on your own in the opening because you had run out of moves from the book, or if you decided that the variation played is good till move 12, the analysis of the opening and the transition to the middlegame start right there.) Some think this is easy: they go to the computer, open some database, look for the novelty, and then they insert the best games of the opening line played, and they’re done. The next time they “know” they should move “b” instead of “a.” Actually, the real work is a bit more difficult: it is not only locating your mistake, it’s knowing why it was wrong. It’s challenging yourself on whether you know (or knew) the main plans in the system chosen, and the kind of middlegames that derive from those openings. It also does not have to be a punishment, this way you may even discover new opening ideas and novelties. Soon (probably the next article) I will share with you how you should study and investigate the openings. * 8- Positional patterns searching. This is an intermediate step from which you can learn EXTRAORDINARILY and your game can make a qualitative leap by doing this consistently. Pay attention: I guess that you, like many, have reached certain positions in your games in which you were unable to find a correct plan because you could never fathom the principles of the position. Even when you are analyzing it you have not been able to extract some concrete knowledge out of this. If this has happened to you and you could not even decipher it with your opponent in the analysis post mortem, this is the moment when the giant databases can help unravel the mystery. Pay attention mainly to the pawn structure and the remaining pieces, and perform a search query in Chessbase. Don’t forget to select the games from the highest rated players through the rating selection because if you don’t do that you will get thousands of useless and unproductive positions from lower rated players who were unable to find the right path. Using the rating selection to choose among games from only titled players you will get positions of great value which will help you to understand the kind of structures you would like to reach in your games. We can enhance this step by making it much more general. Suppose you could manage finding the correct game plan, like trading the correct pieces…now you can search for similar positions and see how masters played. Maybe you chose the correct plan (good!) but always you can find different ideas and learn something new. For those who do not understand what I’m talking about, stay tuned because I will soon post a video series about Chessbase and how to use it to its full potential. For example, the correct way to do the kind of searches I was just describing. * 9- Analyze the game by yourself (and when to use programs like Fritz and Rybka.) This is important because if you get used to this “system” you will never learn anything. The computer will point you out the tactical moves you missed, but by no means is it able to teach you anything about positional chess and strategies, or explain to you why a move is bad, and so on. When to use software? Well, besides checking the openings theory and the other advice described in Step Eight, you should use the computer only when you have done your analysis already (by writing down all the variations and describing verbally everything that happened). Only then you can go to any engine you have and set it in “blunder-check” mode (error checking) to see what the engine found that you missed. However, that’s not what is the most important; what matters most is when the engine finds a tactical error in your game (and in the analysis of variations that you said you saw in the game) you have to look for patterns. Searching for tactical patterns, you have to look at how many moves in your calculations until you made a serious mistake. This will help you determine your horizon. If you find that you often make a mistake in your calculations after four moves, then you will develop a more watchful eye and pay more attention in such calculations during your games. * 10- Reports and diagnostics. We thank Aargard for putting into words this advice. It simply involves making a list of errors in the tournament and describing them verbally. At the same time, adding the patterns found by the analysis of program such as Fritz or Rybka, and compiling it into a full diagnostic report of your major weaknesses so that you may seek a remedy for each one. * 11- Publish your analysis. There are different ways to do this: In a forum, with a study group, with a player stronger than you, or with a chess buddy. The objective is to check the analysis out with people, not engines. Please, even if you think you have the perfect analysis, be humble and accept criticism. “Why do I need to check it against other humans?”, you ask me, “if I did so thoroughly with Rybka (Fritz, Shredder, you name it)?” The brain is a complex organ, and one of the many tricks it can make us suffer is complacency and exhaustion, both grouped in a conduct named Recursion. Recursion is when our thinking runs along the same path to reach the same place, and in the case of chess, complacency and exhaustion that gives a long analysis can lead to the belief that our analysis is excellent. Sometimes it is, but sometimes we overlook a mate in two, to give an extreme example, or assess a position as good when it is not.* A dictionary joke: Recursion: see Recursion. * WARNING: If you post in forums, you must also take into account the existence of trolls. Do not take part in useless verbal battles with those who just want attention. Any comment that you believe destructive (like “such a bad move”, “who said you can play chess?” “If I were you, I renounce to play chess” etc.), just ignore them. They do not deserve your time. * 12- Time to wrap up and verbalize the acquired knowledge. Did you learn anything more than what you wrote in Step Four? If so, add it. Try to describe it from the practical point of view, like “in this opening variation, I’m better to trade the X bishop”, or “in this kind of a middlegame with this pawn structure the open line is useless and I should seek to open another one”, or “in this endgame it’s important to keep this piece”… You get the idea. This kind of knowledge is as infinite as chess, but at least some of it will be yours forever. *** Difficult? Nobody said it was easy. But I assure you 100% that by applying these tips for analyzing your games, you will experience a breakthrough in your game. Too much work …? Sure it is. That’s why of the millions of chess players in the world, far less than one percent reach mastery. Analyzing your games correctly is one of the things that separate the amateurs from the masters. *** I hope this article will be beneficial to you, and if you think so, then help me spread the word. This is a copy of my original article in my website, and it will be great if you just click on the Facebook or Twitter "Like" buttons. You can also hover the mouse over where it says "Share" and look for your favorite social network or send a link to a friend via the email tool. Thanks! And as always: Ad Majorem Caissa Gloriam! :) *** Esta es una versión imperfecta en inglés de mi artículo orginal en español, el cual lo puedes encontrar aquí.

