Codename: Raul - Karpov of the KGB

Excerpts from "The KGB Plays Chess" by GM Boris Gulko, Vladimir Popov (KGB Colonel, retired), Yuri Felshtinsky, and GM Viktor Korchnoi

One of the central figures in this book is the twelfth world champion, Anatoly Karpov.  There was evidence that Karpov collaborated with the KGB even before this book was written.  Now we know even the secret codename given [to him] by the KGB ... "Raoul".

Possessing a powerful intellect, a great player and a great manipulator, Karpov made splendid use the opportunities which opened up before him as an agent of the KGB.

- from the Foreward by Boris Gulko, pg 10

With respect to Korchnoi, the Soviet government [from 1974] pursued a policy of outright outright harassment, and he was left with no other choice than to leave the Soviet Union forever.  The Soviet government machine placed its bets on Anatoly Karpov, a rising star in the chess firmament, who was obedient and easily manageable.  Korchnoi, an emotional nonconformist and a Jew, was of no use to the Soviet system.  In 1976, while attending an international tournament in Holland, Korchnoi requested political asylum, which he soon received in Switzerland.... Korchnoi, whose family was still in the USSR, had litle notion of how many trials and battles with the Soviet system he still had to endure.

- by Popov and Felshtinsky (P&F), pg 19

In 1978, a world championship match was scheduled to take place in Baguio, in the Philippines, between the Soviet world champion, Anatoly Karpov, and the "defector" and "traitor to his homeland" (as he was referred to in the Soviet Union) challenger Viktor Korchnoi.  When he was still a young man living in Leningrad, Karpov had been recruited as an agent of the KGB, operating under the codename "Raul."  The choice of the codename had been evidently inspired by [events] in Cuba, and as his moniker, Karpov chose the name of Fidel Castro's brother, Raul.

Not fully trusting the information about chess he received from his subordinates in the Fifth Directorate, [Yuri] Andropov, head of the KGB, had regular meeting with Karpov himself, in order to stay fully informed about [Anatoly's] problems and wishes, since Karpov was a favorite of the General Secretary of the Central Committee, Leonid Brezhnev.  The outcome of these meetings was that Lt. Gen. Filipp Bobkov, head of the Fifth Directorate of the KGB, was instructed that Karpov had to remain the world chess champion.

P&F, pg 20

The outwardly quiet Karpov, who spoke in a high and not very manly voice, repeatedly met with Andropov without having any panic attacks.  After their first meeting, Andropov, who had received instructions from Brezhvev to use any means necessary to prevent the "traitor Korchnoi" from winning the world chess championship, ordered the creation of an "operational group" of KGB agents to accompany Karpov to the title match in Baguio in 1978.

P&F, pg 21

Korchnoi was definitely given a hard time by the Soviets.

I have a book by Bent Larsen describing the 1978 World Chess Championship in Baguio. Korchnoi's family was basically held hostage during the entire series.

True, Bill.  In 1978 and in 1981, they were held hostages.

 Although it would had been great if enough pressure had been put on the Soviet Union to allow Korchnoi's family to leave the Soviet Union I think that Karpov's record shows that he was the stronger player. It does of course give the match a dark cloud.

I'm really not sure who was stronger. They played out to a statistical tie in Baguio. 32 games! Karpov's nerves won out in the end, and admittedly, his tournament records were top-notch at the time, but Korchnoi more than gave him a run for his money in '78.

After 31 games, they were tied with 5 wins each and 21 draws. On the thirty second game, Karpov may have won, but it seems that it was not much more than a coin flip at that time.

It was a great match with lots of theory developed on the Open Ruy Lopez.

That Korchnoi had qualified to play Karpov in 1978, by beating two "loyal" Soviets (Petrosian and Polugaevsky), and the dissident Soviet Spassky, caused the higher ups in the Soviet government to become apoplectic.

In the 1977 quarter-finals, Korchnoi defeated his long-time archrival*, former world champion, Tigran Petrosian, 6.5-5.5 in a 12-game match.  The Soviets had insisted that Korchnoi not play under the flag of Switzerland, where Korchnoi resided.  So Korchnoi played under the FIDE flag.

From the time of his defection, the Soviets withdrew all of their players from any tournament he entered, as a form of economic boycott and to prevent Korchnoi from making a living.  This match, played in Italy, would be the first time Korchnoi faced a Soviet since defection.

