Chess Review, Sept. 1976
Korchnoi Defects
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He was obsessed with vanity and envy. 
That's it. That's why he defected.
It was a slap in the face to the USSR when Korchnoi defected.
Would Iran feel the same way as the former USSR if Firouz defected to the USA from Iran during this time of heightened tensions?
But if he defects, it will probably be France.
Jan 7, 2020
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#6
SeniorPatzer wrote:
It was a slap in the face to the USSR when Korchnoi defected.
Would Iran feel the same way as the former USSR if Firouz defected to the USA from Iran during this time of heightened tensions?
But if he defects, it will probably be France.
you mean imminent war?
Lawdoginator wrote:
....And you know this how?
He was obsessed with vanity and envy. That's it. That's why he defected.
Jan 7, 2020
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#8
There's actually a documentary on this, The Closing Gambit, it's actually really interesting 
......and normally I'm not a fan of history
Jan 7, 2020
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#9
JustARandomPatzer wrote:
Lawdoginator wrote:
....And you know this how?
He was obsessed with vanity and envy. That's it. That's why he defected.
if you read the article, the USSR blamed his defection on vanity and envy.
Check out "The Great Chess Movie"
Jan 7, 2020
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#11
I have mixed feelings about Korchnoi.....he was born in 1931, and his father was killed in the Siege of Leningrad. That whole generation of players suffered so much!
Overall, I like him. He was a great fighter, and him and Uhlman show the way to play the French Defense, for sure!
He was a great competitor, and a man of great will.
Also, he was fair. When the Soviet Union and FIDE forfeited Kasparov for not agreeing to their choice of location (California, USA) for the Semi-Final Candidates' Match against Korchnoi in 1983, Korchnoi offered to play the match anyhow. It took place in London, and Kasparov won (+3).
He was friends with my favorite player, David Bronstein.
The Soviet Union treated him very badly.....what can I say?
Ultimately, I have great respect for him.
You can learn a bit about him here:
Without Korchnoi's grand gesture, Kasparov would NOT have played Karpov in 1984 for the World Championship!
Jan 7, 2020
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#12
What ever happened to Korchnoi's wife and family he left in Russia? . .
Jan 7, 2020
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#14
After he defected he had an affair with Petra Leeurwerik, divorced his wife Bella and married Leeuwerik, who, with son Igor, was still with him when he died.
It must have been the cannabis... cannabis and Dutch women - women who love to cycle.
While of course the sentiment above was intended as a dose of good humor, I went on to read another article on Korchnoi and discovered something interesting.
By the similarities in his story I discovered that one of my favorite chess movies, La Diagonale Du Fou, might be or in fact is based on Viktor's life as a defector.
Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly so, there's not much info on this old chess flick on the internet. The video I've posted is about the only thing I could find on YouTube, given my short efforts.
This would be an interesting little edit... I like the soundtrack:
And this is the film winning an Oscar:
Jan 8, 2020
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#19
Chess Review, Sept. 1976