What is your opinion on Karpov's endgame,I think he is the best in the endgame.What is your opinion?

Cap d'Agde: Karpov Wins Preliminary Tournament With 11.0/14 CM PeterDoggerson 11/1/13 12:04 PM. 2Fwww.chess.com&pfname=&rpctoken=17233120" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="100%" data-gapiattached="true"> Share on favoritesShare on twitterMore Sharing Services0 Anatoly Karpov finished the preliminary tournament in Cap d'Agde like he started, and his excellent play resulted in an undefeated 11/14 score. The 12th World Champion qualified for the semi-finals together with Etienne Bacrot, Mariya Muzychuk and Vassily Ivanchuk, who recoved just in time. Anatoly Karpov | Photo courtesy of the organizers We already know that Karpov, who last year won the tournament named after himself, started the second edition very well. After the first eight rounds he was leading the group with 7.0/8 — see the first report. On Tuesday Karpov duly continued with another win, against Mariya Muzychuk. In a Fianchetto Grünfeld, he didn't get a huge advantage and the ending should have been a draw, but somehow the white pieces became very active at some point. In an ending with opposite-colored bishops, the typical f7-weakness decided the game. Go to: www.chess.com/news/cap-dagde-karpov-wins-preliminary-tournament-with-11014-7298

Some time ago I was reading Nimzowitsch's book My System and I got to play in an over the board tournament game a little after I had finished a chapter. The game I played ended up remarkably similar to an illustrative game in Nimzowitsch's book. I wonder if someone would be able to tell which game was played by masters and which game wasn't. Can you?

Anyone familiary with the book about Karpov's repertoire for playing as Black? Do you recommend it? What else do you recommend for Black and for White (does not have to be Karpov).

I was searching for some queen's indian games by karpov, not the 4....Ba6 5.b3 Bb4+ but the lines with 5....Bb7. tryed searching it on Chessgames but navigating took too much time. If karpov don't play this variation can you point me some player? thanks in advance

The 1st Round pairings are: UTUT ADIANTO vs VLADIMIR KRAMNIK VLADIMIR AKOPIAN vs SVETOZAR GLIGORICH ALAPIN VARIATIONS vs MAGNUS CARLSEN ALEKHINE'S CLUB vs LEVON ARONIAN KARPOV FANS vs MIKHAIL TAHL The matches should be locked and started 14-16.02.2004.

