Master Class Volume 6: Anatoly Karpov

When Anatoly Karpov was invited to the Botvinnik chess school at the age of 11, the "patriarch" made a devastating judgment: "The boy has no idea about chess and therefore there is no future for him as a chess player." Seldom has the judgment on a chess talent been more wrong than this. Karpov soon developed into the best chess player in the Soviet Union and was considered a serious challenge to world champion Fischer. However, Fischer did not take part in the 1975 World Championship match and Karpov became the 12th World Chess Champion without a fight. He subsequently legitimized his title by participating in countless tournaments and usually won. Karpov's style was particularly impressive. He outplayed his opponents with seemingly effortless ease thanks to his brilliant sense of position, which reminded many of Capablanca. If you want to study chess, you will hardly find a better chess teacher in terms of strategy than Anatoly Karpov! It was not until Garry Kasparov that Karpov found an opponent on his level.