Back to Players

Anatoly Karpov, USSR, 1975-85

Karpov was born in Zlatoust in the Ural Mountains. He learned to play chess when he was age four. He became a Soviet master at age 11. By age 18, he had become a grandmaster.

He beat several of the finest players of his day for the right to challenge the world champion: Polugayevsky, Spassky, and Korchnoi. He was the first player in history to receive the title of world champion by default. This occurred in 1975 when Fischer refused to defend his title.

Karpov is a tiger with the white pieces. As black, his game is peaceful and incredibly difficult to crack. Many consider him to be the game's greatest positional player.

Karpov taught economics at Leningrad University for many years. He also collects stamps.