Korchnoi was quoted in the newspapers as saying, "Petrosian?  I hate that men!"  Korchnoi had as his seconds for the match Moscow-born IM Jacov Murey of Israel and Dutch IM Hans Ree.

Petrosian showed up with an entourage which included GM Efrim Geller as his main second, GM Igor Zaitsev, and GM Yuri Averbakh as the head of the delegation (Averbakh was a long-time KGB collaborator and apologist for Soviet "sportng tactics").  Petrosian also brought a telex machine, to receive instructions from Moscow.

At the time of the match, both players were rated 2645.  They neither greeted one another or shook hands, prior to or after games.  The delegations ate on opposite sides of the dining hall at the playing venue, and almost all communication was made through the arbiter, Bozidar Kasic.

Korchnoi won the 5th and 8th games.  Petrosian took the 6th game - the rest were draws.  Korchnoi advanced to meet the winner of te Polugaevsky-Mecking match.

Of the Petrosian match, Korchnoi wrote:

"As I left Il Ciocco, I gave Petrosian a last farewell look.  He was a whole range of emotions: rage, hate, and 'I didn't finish you off today, but we will settle things next time.'  In fact, just after he arrive back in the USSR, Petrosian was removed from his post as chief editor of [the Soviet chess magazine] 64."

The match lived up to its billing as "the match of hate."

* We will remember that Korchnoi was ordered by Soviet authorities  to lose to Petrosian in the 1971 Candidates semi-final match, so Petrosian could face Fischer.

Backwards - read all about it ...

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/examples-of-soviet-cheating-in-fide-competition

Karpov did better than Korchnoi when it came to playig Kasparov.

Kasparov 28 to Karpov 21 (with 122 draws)

Kasparov 15 to Korchnoi 1 (with 18 draws)

  I think this implies that Karpov is the stronger player.

Okay, you are talkng about the 1974 match.

US master Jude Acers wrote about it:

In order to set the stage for what is going on in Moscow I wish to print the true facts of the tremendous Petrosian-Korchnoi match earlier this year, a match that shot Korchnoi into the top three players in the world. Though the real story has been suppressed by all U.S.S.R. media sources, there were so many Yugoslavian and German witnesses that we now know that a verbal war rather than chess ended the contest!

Korchnoi played beautifully to achieve three wins, one loss, and one draw in the first five games against Tigran Petrosian in Odessa, April 12-24, 1974. Just after the fourth game Tigran Petrosian went to the match committee and requested in writing that Victor Korchnoi be asked not to move his leg up and down beneath the table so much! It was just a Korchnoi nervous habit and did not seem to disturb anything really. No noise or offence intended probably. But Petrosian mentioned that Korchnoi had actually kicked him beneath the table while reaching out to make a move. Surely it was an accident....

Korchnoi knew absolutely nothing of Petrosian's complaint throughout the night, and it was only upon arriving for the fifth game that he was shocked by the formal request to quit moving his leg in a kicking motion beneath the table! Korchnoi was furious but did not say anything to his opponent, beginning to make moves against Petrosian in the fifth game.

You're not going to believe what happened next and at the worst possible moment. Petrosian, while shifting in the chair to adjust his hearing aid, kicked Victor Korchnoi accidentally! As match officials looked on with complete horror and silence. Everybody knew the match could explode any second.

Korchnoi, now thoroughly in flames, sat there for a second and found what has to be one of the truly great one-liner punch outs of all times... "Mister Petrosian, please look for your match chances above the chess table rather than below it." That's the real story, how a great match really ended -- never reported by the wire services.

He was a defector, after all, and the subject of widespread condemnation in the USSR

Karpov definitely had a better set of results against Kasparov than Korchnoi did. Some of this, I believe, was just style differences. Karpov's style served as a kind of "anti-Kasparov" style, which was not so true with Korchnoi. I have to wonder however, how much was simply age. Korchnoi was "an old warrior" even at the Baguio match. So when Kasparov really came into the scene, I suspect that Korchnoi's age was starting to catch up with him.

Having said that, I believe Kasparov at his best was much better than either Karpov or Korchnoi at their best. It's just that I am not sure about using Kasparov as a guage of the relative skills of Karpov and Korchnoi. A better guage, I suspect, would be Petrosian or perhaps Tal. I believe that objectively, Karpov had the overall better results - as measured by his higher rating at the time. However, I have not even attempted a systematic comparison.

