Boris Spassky
Spassky at the Thessaloniki Olympiad, 1984
Full name	Boris Vasilievich Spassky
Country	Soviet Union France
Born	(1937-01-30) January 30, 1937 (age 75) Leningrad, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1969–72
FIDE rating	2548 (May 2012)
Peak rating	2690 (January 1971)

Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij; Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский; born January 30, 1937) is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. He is known as one of the greatest living chess players, and is the oldest living world champion.

Spassky won the Soviet Chess Championship twice outright (1961, 1973), and twice lost in playoffs (1956, 1963), after tying for first place during the event proper. He was a World Chess Championship candidate on seven occasions (1956, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1977, 1980, and 1985).

Spassky defeated Tigran Petrosian in 1969 to become World Champion, then lost the title in the Fischer–Spassky match in 1972 - one of the most famous chess matches in history.

Early life[link]

He was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) to a Russian mother and father, and learned to play chess at the age of five on a train evacuating from Leningrad during World War II. He first drew wide attention in 1947 at age ten, when he defeated Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition in Leningrad.^[1] His early coach was Vladimir Zak, a respected master and trainer. During his youth, from the age of ten, Spassky often worked on chess for several hours a day with master-level coaches. He set records as the youngest Soviet player to achieve first category rank (age ten), candidate master rank (age eleven), and Soviet Master rank (age fifteen). In 1952, at fifteen, Spassky scored 50 percent in the Soviet Championship semifinal at Riga, and placed second in the Leningrad Championship that same year, being highly praised by Botvinnik.

Career[link]

Young Grandmaster[link]

Spassky made his international debut in 1953, aged sixteen, at a tournament in Bucharest, Romania, finishing tied 4th–5th with 12/19, an event won by his trainer, Alexander Tolush, and where he defeated Vasily Smyslov who would challenge for the World Championship the following year. He was awarded the title of International Master by FIDE. In his first attempt at the Soviet Championship final, the 22nd in the series, held in Moscow 1955, Spassky tied for 3rd–6th places with 11½/19, after joint winners Smyslov and Efim Geller, which was sufficient to qualify him for the Gothenburg Interzonal later that year.

The same year, he won the World Junior Chess Championship held at Antwerp, Belgium, with the score of 14/16. Spassky competed for the Lokomotiv Voluntary Sports Society.

By sharing 7th–9th place with 11/20 at Gothenburg, Spassky qualified for the 1956 Candidates' Tournament, held in Amsterdam, automatically gaining the grandmaster title, and was then the youngest to hold the title. There, he finished in the middle of the ten-player field, tied for 3rd–7th places with 9½/18. At the 23rd Soviet final, held in Leningrad in January-February 1956^[2], Spassky shared 1st–3rd places on 11½/19, with Mark Taimanov and Yuri Averbakh, but Taimanov won the subsequent playoff to become champion. Spassky then tied for first with Tolush in a strong Leningrad tournament later in 1956.

Uneven results[link]

After these early successes, Spassky then went into a slump in world championship qualifying events, failing to advance to the next two Interzonals (1958 and 1962), a necessary step to earn the right to play for the World Chess Championship. This crisis coincides with the hard three final years of his first marriage before his divorce in 1961,^[3] the same year that he broke with his trainer Tolush.

In the 1957 Soviet final, URS-ch24 at Moscow, Spassky finished tied 4th–5th with 13/21, as Mikhail Tal won the first of his six Soviet titles, which began his ascent to the world title in 1960.

Spassky's failure to qualify for the 1958 Interzonal came about after a last-round defeat at the hands of Tal, in a nervy game in the 1958 Soviet final, URS-ch25 at Riga. He had the advantage for much of the game, but missed a difficult win after adjournment, then later declined a draw. A win would have qualified him for the Interzonal, and a draw would have ensured a share of fourth place with Yuri Averbakh, with qualification possible via a playoff.

Spassky tied for first place at Moscow 1959 on 7/11, with Smyslov and David Bronstein. He nearly won the title at the next Soviet final, URS-ch26 at Tbilisi 1959, finishing half a point behind champion Tigran Petrosian, in equal second place with Tal, on 12½/19. Soon after Spassky notched a victory at Riga, 1959, with 11½/13. Spassky was in the middle of the pack at the next Soviet final, URS-ch27 at Leningrad, with 10/19, as fellow Leningrader Viktor Korchnoi scored his first Soviet title victory. Spassky travelled to Argentina, where he shared first place, ahead of Bronstein, at Mar del Plata 1960 with Bobby Fischer on 13½/15, defeating Fischer in their first career meeting.

Another disappointment for Spassky came at the qualifier for the next Interzonal, the Soviet final URS-ch28 at Moscow 1961, where he again missed advancing by one place, finishing tied 5th–6th with 11/19, as Petrosian won.

Title contender[link]

Spassky decided upon a switch in trainers, from the volatile attacker Alexander Tolush to the calmer strategist Igor Bondarevsky. This proved the key to his resurgence. He won his first of two USSR Championships, URS-ch29, at Baku 1961, with a score of 14.5/20. Spassky shared 2nd–3rd at Havana 1962 with 16/21, behind winner Miguel Najdorf. He placed joint 5th–6th at Yerevan 1962, URS-ch30, with 11.5/19. At Leningrad 1963, the site for URS-ch31, Spassky tied for first with Leonid Stein and Ratmir Kholmov, with Stein winning the playoff. Spassky won at Belgrade 1964 with an undefeated 13/17, ahead of Korchnoi and Borislav Ivkov. He was fourth at Sochi 1964 with 9.5/15, as Nikolai Krogius won.

Then, in the 1964 Soviet Zonal at Moscow, a seven-player double round-robin event, Spassky won with 7/12, to advance to the Amsterdam Interzonal the same year. At Amsterdam, he tied for 1st–4th places, along with Tal, Vasily Smyslov, and Bent Larsen, on 17/23, with all four, along with Borislav Ivkov and Lajos Portisch, thus qualifying for the newly created Candidates' Matches the next year. With Bondarevsky, Spassky's style broadened and deepened, with poor results mostly banished, yet his fighting spirit was even enhanced. He added psychology and surprise to his quiver, and this proved enough to eventually propel him to the top.

Challenger[link]

Spassky was considered an all-rounder on the chess board, and his adaptable "universal style" was a distinct advantage in beating many top grandmasters. In the 1965 cycle, he beat Paul Keres at Riga 1965 with careful strategy, triumphing in the last game to win 6–4 (+4 =4 −2). Also at Riga, he defeated Efim Geller with mating attacks, winning by 5½–2½ (+3 =5 −0). Then, in his Candidates' Final match (the match which determines who will challenge the reigning world champion for the title) against Mikhail Tal the legendary tactician (Tbilisi 1965), Spassky often managed to steer play into quieter positions, either avoiding former champion Tal's tactical strength, or extracting too high a price for complications. Though losing the first game, he won by 7–4 (+4 =6 −1).

Spassky won two tournaments in the run-up to the final. He shared first at the Chigorin Memorial in Sochi, in 1965 with Wolfgang Unzicker on 10½/15, then tied for first at Hastings 1965–66 with Wolfgang Uhlmann on 7½/9.

Spassky lost a keenly-fought final match in Moscow, with three wins against Petrosian's four, with seventeen draws, though the last of his three victories came only in the twenty-third game, after Petrosian had already ensured his retention of the title. A few months after the match, however, Spassky finished ahead of Petrosian and a super-class field at Santa Monica 1966 (the Piatigorsky Cup), with 11½/18, half a point ahead of Bobby Fischer. Spassky also won at Beverwijk 1967 with 11/15 ahead of Anatoly Lutikov, and shared 1st–5th places at Sochi 1967 on 10/15 with Krogius, Alexander Zaitsev, Leonid Shamkovich, and Vladimir Simagin.

