Anatoly Karpov

Just a simple question: How would studying grand masters games help a players development if the combinations of moves aint likely to be seen in any game played by a low rated player such as myself?

 These two titans of chess played more than 180 games against each other and Kasparov is only +7 overall I believe. They contested 5 WC matches against one another and Kasparov is +2 in those contests. Karpov is indeed very close to Kasparov and why so many think he was "dominated" by Kasparov is beyond me given these facts. Oh , and lets not forget that in their last match in NY 2002 Karpov beat Kasparov in a rapid chess match. This is a time control in which almost none gave Karpov any serious chances. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QXRR9Ql7kI    I want you Kaspy fans to see how your hero is destroyed by Karpov, who is 12 years his senior and in 2002 Karpov is clearly no longer in his prime while kaspy is still 3 years away from retiring. 

 This is because Karpov , like Botvinnik, was a "good communist" and is one reason I cannot really like Karpov nor Botvinnik as human beings but I can still admire their chess. Spassky was one of few who refused to sign a petition denouncing/condemning Korchnoi for "defecting" and for this I really admire Spassky.

The same themes come up over and over in many different positions.

This is why the "standard" advice is to start with the old masters, e.g. Morphy. His opponents play plausible moves (similar moves might come up in your own games), and get demolished. You study his games to figure out how he did that, and what his opponents did wrong. After that, if you manage to apply that knowledge to your own games, you'll probably not be low rated for much longer :-)

Then move up to more recent masters. The game of chess developed by building upon older ideas, so so can you. Or that's the idea, anyway.

The second reason is more simple. If you're going to study chess games anyway, why not games in which a large percentage of the moves is going to be correct?

The third reason is that these games are often beautiful, and it's fun to play through them and figure them out.

But first things first. If you're still dropping undefended pieces, no amount of study is going to help, you need to start checking for that. Practice is more important than study. And later, studying your own games to find out what sort of things you do wrong and how to change that is also more important.

the studying of my own games tends to be boring and laborous especially wen u have young children ... i have tried going back over my past games to see where i have gone wrong but havent got very far.

Iv tried using databases where openings can be explained in a bit more detail but all it does is give u the moves and not the theory behind it. 

LOL if i explained how many tutors iv had and how many books iv read and how many other things iv tried id be here all day but i am just beginning to resign to the fact il be a 1200-1300 player for life simply coz i dont concentrate hard enough on my games 

Kasparov holds the record for the longest time as the #1 rated player.
Kasparov had the highest elo in the world continuously from 1986 to 2005
Kasparov reached a 2851 elo, the highest rating ever achieved, Karpov  had a peak elo of 2780
Kasparov  holds the highest all-time average rating over a 2  to 20 year period
Kasparov In his 1980 Olympiad debut, became, at age 17, the youngest player to represent the Soviet Union or Russia at that level, a record which was broken by Vladimir Kramnik in 1992
Kasparov holds the record for most consecutive professional tournament victories, placing first or equal first in 15 individual tournaments from 1981 to 1990
Kasparov won the Chess Oscar a record eleven times
Kasparov was classical chess champion from 1985-2000, a 15 year span, while Karpov was champion for only 10 years, 1975=1985.

i vote kasparov

lol "only" ten.

:P

 Very impressive indeed. You vote Kasparov for what exactly ? I thought the bone of contention here is that you say Karpov isnt even a close second and on this I disagree given their personal record and the fact that Karpov won their last match despite being 12 years older and being a huge underdog in rapid chess to Kasparov. I would also like to point out that Karpov was the undisputed world champion longer than Kasparov was. When Kasparov split from FIDE to form the PCA he was no longer an undisputed world champion. Karpov was undisputed world champion for 10 years.

For a long time I was not much of a Karpov fan, UNTIL.... I happened to pick up his book "Karpov On Karpov". Now it's one of my favorite chess books. It was very personal, philosophical, at times poetic, candid, and filled with interesting stories and chess advice. I didn't realize Karpov was "The Man" until I read this great book!

I think you are correct Catalyst_Kh. I have read "Chess is my Life" By Korchnoi and just from that chess in the Soviet Union was always pollictically motivated. If Karpov did not sign he would probably lose some of his pay, or the right to play in some tournaments overseas. In some cases when they played outside the USSR a KGB agent was sent with them to moniter them and their actions. And Petrosian was Punished for not beating Korchnoi in the their 1977 candidates match: he lost his position as editor in chief of Weekly 64.

Karpov was the coolest looking champion.

No way jose.

I need help locating a game. I am quite sure that Karpov had white, and I _thought_ that A. Yusupov had black. G. Kaidanov used this game to display what prophalactic play truly means. There is a lot of play on the queenside which black would _like_ to do, but every time white plays a move to counter the play. One of those moves I believe is Qb1.

Anybody know the game? :-)

Sorry I can't be more help than that!

Karpov would kill Tal if they got in a fight!

[quote]This is because Karpov , like Botvinnik, was a "good communist" and is one reason I cannot really like Karpov nor Botvinnik as human beings but I can still admire their chess. Spassky was one of few who refused to sign a petition denouncing/condemning Korchnoi for "defecting" and for this I really admire Spassky.[/quote]

I did not know that about Spassky ! Thanks for pointing that out. I really like to know about these small details. For what can one do in such a position except make small acts.

And Karpov made no such actions, refusing to shake Victors hand or even look at him after his son was arrested.

Didn't Botvinnik also not sign that petition?

Hey there is a great interview on Fischer by Karpov in the June Chess life...If you are in the mood and have the time, check it out, I am sure there is an online version, perhaps at USCF.com or Chesslife.com, if there is such a thing...

Ozzie  -- I think is the one you want:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1068393

One of the kibitzers mentioned that Kaidanov taught him this game

Jul-31-05    notyetagm: I believe that this is the famous Karpov<prophylactic> game in which he simply refuses to allow Black to carry out his intended ... a5-c4 maneuver. Black gets flustered by his inability to execute this plan, blunders a pawn, and then has to lauch a kamikaze attack on the White king which fails. Aug-09-08    just a kid: Yusupov's knight."He tried to make me go to c4,but karpov said no,no,no."I love this game.Gregory Kaidanov taught me and 10 other students this game.