Viktor the terrible Raymond Keene
Viktor Korchnoi is one of the giants of 20th-century chess, contesting two matches that determined the destination of the world title, and winning games against no fewer than eight world champions: Botvinnik, Tal, Smyslov, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov. Korchnoi also set various records for longevity of elite chess performance, and in this sense he can only be rivalled or surpassed by Emanuel Lasker and Vassily Smyslov.
Korchnoi’s assaults against Anatoly Karpov, his hated arch-rival and the golden boy of the Soviet establishment, took place after his own defection from the USSR in 1976. The first was in 1978 at Baguio in the Philippines, the second in 1981 at Merano. So dramatic were these bitter contests that they provided the inspiration for the Tim Rice/Abba musical Chess. A controversy was caused when the Soviet side employed a parapsychologist called Dr Vladimir Zukhar to sit in the front row of the audience and stare at Korchnoi, who claimed that this was a tactic to disturb him. He retaliated by hiring members of a Filipino sect, the orange-robed Ananda Marga, to accompany him wherever he went and supposedly create mystical vibrations to counter Zukhar’s malign effect.
Korchnoi had swept past the world’s leading grandmasters, such as Petrosian, Polugaievsky, Spassky and Hubner, to face his greatest foe. However, in spite of Korchnoi coming agonisingly close to success in their first contest, on the second occasion Karpov was much better prepared and at the age of 30 had attained the peak of his form. Korchnoi was by now already 50, though what he lacked in stamina he certainly made up for in determination. Nevertheless, the 1981 challenge turned out to be a disaster for the older man. Painful holes were soon exposed in his opening repertoire. After a mere 18 games, Korchnoi had been defeated by the score of six wins to two, with ten draws. His world championship dream was over.
The grand old man returned once more to a serious challenge in 1983, when he faced the rising star Garry Kasparov in the semi-final. Magnanimously agreeing to a replay in London after the USSR chess federation at first refused to permit Kasparov to compete in the USA (where the match had originally been scheduled), Korchnoi was annihilated by his much younger rival. On the plus side, the rigid Soviet boycott of Korchnoi implemented immediately after his defection — was officially lifted when Korchnoi agreed to reprise the Kasparov contest.
Korchnoi remains a dangerous opponent at the highest level and is never to be ruled out as a candidate for top honours in any company. He was naturally of a nervous and suspicious disposition, but he mellowed after the lifting of the Iron Curtain and in recent years has been a frequent visitor to Russian events, not least in his former hometown of St Petersburg (or Leningrad, as it was known when he lived there).
This living legend will be visiting the London Chess Centre on 29 April, giving chess fans in this country a remarkable opportunity to meet one of the greats in person. For details ring 020 7388 2404.
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