This league is played between groups created in honor of famous past and present chessplayers. This championship aims to provide a stable framework for matches between such groups and to enliven their activity. It is played both for fun and sportsmanship. 1. a. A group of no more than 2000 and no less than 100 members can access the league. b. A group with less than 100 members can be admitted in the league if their current and past matches prove that they can comply with the requirements of article 2.a. hereof. 2.a. The minimum number of players allowed per match in order to be valid is 10. b. Is by any misadventure a group cannot field 10 or more players in a match, it can be agreed by its admin and the admin of the opposing group that the said match shall be played and remain valid. However, this should not happen on a regular basis. 3.a. The league shall be played throughout the year as a round-robin between all participating teams. b. If the number of participants shall be too great for a round-robin to be reasonably playable (>12 participants), a group system shall be applied (and these rules extended correspondingly). 4.a. The scoring system is: Win - 2 points; Draw - 1 point; Loss - 0 points; b. If the teams equal to the number of points, the following additional criteria are applied: - the result between the teams, and if it is a draw then, - who has more individual victories. 5. League should be played out on an annual basis. 6. If a player is kicked out for cheating by Chess. com, all his matches will be declared as lost and final scores readjusted correspondingly, but his team will not be further penalized. 7.a. One player will not be able to play for two different participating teams in the league for the same year, but he can belong to several teams and play other games. b. If such case occurs in a match, the games of that player will be annulled and final scores readjusted correspondingly. 8. All decisions and amendments hereto shall be taken by voting of the league members (1 group - 1 voice). 9. Names of matches played under this league should be submitted in the challenges as : 2014 FCL R1: Team 1 vs Team 2 Example 2014 FCL R1: Vladimir Kramnik Club vs Karpov Fans Starting Position: Standard Days per move: 3 Rating range: Open Concurrent games per opponent: 2 Auto Start: No Rated: Yes 10. All participating city teams agree with these rules. GOOD GAMES!

At the request of our wonderful leader, I am reposting this under a "Book Reviews" forum. -David I've been reading Grandmaster Chess Strategy: What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson's Positional Masterpieces by Kaufeld and Kern (New In Chess, 2011). It contains 80 annotated games. Most common are games featuring the English Opening (24 games), Sicilian Defence (12 games), King's Indian Defence (9 games), and Catalan Opening (8 games). These games are organized into 15 chapters by themes such as "playing against two weaknesses," "the bishop pair," "fighting against the hedgehog," and so forth. The authors strike a good balance between text explanations and specific variations in their comments. The games are current through about 2004. My only quibble with this book is that emphasis is placed on Andersson's OTB play. In recent years, the Swedish grandmaster has focused on correspondance chess. I would love to see games included from this aspect of his career. I give this book 4 stars out of 5. (And, yes, there is one game versus Anatoly Karpov!)

I lose this game but I only slept 5 hours last night and only had 4 minutes left when I missed 39. h4! Otherwise I am quite happy with my play. Note 24. Bf1 and 31. Bc1.

This is just a puzzle,see if you can draw!It souldn't be too hard if you're good at endgames.

Anatoly Karpov Defeats Yasser Seirawan! Anatoly crushed Seirawan and won $10,000 doing it! Great job Anatoly! http://www.chess.com/news/karpov-defeats-seirawan-in-blitz-showdown-7134

Under the suspect of being a foreing agent?! Funny, if it wasn't absurd.. Polgar here The Moskov Times here

I was extremely outplayed in this game and I am hoping that some strong players will be able to explain to me what went wrong.

...written by me in 2009. I thought it was nice to share it with all the Karpov fan here http://alturl.com/j8vo3 It was in italian, so please forgive the google translation. Hi everyone and have fun with chess!

