at time – and comprehensively defeated him. He moved to West Germany and then eventually settled in Switzerland by 1978.[8]
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 bilberry yogurt during a game without any request for one by Karpov, the Korchnoi team protested, claiming it could be some kind of code (such as whether Korchnoi was dead equal or slightly advantageous). They later said this was intended as a parody of earlier protests, but it was taken seriously at the time.[31]
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.[32]
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. 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, 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 beaten by Kasparov's attacking play.[35]
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.[36] In the 1988–90 cycle he made the final 16 again, but was eliminated in the first round of Candidates' matches.[37] In the 1991–93 cycle he reached the final 8 of the Candidates' before being eliminated.[38]
He continued to play in Europe to a high age, living in his adopted country of Switzerland and frequently representing their Olympiad team on top board, even though his Elo rating was considerably below that of compatriot Vadim Milov who appeared not to make himself available for selection. 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 7½–½ in his first eight games, then drew his last three games.[39]
On the January 2007 FIDE rating list[40] 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 was 22 years younger than Korchnoi. As of 2011, Korchnoi was still active in the chess world with a notable win (in Gibraltar) with black against the 18-year-old Fabiano Caruana, who was rated above 2700 and 61 years Korchnoi's junior.[41]
Korchnoi became the oldest player ever to win a national championship, when he won the 2009 Swiss championship at age 78.[42]
In late December 2012, it was reported that Korchnoi was recovering from a stroke and was unlikely to play competitive chess again.[43] He was scheduled to play in the 37th Zurich Christmas Open tournament in December 2013, but withdrew due to health reasons.[44] In the December 2014 FIDE rating list, Korchnoi was treated as inactive, indicating his retirement.
First World Championship match against Karpov
Main article: World Chess Championship 1978
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
semifinal, held at Evian, Korchnoi won against Lev Polugaevsky,
with a score of (+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. Ultimately, Korchnoi steeled himself and finally
secured victory in the match by (+7−4=7) to emerge as the challenger to
Karpov.[30]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 bilberry yogurt during a game without any request for one by Karpov, the Korchnoi team protested, claiming it could be some kind of code (such as whether Korchnoi was dead equal or slightly advantageous). They later said this was intended as a parody of earlier protests, but it was taken seriously at the time.[31]
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.[32]
Second World Championship match against Karpov
Main article: World Chess Championship 1981
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.[33] In what was dubbed the "Massacre in Merano", Karpov defeated Korchnoi by six wins to two, with ten draws. [34]Later career
Korchnoi in 2009
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.[36] In the 1988–90 cycle he made the final 16 again, but was eliminated in the first round of Candidates' matches.[37] In the 1991–93 cycle he reached the final 8 of the Candidates' before being eliminated.[38]
He continued to play in Europe to a high age, living in his adopted country of Switzerland and frequently representing their Olympiad team on top board, even though his Elo rating was considerably below that of compatriot Vadim Milov who appeared not to make himself available for selection. 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 7½–½ in his first eight games, then drew his last three games.[39]
On the January 2007 FIDE rating list[40] 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 was 22 years younger than Korchnoi. As of 2011, Korchnoi was still active in the chess world with a notable win (in Gibraltar) with black against the 18-year-old Fabiano Caruana, who was rated above 2700 and 61 years Korchnoi's junior.[41]
Korchnoi became the oldest player ever to win a national championship, when he won the 2009 Swiss championship at age 78.[42]
In late December 2012, it was reported that Korchnoi was recovering from a stroke and was unlikely to play competitive chess again.[43] He was scheduled to play in the 37th Zurich Christmas Open tournament in December 2013, but withdrew due to health reasons.[44] In the December 2014 FIDE rating list, Korchnoi was treated as inactive, indicating his retirement.
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