As losing finalist in 1966, Spassky was automatically seeded into the next Candidates' cycle. In 1968, he faced Geller again, this time at Sukhumi, and won by the same margin as in 1965 (5½–2½, +3 =5). He next met Bent Larsen at Malmö, and won by 5½–2½. The final was against his Leningrad rival Viktor Korchnoi at Kiev, and Spassky triumphed (+4 −1 =5), which earned him another match with Petrosian, at Moscow 1969. Spassky's flexibility of style was the key to his eventual victory over Petrosian in the 1969 World Championship. Spassky won by 12½–10½.

World Champion[link]

During Spassky's three-year reign as World Champion, he won several more tournaments. He placed first at San Juan 1969 with 11½/15. He won a quadrangular event at Leiden 1970 with 7/12, ahead of Larsen, Botvinnik and Jan Hein Donner. Spassky shared first at Amsterdam 1970 with Lev Polugaevsky on 11½/15. He was third at Gothenburg 1971 with 8/11, behind winners Vlastimil Hort and Ulf Andersson. He shared first with Hans Ree at the 1971 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Vancouver.

Spassky's reign as world champion lasted three years, as he lost to Fischer of the United States in 1972 in the "Match of the Century". The contest took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, at the height of the Cold War, and consequently was seen as symbolic of the political confrontation between the two superpowers. Spassky accommodated many demands by Fischer, including moving the third game into a side room. The Fischer vs Spassky World championship was the most widely covered chess match in history, as mainstream media throughout the world covered the match. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger spoke with Fischer urging him to play the match, and chess was at its apex. The match could not have occurred without Spassky's tremendous sportsmanship, accommodating many demands of Fischer, refusing to use these demands as an opportunity to win by forfeit.

Going into the match, Fischer had never won a game from Spassky in five attempts, losing three. In addition, Spassky had secured Geller as his coach, who also had a plus score against Fischer. However, Fischer was in excellent form, and won the title match convincingly (+7 −3 =11), with one of the three losses by default.

The match could be divided into halves, the first won convincingly by Fischer, and the second a close battle. Before Spassky, Mark Taimanov, Larsen, and Petrosian, had lost convincingly to Fischer, but Spassky maintained his composure and competitiveness.

Ex-champion (1973–85)[link]

Spassky continued to play some excellent chess after losing his crown, winning several championships. In 1973, he tied for first at Dortmund on 9½/15 with Hans-Joachim Hecht and Ulf Andersson. In the 41st Soviet Championship^[4] at Moscow, Spassky scored 11½/17 to win by a full point in a field which included all the top Soviet grandmasters of the time.

Boris Spassky, 1980

In the 1974 Candidates' matches, Spassky first defeated American Robert Byrne in Puerto Rico by 4½–1½ (+3 =3); he then lost the semifinal match to Anatoly Karpov in Leningrad, despite winning the first game, (+1 −4 =6). Karpov had publicly acknowledged that Spassky was superior, but had nevertheless outplayed him.

In 1976, Spassky was obliged to return to the Interzonal stage, and finished in a tie for 10th-13th places in the Manila Interzonal^[5], but was nominated to play in the Candidates' matches after Fischer declined his place. Spassky won an exhibition match with rising Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman at Amsterdam 1977 by 4–2. He triumphed in extra games in his first Candidates' match over Vlastimil Hort at Reykjavík 1977 by 8½–7½. This match saw Spassky fall ill, exhaust all his available rest days while recovering^{[citation needed]}; then the healthy Hort used one of his own rest days, to allow Spassky more time to recover; Spassky eventually won the match.

Spassky won an exhibition match over Robert Hübner at Solingen, 1977 by 3½–2½, then defeated Lubomir Kavalek, also at Solingen, by 4/6 in another exhibition. His next Candidates' match was against Lajos Portisch at Geneva 1977, and Spassky won again, by 8½–6½, to qualify for the final. At Belgrade 1977, Spassky lost to Viktor Korchnoi, by (+4 −7 =7).

Spassky, as losing finalist, was seeded into the 1980 Candidates' matches, and faced Portisch again, with this match held in Mexico. After fourteen games, the match was 7–7, but Portisch advanced since he had won more games with the black pieces. Spassky missed qualification from the 1982 Toluca Interzonal with 8/13, finishing half a point short, in third place behind Portisch and Eugenio Torre. The 1985 Candidates' event was held as a round-robin tournament at Montpellier, France, and Spassky was nominated as an organizer's choice. He scored 8/15 to tie for 6th–7th places, behind joint winners Andrei Sokolov, Rafael Vaganian, and Artur Yusupov, but only four players advanced to matches. This was Spassky's last appearance at the Candidates' level.

International team results[link]

Spassky played five times for the USSR in Student Olympiads, winning eight medals. He scored 38½/47 (+31 −1 =15), for an outstanding 81.91 percent. His complete results are:

• Lyon 1955, board 2, 7½/8 (+7 −0 =1), team gold, board gold;
• Reykjavík 1957, board 2, 7/9 (+5 −0 =4), team gold, board gold;
• Varna 1958, board 2, 6½/9 (+4 −0 =5), team gold;
• Leningrad 1960, board 1, 10/12 (+9 −1 =2), team silver;
• Marianske Lazne 1962, board 1, 7½/9 (+6 −0 =3), team gold, board gold.^[6][7]

Spassky played twice for the USSR in the European Team Championships, winning four gold medals. He scored 8½/12 (+5 =7 −0), for 70.83 percent. His complete results are:

• Vienna 1957, board 5, 3½/5 (+2 =3 −0), team gold, board gold;
• Bath, Somerset 1973, board 1, 5/7 (+3 =4 −0), team gold, board gold.^[8]

Spassky played seven times for the Soviet Olympiad team. He won thirteen medals, and scored 69/94 (+45 −1 =48), for 73.40 percent. His complete results are:

• Varna 1962, board 3, 11/14 (+8 −0 =6), team gold, board gold medal;
• Tel Aviv 1964, 2nd reserve, 10½/13 (+8 −0 =5), team gold, board bronze;
• Havana 1966, board 2, 10/15, team gold.
• Lugano 1968, board 2, 10/14, team gold, board bronze;
• Siegen 1970, board 1, 9½/12, team gold, board gold;
• Nice 1974, board 3, 11/15, board gold, team gold;
• Buenos Aires 1978, board 1, 7/11 (+4 −1 =6), team silver.^[8]

Spassky played board one in the USSR vs. Rest of the World match at Belgrade 1970, scoring (+1 −1 =1) against Larsen.

Spassky then represented France in three Olympiads, on board one in each case. For Thessaloniki 1984, he scored 8/14 (+2 −0 =12). At Dubai 1986, he scored 9/14 (+4 −0 =10). Finally at Thessaloniki 1988, he scored 7½/13 (+3 −1 =9). He also played board one for France at the inaugural World Team Championships, Lucerne 1985, where he scored 5½/9 (+3 −1 =5).

Later tournament career (after 1976)[link]

Spassky, 1989

In his later years, Spassky showed a reluctance to totally devote himself to chess. He relied on his natural talent for the game, and sometimes would rather play a game of tennis than work hard at the board. Since 1976, Spassky has lived in France with his third wife; he became a French citizen in 1978, and has competed for France in the Chess Olympiads.

Spassky did, however, score some notable triumphs in his later years. He tied for first at Bugojno 1978 on 10/15, with Karpov. He was clear first at Montilla – Moriles 1978 with 6½/9. At Munich 1979, he tied for 1st–4th places with 8½/13, with Yuri Balashov, Ulf Andersson and Robert Hübner.^[9] He shared first at Baden, Vienna in 1980, on 10½/15 with Alexander Beliavsky. He won his preliminary group at Hamburg 1982 with a powerful 5½/6, but lost the final playoff match to Anatoly Karpov in extra games.^[10] His best result during this period was clear first at Linares 1983 with 6½/10, ahead of Karpov and Ulf Andersson, who shared second. At London Lloyds' Bank Open 1984, he tied for first with John Nunn and Murray Chandler, on 7/9. He won at Reykjavík 1985. At Brussels 1985, he placed second with 10½/13 behind Korchnoi. At Reggio Emilia 1986, he tied for 2nd–5th places with 6/11 behind Zoltán Ribli. He swept Fernand Gobet 4–0 in a match at Fribourg 1987. He finished equal first at Wellington 1988 with Chandler and Eduard Gufeld. Spassky maintained a top ten world ranking into the mid-1980s.