Dear Karpov Friends, This morning my dear friend Mitto, from the Arabian Heart and Peace Loving World Citizens, alerted chess.com members through a forum post about U.S. proposed legislation to limit content on the web, and Wikapedia's response to this with a 24 hour blackout. Since all of us on chess.com use the web, I wanted to let all of you in on the discussion and the action. All of us will take Action. Some of us will take the Action of ignoring, and some will take the Action of Protest, but the beautiful thing is, we get a choice. The following statement is from Sue Gardner, executive director of Wikimedia, taken from the Wikipedia website. This more eloquently states what I would like to say myself. ..."Like Kat and the rest of the Wikimedia Foundation Board, I have increasingly begun to think of Wikipedia’s public voice, and the goodwill people have for Wikipedia, as a resource that wants to be used for the benefit of the public. Readers trust Wikipedia because they know that despite its faults, Wikipedia’s heart is in the right place. It’s not aiming to monetize their eyeballs or make them believe some particular thing, or sell them a product. Wikipedia has no hidden agenda: it just wants to be helpful. That’s less true of other sites. Most are commercialy motivated: their purpose is to make money. That doesn’t mean they don’t have a desire to make the world a better place –many do!– but it does mean that their positions and actions need to be understood in the context of conflicting interests. My hope is that when Wikipedia shuts down on January 18, people will understand that we’re doing it for our readers. We support everyone’s right to freedom of thought and freedom of expression. We think everyone should have access to educational material on a wide range of subjects, even if they can’t pay for it. We believe in a free and open Internet where information can be shared without impediment. We believe that new proposed laws like SOPA –and PIPA, and other similar laws under discussion inside and outside the United States– don’t advance the interests of the general public. You can read a very good list of reasons to oppose SOPA and PIPA here, from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Why is this a global action, rather than US-only? And why now, if some American legislators appear to be in tactical retreat on SOPA? The reality is that we don’t think SOPA is going away, and PIPA is still quite active. Moreover, SOPA and PIPA are just indicators of a much broader problem. All around the world, we’re seeing the development of legislation intended to fight online piracy, and regulate the Internet in other ways, that hurt online freedoms. Our concern extends beyond SOPA and PIPA: they are just part of the problem. We want the Internet to remain free and open, everywhere, for everyone. On January 18, we hope you’ll agree with us, and will do what you can to make your own voice heard. Sue Gardner,Executive Director Take action: If you’re a US citizen, contact your representative to let them know you oppose SOPA and PIPA.

I've been reading Grandmaster Chess Strategy: What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson's Positional Masterpieces by Kaufeld and Kern (New In Chess, 2011). It contains 80 annotated games. Most common are games featuring the English Opening (24 games), Sicilian Defence (12 games), King's Indian Defence (9 games), and Catalan Opening (8 games). These games are organized into 15 chapters by themes such as "playing against two weaknesses," "the bishop pair," "fighting against the hedgehog," and so forth. The authors strike a good balance between text explanations and specific variations in their comments. The games are current through about 2004. My only quibble with this book is that emphasis is placed on Andersson's OTB play. In recent years, the Swedish grandmaster has focused on correspondance chess. I would love to see games included from this aspect of his career. I give this book 4 stars out of 5. (And, yes, there is one game versus Anatoly Karpov!)

All though we all love Karpov and have enjoyed his games for many years one has to wonder how much he is considering full on retirement? He certainly plays in less events than in his prime but recently his poor tournament performance has made me wonder when he will announce it. What do you all think>

