Karpov Anatoly, O'Connell Kevin J., Adams James B. The Games Of Anatoly Karpov

Batsford, 1974. — 368 p. — ISBN: 071342849X.Karpov is one GM I tell players at above-beginner-to-intermediate player level to study, esp his play with the black pieces.This book covers the great Soviet champ Anatoly Karpov's games thru his juniors competitions thru a few matches following his 'inheriting' the championship when Bobby Fischer nitpicked his way out of the competition (and as most insiders agree, Fischer was never interested in playing the next match that his playing days were done after ascending the mountain once). Had Fischer been prepared, it is an interesting mind exercise to consider how that match might have progressed but it will for all eternity only be a mind game.When I was young and coming of age in the late 60s and early 70s, we had been raised to not only consider the Soviets our enemies and possible opponents in the Third World War, but also over the chessboard. It actually took me many years to put aside the bias beat into me against anything Soviet and to appreciate the Soviet masters for the amazing level of play they all seemed to maintain for many decades. For people not having grown up in those years and were not subjected to the 'duck and cover' exercises practiced in school, and the John Birch Society far right wing paranoia that permeated the national media as well as the Sunday morning pulpits, you can't really understand the depths to which these lessons were infused into innocent and still-forming young people.So during the two world championship matches between the Soviet defector Victor Korchnoi and Soviet Chess King Karpov, I lived and died with the defector, hoping he could unseat the Soviet-dominated throne. I would go down to the public library every day after school to read a copy of the New York Times and painstakingly write down longhand game after game as well as any accompanying analysis. And then the next day during lunch hour and a study hall run by a very chess-sympathetic teacher we would huddle quietly in a corner and replay the games and go over everything we thought could help Korchnoi and we even had the childish impudence to mail them to the Phillipines (the teacher helded us find the address of hall where the games were held)... if Korchnoi ever received them at all let along read them, we'll never know... but we were quite pleased with our attempts to help our hero. To this day, Korchnoi is still my all-time favorite player but Karpov has gained quite a lot of ground in my favorites list now that I can see the propaganda for the cruel and unnecessary brainwashing it was and also see his brilliance.This book shows much of the young Karpov's brilliance and obvious devotion to study and his conservative and preference of tight, closed positions. Control over the board was more important to him it seemed than bold flourishes that might fling open a file down which to attack (like Fischer). He was smart, careful, conservative, and brilliant. All of that has only shown more and more thru the years but this book looks at the early foundation of that playing style.It is well worth seeking out along with the recent two-volume Karpov bios that cover the early and later years. I think Karpov is a grandmaster a club player can learn much more from than say a Fischer or Tal. The 'magicians' of the board are out of our reach really. They see chess in such a different way than us poor-patzers down here can see it, appreciate it, but cannot really incorporate it into our games. Karpov however is a different type of player and his methodical and cautious defense can be summed up in his seemingly favorite defense, the Caro-Kann. Backed up and hunched together, arms joined, the black pieces seem to form a wall that they are quite happy to allow white to hammer at for as long as necessary and when white lets a small injury appear, Karpov strikes and starts to pry open a space to push through and win.Karpov is one GM I tell players at above-beginner-to-intermediate player level to study, esp his play with the black pieces. Everyone wants to study Fischer and to make huge and colorful flourishes to impress everyone. There's no better way to ruin an above-beginner-to-intermediate player's advancement imho than doing this. Learning closed tight positions and how to exploit the small mistakes your opponent makes is far, far more useful for an above-beginner-to-intermediate player.