However, Spassky's performances in the World Cup events of 1988 and 1989 showed that he could by this stage finish no higher than the middle of the pack against elite fields. At Belfort WC 1988, he scored 8/15 for a joint 4th–7th place, as Garry Kasparov won. At Reykjavík WC 1988, he scored 7/17 for a joint 15th–16th place, with Kasparov again winning. Finally, at Barcelona WC 1989, Spassky scored 7½/16 for a tied 8th–12th place, as Kasparov shared first with Ljubomir Ljubojević.

Spassky played in the 1990 French Championship at Angers, placing fourth with 10½/15, as Marc Santo Roman won. At Salamanca 1991, he placed 2nd with 7½/11 behind winner Evgeny Vladimirov. Then in the 1991 French Championship, he scored 9½/15 for a tied 4th–5th place, as Santo Roman won again.

In 1992, Bobby Fischer, after a twenty-year hiatus from chess, re-emerged to arrange a "Revenge Match of the 20th century" against Spassky in Montenegro and Belgrade; this was a rematch of the 1972 World Championship. At the time, Spassky was rated 106th in the FIDE rankings, and Fischer did not appear on the list at all, owing to his inactivity. This match was essentially Spassky's last major challenge. Spassky lost the match with a score of +5 −10 =15. Spassky then played young female prodigy Judit Polgár in a 1993 match at Budapest, losing narrowly by 4.5–5.5.

Spassky continued to play occasional events through much of the 1990s, such as the Veterans versus Women series.

On October 1, 2006, Spassky suffered a minor stroke during a chess lecture in San Francisco. In his first major post-stroke play, he drew a six-game rapid match with Hungarian Grandmaster Lajos Portisch in April 2007.

On September 23, 2010, ChessBase reported that Spassky had suffered a more serious stroke that had left him paralyzed on his left side.^[11] After that he returned to France for a long rehabilitation programme,^[12] where he is recovering so well that he is expected to take part in the Botvinnik Memorial 2011 tournament in Suzdal (Russia).^[13]

Spassky is the oldest living former world champion.

Legacy[link]

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Spassky's best years were as a youthful prodigy in the mid 1950s, and then again as an adult in the mid to late 1960s. He seemed to lose ambition once he became World Champion. Some suggest the first match with Fischer took a severe nervous toll, but others would disagree as he was a sportsman who appreciated his opponent's skill. He applauded one well-played game of Fischer, and attempted to defend Fischer when he faced jailing.

Some might suggest his preparation was largely bypassed by Fischer, but the match saw several important novelties by Spassky. Instead, Fischer was an incredible player in 1972, having won an unprecedented 20 games in a row, and Spassky probably showed he was number 2, and the match saw many enjoyable games. While one suggested he felt the disappointment of his nation for losing the title, others would say he conceived of himself as his own man and after the match took French citizenship. He had the equanimity to appreciate what was the chess event of the century, as chess occupied the spotlight for almost a year.

Never a true openings maven, at least when compared to contemporaries such as Geller and Fischer, he excelled in the middlegame with highly imaginative yet usually sound and deeply planned play, which could erupt into tactical violence as needed.

Spassky succeeded with a wide variety of openings, including the King's Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.f4, an aggressive and risky line rarely seen at the top level. Indeed, his record of sixteen wins (including victories against Fischer, Bronstein, and Karpov), no losses, and a few draws with the King's Gambit is unmatched.^{[citation needed]} The chess game between "Kronsteen" and "McAdams" in the early part of the James Bond movie From Russia With Love is based on a game in that opening played between Spassky and David Bronstein in 1960 in which Spassky ("Kronsteen") was victorious.^[14]

His contributions to opening theory extend to reviving the Marshall Attack for Black in the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5), developing the Leningrad Variation for White in the Nimzo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5), the Spassky Variation on the Black side of the Nimzo-Indian, and the Closed Variation of the Sicilian Defence for White (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3). Another rare line in the King's Indian Attack bears his name: 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5!?

Spassky is respected as a universal player, a great storyteller, a bon vivant on occasion, and someone who is rarely afraid to speak his mind on controversial chess issues, and who usually has something important to relate.

Notable chess games[link]

• Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, Santa Monica 1966, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation (D87), 1–0 Fischer seems to equalize in a sharp game, but he makes a small mistake and Spassky finishes nicely.
• Boris Spassky vs Efim Geller, Sukhumi Candidates' match 1968, game 6, Sicilian Defence, Closed Variation (B25), 1–0 One of three beautiful wins by Spassky over Geller in this match using the same variation, which is one of Spassky's favorites.
• Boris Spassky vs Tigran Petrosian, World Championship match, Moscow 1969, game 19, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B94), 1–0 Aggressive style of play and brilliant sparkles of combinations shows Spassky at his heights.
• Bent Larsen vs Boris Spassky, Belgrade 1970 (match USSR vs. Rest of the World), Nimzo-Larsen Attack, Modern Variation (A01), 0–1 Another nice short win over a noted grandmaster.
• Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, Siegen Olympiad 1970, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation (D87), 1–0 Fischer tries the Grunfeld again against Spassky, and the game is remarkably similar to their 1966 encounter.
• Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, World Championship match, Reykjavík 1972, game 11, Sicilian Defense, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn Variation (B97), 1–0 Fischer's only loss in his favourite Poisoned Pawn variation.
• Anatoly Karpov vs Boris Spassky, Candidates' match, Leningrad 1974, game 1, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B83), 0–1 Spassky lost the match, but he started strongly with this fine win.

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Spassky's Best Games by Bernard Cafferty, Batsford, 1969.
• World chess champions by Edward G. Winter, editor. 1981 ISBN 0-08-024117-4
• Cafferty, Bernard (1972). Boris Spassky Master of Tactics. Spassky's 100 Best Games 1949–1972. London: B. T. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-2409-6. 
• Chernev, Irving (1995). Twelve Great Chess Players and Their Best Games. New York: Dover. pp. 43–57. ISBN 0-486-28674-6. 
• No Regrets: Fischer–Spassky by Yasser Seirawan; International Chess Enterprises; March 1997. ISBN 1-879479-08-7
• Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time by David Edmonds and John Eidinow; Ecco, 2004.
• Garry Kasparov (2004). My Great Predecessors, part III. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-371-3
• Raetsky, Alexander; Chetverik, Maxim (2006). Boris Spassky: Master of Initiative. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-425-6. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Boris Spassky

• Boris Spassky player profile at ChessGames.com
• Chessbase report of stroke
• OlimpBase
• Interview with Boris Spassky

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Boris Spassky

Bent Larsen
Full name	Jørgen Bent Larsen
Country	Denmark
Born	(1935-03-04)March 4, 1935 Tilsted near Thisted, Denmark
Died	September 9, 2010(2010-09-09) (aged 75) Buenos Aires
Title	Grandmaster
Peak rating	2660 (January 1971)

Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess.^[1] He is considered to be the strongest chess player born in Denmark and the strongest from Scandinavia until the emergence of Magnus Carlsen.