Hide Wikipedia is getting a new lookHelp us find bugs and complete user interface translations Notice something different? We've made a few improvements to Wikipedia. Learn more. [Hide] [Help us with translations!] Anatoly Karpov From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2009) Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Karpov, 2006 Full name Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov(Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов) Country Russia Born May 23, 1951 (1951-05-23) (age 59)Zlatoust, RSFSR, Soviet Union Title Grandmaster (1970) World Champion 1975–19851993–1999 (FIDE) FIDE rating 2619(No. 140 on the September 2009 FIDE ratings list) Peak rating 2780 (July 1994) Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов Anatolij Evgen'evič Karpov; born May 23, 1951) is a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was official world champion from 1975 to 1985, played three more matches for the title from 1986 to 1990, then was FIDE World Champion from 1993 to 1999. For his decades-long standing among the world's elite, Karpov is considered one of the greatest players of all time. His tournament successes include over 160 first-place finishes.[1] He had a peak Elo rating of 2780, and his 90 total months at world number-one are second all-time behind only Garry Kasparov since the inception of the FIDE ranking list in 1971. Since 2005, he has been a member of the Public Chamber of Russia. He has recently involved himself in several humanitarian causes, such as advocating the use of iodised salt.[2] Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 International career 2.1 1967-1969 2.2 Top-Class Grandmaster 3 Candidate 3.1 Fischer's opponent in 1975? 3.2 World champion 3.3 Rivalry with Kasparov 3.4 FIDE champion again (1993-1999) 3.5 Towards retirement? 4 Candidate to FIDE Presidency 5 Style 6 Notable games 7 References 8 Books 9 Further reading 10 External links [edit] 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. His early rise in chess was swift, as he became a Candidate Master by age eleven. At twelve, he was accepted into Mikhail Botvinnik's prestigious chess school, though Botvinnik made the following remark 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."[3] Karpov acknowledged that his understanding of chess theory was very confused at that time, and wrote later that the homework which Botvinnik assigned greatly helped him, since it required that he consult chess books and work diligently.[4] Karpov improved so quickly under Botvinnik's tutelage that he became the youngest Soviet National Master in history at fifteen in 1966; this tied the record established by Boris Spassky in 1952. [edit] International career [edit] 1967-1969 Karpov finished first in his first international tournament in Trinec several months later, ahead of Viktor Kupreichik. In 1967, he won the annual European Junior Championship at Groningen. Karpov won a gold medal for academic excellence in high school, and entered Moscow State University in 1968 to study mathematics. He later transferred to Leningrad State University, eventually graduating from there in economics. One reason for the transfer was to be closer to his coach, Grandmaster Semyon Furman, who lived in Leningrad. 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 Spassky (1955) to win the World Junior Chess Championship, scoring an undefeated 10/11 in the finals at Stockholm. In 1970, he tied for fourth place at an international tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, and was awarded the grandmaster title. [edit] Top-Class Grandmaster He won the 1971 Alekhine Memorial in Moscow (equal with Leonid Stein), ahead of a star-studded field, for his first significant adult victory. His Elo rating shot from 2540 in 1971 to 2660 in 1973, when he shared second in the USSR Chess Championship, and finished equal first with Viktor Korchnoi in the Leningrad Interzonal Tournament, with the latter success qualifying him for the 1974 Candidates Matches, which would determine the challenger of the reigning world champion, Bobby Fischer. [edit] Candidate Karpov defeated Lev Polugaevsky by the score of +3 =5 in the first Candidates' match, earning the right to face former champion Boris Spassky in the semi-final round. 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. Spassky won the first game as Black in good style, but tenacious, aggressive play from Karpov secured him overall victory by +4 -1 =6. The Candidates' final was played in Moscow with Korchnoi. Karpov took an early lead, winning the second game against the Sicilian Dragon, then scoring another victory in the sixth game. Following ten consecutive draws, Korchnoi threw away a winning position in the seventeenth game to give Karpov a 3-0 lead. In game 19, Korchnoi succeeded in winning a long endgame, then notched a speedy victory after a blunder by Karpov two games later. Three more draws, the last agreed by Karpov in a clearly better position, closed the match, as he thus prevailed +3 -2 =19, moving on to challenge Fischer for the world title. [edit] Fischer's opponent in 1975? Though a world championship match between Karpov and Fischer was highly anticipated, those hopes were never realised. 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. FIDE, the International Chess Federation, refused to allow this proviso, and FIDE declared that Fischer relinquished his crown. 