Nobody else defended as Karpov did
Saturday, September 4, 2010 02:55 AM
by Shelby Lyman
Genius has its own logic.
In 1963, at the age of 12, Anatoly Karpov made his debut at the famous Botvinnik chess school in Moscow — a landmark initiation for many future champions.
But Mikhail Botvinnik wasn’t impressed by his student’s unorthodox play.
“There is no place for him in this profession,” the Soviet chess patriarch declared.
Karpov, who knew little about opening theory, would quickly get into a virtually hopeless position in most of his games.
“I would try to climb out by setting my back against the wall, dodging the blows. . . . I danced a jig on the head of a pin.”
Reminiscent of Muhammad Ali’s “rope-a-dope” antics, Karpov would first exhaust his opponent and then “lay him out flat.” His defensive skills served him well during a world-championship run that lasted from 1975 to 1985.
Karpov recently offered an insight into his success.
“I could defend difficult positions, which is quite seldom seen in modern chess,” he said. “I never lost the will to fight.
“It’s extremely important during a game to accept a situation like it is — the real situation — not with thoughts or regrets of what you have missed.”
Source: http://www.dispatch.com
Great player, bad politician.
Well, if the patriarch saw his play today, he would say the same again 🙂
Kidding – a colossal player!
Ah for those who are old enough. He was frightening on the chess board Even though his style didn’t seem aggressive at all. It seemed that he always knew better where to place his pieces. Simple games, looks even, then all of a sudden he has an advantage. I remember back in 1975 one of my young colleagues made the statement in regards to Fischer’s wc demands. “Fischer don’t want that boy”. Much as I like Fischer’s game, He really didn’t seem to believe that he was as good as the rest of us though he was. He wanted to play Spassky. When a new comer came, Fischer stepped out. The chess world was deprived of what may have been a historic and great match. But it was Fischer’s lack of confidence that allowed (no demanded)that he retire.