A narrowly missed record: Viktor Kortschnoi against the World Champions

If he had managed just one victory in these 17 games, Kortschnoi would have won at least one classical chess game against ten of the 17 world champions in chess history, setting yet another record in a chess career that is not short of records.

However, Kortschnoi is still the co-record holder in the category "At least one victory over one of the 17 world champions in a classical game". However, he shares this honour with Paul Keres and Alexander Beliavsky, who, like Kortschnoi, won games with classical time-control against nine world champions during their careers. However, this statistic does not take into account whether these victories were achieved against later, current or former world champions.

For example, Kortschnoi played Magnus Carlsen only once, at the Smartfish Masters in Drammen in 2004, when Carlsen was already a grandmaster but only 14 years old and of course not as strong and experienced as he was later. Considering the age of the two opponents, Kortschnoi, who was 73 at the time, scored an impressive victory, which he, however, probably would not have achieved against an older and more experienced Carlsen.

Master Class Vol.8 - Magnus Carlsen 2nd Edition

Let our authors show you how Carlsen tailored his openings to be able to outplay his opponents strategically in the middlegame or to obtain an enduring advantage into the endgame.

Magnus Carlsen 2004 | Photo: Giorgio Gozzi

Carlsen handled the opening imprecisely, came under positional pressure in the middlegame and lost a pawn. Kortschnoi easily won the ensuing rook ending.

Kortschnoi was less fortunate against Vishy Anand (born 1969, World Champion from 2007 to 2013) and Vladimir Kramnik (born 1975, World Champion from 2000 to 2007). Kortschnoi played his first game against Anand in Wijk aan Zee in 1990, the year in which Anand qualified for the Candidates Tournament for the first time at the Interzonal Tournament in Manila at the age of 21 - and this duel ended in a draw after 28 moves without much excitement.

Vishy Anand at the Chess Olympiad Novi Sad 1990 | Source: ChessBase India

But in the six classical games that Anand and Kortschnoi played against each other over the next ten years, until they met for the last time at the tournament in Wijk 2000, exactly a decade after their first duel, Anand clearly dominated with four wins and two draws. The overall score was 5.5-1.5 in favour of Anand, and the result of the blindfold and rapid games between the two was even clearer: 9-1 in favour of Anand (+8, =2).

Anand vs Kortschnoi - Games

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This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors how to successfully organise your games strategically, and how to keep your opponent permanently under pressure.

From their first meeting at the World Team Championship in Lucerne in 1993 to the tournament in Wijk in 2000, Kortschnoi played a total of ten games with classical time control against Kramnik, but here too Kortschnoi was unable to win a single game: Five wins and five draws gave Kramnik a 7.5-2.5 advantage, and Kramnik also dominated in rapid and blindfold games with 4-1 (+3, =2).

Kramnik vs Kortschnoi - Games

Vladimir Kramnik | Photo: Guido Kohlen

Master Class Vol.11: Vladimir Kramnik

This DVD allows you to learn from the example of one of the best players in the history of chess and from the explanations of the authors (Pelletier, Marin, Müller and Reeh) how to successfully organise your games strategically, consequently how to keep y

Kortschnoi's best chance of winning one of these 17 games against Kramnik or Anand in classical time control was against Anand at the Tilburg tournament in 1991. Playing with Black, with energetic play Kortschnoi quickly seized the initiative in a French Defense and eventually reached an advantageous but difficult double rook ending, which he, however, failed to win.

Anand, Viswanathan2650

½–½

Kortschnoj, Viktor Lvovich2610

Tilburg 1991[Johannes Fischer]

1.e4 Kortschnoj e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Nxf6+ Bxf6 8.h4 0-0! 9.Qd2 e5! 10.0-0-0 After 10.dxe5 Nxe5 11.Nxe5 Qxd2+ 12.Bxd2 Bxe5= Black equalises easily. 10...e4 11.Bxf6 Nxf6 12.Ne5 Be6 13.Kb1 c5 14.Bc4 Trying to win a pawn with 14.dxc5 fails after Qc7 15.Qc3 15.Qd6?? Rfd8! 15...Rac8 because Black regains the pawn with an advantage. 14...Qd6 15.Bxe6 Qxe6 16.Qc3 Rac8 17.Qb3 Nd5 18.dxc5 Rxc5 19.Nc4 a6! Giving the rook access to b5. 20.Rd2 20.Ne3? fails to Nc3+! 21.bxc3 Rb5 and Black is winning. 20...Rfc8 21.Ne3 Nc3+ 22.Ka1 Qxb3 23.cxb3 Nd5 24.Kb1 Nxe3 25.fxe3

The endgame is better for Black: His rooks are more active and White's doubled b-pawns damage White's pawn majority on the queenside. 25...h5 26.Rhd1 R8c6 27.Rf1 Rc7 28.b4 Re5 29.Rf4 Kh7 30.Rd4 f5 31.Rf1 Rc6 32.Rd7 Rg6 33.Rxb7 Rxg2 34.Rc7? After this move White gets in serious trouble. Better was 34.a4 e.g. Rd5 35.b5 a5 36.Ka2 Rdd2 37.Rb1 f4 38.exf4 e3 39.Re7 Rd4 40.Rxe3 Rxa4+ 41.Ra3 Rxf4 42.Rxa5 Rxh4 and the endgame should end in a draw. 34...Rd5 35.Rc5 Rdd2 36.Rfxf5 Rxb2+ 37.Kc1 Rxa2 38.Rxh5+ Kg8 39.Kb1 Rab2+ 40.Kc1 Rbe2 41.Rc8+ Kf7 42.Rf5+ Ke6 43.Rf1 Rxe3 44.Rc6+ Ke5 45.Rxa6 Rc3+ 46.Kb1 Rb3+? Black misses a good chance. After 46...e3! Black's passed pawn is very dangerous, e.g. 47.Ra8 e2 48.Re1 Ke4 49.Re8+ Kd3 50.Rd8+ Ke3 51.Kb2 Rc4 52.Kb3 Rcg4 53.b5 Kf2 54.Ra1 R2g3+ 55.Kc2 Re4 56.Kd2 Rgg4 57.b6 Rd4+ 58.Rxd4 Rxd4+ 59.Kc3 Rd1 and Black is winning. 47.Kc1 Rf3 48.Re1 Rc3+ 49.Kb1 Rb3+ 50.Kc1 Rxb4 51.Ra7 Rc4+ 52.Kb1 Rg6 53.Rb7 Rcc6 54.Rb5+ Kf4 55.Rf1+ Kg4 After now 55...Ke3 56.Re1+ Kf3 57.Rf5+ Kg4 58.Re5 White wins the e-pawn and should be able to hold. 56.Re1 Rb6 But not 56...Rc4?? 57.Rg1+ and White is winning. 57.Rxe4+ White won the e-pawn and is no longer in trouble. Kh3 58.Rxb6 Rxb6+ 59.Kc2 Rh6 60.Re7 g6 61.Re6 Kxh4 62.Kd2 Kg3 63.Re3+ ½–½

Posthumously, however, Kortschnoi could become the sole record holder in the category "At least one win against a world champion in a game with classical time control" - if a player against whom Kortschnoi won during his career were to become world champion. For example, Fabiano Caruana.

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