6 June 2016

Victor Korchnoi (1931 – 2016)

The legendary grandmaster passed away in Switzerland.

On June 6th, at the age of 85, Victor Lvovich Korchnoi, legendary grandmaster, passed away. He won four USSR championships, fought in three matches for the chess crown, and continued playing chess competitively even after a stroke in 2012. 

Vishy Anand: “The chess world loses its greatest fighter. R.I.P. Viktor Korchnoi. We learnt so much from you.”

Nigel Short: “Farewell Victor Lvovich – a cantankerous, old git, but a true chess great nevertheless. Thanks for the many battles we had over 40 years.”

Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: “We've lost not only a grandiose chess player, but a whole epoch. Rest in peace, great fighter.”

Victor Korchnoi's first appearance in USSR championships took place more than 60 years ago – in 1952. He finished 6th. In the next championships he tied for second place, and in 1956 became a grandmaster. 

In 1960 Korhcnoi won the USSR championship in Leningrad, and later that year tied for first place in Buenos Aires. These two successes marked his new rise. 

In 1961 he tied for second place in the USSR championship and advanced to the interzonal and then – to the candidates tournament in Curacao. After a disappointing fifth place in the candidates, he won the next USSR championship, showing his strong fighting spirit time and again. 

In 1968 Korchnoi advanced to the candidates final, but lost to Spassky. In 1971 he was defeated in the semifinal match by Petrosian. In 1974 Korchnoi was once again in the candidates final, and once again lost – this time to the rising star Anatoly Karpov. In fact, this was the world chess championship match, since the defending champion Robert Fischer refused to play Karpov next year. 

After defecting from USSR, Korchnoi played two “real” championship matches, losing to Karpov in Baguio (1978) and Merano (1981). In the next cycle he was in the semifinal, but lost to another rising star – Garry Kasparov. 

Having already celebrated his 80th birthday, Victor Korchnoi added another trophy to his collection, winning the Switzerland championship, fifth in his career. 

Russian Chess Federation expresses deep condolences to the family and friends of Victor Lvovich Korchnoi.