Karpov Comes Into His Own

Anatoly Karpov was born May 23, 1951 in Zlatoust, Russia. He won the European Junior Championship in 1967. In 1969, he won the World Junior Championship. He was the world champion from 1975 to 1985. He played three matches in for the title from 1986 to 1990. He held the FIDE version of the championship from 1993 to 1999.

Karpov's first great tournament win was the Alekhine Memorial in Moscow in 1971 where he shared first place with Leonid Stein. Each had five wins, 12 draws, and no losses. Among the players in this event were three former world champions, Smyslov, Petrosian, and Tal, as well as the current world champion, Spassky. Karpov's famous win against Hort will be presented. This game has been seen as an example of great play by Karpov. It was, however, Kasparov shows it was not perfect. Kasparov's sense of smell for the position of White's king is keener than Hort's. Improvements for both players have been found.

Vlastimil Hort was born January 12, 1944 in Kladno, Czechoslovakia. He was the champion of Czechoslovakia in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, and 1977. Hort played a candidates match with Boris Spassky in 1977. He lost only after not claiming a match win by forfeit when Spassky was unable to play due to illness. Hort moved to West Germany during the 1980s and won its championship in 1987, 1989, and 1991.