Larsen was a six time Danish Champion and a candidate for the World Chess Championship on four occasions, reaching the semi final three times. He had multiple wins over all seven World Champions who held the title from 1948 to 1985: Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Bobby Fischer, and Anatoly Karpov.,^[2] but lifetime minus scores against them. On a percentage basis, his best score against a World Champion was with Max Euwe. Larsen and Euwe met over the board only once, at the Munich Olympiad in 1958; the game ended in a draw.^[3] From the early 1970s, he divided his year between Las Palmas and Buenos Aires,^[1] with his Argentinian-born wife. He suffered from diabetes and died in 2010 from a cerebral haemorrhage.^[4]

Career[link]

Early life[link]

Larsen was born in Tilsted,^[5] near Thisted in Denmark and was educated at Aalborg Cathedral School. In January 1942 Larsen contracted a number of childhood diseases, although none had any permanent effects it was during this period that Larsen discovered chess.^[1] He went on to represent Denmark twice in the World Junior Championship, in 1951 at Birmingham (placing fifth) and in 1953 at Copenhagen (placing eighth). He started playing seriously at the age of 17 when he moved to Copenhagen to study Civil Engineering but he never graduated choosing instead to play chess professionally.^[6] He became an International Master at the age of 19 in 1954, from his bronze-medal performance on board one at the Amsterdam Olympiad.^[7] He won his first of six Danish Championships in 1954 repeating this feat in 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, and 1964.^[8]

Larsen defeated Friðrik Ólafsson in an exhibition match at Oslo in 1955 by 4½–3½. He won at Copenhagen in 1956 with 8/9.^[8]

Young Grandmaster[link]

Larsen became an International Grandmaster in 1956 with his gold-medal performance on board one at the Moscow Olympiad, where he drew World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. He tied for 1st–2nd places at Hastings 1956–57 on 6½/9 with Svetozar Gligorić. At Dallas 1957, he scored 7½/14 for a shared 3rd–4th place; the winners were Gligorić and Samuel Reshevsky.

At the 1957 Wageningen Zonal, he tied for 3rd–4th places, along with Jan Hein Donner, with 12½/17; there were only three qualifying berths, so the two players had to dispute a playoff match. Larsen won by 3–1 over Donner at The Hague 1958 to qualify for his first Interzonal, at Portorož 1958. Larsen could score only 8½/20 for 16th place, and was not close to qualifying. But he scored his first major individual international success by winning Mar del Plata 1958 with 12/15, ahead of William Lombardy, Erich Eliskases, Oscar Panno, and Herman Pilnik.

Larsen went into a slump beginning with the 1958 Interzonal. He tied 5th–6th in a powerful field at Zürich 1959 with 9½/15, behind winner Mikhail Tal, Gligorić, Paul Keres, and Bobby Fischer. But Larsen placed only 4th in a middle-range field at the 1960 Berg en Dal Zonal 1960 with 5½/9, and did not advance to the Interzonal. He recovered by sharing 1st–2nd places at Beverwijk 1961 on 7½/9 with Borislav Ivkov. At Zürich 1961, he tied for 6th–7th places with 6/11, as Keres won ahead of Tigran Petrosian. At Moscow 1962, he shared 7th–11th places with 7½/15 (Yuri Averbakh won).

Challenging for the World title[link]

Around this time Larsen diversified his style, switching over to risky and unusual openings in some of his games, to try to throw his opponents off balance; this led to the recovery of his form and further development of his chess. He finished 2nd at the 1963 Halle Zonal with 13/19, behind winner Lajos Portisch, to advance to the Interzonal the next year. At Belgrade 1964, he shared 5th–6th places with 10/17 (Boris Spassky won). He tied for 5th–7th places at Beverwijk 1964 on 9½/15; Keres and Nei won. Larsen's unusual openings were on full display at the 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal, where he shared the 1st–4th places on 17/23 with Boris Spassky, Mikhail Tal, and Vasily Smyslov, advancing as a Candidate.

In the 1965 Candidates' matches, he first defeated Borislav Ivkov at Bled by 5½–2½, but lost in the semi-final, also at Bled by 4½–5½ to former world champion Mikhail Tal. An indication of the quality of the match is given by the fact that it was tied after nine games and Tal had to win the tenth game with a complex speculative knight sacrifice in the center. He won a playoff match for alternates, an eventual third-place Candidates' position, against Efim Geller by 5–4 at Copenhagen 1966. In 1967 he won the Sousse Interzonal with the score of 15.5/21 after Fischer withdrew; this placed him 1.5 points ahead of the field. He then won his first-round match against Lajos Portisch by 5½–4½ at Porec 1968. In Malmö, however, he lost the semi-final by 2½–5½ to Boris Spassky, who went on to win the title.

In 1970 he shared 2nd in the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal, on 15/23, behind Bobby Fischer. He reached his top rank in the Elo rating system at the start of 1971, equal third in the world (with Korchnoi, behind Fischer and Spassky) with a rating of 2660.^[9] He then defeated Wolfgang Uhlmann by 5½–3½ at Las Palmas 1971. But then he lost the semi-final 0–6 at Denver to Fischer, who also went on to win the title.

Larsen later claimed in a Kasparov.com interview (1998) that his one-sided loss to Fischer was due in part to his condition during the match: "The organizers chose the wrong time for this match. I was languid with the heat and Fischer was better prepared for such exceptional circumstances... I saw chess pieces through a mist and, thus, my level of playing was not good."

In 1973 he failed to advance from the Leningrad Interzonal; he tied for 5th–6th places with 10/17, with Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi winning. In 1976 he won the Biel Interzonal, but lost his 1977 Candidates' match, a rematch of their 1968 encounter, to Lajos Portisch by 3½–6½ at Rotterdam. In the Riga Interzonal of 1979, Larsen scored 10/17 for 7th place, and did not advance.

Tournament dominance 1965–1973[link]

Starting in the mid-1960s, Larsen enjoyed a very successful run in major tournaments around the world, and he and Fischer became the two strongest players outside the Soviet Union. Larsen played in a lot of strong events, at least as many as any other top player, and repeatedly finished ahead of the top Soviet players. He won at Le Havre 1966 with 9/11, ahead of Lev Polugaevsky. At Santa Monica 1966, he placed third with 10/18, behind Spassky and Fischer. He won at Havana 1967 with a powerful 15/19, ahead of a strong group which included Mark Taimanov, Smyslov, Polugaevsky, Gligoric, and Miroslav Filip. He shared 2nd–3rd places at Dundee 1967 with 5½/8, behind Gligoric. At Beverwijk 1967, he was 4th with 8½/15 (Spassky won). At Monte Carlo 1967, he shared 3rd–4th with 6/9, behind Fischer and Efim Geller. He shared 1st–2nd at Winnipeg 1967 with 6/9, along with Klaus Darga, ahead of Spassky and Keres. He won at Palma de Mallorca 1967 with 13/17, ahead of Smyslov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Portisch, Gligoric, and Borislav Ivkov. He was awarded the first Chess Oscar in 1967.

Somewhat unusual for the late 1960s, Larsen, as one of the world's top players, often entered large Open tournaments run on the Swiss system, and had plenty of success. He won the Canadian Open Chess Championships at Toronto 1968 and St. John's 1970. He also won the U.S. Open Chess Championships at Aspen 1968 and Boston 1970.

Larsen won at Monte Carlo 1968 with 9½/13, ahead of Botvinnik, Smyslov, Vlastimil Hort, Robert Byrne, Portisch, and Pal Benko. This completed a string of five consecutive clear wins of major tournaments, a feat that had not previously been accomplished in modern chess.^[10] Larsen shared 2nd–3rd places at Palma de Mallorca 1968 with 13/17, along with Spassky; Viktor Korchnoi won. He defeated Heikki Westerinen by 6–2 in a 1969 exhibition match at Helsinki. In a playoff match for third place in the Candidates Tournament, he defeated Mikhail Tal at Eersel 1969 by 5½–2½ in a rematch of their 1965 encounter. He won at Palma de Mallorca 1969 with 12/17 ahead of Petrosian, Korchnoi, Hort, and Spassky. There was a further victory at Buesum 1969 with 11/15 ahead of Polugaevsky. At San Juan 1969, he scored 9/15 for a shared 6th–7th place (Spassky won). He defeated International Master Heikki Westerinen by 6-2 at Helsinki in 1969 in a match in which every game was decisive.

Larsen won at Lugano 1970 with 9½/14, ahead of Olafsson. In the USSR vs Rest of the World match at Belgrade 1970, he played first board for the World side, ahead of Fischer, and scored 2½/4 against Spassky and Leonid Stein. At Leiden 1970, he shared 3rd–4th places with 5½/12, (Spassky won). He defeated Lubomir Kavalek in a 1970 exhibition match at Solingen by 6–2. He won at Vinkovci 1970 with 1½/15, ahead of David Bronstein, Hort, and Gligoric. At Palma de Mallorca 1970, he shared 6th–7th places with 9/15 (Panno and Ljubomir Ljubojević were joint winners). Larsen shared 8th–9th places at San Antonio 1972 on 8½/15 (Portisch, Petrosian, and Anatoly Karpov triumphed). He won at Teesside 1972 with 11/15, ahead of Ljubojević and Portisch. At Las Palmas 1972, he shared 2nd–3rd places on 11/15 (Portisch won).

