http://www.kwabc.org/Bilder/Kornik2...

Svetozar Gligoric is now 85, and currently rated at 2447, 2 points higher than Y.Averbakh.

<I have seen two geniuses in my time. One was Tal. The other was Fischer.>

-- Averbakh

<I have seen two geniuses in my time. One was Tal. The other was Fischer. Maybe Kasparov also. In chess you cannot be a genius forever, only for a short burst. Fischer’s highest level was after the Candidates matches in 1970 where he beat Larsen and Taimanov 6-0 and then crushed Petrosian and Spassky. Fischer was very strong with Black. With White everybody can win, but the main problem is how to win with Black.>

EVANS: Do you think Karpov was happy to get the title without playing Fischer?

AVERBAKH: Of course. Karpov was afraid of Fischer in 1975. Who wouldn’t like to get the title by default?

EVANS: Do you think that’s the main reason why Karpov was so active after that: to prove he was really worthy of the title?

AVERBAKH: For Karpov, you know, money is very important. This is his main stimulus. He may lose to Kasparov, but he is always well compensated for it.

EVANS: Why do you think the first K-K match was stopped in 1985?

AVERBAKH: For me it’s completely clear. Because Karpov couldn’t continue at all.

EVANS: Was he suffering from nervous exhaustion?

AVERBAKH: The chief of his delegation Baturinsky told me that he tried his best to convince Karpov to play on, but that Karpov simply couldn’t play despite his two-game lead. He needed a postponement.

I rest my case. Karpov was ahead, but it was he who wanted a postponement. Kasparov trailed, but he had the momentum, the physical and mental stamina.

It was illegal, in my opinion, for the FIDE President to come and step in and portpone the match. This was done because the Soviet Chess Federation favored Karpov. Kasparov is Jewish, and the Soviet Chess Federation has never been too kind to Jewish chessplayers, such as Bronstein, Boleslavsky and Stein.

It was very transparent and clear, as it still is, that Karpov wanted the match stopped, and that the Soviet Chess Federation interfered with the World Championship by asking Campomanes to stop the match. It was a disgrace! And it is a blotch on FIDE's reputation....which caused Kasparov to resent FIDE, and might have been the beginning of his animosity towards this organization, culminating in the split in 1993.

If one of the opponents cannot continue, then he should lose by forfeit. It is not Kasparov's fault if Karpov did not have the stamina, mental or physical, to continue.

Your case is not proven just by showing that Averbakh (or even I) agree with it, but I do in fact agree with what Averbakh says.

<It was illegal, in my opinion, for the FIDE President to come and step in and portpone the match.>

The rules aren't a matter of opinion. It was either illegal or it wasn't. I believe that, as a matter of fact, it was not illegal. They quoted the rule in Chess Life, and it did give the President some rather broad powers to step in and make decisions. I'll find it for you if you like. Was it unethical? Yeah, I'd say so.

But don't cry too much for Kasparov. From what I've heard, he wasn't nearly as much against it as he acted. Look at it from his point of view.

Suppose that he had continued his blitz, and won Games 49, 50 and 51. He's champ. But what would people say? They'd say that he'd beaten a superior player by outsitting him until he collapsed. That's not much better than winning the title by default like Karpov had. Kasparov looks like the bad guy in this situation.

On the other hand, suppose he wins another game or two, but loses the match 6-4. He's the hero in this situation but he's not champion. That's no good either.

Worst case Scenario. Karpov does NOT lose Games 49, 50 and 51, he simply resigns the match while still leading 5-3, claiming (truthfully) that he's suffered a physical collapse (it was the longest match in history, after all), and waits for the rematch. Kasparov has a title that nobody respects, and everyone is on Karpov's side in the next match.

What happened was the best thing for him. Erase that 2-point deficit, and start fresh in a match where he can win a victory that the public will respect. They'll also be completely on his side and against Karpov for the first match being stopped. If Kasparov had the slightest bit of common sense, he'd have wanted this result.

<I WAS ASKED by one Soviet defector to try to locate a Jewish friend, Soviet chess champion Boris Gulko. I was told that Gulko would be willing to discuss the politics of Soviet chess, as well as the problems of Jewish chess players in the Soviet Union. It was rumored that Gulko and his wife, a Soviet women's champion, were being held under house arrest. "To find Gulko, you'll need to contact a man I know who is a well-known grandmaster, an expert in the endgame," said the Russian American, who gave me a name and a Moscow phone number. "He is also a KGB agent, but don't worry, he is totally corrupt. The first day you meet him, give him a present worth fifteen or twenty dollars—a digital watch, maybe. Don't expect him to speak candidly at first. Most likely he'll seem apathetic. But I know this man, and you'll have aroused his curiosity. He will suggest dinner. During this meal present him with pornographic books and magazines; then the chances are he will arrange for you to meet Gulko." In case this approach didn't work, the man gave me the name of a second grandmaster to bribe with a few digital pens; he wouldn't be as expensive. He cautioned that I must never mention the name of the second grandmaster to the KGB grandmaster because they were enemies. >