VIKTOR KORCHNOI (born Mar-23-1931, died Jun-06-2016, 85 years old) Russia (federation/nationality Switzerland) PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi was born in Leningrad, USSR. His father taught him chess when he was seven years old. He won the Soviet Championship four times: USSR Championship (1960), USSR Championship (1962), USSR Championship (1964/65) and USSR Championship (1970). He made eight appearances in the world championship candidates cycle. He reached the Spassky - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1968), but failed to beat Spassky. In the next cycle he won his quarterfinal Korchnoi - Geller Candidates Quarterfinal (1971), but lost his semifinal match to Tigran Petrosian. He made it to the Karpov - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1974), but lost. Korchnoi defected from the USSR in 1976, and two years later he finally managed to win the Candidates and qualify for the Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1978). Trailing late with just two victories to Karpov's five, Korchnoi staged a comeback, winning three games to level the score at 5-5. However, Karpov then won the final game, thereby taking the match and retaining the crown. Korchnoi qualified again for the Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1981), but was beaten 6-2. In the next Candidates cycle he was beaten by the rising young Soviet star Garry Kasparov. He continued to play at a very high level throughout the 1980s and 1990s, though he never contended for the world title again. He did, however, capture the 2006 World Senior Championship, scoring 9-2. Though never World Champion himself, Korchnoi defeated nine players who at some time held the title: Petrosian, Spassky, Karpov, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Robert James Fischer, Kasparov and Magnus Carlsen. After defecting, Korchnoi settled in Switzerland, which he represented at Olympiads and other international events. He was ranked in the top 100 on the FIDE world rating list as late as January 2007 (aged 75), the oldest player ever so ranked. Korchnoi suffered a stroke in December 2012, but returned to competitive chess beginning in 2014. He died in Wohlen, Switzerland on June 6, 2016, aged 85. Wikipedia article: Viktor Korchnoi Last updated: 2025-03-20 08:50:37

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page 1 of 195; games 1-25 of 4,854  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Y Rovner vs Korchnoi 1-0 20 1945 Leningrad C45 Scotch Game 2. Zikov vs Korchnoi 0-1 20 1946 Leningrad B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 3. Korchnoi vs Razov 1-0 27 1946 Leningrad C50 Giuoco Piano 4. Petrosian vs Korchnoi 1-0 23 1946 URS-ch U18 A94 Dutch, Stonewall with Ba3 5. L Aronson vs Korchnoi 0-1 43 1947 Leningrad D44 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 6. Y Vasilchuk vs Korchnoi 0-1 60 1947 Leningrad B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical 7. V Shiyanovsky vs Korchnoi 0-1 35 1947 Leningrad D47 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 8. Korchnoi vs S Giterman 1-0 36 1948 USSR Junior Championship sf-A C07 French, Tarrasch 9. Korchnoi vs Spassky 1-0 12 1948 Leningrad B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 10. Korchnoi vs Y Sakharov   1-0 30 1949 URS-ch qf D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 11. Korchnoi vs N Levin 1-0 31 1949 URS-ch qf E03 Catalan, Open 12. L Omelchenko vs Korchnoi 0-1 32 1949 Leningrad C77 Ruy Lopez 13. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-1 51 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 14. Korchnoi vs V P Zakharov   ½-½ 40 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship D11 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 15. Korchnoi vs Shapkin 1-0 18 1949 USSR Junior Team Championship D08 Queen's Gambit Declined, Albin Counter Gambit 16. V Golenishchev vs Korchnoi 0-1 42 1949 USSR Junior Team Championship A90 Dutch 17. Averbakh vs Korchnoi 1-0 43 1950 URS-ch sf Tula B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 18. S Khavsky vs Korchnoi 0-1 31 1950 URS-ch qf B21 Sicilian, 2.f4 and 2.d4 19. Taimanov vs Korchnoi 0-1 35 1950 Leningrad Championship A97 Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky 20. M Aizenshtadt vs Korchnoi 0-1 34 1950 URS-ch qf D35 Queen's Gambit Declined 21. Korchnoi vs G Borisenko 0-1 38 1950 URS-ch sf Tula C34 King's Gambit Accepted 22. Korchnoi vs A Cherepkov 1-0 68 1950 Leningrad Championship C58 Two Knights 23. Korchnoi vs S Zhukhovitsky 1-0 55 1950 Leningrad Championship B62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer 24. N Bakulin vs Korchnoi 0-1 39 1950 URS-ch qf B00 Uncommon King's Pawn Opening 25. Sikov vs Korchnoi 0-1 44 1950 Leningrad A85 Dutch, with c4 & Nc3  page 1 of 195; games 1-25 of 4,854