Larsen won at Hastings 1972–73 on 11½/15, ahead of Wolfgang Uhlmann. At Bauang 1973, he scored 6/9 for 4th place (Kavalek won). Larsen won at Grenaa 1973 in the Nordic Championship with 8½/10. He won again at Manila 1973 with 12½/15, ahead of Ljubojević and Kavalek. In 1975, Larsen defeated Danish Champion and future International Master Gert Iskov at Gellerup by the score of 5.5-.5 and lost a match to GM Ulf Andersson by the score of 5.5-2.5 at Stockholm the same year.

Olympiad performances[link]

He represented Denmark six times in Chess Olympiad play, always on first board, and compiled an aggregate score of 75/109 (+61 =28 −20), for 68.8%. He always played a very high number of games and in 1954 played a maximum of 19 games.^[11] He won three board medals, one gold and two bronze.

• Amsterdam 1954, board one, 13½/19 (+11 =5 −3), board bronze medal;^[11]
• Moscow 1956, board one, 14/18 (+11 =6 −1), board gold medal;^[12]
• Munich 1958, board one, 13/19 (+11 =4 −4);^[13]
• Havana 1966, board one, 11/18 (+9 =4 −5);^[14]
• Lugano 1968, board one, 10½/18 (+8 =5 −5);^[15]
• Siegen 1970, board one, 13/17 (+11 =4 −2), board bronze medal.^[16]

Later career[link]

In 1988 he lost a game to Deep Thought in the Software Toolworks Championship, becoming the first Grandmaster and the player with the highest Elo rating (by then 2560) to be defeated by a computer in tournament play. In 1993 Larsen won a return match against the super-computer Deep Blue in Copenhagen by 2.5:1.5.^[17]

Larsen continued to play occasionally in tournaments, although he was becoming older and his health was failing. In 1999 he finished 7th of 10 in the Danish Championship, but in the 2000 event he was forced to withdraw when he became seriously ill with an edema, requiring brain surgery. Thereafter he only played a few tournaments in Buenos Aires. He was 4th in the 2002 Najdorf Memorial knock-out. In the April 2009 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2415.

He died in Buenos Aires in 2010. According to the English Chess Federation Newsletter, "His health had been poor for some considerable time and he had been virtually inactive for years".^[18]

Chess style and writings[link]

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.

Larsen was known as a deep thinking and highly imaginative player, more willing to try unorthodox ideas and to take risks than most of his peers. This aspect of his play could even manifest itself in his choice of openings. "He is a firm believer in the value of surprise. Consequently, he often resorts to dubious variations in various openings. He also likes to complicate positions even though it may involve considerable risk. He has a great deal of confidence in his game and fears no one. His unique style has proven extremely effective against relatively weak opponents but has not been too successful against top-notchers."^[19]

He was one of the very few modern Grandmasters to have employed Bird's Opening (1.f4) with any regularity, and had a long-term association with the move 1.b3, a system commonly known as Larsen's Opening or the Nimzo-Larsen Attack in his (and Aron Nimzowitsch's) honor. He played the Dutch Defence with success at a time when the opening was rarely seen at the top level. He revived the almost dormant Bishop's Opening (1.e4 e5 2.Bc4) with success in 1964 and explored new ways for Black to seek activity in the Philidor Defence (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6). Indeed, he wrote a short monograph on the Philidor by the title of Why Not The Philidor Defense? (1971). He was also the first top player to successfully use the Grand Prix Attack against the Sicilian Defence (1.e4 c5 2.f4), spurring a sudden and sustained gain in its popularity. In the mid-1960s, he showed surprising faith in Alekhine's Defence (1.e4 Nf6) and even employed it on important occasions. He played the rare Scandinavian Defence 1.e4 d5 to defeat World Champion Anatoly Karpov in 1979, sparking renewed interest in that variation. A favorite line in the Caro-Kann Defence (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nf6 5.Nxf6+ gxf6) is co-named for him and David Bronstein; the idea is to accept a weakness to the Black pawn structure in exchange for an unbalancing of the position and retaining the bishop pair.

The Grünfeld Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5) was another opening that became a frequent choice of Larsen with the Black pieces and similarly, he placed considerable reliance on Grunfeld-Indian systems as White. This led him to co-author a groundbreaking 1979 book (with Steffen Zeuthen) on this opening and similar structures (ZOOM 001—Zero Hour for Operative Opening Models). His book of "Larsen's selected games of chess, 1948-69" (1970) is renowned for its pithy annotations which delve into chess psychology and the effective use of rare openings.

Larsen was respected as an excellent writer who reached out to his readers; he was one of seven top Grandmasters who wrote chapters for the 1974 book How to Open a Chess Game. He edited the tournament book for San Antonio 1972. He contributed a chapter to the Raymond Keene edited Learn From The Grandmasters (1975). He also wrote the well-received Karpov Vs. Korchnoi: World Chess Championship, 1978, which was published within days of the match ending and was the first book in any language on the 1978 World Championship match.

Larsen is also known for using his Rook pawns to good use. When once quizzed on why he preferred the Rook pawns, he is said to have replied, "If one is blocked, you can always push the other!"

Notable chess games[link]

• Bent Larsen vs Boris Spassky, Amsterdam Interzonal 1964, Bird's Opening (A03), 1–0 Larsen successfully played unusual openings in this tournament, and here he uses one of them to knock off a top Soviet, on his way to winning the tournament.
• David Bronstein vs Bent Larsen, Amsterdam Interzonal 1964, King's Indian Defense: Averbakh. Benoni Defense Advance Variation (E75), 0-1 Larsen defends and end Bronstein dreams about becoming World candidate.
• Svetozar Gligoric vs Bent Larsen, Zagreb 1965, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B83), 0–1 Gligoric launches a dangerous-looking attack, but Larsen finds an inspired defence. Larsen had a strong head-to-head dominance over the top Yugoslav player of that era.
• Bobby Fischer vs Bent Larsen, Santa Monica 1966, Ruy Lopez, Open Variation (C82), 0–1 Fischer has a promising position but miscalculates and is punished in drastic style by Larsen's counterattack.
• Bent Larsen vs Tigran Petrosian, Santa Monica 1966, Sicilian Defence, Accelerated Dragon Variation (B39), 1–0 Larsen unleashes a queen sacrifice to defeat the World Champion.
• Mikhail Tal vs Bent Larsen, Eersel 1969, match game 6, Sicilian Defence, Richter–Rauzer Variation (B65), 0–1 Larsen was dangerous with the Black pieces, and here he shows a former World Champion why.
• Mikhail Botvinnik vs Bent Larsen, Leiden 1970, Dutch Defense, Classical Variation (A90), 0–1 Another former World Champion can't hold a long endgame.
• Bobby Fischer vs Bent Larsen, Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970, Sicilian Defence, Velimirovic Attack (B89), 0–1 Larsen surprised Fischer, who was then nearly invincible, with an opening innovation, and plays a near-perfect game to win.
• Anatoly Karpov vs Bent Larsen, Montreal 1979, Scandinavian Defence (B01), 0–1 Larsen springs a rare opening on the World Champion, and is rewarded with success.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Kasparov, Garry (2004), My Great Predecessors, part IV, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-395-0 
• Larsen, Bent (2009), Bent Larsen: Alle Figuren greifen an, SchachDepot Verlag, ISBN 978-3-9812856-0-4 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bent Larsen

• Bent Larsen player profile at ChessGames.com
• Edward Winter, Bent Larsen (1935-2010)
• Lubomir Kavalek, Chess Great Bent Larsen Dies

This article is an orphan, as few or no other articles link to it. Please introduce links to this page from related articles; suggestions may be available. (February 2009)

James Fischer (December 27, 1927-July 3, 2004) was an American engineer, who developed high-purity silicon technology for Texas Instruments. ^[1]

Born in Boaz, Alabama, Fischer grew up in Gentry, Arkansas. Fischer graduated from the University of Arkansas and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hired by Texas Instruments in 1955, Fischer, with a master's degree in chemical engineering, worked with the technical staff on high-purity silicon, and helped develop the high-purity silicon manufacturing plant. In 1978 he became vice president of the company's worldwide semiconductor operations, and in 1980, became executive vice president of the company.

