In this, the second volume, we will continue our investigation into Karpov’s strategic victories, from
the time when he lost his World Championship title at the end of 1985 until the end of the year
2010. In the first volume we saw that during the ten-year period from 1975-1985, Karpov not only
held the highest title in chess, but also dominated the tournament circuit more convincingly than
any other player in chess history. And yet, despite being one of the greatest world champions of all
time, it was only after losing his title that Karpov played his very best chess. During his decade-long
reign as World Champion, Karpov worked hard but he already stood head and shoulders above the
other leading grandmasters. But when the young Garry Kasparov took over as the dominant force
in the chess world, everything changed.
Kasparov was able to do what no other player could. By defeating Karpov in their second
championship match (after their first match was aborted, as explained on page 417 of the first
volume), he forced Karpov to work harder than he ever had before in an effort to reclaim his title.
Steel sharpens steel, and in the present book we will see how both of these titans were able to raise
their respective levels in an effort to outdo the other.
Despite his colossal efforts, Karpov was unable to reclaim the coveted crown from his nemesis.
Nevertheless, in terms of his overall skill as a chess player, Karpov’s prime years occurred only after
his reign as World Champion had ended.
By the end of the 1980s Karpov’s level had begun to drop slightly, although he remained the
number two player in the world until well into the 1990s. Indeed, his greatest tournament success,
which is widely considered the most impressive tournament performance of all time, occurred
in 1994. As the years went by, Karpov was gradually superseded by the next generation of supergrandmasters, but he continued to achieve excellent results and produced a host of beautiful games
along the way.
Without further ado, I invite the reader to continue his voyage of discovery into the prime years
of Karpov’s career.
