LEGENDARY Russian Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov is in Baguio City, returning to the site where he won the 1978 World Chess Championship.
Karpov returned 45 years after he defeated fellow Russian Viktor Korchnoi in one of the most memorable competitions to be held not just in local shores but in the world.
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Before heading to Baguio, Karpov conducted a lecture at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila with several chess players of different ages.
Now 71, Karpov told his audience about his fond memories of the Philippines including Asia’s first Grandmaster Eugene Torre.
“I know the Philippines for a long time. My first visit was in 1976, and that’s my first meeting with Eugene Torre here. We had our first game in the junior world championship in Stockholm in 1969. We know each other for 54 years. I know him for a long time,” said Karpov.
“One of the best countries,” said Karpov.
The 1978 contest was actually a title defense by Karpov that he won in close fashion. According to chessgames.com, Korchnoi, a Soviet defector, “set the stage for one of the most bitterly contested matches in WCC history, filled with high political drama, tension, and accusations.”
Karpov also had a rivalry with another Russian GM Garry Kasparov during the 1980s where he lost the world title in 1985.
Karpov reclaimed the world crown by capturing the Fide World Championship in 1993 and successfully defending it in 1996 and 1998.
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