Anatoly Karpov vs Viktor Korchnoi (1971) French Cooking

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

Anatoly Karpov vs Viktor Korchnoi
"French Cooking" (game of the day May-01-2015)
Training Match (1971), Leningrad URS, rd 6
French Defense: Tarrasch Variation. Open System Main Line (C09) · 1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

Given 82 times; par: 45 [what's this?]

Annotations by Stockfish (Computer). [35437 more games annotated by Stockfish]

explore this opening	find similar games	120 more Karpov/Korchnoi games
sac: 21.Rf1	PGN: download \| view \| print	Help: general \| java-troubleshooting

TIP: The Olga viewer allows you to get computer analysis by clicking the "ENGINE" link on the lower right.

For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.

PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

THIS IS A COMPUTER ANNOTATED SCORE. [CLICK HERE] FOR ORIGINAL.

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 2 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>
May-03-06		Chicago Chess Man: The sheer amount of calculation needed after 23. RxB amazes me.

May-03-06		who: This is the only time time that Karpov successfully broke Korchnoi's French defense. According to Fritz both 29...Kf4 and 29...Kf5 draw.

Jul-04-06		who: Interestingly, Korchnoi himself didn't notice this and says that the losing move was 27...Kb4

Aug-28-06		positionalgenius: A sacraficial gem from Karpov.This is a great game:)

Aug-28-06		positionalgenius: <slomarko>Look at this one.

Aug-30-06		schlink: Thanks, didn't see game 3 there before, my fault. Korchnoi, in his comments on that game said that it was "One of the best games he (Karpov) has played in his whole life (up to that time)."

Jan-11-09		mcgee: I have just bought Korchnoi's autobiography Chess is My Life and he says that Karpov played his best game in the whole period between 1970 and 1980 in this match - I think he means this game. Characteristic of Korchnoi to have so much animosity towards Karpov in personal and political terms yet be so decisively magnanimous about his actual practical playing ability

Jan-11-09		mcgee: >>The sheer amount of calculation needed after 23. RxB amazes me.<< More remarkable that Karpov surely had to foresee the belter 20 Rd2 and then the subsequent second exchange sacrifice (or at the very least have the idea in mind) as soon as he let rip with 16Bxg7+. This and Karpov's win against Huebner at Tilburg in 1982 suggest to me that he has both uncanny and overlooked tactical abilities and that his positional style is at least partly a matter of pragmatic choice

Jan-11-09		vanytchouck: What is also funny about this game is that at this time (1971), Korchnoï and Karpov were friends !

Jan-11-09		WhiteRook48: Typical Korchnoi... stubborn to the very end!

May-14-09		WhiteRook48: OUCH!

Jan-04-10		returnoftheking: Strange that Karpov did not include this game into his "best games" books - not in the ones I have at least. Maybe it had to do with the game being played in a (secret) training match?

Nov-27-11		serenpidity.ejd: brilliant game by karpov ala kasparov!

May-01-15		waustad: This is what happens when the game is the important part part, not the pun. Wow.

May-01-15		offramp: The two players learned a lot from this training match. For the next dozen years they dominated world chess.

May-01-15		dfcx: The two black rooks sat watching the whole time till the end. Very interesting game.

May-01-15		FairyPromotion: What a gem! "Double exchange sacrifices" may not sound so cool, but pulling them off usually means a brilliancy. They mostly revolve around passed pawn combinations and obtaining the bishop pair, but here Karpov strips the black king from it's defenders in order to initiate a mating attack. Funny that 9 out of blacks final 11 moves are king moves, while the rooks remain as spectators throughout the game.

May-01-15		morfishine: Quite an interesting game though as mentioned, its hard to see how White makes progress after <27...Qxe4> This one appears to not only have been cooked, but baked, sauteed, fried, boiled, steamed, roasted and grilled. Well done! *****

May-01-15		Travis Bickle: Nice game back in 1971, but Bobby Fischer didn't play The French Defense. ; P

May-01-15		Petrosianic: Good point, Trav. And Pete Rose didn't play chess at all, so it's doubly so (here, let me just tighten the straps on that straitjacket for you). Good job identifying the year that the game was played, though.

May-01-15		kevin86: The king is hunted...and caught.

May-01-15		offramp: I wrote to <VK> and asked him what he thought the best western version of his name was. He said the best Best Western he had ever seen was at Gravenstraat 12 - 16 Amsterdam. Probably a misunderstanding.

May-01-15		thegoodanarchist: 16. Bxg7+! is a great zwischenzug, which I expect took Korchnoi by surprise. I've said it before, one of the main things that separates super GMs from the rest of the world's titled players is their use of zwischenzugs.

Jun-05-15		Candy Man: Beautiful play by Tolya.

Jan-06-16		Joker2048: I so much enjoy when I'm looking at karpov playing .. Genius.

Jump to page # (enter # from 1 to 3)
search thread:
< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 2 OF 3 · Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
Nothing in violation of United States law.
No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
No trolling.
The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.

NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.