Anatoly Karpov

Anatoli Yevgenyevich Karpov (????????? ??????????? ???????) (born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He is the most successful tournament player of all time, and as of July 2005 he has 161 first-place finishes to his credit. From 1978 to 1998 he played in every FIDE World Championship match. His overall professional record is 1,118 wins, 287 losses, and 1,480 draws in 3,163 games. His peak ELO rating is 2780.

Rival

Karpov remained a formidable opponent for most of the eighties. He fought Kasparov in three more World Championship matches in 1986 (held in London and Leningrad), 1987 (held in Seville), and 1990 (held in Lyon and New York City). All three matches were extremely close (the scores were 12.5 to 11.5, 12 to 12, and 12.5 to 11.5). 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, and should have led to Karpov's winning the title. Instead, in the final game, needing only a draw to win the title, Karpov blundered on his 33rd and 64th moves and lost, ending the match in a draw and allowing Kasparov to keep the title.

Related Topics:
Eighties - London - Leningrad - Seville - Lyon - New York City

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The overall game score between them stayed virtually even until the late 1990s, when the score shifted decisively towards Kasparov. Currently, in their 235 formal games played, Karpov has 23 wins, 33 losses, and an incredible 179 draws. In their five world championship matches, Karpov has 19 wins, 21 losses, and 104 draws in 144 games.

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Although twelve years older than Kasparov, Karpov still has the stamina and endurance to be a match for Kasparov. In 2002, he defeated Kasparov in a rapid time control match 2.5-1.5. Karpov is on record saying that had he had the opportunity to fight Fischer for the crown like Kasparov had the opportunity to fight him, he (Karpov) could have been a much better player as a result. Though the struggle for the world championship made them enemies, Karpov and Kasparov maintain a tremendous level of respect for each other. The two of them and their titanic struggles make up a chess rivalry that even surpassed that of Capablanca and Alekhine.

Related Topics:
Capablanca - Alekhine

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