Anatoly Karpov is a chess player with a capital letter. Biography of Karpov Anatoly Evgenievich

The ease, virtuosity of the game, observed by millions of connoisseurs of this art in matches broadcast on television, forced the viewer to believe that Karpov was a chess player by nature. In fact, grandmasters are not born. It all began, as with many Soviet children.

Childhood of the twelfth chess champion

In five years, the boy was attached to chess by his father, after there was a sports section at the Zlatoust Metallurgical Plant, where he worked as a father. Certainly, the inquisitive, tenacious mind, natural makings, the interest shown by the teenager to the ancient intellectual game affected. First-rate Anatoly became already at the age of nine, at 11 years old he fulfilled the candidate's master's standard. Further successes were achieved under the guidance of S. M. Furman, an experienced Grandmaster mentor. At the age of fourteen he became a master of sports, at the age of eighteen (in 1969), chess player Anatoly Karpov excelled at the World Youth Championship. From this stage, the rise of our talented compatriot, up to this day, has not been surpassed by the number of victories in international competitions.

The record line - 100 won championships - was passed to them in 1994 at the age of 43 years (for comparison, the great Alokhin achieved an impressive result in 78 matches and tournaments).

"Ordinary" personal data

Karpov Anatoly Evgenievich was born in the city of Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk region on May 23, 1951. Father - Eugene Stepanovich, a worker, later - a plant engineer. Mother - Nina Grigoryevna, housewife. In the family Anatoly was the second child, his sister is older than him for 5 years.

Since 1965 the Karpov family lives in Tula. Here Anatoly graduated from the mathematical class of school No. 20 with a gold medal. He received further education at Moscow State University (Mekhmat), later transferred to the Faculty of Economics of Leningrad State University, successfully completed his studies in 1978. Until 1980 he also worked as a research fellow at the Research Institute for Social Research, then at the Department of Political Economy of Moscow State University.

In the first marriage with Irina Kuimova, the son Anatoly (1979) was born, from the second marriage with Natalia Bulanova has a daughter Sofia (1999).

Social activity

In 1989-1991 years. Was a member of the deputy corps of the USSR Armed Forces. Since 2011, he has been a member of the State Duma from the United Russia faction. Karpov is a chess player, Who knows how to calculate moves not only by figures on the plaque. His analytical abilities, creative mentality are highly appreciated by the leaders of the state. Since 2004, in the sphere of his permanent activity - the Presidential Council for Culture, since 2007 - the Public Council under the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, at that time he headed the ecological fund "TECHEKO". In the State Duma, he oversees issues of economic policy, entrepreneurship and innovative development.

Still, the first thing that is expected at the mention of the name Anatoly Karpov, is the biography of sports victories. No questionnaire could accommodate all the results achieved by it. We mention the most important.

Championship without a decisive battle

While still a student at the Faculty of Economics, Karpov came very close to the chess crown. In 1072-1975 he passed all qualifying rounds of the World Championship, finally winning the candidate matches with the strongest rivals - Victor Korchny, Lev Polugaevsky, Boris Spassky.

Most likely, analyzing the games of Anatoly Karpov, the current champion Bobby Fisher, wishing to leave "undefeated", refused to fight. A unique case in history: in the spring of 1975 the applicant was declared FIDE by the twelfth world champion, not having played with any previous "king" of any party or in the final match (as is known, the main duel according to the rules should last up to 6 victories of one of the participants), nor In other international competitions.

Sports achivments

Fisher, who left the fight, created a precedent when the announced champion had to prove his title in other competitions of high rank. And Karpov coped with this brilliantly. Soviet chess player in the same 1975 won the prestigious tournament in Milan. He defended the title of champion in matches with Viktor Korchny, representing Switzerland: in 1978, in Baguio (Philippines), he won the last crucial game with a score of 5: 5 (the result of the match - 16.5: 15.5), then in 1981 he won In the Italian Merano. Having conceded only in two games with ten "draws", Karpov defeated the opponent with a convincing score 6: 2 (11: 7) for twenty-eight tournament days.

For twelve years, from 1971 to 1981, the athlete received "Chess Oscar" nine times as the best grandmaster in the world. Three times, in 1976, 1983 and 1988, he won the title of USSR champion (in 1988 together with Garry Kasparov).

Fights with Kasparov

The most dramatic and memorable period of the sports career of the champion is the defense of the title in the confrontation with the talented young compatriot Garry Kasparov.

Initially developed by Karpov success (5: 0 for victories, in which it was enough to win a single game) was minimized by the strong-willed effort of the applicant. The match was stopped by FIDE without declaring the winner with a score of 5: 3 and 40 "draws" (a record number of games played for meetings of this rank). A pair of Soviet chess players established another unique record - Karpov and Kasparov met five times in the decisive championship match (they were three times challenged by the higher rank of Visnu Smyslov and Botvinnik).

The first match, which began on September 9, 1984, lasted until February 15 next year. In the same 1985, a new duel took place, where the final score was symmetrical: 5: 3 in favor of Kasparov. How strong was Karpov chess player, shows the fact that, having lost to his fatal opponent a rematch in 1986 (with a difference in one victory), he twice acted as the only possible challenger. And in 1987 in Sevilla only an unfortunate mistake in the 11th game, caused by a huge nervous tension, and the missed chance to use Kasparov's miscalculation in the decisive match (with a +1 count in his favor) did not allow Anatoly to return the title. According to chess experts, the three-year long protests led to the fact that both rivals were creatively and psychologically exhausted.

Anatoly Karpov - chess player and man

In 2002, Anatoly Karpov defeated Kasparov in an unofficial match, drawing the main part of the tournament in a draw and winning in an extra "fast chess" with a score of 2.5: 1.5. In his assets - the first place in the competition in Linares (1994), the victory over Yan Timman, Gata Kamsky, Vichy Anand: three times after the split in the world of chess championships, he won the highest title according to FIDE (in 1993, 1996, 1998).

Karpov Anatoly Evgenievich, thanks to education and character store, was not a rebel either in the organization of chess championships, nor in civil life. At the same time, he showed himself as a man of a broad soul, in 2007 he sought a meeting with his former main rival-rebel arrested for participating in the March of Dissent.

Karpov in 1982 headed the International Association of Peace Foundations. He is the author of several fascinating books about his favorite intellectual game, philatelist, who collected one of the richest collections of chess stamps. The old hobby, according to Anatoly Evgenievich, disciplines the thinking, develops the memory so necessary for the calculation of the variants of the moves.