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Anatoly Karpov

1970s – 1990sWorld Champion 1975 – 1985; 1993 – 1999 FIDEPeak rating 2780231 games

Former World Champion famous for positional precision, prophylaxis and the ability to convert small advantages with extraordinary consistency.

How Karpov plays

Karpov's chess was about control. He stopped his opponents' plans before they started (prophylaxis), kept every piece on its best square and squeezed small advantages for as long as it took. Attack, when it came, was the final stage, not the first. He dominated the late 1970s and was Kasparov's great rival through five World Championship matches.

What to learn from Karpov

Karpov teaches patience: ask what your opponent wants to do and stop it, then improve your position. His endgame technique and his handling of the Caro-Kann, Ruy Lopez and Queen's Gambit are worth playing through slowly.

A game to play through

Karpov,A vs Korchnoi,V - cf (WCh) 1974 1-0 — the final position. Karpov vs Korchnoi, Candidates final 1974, game 2: a famous demolition of the Sicilian Dragon, finished by the pawn push 24.e5! and the queen's invasion on h7.

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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 Nc6 8.Qd2 O-O 9.Bc4 Bd7 10.h4 Rc8 11.Bb3 Ne5 12.O-O-O Nc4 13.Bxc4 Rxc4 14.h5 Nxh5 15.g4 Nf6 16.Nde2 Qa5 17.Bh6 Bxh6 18.Qxh6 Rfc8 19.Rd3 R4c5 20.g5 Rxg5 21.Rd5 Rxd5 22.Nxd5 Re8 23.Nef4 Bc6 24.e5 Bxd5 25.exf6 exf6 26.Qxh7+ Kf8 27.Qh8+

Anatoly Karpov games on FoxyChess

Watch each game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get.

• Karpov, Anatoly vs Carlsen, Magnus - Cap d'Agde CCAS Gp-B 2008 Draw
• Carlsen, Magnus vs Karpov, Anatoly - Wch Blitz 2009 0-1
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Carlsen, Magnus - Wch Blitz 2009 0-1
• Karpov,A vs Korchnoi,V - cf (WCh) 1974 1-0
• Geller,E vs Karpov,A - ch 1976 1-0
• Seirawan,Y vs Karpov,A - London 1982 1-0
• Karpov,A vs Kasparov,G - WCh II 1985 0-1
• Kasparov,G vs Karpov,A - WCh III 1986 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Grigorian, Karen Ashotovich - URS-ch39 1971 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Ljubojevic, Ljubomir - Brussels blitz 1987 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Marty, D. - Zuerich sim 1988 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Leuppi, B. - Zuerich sim 1988 1-0
• Larsen, Bent vs Karpov, Anatoly - Roquebrune rapid 1992 0-1
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Bareev, Evgeny - Linares 1994 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Bidjukov� - Voronezh simul 1997 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Lobron, Eric - Walldorf m rap 1997 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Topalov, Veselin - Hoogovens Blitz 1998 1-0
• Wang Zili vs Karpov, Anatoly - Beijing m g/25 1998 0-1
• Kobese, Watu vs Karpov, Anatoly - Cap d'Agde-A 1998 0-1
• Karpov,Ana vs Heinemann,Josefine - Simul 2007 1-0
• Karpov,Ana vs Stojanovic,Mih - Gorenje GM 2007 1-0
• Karpov,Ana vs Bareev,E - ch-Euro Blitz 2007 1-0
• Grischuk,A vs Karpov,Ana - 2nd ACP World Rapid Cup 2008 0-1
• Karpov,Ana vs Ghaem Maghami,E - Mate of the King Classical 2009 1-0
• Ghaem Maghami,E vs Karpov,Ana - Mate of the King Rapid 2009 0-1
• Karpov,Ana vs Garcia Almaguer,J - UNAM Selected Simul 2010 1-0
• Karpov,Ana vs Bauer,Ch - Trophee Karpov Preliminary 2012 2012 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Ponomariov, Boris - Zlatoust 1961 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Gaimaletdinov - Zlatoust 1961 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Kalashnikov, Viacheslav - Zlatoust 1961 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Shefler - Zlatoust 1961 1-0
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Zyulyarkin - Zlatoust 1961 1-0
• Zadneprovsky vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1961 0-1
• Kirillov, Vladimir Grigorevic vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1962 0-1
• Kolishkin vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1962 0-1
• Ziuliarkin, X. vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1962 0-1
• Karpov, Anatoly vs Piskunov - Zlatoust 1962 1-0
• Kalashnikov, Viacheslav vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1963 0-1
• Korotaev, A. vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1963 0-1
• Ziuliarkin, X. vs Karpov, Anatoly - Zlatoust 1963 0-1

…and 191 more inside FoxyChess.

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