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< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 100 OF 100 ·  Later Kibitzing> Mar-23-21    vonKrolock: Today he would be ninety. Autograph he gave me in 79 shared as Instagram post here https://www.instagram.com/p/CMxMomO... Apr-08-21    Caissanist: RIP Petra Korchnoi: https://en.chessbase.com/post/petra... . Jul-11-21    Albanius: I would put Caruana-Korchnoi 2011 Caruana vs Korchnoi, 2011 among the notable games - from the black side of a Ruy Lopez, 79 YO Korchnoi crushed 19 YO Fabi, already an elite GM, like a bug. Jul-11-21    jessicafischerqueen: <Albanius> If you want, you can help make Caruana vs Korchnoi, 2011 a notable game on this player page by adding this game to a "games collection." "Notable games" are added automatically. If a game appears often enough in games collections constructed by members, then it will be added to the "Notable games" section of the player page. Any cg.com member may make a games collection. ======== <The lists of notable games are calculated by finding the games which most frequently appear in our users' game collections. Notable games are chosen using a proprietary algorithm sensitive to the behavior of Chessgames members. Its results do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Chessgames.com staff. If you want to "vote" for a game, simply put it in one of your game collections.> You can find out more about games collections here: Chessgames Help Jul-11-21    0ZeR0: <Albanius> That's a great one indeed! In fact, has there ever been a greater age discrepancy in a game won by the elder between two elite players? Jul-11-21    beatgiant: <0ZeR0> Great question. I can think of several famous examples of old veterans beating young prodigies, such as Pomar-Tartakower or Smyslov-Kamsky, but it would take some real research to find the biggest age gaps. Jul-12-21    beatgiant: <0ZeR0> See Game Collection: Across the generations for a set of big age gap games. There are a number of examples with the older player winning. Jul-12-21    0ZeR0: <beatgiant> Wow, that collection is a great resource. I'm going to go through the games tonight. Nice find! Oct-28-21    HeMateMe: I searched "Korchnoi" in the NYC public library system and one of the results was <KGB igraet v shakhmaty > Could this be a book in Russian about KGB files on Russian grandmasters, in the time of the USSR? Oct-28-21    Olavi: <HeMateMe> I have this German edition, surely the same. It's about KGB manipulating the chess scene during the Cold War, mostly about the Gulko case. https://www.schachversand.de/der-kg... Jan-11-22    Albertan: Match in neon limelight: https://en.chessbase.com/post/match... Aug-21-22    ColdSong: ...But where can one see Korchnoi's grave ? Aug-21-22    ColdSong: All right.I saw it now.Nice grave.RIP to the great player. Dec-30-22    Messiah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUZ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t8... Dec-30-22    Messiah: Even better, if it is possible at all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNV... Feb-20-23    Caissanist: Somehow it seems appropriate that, when asked to give a tribute to Korchnoi on his 80th birthday, GM Vasiukov would give a long, interesting interview trashing him. No doubt Korchnoi gave many similar tributes himself over the years: https://www.chessintranslation.com/... Feb-21-23    Olavi: <Caissanist> It would have been even more appropriate as (part of) an obituary. About the dead, speak honestly. Jun-10-23    ADmightywarriorIN: Yup, KORCHNOI SUPPORTED THE NEW CASTLE 2000/0000, THE TRUTH IS FOREVER AND IT HURTS NAZIS FOREVER: https://archive.is/wcjRq Jun-11-23    HeMateMe: New castle in England? What does this have to do with chess and Viktor Korchnoi? Jul-27-23    offramp: I'd like to buy the book of Korchnoi's 5,000 games, and I would play through every one of them. I know for certain that at the end I would not be any wiser. Jul-27-23    nizmo11: <offramp> You could start with <Korchnoi's 400 best games> (Korchnoi, 1978). PDF can be found online. And after that <Korchnoi's Chess Games> (edited by Levy, O'Connell). "Korchnoi's Chess Games comprises almost 1700 games played up to beginning of 1978" (Up to candidates final with Spassky.) Aug-04-23    ADmightywarriorIN: but if not for karpov, korchnoi would have been world's chess champ! Jan-30-25    perfidious: How great was Viktor the Terrible? Here is a retrospective grading from 1967 to 1971, per Chessmetrics, despite twice being eliminated from the Candidates: http://chessmetrics.com/cm/CM2/Mont... Jan-30-25    Open Defence: A chess hero of mine, my handle is a tribute to an opening he played Jan-30-25    perfidious: The Open Spanish was something I often played as Black from the mid 1980s till 2000. Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 100) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 100 OF 100 ·  Later Kibitzing>

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