VIKTOR KORCHNOI (born Mar-23-1931, died Jun-06-2016, 85 years old) Russia (federation/nationality Switzerland) PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi was born in Leningrad, USSR. His father taught him chess when he was seven years old. He won the Soviet Championship four times: USSR Championship (1960), USSR Championship (1962), USSR Championship (1964/65) and USSR Championship (1970). He made eight appearances in the world championship candidates cycle. He reached the Spassky - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1968), but failed to beat Spassky. In the next cycle he won his quarterfinal Korchnoi - Geller Candidates Quarterfinal (1971), but lost his semifinal match to Tigran Petrosian. He made it to the Karpov - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1974), but lost. Korchnoi defected from the USSR in 1976, and two years later he finally managed to win the Candidates and qualify for the Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1978). Trailing late with just two victories to Karpov's five, Korchnoi staged a comeback, winning three games to level the score at 5-5. However, Karpov then won the final game, thereby taking the match and retaining the crown. Korchnoi qualified again for the Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1981), but was beaten 6-2. In the next Candidates cycle he was beaten by the rising young Soviet star Garry Kasparov. He continued to play at a very high level throughout the 1980s and 1990s, though he never contended for the world title again. He did, however, capture the 2006 World Senior Championship, scoring 9-2. Though never World Champion himself, Korchnoi defeated nine players who at some time held the title: Petrosian, Spassky, Karpov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Robert James Fischer, Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. After defecting, Korchnoi settled in Switzerland, which he represented at Olympiads and other international events. He was ranked in the top 100 on the FIDE world rating list as late as January 2007 (aged 75), the oldest player ever so ranked. Korchnoi suffered a stroke in December 2012, but returned to competitive chess beginning in 2014. He died in Wohlen, Switzerland on June 6, 2016, aged 85. Wikipedia article: Viktor Korchnoi Last updated: 2025-03-20 08:50:37

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page 1 of 196; games 1-25 of 4,876  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Y Rovner vs Korchnoi 1-0 20 1945 Leningrad C45 Scotch Game 2. Korchnoi vs Razov 1-0 27 1946 Leningrad C50 Giuoco Piano 3. Zikov vs Korchnoi 0-1 20 1946 Leningrad B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 4. Petrosian vs Korchnoi 1-0 23 1946 URS-ch U18 A94 Dutch, Stonewall with Ba3 5. L Aronson vs Korchnoi 0-1 43 1947 Leningrad D44 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 6. V Shiyanovsky vs Korchnoi 0-1 35 1947 Leningrad D47 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 7. Y Vasilchuk vs Korchnoi 0-1 60 1947 Leningrad B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical 8. Korchnoi vs Spassky 1-0 12 1948 Leningrad B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 9. Korchnoi vs S Giterman 1-0 36 1948 USSR Junior Championship sf-A C07 French, Tarrasch 10. L Omelchenko vs Korchnoi 0-1 32 1949 Leningrad C77 Ruy Lopez 11. Korchnoi vs N Levin 1-0 31 1949 URS-ch qf E03 Catalan, Open 12. Korchnoi vs Y Sakharov   1-0 30 1949 URS-ch qf D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 13. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-1 51 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 14. Korchnoi vs V P Zakharov   ½-½ 40 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 15. V Golenishchev vs Korchnoi 0-1 42 1949 USSR Junior Team Championship A90 Dutch 16. Korchnoi vs Shapkin 1-0 18 1949 USSR Junior Team Championship D08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit 17. Korchnoi vs G Borisenko 0-1 38 1950 URS-ch sf Tula C34 King's Gambit Accepted 18. M Aizenshtadt vs Korchnoi 0-1 34 1950 URS-ch qf D35 Queen's Gambit Declined 19. N Bakulin vs Korchnoi 0-1 39 1950 URS-ch qf B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 20. S Khavsky vs Korchnoi 0-1 31 1950 URS-ch qf B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 21. Korchnoi vs S Zhukhovitsky 1-0 55 1950 Leningrad Championship B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 22. Sikov vs Korchnoi 0-1 44 1950 Leningrad A85 Dutch, with c4 & Nc3 23. Taimanov vs Korchnoi 0-1 35 1950 Leningrad Championship A97 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky 24. Korchnoi vs A Cherepkov 1-0 68 1950 Leningrad Championship C58 Two Knights 25. Averbakh vs Korchnoi 1-0 43 1950 URS-ch sf Tula B45 Sicilian, Taimanov  page 1 of 196; games 1-25 of 4,876

