Hidden in the Strange
Korchnoi - Karpov 1978 - A Critical Endgame Mistake
First, it’s important to acknowledge that creating quality endgame content is a challenging undertaking. While I expect to streamline the process and produce content more efficiently in the future, this particular article took more time than I initially anticipated. I may only be able to produce a few of these a week but I have found it is much more satisfying to investigate intricate endgame positions than simple puzzles!
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That said, I’ve uncovered a historical gem with fascinating ideas and immense value in teaching how to navigate complex endgame positions. Even the great master of positional play, former world champion GM Anatoly Karpov, made a notable blunder in this endgame!
But why is this significant? The position itself isn’t particularly strange, but the context of the match certainly is. The 1978 World Chess Championship was one of the most contentious in history. The fact that GM Viktor Korchnoi had defected in 1976 from the Soviet Union made the match rife with suspicion and intrigue. Hypnotherapists and yoga specialists were brought in to assist each respective side, along with, almost certainly, a number of KGB agents among the spectators.
If you have never seen the Korchnoi mirrored sunglasses photos check it out!
This is one of the reasons why chess history is so captivating! But I digress—let’s dive into the main event, where Karpov made an understandable blunder:
Before Karpov’s, 58…b3?
Korchnoi - Karpov Game 31 - Baguio City, Philippines 1978
Black to Move and Draw
There is only one move that draws and all of the rest of the moves will lose. Not an easy task but if you take a deep dive into the position, you will gain some real endgame understanding.
For the technically savvy, here is the FEN so you can analyze with an engine:
FEN - 2k5/8/1K3p1p/p1P2P2/1p2r3/6RP/8/8 b - - 0 58
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58…Rd4! is the only good move and the key is to be able to guard the back rank in some lines. White cannot deal with the both the threat of the passed and b-pawns for Black team AND push their passed c-pawn. White can win the a & b pawns but then the Black king activates and Black’s rook can take the f5-pawn. It’s still not an easy position to defend but a defensible one indeed! I analyzed quite a few lines where White can try to push for an advantage and in each one Black has a good defense. Go check out the FEN above if you want to do your own analysis.
The Game line allows White’s rook to become too active while losing the threat of the outside passed pawns: 58… b3 59. Kc6 Kb8 60. Rxb3+ Ka7 61. Rb7+ Ka6 62. Rb6+ Ka7 63. Kb5 a4 64. Rxf6 Rf4 65. Rxh6 a3 66. Ra6+ Kb8 67. Rxa3 Rxf5 68. Rg3 Rf6 69. Rg8+ Kc7 70. Rg7+ Kc8 71. Rh7 1-0