He retired from Texas Instruments in 1984 and died of cancer in 2004, in Richardson, Texas.

Notes[link]

This article about a United States engineer, inventor or industrial designer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Viktor Korchnoi
Korchnoi in 2009
Full name	Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi
Country	Soviet Union Switzerland
Born	(1931-03-23) March 23, 1931 (age 81) Leningrad, USSR
Title	Grandmaster 1956
FIDE rating	2558 (May 2012)
Peak rating	2695 (January 1979)[1]

Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi^[2] (Russian: Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й; IPA: [kɐrt͡ɕˈnoj]; born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit. He was born in Leningrad, USSR, defected to the Netherlands in 1976, and has been residing in Switzerland for many years.

Korchnoi played three matches against Anatoly Karpov, the latter two for the World Chess Championship. In 1974, he lost the Candidates final to Karpov, who was declared world champion in 1975 when Bobby Fischer failed to defend his title. Then he won consecutive Candidates cycles to qualify for World Championship matches with Karpov in 1978 and 1981, losing both.

In all, Korchnoi was a candidate for the World Championship on ten occasions (1962, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988 and 1991). Korchnoi was also a four-time USSR chess champion, a five-time member of Soviet teams that won the European championship, and a six-time member of Soviet teams that won the Chess Olympiad. In September 2006, he won the World Senior Chess Championship.

Early life and career[link]

Korchnoi graduated from Leningrad State University with a major in history.^[3]

He learned to play chess from his father at the age of five. In 1943, he joined the chess club of the Leningrad Pioneer Palace, and was trained by Abram Model, Andrei Batuyev, and Vladimir Zak. In 1947, he won the Junior Championship of the USSR, with 11.5/15 at Leningrad, and shared the title in 1948 with 5/7 at Tallinn, Estonia.^[4] In 1951, he earned the Soviet Master title, following his second place in the 1950 Leningrad Championship, with 9/13.

Young Master[link]

One year later, he qualified for the finals of the USSR Chess Championship for the first time. In the semi-final at Minsk, 1952, he scored 10.5/17 for a shared 2nd–4th place, to advance. In his debut, in URS-ch20 at Moscow, he scored 11/19 for sixth place, as Mikhail Botvinnik and Mark Taimanov came joint first. The next year, he again had to qualify from a semi-final, and succeeded in an event held at Vilnius 1953, with 9/14 for a shared 3rd–4th place. Korchnoi improved on the previous year's showing with his shared 2nd–3rd place in URS-ch21 at Kiev 1954, on 13/19, as Yuri Averbakh won. This high championship placing was rewarded with his first international opportunity, and he did not disappoint, taking clear first at Bucharest 1954 with 13/17.^[5] The FIDE awarded him the title of International Master in 1954. He won the 1955 Leningrad Championship with a massive score of 17/19, and shared 1st-2nd places at Hastings 1955–56 on 7/9. He was awarded the Grandmaster title at the FIDE Congress in 1956.

International Soviet teams standout[link]

Korchnoi earned his first international team selection for the Soviet student team in 1954, joined the full national team for the European Team Championship three years later, and would represent the USSR through 1974. He won 21 medals for the USSR. His complete Soviet international team play results follow:

• Oslo 1954, Student Olympiad, board 1, 4.5/7 (+3 =3 -1), team silver;^[6]
• Uppsala 1956, Student Olympiad, board 1, 6/7 (+5 =2 -0), team gold;^[6]
• Vienna 1957, European Team Championship, board 8, 5.5/6 (+5 =1 -0), team gold, board gold;^[7]
• Leipzig 1960 Olympiad, board 4, 10.5/13 (+8 =5 -0), team gold; board bronze;^[7]
• Oberhausen 1961, European Team Championship, board 6, 8.5/9 (+8 =1 -0), team gold, board gold;^[7]
• Hamburg 1965, European Team Championship, board 3, 5.5/9 (+4 =3 -2), team gold, board gold;^[7]
• Havana 1966 Olympiad, 1st reserve, 10.5/13 (+9 =3 -1), team gold, board gold;^[7]
• Lugano 1968 Olympiad, board 3, 11/13 (+9 =4 -0), team gold;^[7]
• Kapfenberg 1970, European Team Championship, board 2, 4/6 (+2 =4 -0), team gold;^[7]
• Siegen 1970 Olympiad, board 3, 11/15 (+8 =6 -1), team gold, board bronze;^[7]
• Skopje 1972 Olympiad, board 2, 11/15 (+8 =6 -1), team gold, board gold;^[7]
• Bath 1973, European Team Championship, board 3, 4/6 (+3 =2 -1), team gold;^[7]
• Nice 1974 Olympiad, board 2, 11.5/15 (+8 =7 -0), team gold, board bronze.^[7]

Strong Grandmaster[link]

Korchnoi rose to prominence within the Soviet chess school system, where he competed against stars such as Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, and Boris Spassky, following in the path laid out by Mikhail Botvinnik.

Korchnoi's playing style initially was an aggressive counter-attack. He excelled in difficult defensive positions. His results during the 1950s were often inconsistent, as dominance alternated with disaster. One horrific result was his 19th place (only one from bottom) at the URSch-22, Moscow 1955, with just 6/19. During the 1960s he became more versatile, mastering all the required techniques to become a world championship contender. He won at Kraków 1959 with 8.5/11, shared 1st–2nd places with Samuel Reshevsky at Buenos Aires 1960 with 13/19, won at Córdoba, Argentina 1960 with 6/7.^[8] After his victory at Budapest 1961 (Géza Maróczy Memorial) with 11.5/15 ahead of Bronstein and Miroslav Filip each with 9.5, Korchnoi was recognized as one of the world's best players.^[9]

Korchnoi won the USSR Chess Championship four times during his career. At Leningrad 1960 for URS-ch27, he scored 14/19. He won at Yerevan 1962, URS-ch30, with 13/19. He won at Kiev 1964–65 with 15/19. His final title was at Riga 1970, for URS-ch38, with 16/21.^[5]

He never succeeded in becoming World Champion, but many people consider him the strongest player never to have done so, a distinction also often attributed to Paul Keres. When Spassky beat Petrosian to claim the World Title in 1969, the Soviet Chess Federation started pursuing a youth policy which largely classed Korchnoi and Vasily Smyslov as the old vanguard; as a consequence, they were sometimes overlooked when it came to distribution of opportunities to play in international chess tournaments.

World Title candidate[link]

Korchnoi in 1993

He first qualified as a candidate from the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal, scoring 14/22 for a shared 4–5th place finish, as Fischer won. The 1962 Candidates tournament, the last held in a round-robin format for some years, was held at Curaçao a few months later, and Korchnoi placed fifth out of eight with an even score, 13.5/27, with Tigran Petrosian earning the right to challenge Botvinnik.^[5]

Korchnoi won at Havana 1963 with 16.5/21, but fared less well in the next Soviet Championship, URS-ch31 at Leningrad, with just 10/19 for 10th place. He missed qualifying for the next world championship cycle, 1964–66, because of a relatively poor showing at the 1964 Zonal tournament in Moscow, where he made 5.5/12 for a shared 5–6th place, so did not advance to the Interzonal. Korchnoi regained his form with an overwhelming triumph at Gyula, Hungary, in 1965 with 14.5/15. He won at Bucharest 1966 with 12.5/14, and at the Chigorin Memorial in Sochi 1966 with 11.5/15.^[10]

He tied for 3rd-5th places at the URS-ch34, held in Tbilisi in 1966–67, with 12/20, and emerged from a three-way playoff, along with Aivars Gipslis, at Tallinn, 1967 to the Interzonal, staged at Sousse, Tunisia, later that year. A strong performance at the interzonal, with 14/22, for a shared 2nd–4th place, took him through to the Candidates' matches.^[5] In his first match, he defeated American Samuel Reshevsky at Amsterdam in 1968 by (+3 =5). His next opponent was Tal, against whom Korchnoi had had a large plus score in previous meetings. The match, held in Moscow 1968, was close, but Korchnoi won by (+2 -1 =7), and moved on to face Boris Spassky in the Candidates final. Spassky prevailed at Kiev 1968, winning (+4 -1 =5).

