Who is Anatoly Karpov? The name rings a bell to people who are interested with great events in history and that includes me. But the name is a legend to people who are enthusiasts in the field of chess.
“Chess is my life, but not all of my life is chess.” These are the words of Anatoly Karpov, former World Chess Champion, in his autobiography. How interesting to know that although chess is what defines this man’s life, chess was not his ultimate happiness and goal in life.
So what’s in this game of chess that makes people so glued to their seats and watch the movement of pawns, bishops, knights, queens and kings? I have no idea, but it amazes me to find out that a child at 4 years old would learn the game of real thinkers.
So let’s not discount the achievements of a young Anatoly Karpov. Born in the former U.S.S.R. on May 23, 1951, he managed to learn how to play chess at the age of 4, became a Candidate Master at age 11, a Master at 15, and an International Master at age 19–a short summary of his achievements at a young age. Well, he would not have earned all these accolades without proper tutelage. When he was 12 years old, he was accepted at Mikhail Botvinnk’s prestigious chess school. But the master Botvinnk’s comments about him not having a clue about chess and claiming he had no future in the field prompted the young Karpov to really study diligently and it paid off. Trailing his career after chess school, Anatoly Karpov became the youngest Soviet National Master in history at the age of 15. In 1969, he won the World Junior Class Championship.
And so as time progresses, Anatoly Karpov became an adult and won his first significant victory in Moscow in the Alekhine Memorial in 1971. In 1974, he went through a series of elimination matches, which he won, toward the FIDE (International Chess Federation) World Championship to compete with Bobby Fischer, the reigning world champion at that time. However, on June 27, 1974, Fischer resigned due to conflicts in championship rules and Anatoly Karpov was declared the 12th World Chess Champion (1975-1985) without playing a single match with the reigning champion. How cool is that? However, he needed to prove he was the real champion, so he joined every major tournament and won. He had the winning streak until Garry Kasparov defeated him in 1985 and who became world chess champion. Although Kasparov won, he endured 5 months of grueling matches with Anatoly Karpov which proved he was a formidable opponent. Karpov tried to defeat Kasparov in 1986, 1987, and 1990 but he failed to regain his title. However, in 1993, he became FIDE World Chess Champion again. His FIDE championships were the titles he has been well-known for and remembered.
Aside from his championships in FIDE, Anatoly Kasparov represented his country at the 1979 Chess Olympiad and won for his country the gold medal. Also in the same year, his career peaked when he played against strong grandmasters as Timman, Spassky, Ljubomir, Vlastimil Hort, and Huebner. In 1994, in what he considered the best tournament of his life, Anatoly Kasparov played against Garry Kasparov at the Linares Chess Tournament and won. Indeed, it was his best as he was given the highest performance rating of any player in history, until 2009.
But there was a point in his life when his interest dwindled from chess and preferred to get involved in other things. He became involved in politics in 1995 and became a member of the Supreme Soviet Commission for Foreign Affairs. Just like Fischer and Kasparov, Karpov decided to retire from World Championship in 1999 because of championship rules. In 2005, he became a member of the Public Chamber of Humanitarian Causes which advocates the use of iodized salt. He even supported the law against adoption of Russian orphans by citizens of the U.S. in 2012. He became president of the Soviet Peace Fund before the U.S.S.R. was dissolved to became the Republic of Russia. He also became a UNICEF ambassador and remains chairman of the International Association of Peace Foundation.
Through all these other accomplishments, he never forgot his first love. He established chess schools in different countries and started outreach programs for inmates teaching them how to play chess. In September, 2009, Anatoly Karpov, again, played against Kasparov in Valencia, Spain, where he lost once more. This was, perhaps, what caused his name to be dropped off the world’s Top 100 for the very first time. In 2010, he ran for FIDE’s presidency vowing to remove corruption and improve the system, however he lost to the incumbent president, Kirzan Ilyumzhinov. Perhaps he was determined more than ever to improve the game and to uplift its standards.
Even as he progresses in life, he still manages to ring the bell for his name to be known here and there. In 2012, he won the match against Yasser Seirawan in St. Louis, Missouri and also won the trophy that bears the name, the Anatoly Karpov trophy beating Vassily Ivanchuck who was ranked number 9 in the FIDE world ranking.
So now, where is Anatoly Karpov? What else has he been up to? Well, in e-Bay and Amazon.com, I found several books that he wrote.”Chess and the Art of Negotiation: Ancient Rules for Modern Combat” by Anatoly Karpov and others (September, 2006), “My Best Games in Progress” by Anatoly Karpov (April, 2008), “Get the Correct Plan by Anatoly Karpov” by Anatoly Karpov (June, 2010), “How to Play the English Opening Chess” by Anatoly Karpov (July, 2013). I even found many other books he has written since 1976. I am pretty sure that he is still writing today. Another perhaps is that he is writing these books for the benefit of those who really love the game and to help them make this into a career like him.
So what can we make out of all these achievements of this one man considered as ‘the greatest player of all time’? I conclude that he is a genius, truly blessed in the field of his expertise which is chess, a man who uses his God-given gift to help others as a way of ‘paying-it-forward’. Truly, Anatoly Karpov’s life is not all chess, but chess was his life.
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