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 25 OF 101 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-14-05    PARACONT1: <KingG> No. It only proves the more youthful Jews will overcome the older ones. Anyway enough of this nonsense. You win, as evident from the show of support. I apologize more for being stubborn when I should have admitted I was simply clinging to wrong ideas. Nov-14-05    KingG: <PARACONT1> No problem. I'm glad that you have shown that you have an open enough mind to change your opinions. Nov-14-05    Koster: Korchnoi- Typical Aries, type A personality, direct and aggresive. No hidden agendas here. Also has the Piscean tendency toward martyrdom and occasional indeciveness (game32 of 1978 WC match). Nov-16-05    alexandrovm: He is heading for 4000 games, and now he has an incredible +62% score, that's just incredible... Nov-23-05    fred lennox: There is a bit of the unwleldy in knorchnoi, not uncommon among passionate souls. With Korchnoi, to feel inspired is to feel combative. Once aroused to anger one can count on being so for a while. sometimes it's like he waits to be provoked by attack in order to attack. Or he needs to combat with the pressure of time in order to mooove. Once he starts to elaborate or be agggressive, he can go too far, missing out on quieter and more effective ways. Strange, since he is consumate with endgame. His weakness was not an achilles heel (technique) but his achilles passion. What he lacked was an olympic-like calm to enable him to to go from one frame of mind to another with greater ease and swiftness. With the mellowing of years, it seems, he became more resourceful after 40. Nov-23-05    alexandrovm: <Also has the Piscean tendency toward martyrdom and occasional indeciveness (game32 of 1978 WC match).> if I'm not mistaken pisces goes up to march 21st, he was born march 23rd... Nov-24-05    Joshka: Anyone have a copy of Korchnoi's "Anti-Chess"? Published in the late 70's. Also Gm Keene believes it was published in English, anyone know the publisher? Thanks in advance. Nov-24-05    offramp: I think it was published in English but not in Britain; but I have seen Anti-Schach for sale in Holland - or Belgium. Dec-01-05    aw1988: Anti-Chess: 1. f3 e5 2. Kf2 Dec-01-05    suenteus po 147: <aw1988> I believe that's the Drunken King opening. I've actually been beaten with that several times in blitz. Dec-01-05    stanium: i dont think benoni means son of sorrow, it can also mean average, or a person that lives in poverty. Dec-01-05    hintza: <i dont think benoni means son of sorrow> Ben Oni is Hebrew, meaning "son of my sorrow". In the Bible Rachel called her son Benoni before his father, Jacob, changed it to Benjamin. I think that is right anyway. Oh dear, this is a chess site, isn't it? Never mind... Dec-01-05    Resignation Trap: Why would anybody want to name a chess opening "Son of sorrow", in <any> language ?? Dec-01-05    keypusher: My understanding was that the author of a very early treatise on the Benoni was a rabbi whose son had died. Dec-05-05    Hesam7: I may buy some chess books for the new year. The two volumes of Korchnoi's best games (One volume games with white the other one games with black) is one of my options. Any comments about these two books? Dec-05-05    Chess Clasics: <Hesam7> I've seen it, looked good. From what I gather, Korkie is a nice, hard working, guy. He doesn't seem like the type that would publish a book without putting some time into analysis! Maybe I'm wrong though...just a thought. Dec-05-05    suenteus po 147: It's kind of awe-inspiring when a player can release a "best games" book for each color of the chessboard. It tells you how long he's been playing and how good he is. Dec-05-05    lentil: <I believe that's the Drunken King opening. I've actually been beaten with that several times in blitz.> once in a blitz game on ICC i had a (much stronger) opponent, as black, play 1. ...f6, 2. ...c6, 3. ... Kf7, 4. ...Ke6, 5. ... Kd6, 6. ... Kc7, 7. ... Qe8, and 8. ... Kd8. I didn't know whether to be amused or offended. Fortunately for opening theory, I won. Dec-05-05    Chess Clasics: There was a game in Chess Life that had a mad king march as black. No joke! Some of you may have seen that. Considering it was played by a master, I think that's really rude. Dec-10-05    Poisonpawns: Korchnoi has been around for a very long time.Can someone tell me what his best years were Dec-10-05    suenteus po 147: <Poisonpawns> It seems to me that Korchnoi has up and down periods. I've seen him competing at the highest levels in the late forties, the late seventies/early eighties (against Karpov), and then again in the very early nineties as one of the top ten players. Dec-10-05    norami: He reached his peak in 1978 when he came within a single game of becoming World Champion. At age 47! Dec-10-05    Ron: The question by poisonpawns I think is interesting. I agree that are "up and down" periods and now I'm wondering how much to an extent the Soviet system eventually hindered his chess; he went into an "up period" after defection. Dec-10-05    Ron: Korchnoi is one of the chess heroes of the 20th Century. Dec-10-05    suenteus po 147: <Ron> I agree wholeheartedly. One of these days I'm going to compile Korchnoi's run for the world championship. He's the next closest to almost winning after Bronstein. Plus his life story is compelling as well. Are there any good biographies on Korchnoi, or does he have an autobiography with games, in the manner of Life and Games of Mikhail Tal? Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 101) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 25 OF 101 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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