Anatoly Karpov

Lore & Background

Anatoly Karpov is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, recognized as the 12th World Chess Champion, a title he held from 1975 to 1985. He later became a three-time FIDE World Champion in 1993, 1996, and 1998. Born on May 23, 1951, in Zlatoust, in the Urals region, he learned chess at age four and became a candidate master by 11. Despite initial skepticism from Mikhail Botvinnik, who doubted his potential, Karpov was accepted into Botvinnik’s chess school at 12 and became the youngest Soviet master in history at 15 in 1966, tying Boris Spassky’s record. He graduated from Leningrad State University in economics. Karpov’s career includes over 160 tournament victories, a peak Elo rating of 2780, and 102 total months as world number one, the third-longest behind Magnus Carlsen and Garry Kasparov. He won nine Chess Oscars between 1973 and 1984. For 25 consecutive years (1974–1998), he was either world champion or a challenger, a record surpassed only by Emanuel Lasker. He also served as a member of the USSR team for two World Chess Championships (1985, 1989) and six Chess Olympiads (1972–1988). Beyond chess, Karpov is a politician, elected to the State Duma in Russia, and since 2006 has chaired the Commission for Ecological Safety and Environmental Protection of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, also serving on the Public Council under the Ministry of Defence from 2007. He is currently the oldest living World Chess Champion.

Reader's Guide

His career spanned 25 consecutive years as champion or challenger, a record surpassed only by Emanuel Lasker. He is currently the oldest living World Chess Champion. Karpov’s playing style was shaped under the tutelage of grandmaster Semyon Furman, whom he credited as a major influence on his development into a world-class player. His early rise was swift: he learned chess at age four, became a candidate master by eleven, and was the youngest Soviet master in history at fifteen, tying a record set by Boris Spassky. Despite initial skepticism from former champion Mikhail Botvinnik, who doubted his potential, Karpov improved rapidly through diligent study of chess books and assigned homework. His tournament record includes over 160 first-place finishes, and he held the world number one ranking for a total of 102 months, the third-longest in history. Beyond competitive play, Karpov has been active in Russian politics as an elected member of the State Duma. Since 2006, he has chaired the Commission for Ecological Safety and Environmental Protection of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, and since 2007, he has served on the Public Council under the Ministry of Defence. His significance in the chess world is underscored by nine Chess Oscars from the International Association of Chess Press, awarded between 1973 and 1984, and his peak Elo rating of 2780.

Did You Know?

• Karpov learned to play chess at age four and became a candidate master by age 11.
• Karpov owned one of only about four Mercedes-Benz cars in the Soviet Union during Leonid Brezhnev's presidency.

A Record Shared by Three

Karpov's six World Championship victories place him in a rare and exclusive tier of chess history. He shares this record for the most championship wins with Emanuel Lasker, who held the title for a remarkable twenty-seven years, and with Garry Kasparov. No other player in the long history of the championship has matched this particular number of victories. Within that structured framework, Karpov's six triumphs represent an extraordinary and sustained consistency at the highest level of competitive chess, a feat that stands alongside the single longest reign in the title's history.

The 1993 FIDE Tournament

The reigning champion Garry Kasparov, together with his rival Nigel Short, departed from FIDE's administration and arranged their championship match under the newly established Professional Chess Association. In response, FIDE organized its own tournament to determine a champion under its banner. Anatoly Karpov emerged as the victor of that FIDE event. This single tournament result set in motion a period of division that would define the next decade and a half of the game. Rather than a single undisputed world champion, the chess world now had two competing claimants to the title, each operating under different organizational umbrellas. Karpov's victory in that FIDE tournament was thus not merely a personal achievement but the catalyst for one of the most significant institutional splits in the sport's history.

Thirteen Years of Two Champions

Karpov, as the FIDE tournament winner, held a rival claim to the title of World Champion alongside the PCA-lineage champion. For thirteen years, the sport existed in a state of institutional division, with two separate organizations each asserting authority over the world title. This was a departure from the earlier period when FIDE had maintained a unified cycle of qualifying tournaments and championship matches on a three-year schedule. The split meant that the question of who was truly the world champion became a matter of organizational allegiance rather than a single decisive match. Karpov's role as the FIDE-side champion during this era made him a central figure in one of the longest periods of division in the championship's history.

Unification and the Modern Era

That event marked the unification of the split titles, bringing the two competing claims to a single champion under one administration.