★★★ INTRO ★★★

The 1978 World Chess Championship was between 27 year old defending champion Anatoly Karpov of the Soviet Union and 47 year old challenger Viktor Korchnoi who at the time, did not represent a country.

★★★ QUALIFICATION ★★★

Karpov by forfeit won the title after Robert James Fischer decided not to play (see Game Collection: 1975 World Chess Championship for games and more info).

A new challenger was needed, so the same format as previous WCC cycles was held. In the first interzonal tournament (see Manila Interzonal (1976) for games and more info), Henrique Mecking won (13/19) and Lev Polugaevsky and Vlastimil Hort took the last two spots (each with 12.5/19).

In the other interzonal tournament (see Biel Interzonal (1976) for games and more info) Bent Larsen won with 12.5/18. Tigran V Petrosian, Lajos Portisch and Mikhail Tal all tied with 12/18. A playoff was held (see Varese Interzonal Playoff (1976) for games and more info), in which Petrosian (4.5/8) and Portisch (4/8) booked a ticket to the Candidates tournament. Tal finished with 3.5/8.

In the Candidates tournament, Fischer (loser of the previous title by forfeit) and Korchnoi (finalist of the last candidates) were directly seeded. Fischer declined participation, so Boris Spassky (who placed 3rd in the last candidates) joined. It was a best of 12 (first to 6 1/2 points) format. In the quarter-finals, Korchnoi beat Petrosian 6 1/2-5 1/2 (see Korchnoi - Petrosian Candidates Quarterfinal (1977) for games and more info), Polugaevsky beat Mecking 6 1/2-5 1/2 (see Polugaevsky - Mecking Candidates Quarterfinal (1977) for games and more info), Spassky beat Hort 8 1/2-7 1/2 on tiebreaks (see Spassky - Hort Candidates Quarterfinal (1977) for games and more info), and Portisch beat Larsen 6 1/2-3 1/2 (see Portisch - Larsen Candidates Quarterfinal (1977) for games and more info).

In the semi-finals, it was a best of 16 (first to 8 1/2). Korchnoi beat Polugaevsky 8 1/2-4 1/2 (see Korchnoi - Polugaevsky Candidates Semifinal (1977) for games and more info) while Spassky beat Portisch 8 1/2-6 1/2 (see Spassky - Portisch Candidates Semifinal (1977) for games and more info).

In the finals, Korchnoi beat Spassky 10 1/2-7 1/2 to challenge Karpov for the title (see Korchnoi - Spassky Candidates Final (1977/78) for games and more info).

★★★ CONDITIONS ★★★

The match took place in Baguio City, Philippines. The winner would be the first to win 6 games (draws not counting), with an unlimited amount of games. Note: This match is measured in wins, with total score in brackets. Also, this time, there was no 5-5 advantage for the champion. The first game was played on July 18th, 1978.

★★★ FINAL ★★★

The last round (32) was played on October 18th, 1978. In the previous game, Korchnoi won again to tie the match at 5 wins apiece, after coming back from a 4-1 disadvantage. Karpov taking the white pieces, actually won game 32 to finish the match in 3 months, and 32 games winning 5-4 (16 1/2-15 1/2).

★★★ MINI TABLE ★★★

Karpov 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1 1 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 0 0 1/2 0 1 (6 wins, 21 draws, 5 losses) <51.6% score>

Korchnoi 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 0 0 1/2 1/2 0 1/2 1/2 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0 1 1 1/2 1 0 (5 wins, 21 draws, 6 losses) <48.4% score>

★★★ OTHER LINKS ★★★

See also: Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1978)

Head to Head Match up Prior to 1978: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/ches... (7 wins, 23 draws and 7 losses for both players)

Previous World Championship: Game Collection: 1975 World Chess Championship

Next World Championship: Game Collection: 1981 World Chess Championship