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 faced the reigning champion. Garry Kasparov argued that Karpov would have had good 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.[5] Spassky thought that Fischer would have won in 1975 but Karpov would have qualified again and beaten Fischer in 1978.[6] [edit] 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. He created a phenomenal streak of tournament wins against the strongest players in the world. Karpov held the record for most consecutive tournament victories (nine) until it was shattered by Garry Kasparov (14). In 1978, Karpov's first title defence was against Korchnoi, the opponent he had defeated in the 1973-75 Candidates' cycle; the match was played at Baguio in the Philippines, with the winner needing six victories. As in 1974, Karpov took an early lead, winning the eighth game after seven draws to open the match, but Korchnoi staged a comeback late in the match, as, after the score was +5 -2 =20 in Karpov's favour, he won three of the next four games to draw level, with Karpov then winning the next game to retain the title (+6 -5 =21). Three years later Korchnoi re-emerged as the Candidates' winner against German finalist Dr. Robert Hübner to challenge Karpov in Meran, Italy. This match, however, was won handily by Karpov, the score being (11–7, +6 -2 =10) in what is remembered as the "Massacre in Merano". Karpov's tournament career reached a peak at the exceptional Montreal "Tournament of Stars" tournament in 1979, where he finished joint first (+7 -1 =10) with Mikhail Tal, ahead of a field of strong grandmasters completed by Jan Timman, Ljubomir Ljubojevic, Spassky, Vlastimil Hort, Lajos Portisch, Huebner, Bent Larsen and Lubomir Kavalek. He dominated Las Palmas 1977 with an incredible 13.5/15. He also won the prestigious Bugojno tournament in 1978 (shared) and 1980, the Linares tournament in 1981 (shared with Larry Christiansen) and 1994, the Tilburg tournament in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, and 1983, and the Soviet Championship in 1976, 1983, and 1988. Karpov represented the Soviet Union at six Chess Olympiads, in all of which the USSR won the team gold medal. He played first reserve at Skopje 1972, winning the board prize with 13/15. At Nice 1974, he advanced to board one and again won the board prize with 12/14. At La Valletta 1980, he was again board one and scored 9/12. At Lucerne 1982, he scored 6.5/8 on board one. At Dubai 1986, he scored 6/9 on board two. His last was Thessaloniki 1988, where on board two he scored 8/10. 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. Karpov had cemented his position as the world's best player and world champion by the time Garry Kasparov arrived on the scene. In their first match, the World Chess Championship 1984, held in Moscow, with the victor again being the first to win six games outright, Karpov built a commanding 4-0 lead after nine games. The next seventeen games were drawn, setting the record for world title matches, and it took Karpov until Game 27 to gain his fifth win. In Game 31, Karpov had a winning position but failed to take advantage and settled for a draw. He lost the next game, after which fourteen more draws ensued. In particular, Karpov held a solidly winning position in Game 41, but again blundered and had to settle for a draw. After Kasparov won Games 47 and 48, FIDE President Florencio Campomanes unilaterally terminated the match, citing the health of the players.[7] The match 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. The events of the so-called Marathon match forced FIDE to return to the previous format, a match limited to 24 games (with Karpov remaining champion if the match should finish 12-12). In a hard fight, Karpov had to win the final game to draw the match and retain his title, but wound up losing, thus surrendering the title to his opponent. The final score was 11-13 (+3 -5 =16), in favor of Kasparov. [edit] 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). 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. 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, missed a variation leading to an almost forced draw, and allowed Kasparov to adjourn the game with an extra pawn. 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 scored 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 in his twenties, he (Karpov) could have been a much better player as a result (in a similar way as Kasparov's constant rivalry with him helped Kasparov to achieve his full potential). [edit] FIDE champion again (1993-1999) Karpov in 1996 In 1992, Karpov lost a Candidates Match against Nigel Short in 1992. But in 1993, Karpov reacquired the FIDE World Champion title when Kasparov and Short split from FIDE. Karpov defeated Timman – the loser of the Candidates' final against Short. The next major meeting of Kasparov and Karpov was the 1994 Linares chess tournament. The field, in eventual finishing order, was Karpov, Kasparov, Shirov, Bareev, Kramnik, Lautier, Anand, Kamsky, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Illescas, Judit Polgár, and Beliavsky; with an average Elo rating of 2685, the highest ever at that time, making it the first Category XVIII tournament ever held. Impressed by the strength of the tournament, Kasparov had said several days before the tournament that the winner could rightly 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), finishing 2.5 points ahead of second-place Kasparov and Shirov. 