Korchnoi, as the losing finalist, was exempt from qualifying for the next cycle (1970–72), and was seeded directly to the following Candidates' event. To prepare, he first played a secret training match with his friend David Bronstein in Leningrad 1970, losing 3.5-2.5. The games from this match were kept secret until 2007, when they were eventually published in Bronstein's last book, Secret Notes.^[11] Then, he played a training match against Anatoly Karpov, with whom he was close at the time, at Leningrad 1971; this wound up drawn in six games. Korchnoi won his first round 1971 match against Efim Geller at Moscow by (+4 -1 =3), after which he went down to defeat in the semifinal versus Tigran Petrosian by (-1 =9), also at Moscow, with the ninth game the only decisive result. Karpov, in his book Karpov on Karpov (Atheneum 1993), writes that, because of Fischer's overwhelming form at that time, Korchnoi and Petrosian were asked by Soviet chess authorities to choose between themselves, before the match, who they thought would have the better chance of stopping Fischer in the finals. Petrosian apparently believed strongly in himself, and so Korchnoi was asked to throw the match, receiving as compensation invitations to the three most prestigious tournaments in western Europe. Petrosian, however, lost to Fischer by the score of (+1 -5 =3) late in 1971.

Korchnoi's mood largely dictated his plan for the game. He was comfortable playing with or without the initiative. He could attack, counterattack, play positionally, and was a master of the endgame. He became known as the master of counter-attack, and he was Mikhail Tal's (an out-and-out attacker) most difficult opponent. He had a large lifetime plus score against Tal, and also has plus scores against world champions Petrosian and Spassky. He had equal records against Botvinnik (+1 -1 =2) and Fischer (+2 -2 =4). He has defeated the eight undisputed world champions from Botvinnik to Garry Kasparov, as well as FIDE world champions Ruslan Ponomariov and Veselin Topalov.

Korchnoi and Karpov, the newest star of Soviet chess, tied for first in the 1973 Leningrad Interzonal.^[12] In the 1974 Candidates' matches, Korchnoi first defeated the young Brazilian star Henrique Costa Mecking, (who had won the other Interzonal, in Petrópolis) by (+3 -1 =9) at Augusta, Georgia – in what he later described as a tough match in his autobiography. Korchnoi next played Petrosian at Odessa. The two were not on friendly terms, and it was even rumored that the two resorted to kicking each other under the table during this match; however, Korchnoi denies this. According to him, Petrosian just kicked his legs nervously and shook the table. Although the match was supposed to go to the first player to win four games, Petrosian resigned the match after just five games, with Korchnoi enjoying a lead of 3-1, with one draw.^[13]

With his victory over Petrosian, Korchnoi advanced to the Candidates' Final, the match to determine who would challenge reigning World Champion Bobby Fischer in 1975, to face Karpov. In the run-up to the match, Korchnoi was constantly subjected to threats and harassment, and was virtually unable to find any Grandmasters to assist him. Bronstein apparently assisted Korchnoi, for which he was punished. Bronstein, in his last book, Secret Notes, published in 2007, wrote that he advised Korchnoi before the match began, but then had to leave to play an event himself; when he returned, Korchnoi was down by three games. Bronstein then assisted Korchnoi for the final stages.^[14] Korchnoi also received some assistance later in the match from two British masters, Raymond Keene and William Hartston.^[15] Korchnoi trailed 3-0 late in the match, but won games 17 and 21 to make it very close right to the end. Karpov eventually won this epic battle, played in late 1974 in Moscow, by a 12.5–11.5 score. By default, Karpov became the twelfth world champion in April 1975, when Fischer refused to defend his title because of disputed match conditions.

During the match between Karpov and Korchnoi, an amusing incident occurred. In the 21st game, Korchnoi played a strong opening novelty and, after a blunder by Karpov, achieved an overwhelming position. During this game, Korchnoi rose from the board, approached the arbiter and asked whether he could legally castle king-side in the current position, in which a bishop was attacking his rook on h1. The arbiter, Alberic O'Kelly de Galway, informed him that his intended move was legal; shortly after Korchnoi executed it, Karpov resigned.

Defection[link]

In the lead-up to the Candidates' Final in 1974, as part of a campaign to promote Karpov over Korchnoi, Tigran Petrosian made a public statement in the press against Korchnoi. At the closing ceremony of the Candidates' Final, Korchnoi had made his mind up that he had to leave the Soviet Union. The central authorities prevented Korchnoi from playing any international tournaments, and even when invited by Paul Keres and Iivo Nei to participate in an International Tournament in Estonia, Korchnoi was not allowed to play, and both Keres and Nei were reprimanded.

Korchnoi, in a 2006 lecture in London, mentioned that the breakthrough that allowed him to resume international appearances came when Anatoly Karpov inherited the World Championship title (resigned by Bobby Fischer). Questions arose about how Karpov qualified to be a World Champion, when he had never played Fischer. Since Korchnoi was not publicly visible, it was largely believed that he (and Karpov) could not be very strong. Korchnoi was then allowed to play the 1976 Amsterdam tournament, as a means to prove Karpov was a worthy World Champion.

Korchnoi was joint winner of the tournament along with Tony Miles. At the end of the tournament, Korchnoi asked Miles to spell "political asylum" for him. As a result, after the chess tournament in Amsterdam, Korchnoi was the first strong Soviet grandmaster to defect from the Soviet Union.^[16] He had to leave his wife and son behind. The defection resulted in a turbulent period of excellent tournament results, losses in the two matches for the World Title – all overshadowed by the oppressive political climate of the Cold War.

Korchnoi resided in the Netherlands for some time, giving simultaneous exhibitions. He played a short match against Jan Timman – the strongest active non-Soviet player at that time – and comprehensively defeated him. He moved to West Germany and then eventually settled in Switzerland by 1978.

First World Championship match against Karpov[link]

In the next world championship cycle (1976–78), Korchnoi opened by again vanquishing Petrosian, by (+2 -1 =9) in the quarter-final round, taking a draw in a clearly favourable position in the final game. In the semi-final, held at Evian, Korchnoi won against Lev Polugaevsky, with the final score being (+5 -1 =7). The final, in which he faced Spassky, began with five wins and five draws for Korchnoi, after which he lost four consecutive games, though he steeled himself and finally secured victory in the match by (+7 -4 =7) to emerge as the challenger to Karpov.^[17]

The World Championship match of 1978 was held in Baguio, Philippines. There was controversy off the board, ranging from X-raying of chairs, protests about the flags used on the board, hypnotism complaints and the mirror glasses used by Korchnoi. When Karpov's team sent him a blueberry yogurt during a game without any request for one by Karpov, the Korchnoi team protested, claiming it could be some kind of code. They later said this was intended as a parody of earlier protests, but it was taken seriously at the time.^[18]

In quality of play, the match itself never measured up to the press headlines that it generated, although as a sporting contest it had its share of excitement. The match would go to the first player to win six games, draws not counting. After 17 games, Karpov had an imposing 4–1 lead. Korchnoi won game 21, but Karpov won game 27, putting him on the brink of victory with a 5–2 lead. Korchnoi bravely fought back, scoring three wins and one draw in the next four games, to equalise the match at 5–5 after 31 games. However, Karpov won the very next game, and the match, by 6–5 with 21 draws.^[19]

Second World Championship match against Karpov[link]

Korchnoi won the next Candidates' cycle to again earn the right to challenge Karpov in 1981. The match was held in Meran, Italy. The headline of the tournament again largely centered on the political issues. Korchnoi's wife and son were still in the Soviet Union. His son had been promised to be released to join his father in exile if he gave up his passport. When he did so, he was promptly drafted into the Soviet army. In spite of protests, Korchnoi's son was arrested for evading army service, sentenced to two and a half years in labour camp, and served the full sentence. After the release, he was again refused permission to leave the USSR. (In 1982, six years after Korchnoi's defection, his son finally succeeded in leaving the country. His wife also left the USSR, and the two divorced.^[20])

Korchnoi took the opportunity of the match to publicize the situation of his wife and son, drafting an open letter to the Soviet government to release them both.

