I flipped through My Best Games by Karpov, and it looked like he used the QGD and Nimzo-Indian against d4 quite a bit. The games in that book against c4 were almost exclusively Karpov playing e5.
Your best bet might be to track down a copy of this book. http://www.amazon.com/Opening-Black-According-Karpov-Repertoire/dp/9548782162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1318203278&sr=8-1
He tended to play 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3, so he got a lot of Queen's Indians and Bogo-Indians played against him.
With 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3, he got a lot of Guenfelds played against him.
Looks like he was fond of the Exchange Variation of the QGD and Bg5 variations of the QGD.
Looks like he did not play the Exchange Slav and liked the 6 Qc2 Anti-Meran variation of the Semi-Slav.
Looks like he played the Catalan sometimes.
You know he played the English a lot with white, right?
He played e4 a lot, too. Karpov was a lot more versatile than he gets credit for.
Yeah, there are several games in My Best Games with Karpov on the White side of e4.
Something that strikes me odd in that book is that there are no King's Indian Defense games against Karpov in it. The games span from the late 1960's to the early 2000's.
Yes, I have noticed that Karpov is very versatile, but I do not want to be. Here is my repertoire:
As White:
1. d4...Nf6
2. c4...e6
3. Nf3
1. d4...Nf6
2. c4...g6
3. Nc3...Bg7
4. e4
1. d4...d5
2. c4...e6
3. Nf3
1. d4...d5
2. c4...c6
3. Nf3 aiming for a Botvinnik Semi-Slav
Full accepted vs. the Benko
7...h3 vs. the Benoni
Main Lines with Nf3 vs. QGA
As Black:
1. e4...c6
2. d4...d5
3. Nd2...exd5
4. Nxd5...Nfd7
Other Caro-Kann Main lines
1. d4...Nf6
2. c4...e6
3. Nc3...Bb4
Attempt for the same vs. 1. c4
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
He played e4 a lot, too. Karpov was a lot more versatile than he gets credit for.
Versatile is still not the correct word, he used 1.e4 almost exclusively up till 1990 sometime. Around that time he switched to playing 1.d4 almost exclusively, e4 etc where seldomly used, althugh it happened.
He played e4 a lot, too. Karpov was a lot more versatile than he gets credit for.
Versatile is still not the correct word, he used 1.e4 almost exclusively up till 1990 sometime. Around that time he switched to playing 1.d4 almost exclusively, e4 etc where seldomly used, althugh it happened.
It may not be the word you prefer, but it is absolutely correct.
Have a look here: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=20719.
1. d4...Nf6
2. c4...e6
3. Nc3...Bb4
Attempt for the same vs. 1. c4
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
In common with many people who play the Nimzo-Indian Defense, Karpov also played the Queen's Indian Defense.
Against 1. c4 he played e5 a lot, perhaps because back when he was playing 1 e4 his early repertoire included the Closed Sicilian.
White: Solid 1.e4 repertoire when he was young then completely switched to 1.d4. and 1.c4 after he first lost to Kasparov.
Black: 1...e5 and 1...c6 against 1.e4. Nimzo-Queen’s Indian his entire life against 1.d4. 1...Nf6 against 1.c4/Nf3 hoping to reach Nimzo-Queen’s Indian.
Also Petrov.
"Kasparov once observed that many great players, while excellent in all areas, were particularly outstanding in two. Thus, Kasparov categorized himself as an outstanding opening and middlegame player. Kramnik was categorized as an outstanding opening and endgame player. And Karpov was categorized as an outstanding middlegame and endgame player. "
"Karpov was never acknowledged to be particularly dangerous in the openings, and always preferred the middlegame and endgame. However, he could hardly be said to be a weak opening player – he was well prepared and had assistance (in tournaments and World Championship matches) from some of the most creative opening researchers in history, such as Geller. Moreover, with his smooth positional style, Karpov created a number of model games in the openings he regularly played.
After his defeat to Kasparov, Karpov switched from 1 e4 to closed openings with 1 d4, a move which probably helped him stay at the top for so many years. Apparently it was his final game in the second match against Kasparov that was the tipping point – in a sharp Sicilian, Karpov hesitated and lost, and realized that such positions did not suit his style as well as more closed strategic battles."
Karpov: Move by Move by IM Sam Collins
For so many years? He got the title handed to him by default and then his glory days were destroyed when he stood no chance against Kasparov. He's also been an awful senior player, I'm sorry, he is barely grandmaster standard for many years.
Despite being Irish as well, I think Sam Collins is a pretty low-quality chess writer.
I am trying to build an opening repertoire based around Anatoly Karpov. I know that he is famous for the Caro-Kann, but what were his other top openings? I am looking for his most common response against 1. d4 and 1. c4, in addition to his systems as white. I definitely want 1. d4 as white.