Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Karpov was born in Zlatoust in the former Soviet Union. He won the FIDE title twice by default: in 1975 when Fischer refused to play and in 1993 when Kasparov formed the Professional Chess Association. Karpov was the darling of the Kremlin and his two title defenses against Soviet defector Korchnoi in 1978 and 1981 were marred by the fact that the challenger`s family was held hostage inside the USSR. A marathon match with Kasparov in 1984 was halted by FIDE after 48 games and almost six months when an exhausted Karpov was leading by two points. He lost the title to Kasparov in 1985 and failed to get it back despite three more matches culminating in 1990. Karpov regained the FIDE crown against Timman in 1993, Kamsky in 1996 and Anand in 1998. He was the most active champion in history and won more first prizes in major events (some 150) than any other great player.