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 195; games 1-25 of 4,865  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Y Rovner vs Korchnoi 1-0 20 1945 Leningrad C45 Scotch Game 2. Zikov vs Korchnoi 0-1 20 1946 Leningrad B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 3. Korchnoi vs Razov 1-0 27 1946 Leningrad C50 Giuoco Piano 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. Y Vasilchuk vs Korchnoi 0-1 60 1947 Leningrad B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical 7. V Shiyanovsky vs Korchnoi 0-1 35 1947 Leningrad D47 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 8. Korchnoi vs S Giterman 1-0 36 1948 USSR Junior Championship sf-A C07 French, Tarrasch 9. Korchnoi vs Spassky 1-0 12 1948 Leningrad B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 10. Korchnoi vs Y Sakharov   1-0 30 1949 URS-ch qf D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 11. Korchnoi vs N Levin 1-0 31 1949 URS-ch qf E03 Catalan, Open 12. L Omelchenko vs Korchnoi 0-1 32 1949 Leningrad C77 Ruy Lopez 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. Korchnoi vs Shapkin 1-0 18 1949 USSR Junior Team Championship D08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit 16. V Golenishchev vs Korchnoi 0-1 42 1949 USSR Junior Team Championship A90 Dutch 17. Averbakh vs Korchnoi 1-0 43 1950 URS-ch sf Tula B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 18. S Khavsky vs Korchnoi 0-1 31 1950 URS-ch qf B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 19. Taimanov vs Korchnoi 0-1 35 1950 Leningrad Championship A97 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky 20. M Aizenshtadt vs Korchnoi 0-1 34 1950 URS-ch qf D35 Queen's Gambit Declined 21. Korchnoi vs G Borisenko 0-1 38 1950 URS-ch sf Tula C34 King's Gambit Accepted 22. Korchnoi vs A Cherepkov 1-0 68 1950 Leningrad Championship C58 Two Knights 23. Korchnoi vs S Zhukhovitsky 1-0 55 1950 Leningrad Championship B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 24. N Bakulin vs Korchnoi 0-1 39 1950 URS-ch qf B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 25. Sikov vs Korchnoi 0-1 44 1950 Leningrad A85 Dutch, with c4 & Nc3  page 1 of 195; games 1-25 of 4,865

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 82 OF 100 ·  Later Kibitzing> Mar-23-15    Karposian: <Pirandus: What about Korchnoi's style?> Korchnoi's playing style is very pragmatic and versatile. He is kind of an all around player, I would say. More positional than tactical, but he is strong in every aspect of the game. A great and tenacious defender combined with superb counter attacking skills. A terrific fighter. Mar-23-15    Travis Bickle: Happy Birthday GM Korchnoi! Victor, I think you vs Bobby Fischer in 1975 would have been a great Match! ; P Mar-23-15    Harvestman: Happy Birthday to Viktor the Great. Mar-23-15    gars: Long live Viktor, the Great! Mar-23-15    cunctatorg: Happy birthday to a true citizen of the Chess Kingdom! Mar-23-15    Alex Schindler: Happy 84th- amazing that GM Korchnoi has seven decades on this database. Mar-23-15    paavoh: Happy Birthday GM Korchnoi - always a fighter and among the best ever in my eyes. Long may you run... Mar-23-15    TheFocus: Didn't he have a birthday about a year ago? Mar-23-15    WannaBe: <TheFocus> Yeah, exactly a year ago, weird... Mar-23-15    diagonal: <amazing that GM Korchnoi has seven decades on this database> in fact, <eight decades> of competitive chess! He's playing and beating grandmasters of five generations, from Levenfisch (born 1889) and Lilienthal up to Carlsen and Caruana (born 1992), beating a non-surpassed <nine undisputed World Champions> (including all from Botvinnik to Kasparov): http://www.chessdiagonals.ch/402840... Biography of professional chess achievements: http://www.chessdiagonals.ch/402840... Happy birthday to Viktor Lvovich! Good health and a next match for GM Korchnoi. Mar-23-15    juan31: el Maestro Korchnoi is a Super Star May-03-15    TheFocus: <Chess is my life> - Viktor Korchnoi. May-07-15    TheFocus: <Chess players, people who travel all over the world, should be trusted or else not sent anywhere at all. Why are these four people (Antoshion and three other official 'minders') sent along to supervise us? With their meagre experience, all that they did was interfere, more than ever before. And when they were needed, they weren't to be found ... > - Victor Kortchnoi. May-09-15    PhilFeeley: Genna Sosonko writes in New In Chess (2015 #3): "...Alexander Alekhine, when he lost in Vienna (1922) to Grunfeld in the defense that bears the name of the Austrian maestro, instead of resigning politely, threw his king across the tournament hall. Viktor Korchnoi did roughly the same thing at the recent World Senior championship after he came under an unstoppable attack by Evgeny Vasiukov." A quick search of the database here reveals that there is no recorded loss by Korchnoi to Vasiukov. The last last Senior Championship game they played was 2007. What is this "recent" game Sosonko refers to, and why is it not here? May-09-15    PhilFeeley: P.S. Another internet search reveals that Korchnoi did not play in the most recent Senior Championships (Nov. 2014), so again, what is this "recent" Sosonko refers to? May-09-15    PhilFeeley: Correction: The year above of the game between Korchnoi and Vasiukov at the WSCC was 2006 not 2007. Apologies for the confusion. May-10-15    TheFocus: <No Chess Grandmaster is normal; they only differ in the extent of their madness> - Victor Kortchnoi. May-10-15    zanzibar: Maybe my favorite Korchnoi photograph: https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot... May-10-15    Retireborn: <z> Looks like a Bond villain there. "Do you expect me to move?" "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!" May-12-15    TheFocus: <The aim was simple: to deprive Karpov of his favourite occupation - standing at the board, staring straight at his opponent. While I was wearing these glasses, all he could admire was his own reflection> - Viktor Kortchnoi. May-12-15    TheFocus: <Sometimes I even say that I have surpassed Lasker in using psychology. How? Well, sometimes I use psychology with a portion of risk. That is something else, something that Lasker wouldn`t allow> - Viktor Kortchnoi. May-16-15    TheFocus: <There came a time when I realized that the ability to defend was - for a good chess player - insufficient. You can't be dependent upon your opponent's will, but must try to impose your will on him> - Viktor Korchnoi. May-16-15    TheFocus: <Those who think that it is easy to play chess are mistaken. During a game a player lives on his nerves, and at the same time he must be perfectly composed> - Viktor Korchnoi. May-17-15    TheFocus: <Korchnoi's heritage is many-faceted - over the decades he has several times corrected and changed his style. But the main thing has invariably remained his search for chess truth> - Garry Kasparov. May-18-15    TheFocus: <As a rule, the more mistakes there are in a game, the more memorable it remains, because you have suffered and worried over each mistake at the board> - Viktor Korchnoi. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 100) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 82 OF 100 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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