Uncrowned Tsar of chess

Chess legend Korchnoi will be remembered for his indomitable spirit and his love for chess

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown might be an old adage. But equally ‘uneasy lies the head that does not wear it” would perfectly fit the Grand Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi who passed away recently at the age of 85 in his adopted country, Switzerland.

Successive sixty years of actively figuring in the World’s top 100, featuring in top ten for thirty consecutive years, featuring in top five for 20 years and World number one on three occasions and yet unfortunately, the chess crown stayed elusive. His talent promised, his dedication demanded, his perseverance stood the test, destiny too beckoned but probably circumstances and Lady Luck never stood by him. He lost to Anatoly Karpov in the 1978 and the 1981 World Championship title match. And then played thrice in the knock-out format of the World Championship in 1997, 1999 and 2001.

His indomitable spirit, his love for chess, his uncompromising attitude towards draws and his mastery in the complex endgame featuring rooks and pawns will stay alive in the memories of players and enthusiasts alike. A whopping figure of more than 220 tournament victories easily places him amongst the giants of chess. He had the distinction of defeating undisputed world champions from  Mikhail Botwinnik, Mikhail Tal, Vassily Smyslov, Tigran Petrosian, Boris Spassky, Robert James Fischer, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen and FIDE champions VeselinTopalov and Ruslan Ponomariov and interestingly Anand was one world champion whom Korhcnoi could not conquer in any format, in their 17 encounters. 

If success followed him on the chequered board, his personal life bordered on the tragic, right from his birth in 1931 at Leningrad, former Soviet Union.

His parents divorced immediately after his birth and he went to live with his father who taught him the rudiments of the game. Unfortunately his father was killed in the World War II when he was around eight-year-old and tragedy struck again when his grandmother who was raising him died of starvation and he was seriously hospitalised with malnutrition.

His step-mother then brought him up and he started pursuing chess seriously —  his first major victory being the USSR junior Chess Championship in 1946. Then started a string of successes when he went on from strength to strength winning USSR Championships, playing abroad, winning titles but his outspokenness and brushes with the KGB minders had him being sidelined in favour of Boris Spassky and the rapidly rising Karpov. 

Forced by the politics and policies of the communist regime, Korchnoi then defected to Netherlands in 1976 while playing in a tournament, and a couple of years later settled in Switzerland. He was the first top level GM to defect and punishment was swift in the form of his wife and son being detained in the USSR.

The most dramatic and colourful facet of his personality on and off board was then witnessed at Bauio City Phillipines in 1978 where he played his first title match against a 30-year-old Karpov.

Perhaps this was one of the most bizarre matches in the World Championship history. Tarnished with accusations and counter-accusations where the chairs were x-rayed, the flags used on boards were debated, hypnotism complaints were filed by both players and a vivid image of Korchnoi sporting mirrored sun-glasses for the games is a popular photograph on various websites.  However this did not upstage the drama on board, where the score was tantalisingly poised at 5-5 after 31 games (21 draws not counted). Karpov triumphed by clinching the 32nd game to win 6-5, while in the second title match Korchnoi went down tamely 2-6 and this match has been dubbed as ‘Massacre in Merano’.  However one cannot ignore the fact that Korchnoi’s wife and son were still detained his USSR and his son was imprisoned.

Korchnoi, in 1984, won the Candidates match by defaut since USSR boycotted the Candidates in California (The US versus USSR cold war) where he was to play Garry Kasparov. Korchnoi, magnanimously agreed for the match to be played in London next year, unfortunately where he ended on the losing side. This sporting gesture will always be remembered in history and shows that Korchnoi was a fighter to the core and wanted to win the title ‘fair and square’.

At 75 years Korchnoi still figured 85th in the Rating list and won the Swiss Championship in 2009 and 2011 and just a couple of years back he once again held cente-stage by defeating Fabiano Caruana rated above 2700 and 61 years his junior. In 2015 though ill, a frail Korchnoi played sitting on the wheel chair and defea. Fading health and perhaps realising that he could not play chess anymore had Korchnoi giving up on life a few months later, as if to justify his book title Chess is my life.

Viswanathan Anand: The chess world lost its greatest fighter. R.I.P. Viktor Korchnoi. We learnt so much from you. His struggle both on and off the chessboard is what chess history will hold in highest regard.