In what was dubbed the "Massacre in Merano", Karpov defeated Korchnoi convincingly by 6 wins to 2, with ten draws.

Later career[link]

Korchnoi, however, still had a vital part to play in the next (1984) Candidates' cycle, although he never reached the highest pinnacle again. He was matched to play the young Soviet Garry Kasparov who at the time was battling against a Soviet Chess Federation that was clearly in favour of Anatoly Karpov. Korchnoi seemed to have great fondness for Garry Kasparov – possibly because he recognized the situation Kasparov was in – a prominent talent blocked by the Soviet bureaucracy.

The match was to be held in Pasadena, California, but the Soviet Chess Federation protested (possibly because Korchnoi was a defector and the match was in the cold-war enemy's back yard, and because of the soon-to-be-announced Soviet decision to boycott the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles), and Kasparov was not allowed to fly there to play the match. This defaulted the match to Korchnoi.

However, after a remarkable series of events, spearheaded by the British Grandmaster Raymond Keene, Korchnoi agreed to play the match in London. This was a gracious gesture by Korchnoi, since technically he had already won by default. After a good start, Korchnoi was blown away by Kasparov's attacking play and remarkable maturity.^[21]

After the 1983 Kasparov match, Korchnoi continued playing at a top level but without seriously threatening the world championship again. In the 1985–87 World Championship cycle he finished equal thirteenth out of 16 in the Candidates' Tournament.^[22] In the 1988–90 cycle he made the final 16 again, but was eliminated in the first round of Candidates' matches.^[23] In the 1991–93 cycle he reached the final 8 of the Candidates' before being eliminated.^[24]

He continues to play in Europe to this day, living in his adopted country of Switzerland and frequently representing their Olympiad team on top board, even though his Elo rating is considerably below that of compatriot Vadim Milov who appears not to make himself available for selection. Korchnoi first played for Switzerland at the 1978 Olympiad, held in Buenos Aires, where he took the individual gold medal for best performance on board one.

Korchnoi is noted for his unusual longevity at the chessboard. He has been at or near the top of the game for nearly half a century. He continues to play many tournaments every year, playing more than 15 tournaments in 2006. He won the 2005 Quebec Open in Montreal. In August 2006 at age 75 he won the Banyoles Open in Spain ahead of Sergei Tiviakov. He is also noted for the insults he issues to his opponents every time he loses.^[25]

On the January 2007 FIDE rating list^[26] Korchnoi was ranked number 85 in the world at age 75, by far the oldest player ever to be ranked in the FIDE top 100. The second-oldest player on the January 2007 list was Alexander Beliavsky, age 53, who is 22 years younger than Korchnoi. As of 2011, Korchnoi is still active in the chess world with a notable win (in Gibraltar) with black against an 18 year old Fabiano Caruana who is rated above 2700 and 61 years Korchnoi's junior.^[27]

World Senior Chess Champion[link]

In September 2006 Korchnoi won the 16th World Senior Chess Championship, held in Arvier (Valle d'Aosta, Italy), with a 9–2 score. Korchnoi scored 7.5–0.5 in his first eight games, then drew his last three games.^[28] This is the first world title Korchnoi has won (and his only participation in a World Senior Chess Championship).

Swiss National Champion[link]

Viktor Korchnoi achieved another mark by winning the 2009 Swiss championship in Grächen. He scored 7/9 at the open tournament.^[29] This was followed by securing the title of the top-scoring Swiss player at the Swiss Championship in 2011.

Books[link]

• Victor Korchnoi; V. G. Zak (1974). King's Gambit. Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-2914-5. 
• Victor Korchnoi (1977). Chess is my life. Batsford. ISBN 0-7134-1025-6. 
• Victor Korchnoi; Lenny Cavallaro (1981). Persona non grata. Thinkers' Press. ISBN 0-938650-15-7. 
• Victor Korchnoi (2001). My Best Games, Vol 1: Games with White. Trafalgar Square. ISBN 978-3-283-00404-0. 
• Victor Korchnoi (2002). My Best Games, Vol 2: Games with Black. Trafalgar Square. ISBN 978-3-283-00405-7. 
• Victor Korchnoi (2002). Practical Rook Endings. Olms. ISBN 3-283-00401-3. 
• Victor Korchnoi (2005). My Best Games, Vol 3: Biography. Trafalgar Square. ISBN 978-3-283-00406-4. 
• Victor Korchnoi; Boris Gulko, Yuri Felshtinsky, Vladimir Popov (2011). The KGB Plays Chess: The Soviet Secret Police and the Fight for the World Chess Crown. Russell Enterprises. ISBN 1-888690-75-5. 

Quotations attributed to Korchnoi[link]

• "The human element, the human flaw and the human nobility – those are the reasons that chess matches are won or lost."
• "If a player believes in miracles he can sometimes perform them."
• "It extremely rarely occurs to him to create something new on the chessboard." (About Anatoly Karpov.)

See also[link]

• List of Eastern Bloc defectors

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Kasparov, Garry (2006). My Great Predecessors, part V. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-404-3. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Viktor Korchnoi

• Viktor Korchnoi player profile at ChessGames.com
• World Chess Championship FIDE Events 1948–1990 – contains detailed information on two matches Karpov–Korchnoi.
• Korchnoi's Career Highlights
• Edward Winter, List of Books About Karpov and Korchnoi
• Korchnoi's interview: "Genii and wunderkinds"

Garry Kasparov (Гарри Кимович Каспаров)
Country	Russia
Born	(1963-04-13) 13 April 1963 (age 49) Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1985–93 (Undisputed) 1993–2000 (Classical)
FIDE rating	2812 (May 2012) (inactive)
Peak rating	2851 (July 1999, January 2000)

Garry Kimovich Kasparov (Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров, Russian pronunciation: [ˈɡarʲɪ ˈkʲiməvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsparəf]; born Garik Kimovich Weinstein,^[1] 13 April 1963) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time.

Kasparov became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985 at the age of 22 by defeating then-champion Anatoly Karpov.^[2] He held the official FIDE world title until 1993, when a dispute with FIDE led him to set up a rival organization, the Professional Chess Association. He continued to hold the "Classical" World Chess Championship until his defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000. He was the first world champion to lose a match to a computer under standard time controls, when he lost to Deep Blue in 1997.

Kasparov's ratings achievements include being rated world No. 1 according to Elo rating almost continuously from 1986 until his retirement in 2005 and holding the all-time highest rating of 2851.^[3] He was the world No. 1 ranked player for 255 months, by far the most of all-time and nearly three times as long as his closest rival, Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov also holds records for consecutive tournament victories and Chess Oscars.

Kasparov announced his retirement from professional chess on 10 March 2005, to devote his time to politics and writing. He formed the United Civil Front movement, and joined as a member of The Other Russia, a coalition opposing the administration of Vladimir Putin. He was considered to become a candidate for the 2008 Russian presidential race, but later withdrew. Although he is widely regarded in the West as a symbol of opposition to Putin, support for him in Russia is low.^[4]

Early career[link]

Kasparov at age 11, Vilnius, 1974.

Garry Kasparov was born Garik Kimovich Weinstein (Russian: Гарик Вайнштейн) in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union; now Azerbaijan, to an Armenian mother and Russian father.^[5][6][7] He first began the serious study of chess after he came across a chess problem set up by his parents and proposed a solution.^[8] His father died of leukemia when he was seven years old.^[9] At the age of twelve, he adopted his mother's Armenian surname, Gasparyan, modifying it to a more Russified version, Kasparov.^[10]