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 player in history up until 2009, when Magnus Carlsen won the category XXI Pearl Spring chess tournament with a performance of 3002. However, chess statistician Jeff Sonas still considers Karpov's Linares performance as the best tournament result in history.[8] Karpov defended his FIDE title against Gata Kamsky (+6 -3 =9) in 1996. 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, the FIDE World Chess Championship 1998, champion Karpov was seeded straight into the final, defeating Viswanathan Anand (+2 -2 =2, rapid tiebreak 2:0). 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 1999. [edit] 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 dissolved. In addition, he had been involved in several disputes with FIDE and became increasingly disillusioned with chess. In the September 2009 FIDE rating list, he dropped out of the world's Top 100 for the first time. 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 Polgár.[9] Karpov and Kasparov played a mixed 12-game match from September 21–24, 2009, in Valencia, Spain. It consisted of four rapid (or semi rapid) and eight blitz games and took place exactly 25 years after the two players' legendary encounter at World Chess Championship 1984.[10] Kasparov won the match 9-3. [edit] Candidate to FIDE Presidency In March 2010 Karpov announced that he would be a candidate for the presidency of FIDE. The election will take place in October at the 39th Chess Olympiad.[11] In May a fund-raising event took place in New York with the participation of his former rival Garry Kasparov and of Magnus Carlsen, both of whom will support his bid and will campaign for him.[12] Also Nigel Short has announced he will support Karpov's candidacy. [edit] Style Karpov's "boa constrictor" playing style is solidly positional,[13] 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. [edit] Notable games Viktor Korchnoi vs Anatoli Karpov, Moscow 1973 Karpov sacrifices a Pawn for a strong center and Queen-side attack. Anatoly Karpov vs Gyula Sax, Linares 1983 Karpov sacrifices for an attack that wins the game 20 moves later, after another spectacular sacrifice from Karpov and counter-sacrifice from Sax. It won the tournament's first brilliancy prize. This was not the first time Karpov used the sharp Keres Attack (6. g4) - see his win in Anatoli Karpov vs Vlastimil Hort, Alekhine Memorial Tournament, Moscow 1971 [edit] References ^ van Reem, Eric (2005-08-11). ""Karpov, Kortchnoi win Unzicker Gala"". ChessBase.com. . Retrieved 2009-07-02.2Fwww.chessbase.com%2Fnewsdetail.asp%3Fnewsid%3D2569&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> ^ Unicef website ^ "Anatoly Karpov's Best Games". .2Fwww.chessgames.com%2Fperl%2Fchesscollection%3Fuser%3DKingG&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> ^ Karpov, A. (1992). Karpov on Karpov: A Memoirs of a Chess World Champion. Atheneum. ISBN 0689120605.en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> ^ Kasparov, My Great Predecessors, part IV: Fischer, p. 474 ^ 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." ^ 1984 Karpov - Kasparov Title Match Highlights Mark Weeks' Chess Pages ^ Facts and figures: Magnus Carlsen's performance in Nanjing. ChessBase.com. Retrieved on 2009-10-26. ^ ChessBase.com news item ^ "Kasparov and Karpov to play 12 games match in Valencia". Chessdom. . Retrieved 2009-07-08.2Fpreviews.chessdom.com%2Fkasparov-karpov-valencia-2009&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> ^ chessvibes article ^ Chessbase article on New York event ^ Kavalek, Lubomir (2007-06-25). "Chess". Washington Post. . Retrieved 2008-04-25.2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2007%2F06%2F24%2FAR2007062401102.html&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> [edit] Books Elista Diaries: Karpov-Kamsky, Karpov-Anand, Anand Mexico City 2007 World Chess Championship Matches (with Ron Henley) ISBN 0-923891-97-8 Karpov, Anatoly (1990). Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a chess world champion. Liberty Publishing. ISBN 0-689-12060-5.en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> (also a 1992 Simon & Schuster edition) [edit] Further reading World chess champions by Edward G. Winter, editor. 1981 ISBN 0-08-024094-1 The World's Great Chess Games by Reuben Fine, Dover; 1983. ISBN 0-486-24512-8 Anatoly Karpov's Best Games by Anatoly Karpov, Batsford; 2003. ISBN 0-7134-7843-8 Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld by Sarah Hurst, Russell Enterprises, 2002. Karolyi, Tibor; Aplin, Nick (2007). Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov. New In Chess. ISBN 978-90-5691-202-4.en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> Kasparov, Garry (2006). My Great Predecessors, part V. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-404-3.en.wikipedia.org:Anatoly_Karpov"> [edit] External links Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Anatoly Karpov Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anatoly Karpov Karpov's official homepage in Russian. FIDE rating card for Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Karpov player profile at ChessGames.com Edward Winter, List of Books About Karpov and Korchnoi Awards Preceded byBobby Fischer World Chess Champion1975–1985 Succeeded by