Master Class Vol.6: Anatoly Karpov

When Anatoly Karpov was 11 years old, he was invited to the Botvinnik chess school, but the "Patriarch" handed down a harsh verdict: "The boy has no idea about chess and therefore has no future at all as a chess player." ". Rarely has a judgment on a chess talent been more wrong, for Karpov soon became the best player in the Soviet Union, growing to be considered a serious challenger to reigning World Champion Bobby Fischer. However, Fischer refused to play in the world title match in 1975 and Karpov won by forfeit, becoming the 12th World Champion. However, he proved worthy of the title, playing countless tournaments with exceptional results. His style was especially impressive. Thanks to Karpov's brilliant positional sense, which reminded many experts of Capablanca's, he outmaneuvered his rivals again and again seemingly effortlessly. If he wants to improve his understanding of chess strategy, then there is hardly a better teacher than Anatoly Karpov. Garry Kasparov had to arrive so that Karpov had an opponent who could challenge him at his level.