He became world chess champion in 1975 without a fight because Bobby Fischer did not take part at the time.

After that it seemed as if chess history would not forgive him for the ease of his first title win.

Because Anatoly Karpov, who will turn seventy on Sunday, only contested world championships from 1978 to 1998, which would be difficult to call a strong understatement.

Jürgen Kaube

Editor.

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    It started with the fighting against Viktor Korchnoi, who fled the Soviet Union and defeated three Soviet players on the way to the final. Karpov, on the other hand, was not only the best player of his time, but had also long been the favorite of communist sports officials. The match in Baguio, Philippines, with six wins, took place under cinematic circumstances: the color of the yoghurt served to Karpov during the games had to be announced beforehand so that they could not be used for communication. Korchnoi wore mirrored sunglasses to avoid Karpov's eyes. Karpov's delegation had the gaming room examined unsuccessfully for radioactive radiation, which could possibly come from the glasses. A member of Karpov's team was a parapsychologist supposedly charged withTo disturb Korchnoi by staring. He responded with Indian meditation artists in the audience.

    Chess was also played. Karpov was ahead for a long time, then Korchnoi won three times in quick succession, it was 5 to 5, and Karpow became world champion in the next game by calmly dismantling Black's position. Strong impulses were alien to his game. What was most important to him was the “good communication between the characters”. Once an opponent, the German grandmaster Wolfgang Unzicker, resigned after move 22, and until then only one pawn had been exchanged and no piece had been captured.

    After the second fight with Korchnoi had been clearly won, the period of suffering began. Karpov competed five times with Garry Kasparov, the symbol of "Perestroika": from 1984 to 1990. In the first match Karpov had won four of the first nine games, after the 32nd game he led 5: 1 to after fourteen draws in a row and two defeats, completely exhausted and nervously shattered, to enjoy an ominous break-off of the fight by the President of the World Chess Federation. Then he lost in four other duels each time just against the same opponent; it was a total of fourteen months of duel in 144 games. When Kasparov came up with the idea of ​​founding his own new chess federation, Karpov won the world championship title three times with the old one until 1999.

    All these sport-political struggles could not hide what a player of the century Karpov was. He rarely amazed, played very purposefully, was neither a researcher nor a magician, and often only lost when he felt he had to dare. Year after year, however, he won prizes for the best games because his victories were often of that elegance that the coffee house view of the chessboard may seem too cool, too balanced and too well thought-out. “When he had an advantage, he would tread on the spot, and the advantage grew bigger and bigger” (Vladimir Kramnik). One of his best books has the laconic title "Position Evaluation and Plan". Other world champions, Mikhail Tal or Kasparov, have captured the hearts of the audience, but when it comes to technology, he is unmatched.