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 12 OF 101 ·  Later Kibitzing> Sep-04-04    WMD: One could also take the radical step of playing over and analysing the 1981 match games. Sep-04-04    Minor Piece Activity: Lol Korchy's new picture rocks... He looks like a hitman. =D Sep-04-04    offramp: He looks like he's having a wee-wee. Sep-04-04    Benzol: To me it looks as if he's just stepped on/in something unpleasant. Regarding Karpov, I believe the two of them have played as Bridge partners even during the period of their world championship matches. I wondered at the time if they really had a love-hate relationship. Sep-04-04    offramp: They did in '74 - but I can't believe they did after VK's defection. They may well do now. Sep-04-04    Benzol: I think I remember reading about it in " The Complete Chess Addict ". Sep-04-04    yoozum: my dad, a russian, remembers viewing the matches and said to me that karpov was always the "golden boy" of communism and that korchnoi was the one that just did anything he could to avoid tangling with the party. Sep-05-04    Eggman: As I think about it now, I'm recalling that Korchnoi has paid great compliments to other contemporaries, saying something about Spassky's superior middlegame after losing the 1968 candidates' final to him, and supposedly saying, when asked by a Soviet bureaucrat in 1971 about his chances in a possible match against Fischer, that no one would be able to stop Fischer, that it was just his time. Sep-05-04    Minor Piece Activity: lol offramp. Yeah Eggy, Korchnoi was pretty nice in some ways. Sep-06-04    Giancarlo: Korchnoi's due to stop playig sooner or later. But I guess he's enjow\ying himself for the time being. He must really love chess. Sep-06-04    Dick Brain: <Giancarlo> but he's not enjoying himself in the above picture :( sp maybe it's time to retire now Sep-18-04    yoozum: he plays probably because chess is so much in his system that he can't stop. who cares if he's not so great anymore. i'm sure he plays more for the fun of it. Sep-19-04    Lawrence: Maybe he needs the money. Sep-19-04    yoozum: maybe he does. who knows? maybe the pension isn't good enough. Sep-20-04    Lawrence: Well I was thinking maybe he doesn't have a pension. Sep-20-04    percyblakeney: This is where Korchnoi will play next week, in the same tournament as among others the 57 years younger Nakamura: http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch20... Sep-20-04    yoozum: i'm rooting for korchnoi. hopefully he'll give everyone the old "one-two". Sep-26-04    percyblakeney: He's won his first two games without meeting any top rated player this far. Vadim Milov is seeded first, and drew against Almira Skripchenko-Lautier in the first round. Games and facts here: http://www.bcmchess.co.uk/monarch20... Sep-26-04    iron maiden: Now he has White against Peter Wells (2494) who just notched a surprise win against Volkov. Sep-27-04    percyblakeney: Apparently he was disappointed not to win against Wells after a long fight, but he's still sharing first place. Sep-28-04    percyblakeney: Korchnoi sole leader after round 4, his game today was approximately as long as the three other top board games taken together. Sep-28-04    acirce: Luckily I'm not enough of a nationalist to be rooting for Agrest... if he were stronger, sure, or if it was Ulf Andersson I'd be interested but now I don't care. Sep-28-04    percyblakeney: I don't think I've ever really supported a Swedish player, I choose favourites for the most improbable reasons. Sep-29-04    percyblakeney: Korchnoi keeps winning, against Jonathan Rowson in the fifth round. Sep-29-04    acirce: Huh? :) <There was a little incident in the Moiseenko-Ghaem Maghami game. On move 31 Moiseenko played Rc3, pressed his clock, then unpressed his clock, put the rook back and played Rc5 instead. This was observed by arbiters and spectators as well as his opponent. Of course, touch-piece-move was enforced, although Moiseenko claimed that he had meant to play Rc5. Rc3 was a terrible blunder and cost him the game. Moiseenko complained that his opponent had put him off by offering a draw twice earlier in the game. Curiously, Ghaem Maghami's scoresheet does indeed record draw offers made by him on move 10 and 19, although Moiseenko's scoresheet doesn't.> Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 101) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 12 OF 101 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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