Korchnoi is a phenomenal player for a lot of reasons. One of the best end-game players of all time. Arguably the strongest player who never became world champion (with apologies to Rubenstein). An unbelievable tactician with incredible fighting spirit - the modern Lasker. Obviously incredible longevity and still very strong at 80!! Finally think of all the strong players he has played in his career and he's not done yet!
The Amazing Korchnoi
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Viktor Korchnoi, who will turn 80 this year, is 4/6 in the Gibraltar tournament, and piling up rating points. I played in a simul against him in 1980 while he was in L.A. to attend that year's Lone Pine, and I quickly lost. He amazed me by wiping all the pieces off a board next to mine and then, as we all gasped, playing quickly through the game (one of twenty-five) to the current position, which he then promptly continued. Since I turn 77 in a couple of weeks, he is an inspiration to me and for those of us no longer playing blitz! His book, "Chess Is My Life," pretty well sums him up. I noticed during the recent coverage of Wijk aan Zee that when Yasser Seirawan on ICC needed an anecdote, he fell back on Korchnoi from memory, as he was Viktor's second back in the day. More power to Korchnoi, as cantankerous as he may be!