Good point

Korchnoi was born in 1931; Karpov in 1951; and Weinstein (Kasparov) in 1963.

That book is pure anti-soviet propaganda.

There are no witness of any unfriendly steps taken by Karpov during matches.

On the contrary, Korchnoi did everything to produce scandals, and create tension even hiring international terrorists (from Ananda Marga sect).

I recommend that you read Karpov's book "Caissa my sister" to learn his calm and weighted views on Korchnoi.

Marignon says: "That book is pure anti-soviet propaganda."

Perhaps. There are lots and lots of books that are "pure anti-soviet propaganda." Did you have one in particular in mind? Have you read "the book" you are referring to? Do you know the title of the book?

To be fair, Bent Larsen is not exactly a neutral source. Nevertheless, it is a fact that Korchnoi's family was denied exit from the Soviet Union during the time of the match. I would not pin this on Karpov directly, but it is clear that Korchnoi was effectively playing with his family being held.

You know nothing and less. 

1. By 1978 Korchnoi already lived with Petra Leewerick - not much of a suffering husband

2 Karpov helped Korchnoi family (Bella and Igor) with money.  Korchnoi didn't.

3. Igor Korchnoi could leave USSR legally, but he did not fulfil the nercessary formalities to do so. Instead he and Victor started blackmailing to produce more scandal. 

<sigh>. Really, you are that trusting of the ancient Soviet propaganda? Whatever Korchnoi's personal relations may have been, his requests to get his family out of the Soviet union are public record. Rely on hearsay and scandal all you want; I prefer public record.

And FWIW, I am not enamored with Fischer/Korchnoi. Fischer was absolutely a chess genius. He was also a certifiable nut-case. I've known enough certifiable nut-cases in my life to know that I would never wanted to have met him. Korchnoi, I will not claim to have insight into his personal life. I am sure that he had his good points and his bad points. Call me naive, but even if he did have an extra-marital affair, it is absurd to believe that he did not legitimately want his family to be able to leave the Soviet Union.

Still, in terms of his chess record, looking strictly at their games played against each other through 1978, Korchnoi played Karpov to a statistical draw.

1981 of course, was another matter, and thereafter, he started to decline.

"The KGB Plays Chess" is certainly an expose. It is written by ex-Soviet insiders. Gulko and his wife (a Soviet-era womens champion) were political prisoners whose human rights were systematically violated by the KGB and Soviet government as refusedniks. We know Korchnoi's story. Popov was a KGB officer intimately familiar with the way the agency operated. He left for Canada. But there is not much that can be called "propaganda."

Billprovince, the book Marignon referred to as "pure anti-Soviet propaganda" is the book The KGB Plays Chess which Jamie is fond of citing. That may be a somewhat harsh description, but it isn't really a reliable source. There's no more reason to take the authors at their word than there is for people on the other side, and there's good reason to distrust Korchnoi as an impartial witness.

@Areg, your assertion that Fischer was perfectly sane strikes me as quite odd. He displayed many of the symptoms of a paranoid schizophrenic. While I am not a psychologist by training (I am a mathematician and computer engineer), I have known enough people suffering from schizophrenia to recognize the symptoms. I am not sure if he actually heard voices, but I would almost be surprised if he did not. One oddity in particular: Fischer was Jewish, yet he was also a rabid anti-semite and Holocaust denier. He was also such a misanthrope as to switch from school to school continuously in his youth, never staying in one place. He eventually dropped out of school entirely before getting a high school diploma.

@Theron: Thanks. I suppose I needed a reminder of where this thread started. I was specifically referring to a book written by Bent Larsen that was specifically about the Baguio match. Yes, it included some background material, but it was mostly about the match games themselves.

>>Gulko and his wife (a Soviet-era womens champion) were political prisoners whose human rights were systematically violated by the KGB and Soviet government as refusedniks.

Jaime! Why do you expose things so wrong??? This is extremely bad faith and attitude.

The story as I remember it was that Gulko worked in a research institure, where  he had access to classified information. He had known the limitations involved. He had agreed with them by signing documents.

If he decided that he wishes to leave, he had to wait for some years for that information to deprecate. It is not any infringement of rights.

During that wait time he freely played in chess tournaments in USSR. Yes, the government did not like someone who wished to leave the country, but there was no harassment involved.