Karpov at 70
While some people retire at age 65, former World Chess Champion Anatoly Karpov is still going strong. He turns 70 years old on May 23. A three-volume retrospective of his life and career has just been published.

Anatoly Karpov and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich present Karpov's biography | Photo: FIDE
On May 31–June 1, 2021, Karpov will give a simultaneous chess exhibition (simul) at the Karpov Children’s Cup. Apparently, not even the pandemic slowed Karpov down. As reported on ChessBase, Karpov also gave a simul on August 21, 2020.
Three teenagers
In 1994, three of my private chess students played Karpov in a simul. Those teenagers are adults now. Dr. Heather Flewelling is an astrophysicist. John Hendrick is a chess teacher, rated 2180 in the US Chess Federation system, who vows to become a national master (2200 or higher) soon. I wrote about Flewelling and Hendrick in this article. Hendrick is an online chess teacher for Grant Sitta’s daughter. Sitta is now a lawyer working in the Patent Office. Even though only Hendrick has made chess a career, all three have fond memories of Karpov’s visit to Austin, Texas.
The banquet
Before the simul, Flewelling attended a banquet which included Grandmaster Ron Henley (Karpov’s second), Karpov, and her parents. Her mother, Judy, is a long-time friend of Henley’s and her father, Mike, is a chess expert. Flewelling had taken a Russian language class and spoke briefly in Russian to Karpov.
Like the simul, the June 24, 1994 banquet was part of the Lions Club efforts to raise money, with one special cause being a heart transplant for a girl in Moscow. The banquet featured a barbecue buffet of Mesquite smoked chicken and Angus beef brisket, with desserts of Fredericksburg peach cobbler and Bluebell ice cream. The Austin Lions Club and the Moscow Arbat Lions Club (where Karpov was president-elect) split the proceeds from the banquet and simul. According to then-Texas Chess Association President Michael Simpson, writing in the September–October 1994 issue of Texas Knights, the simul might have had more boards sold at $1,000 each had there been more than five weeks’ notice of the exact simul date.
Contacted via Facebook on April 27, 2021, Henley recalled:
"I think this might have only been Karpov's second trip ever to our great state of Texas! (When he was young, he tied for first in the famous 1972 San Antonio Church's Fried Chicken Tournament.) The organizers were wonderful and very hospitable. I believe they even made him an honorary Lions Club Brother. They also presented him with a Texas Ten Gallon Stetson Hat! On the rest day we had a nice poolside barbecue, and my good friend Senior Master Joseph Mark Bradford came over and we got in some blitz games with Karpov."
The simul
On June 25, 1994, fifteen youngsters and eight adults faced off against Karpov, then the FIDE World Chess Champion. Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short had played for the Professional Chess Association (PCA) World Championship, with Kasparov becoming the PCA World Champion. In the lecture preceding the simul, at the start of this YouTube video, Karpov answered questions about several topics, including the world championship split, the role of computers, and his chess heroes.
The location for both the banquet and the simul was The Terrace, formerly the Austin Opera House. One adult, National Master Jim Gallagher, earned a draw. Gallagher, who passed away in 2004, was 37 years old when he drew Karpov. He paid $400 to play; the original asking price of $1,000 was met on only one board. Gallagher told a newspaper reporter, "It was exciting, even for a tough, old weathered chess player like me….To be honest with you, he’s awesome. He’s virtually flawless."
Texas Middle School Champion Sitta drew too, then had his game analyzed on a demonstration board by Henley and International Master Doug Root. That analysis begins at 57 minutes into the YouTube video. You can see me (Alexey Root) and my daughter (Clarissa) hanging around the edges of the demonstration board.
Karpov, chess idol
In 1994, at age 15, Flewelling wrote, "Personally, I am glad I lost. Had I drawn, it would have been different. What would you do if you had DRAWN your idol and also the FIDE chess champion?"
In April of 2021, Hendrick recalled how he felt about the 1994 simul:
"I was extremely excited to play Anatoly Karpov. This was a charity simul. My dad wasn't able to donate the $500 required. However, the organizers were nice and let me play in the simul at the last minute for a $100 donation. I was happy just to see Karpov, but I couldn't believe that I actually was going to play him too!"

Anatoly Karpov versus John Hendrick | Courtesy of John Hendrick

Scoresheet of the game | Courtesy of John Hendrick
In April of 2021, Sitta emailed:
"Karpov had such a positive effect on my life, and I was very proud to have drawn the simul game against him. On my college and law school applications, I included that I drew Karpov in a simul. I think it altered my life’s trajectory. I wish him a Happy Birthday!"
Games
A. Karpov - Sitta
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Nce2 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.f4 Qb6 8.Nf3 cxd4 9.cxd4 f6 10.a3 a5 11.Nc3 Be7 12.Na4 12.exf6 Nxf6 13.Be2 0-0 14.0-0 12...Qa7 13.Bb5 Nb6 14.0-0 Bd7 15.Nc3 0-0 16.Be3 Qb8 17.Rc1 Na7 17...f5 18.Bxd7 Nxd7 19.f5! Nc6 20.fxe6 Nb6 21.Qb3 21.exf6 Rxf6 22.Ng5 21...Qd8 22.Bf4 a4 23.Qb5 Ra5 24.Qe2 Qc8 25.exf6 Rxf6 26.Bg5 Rxe6 27.Qf2 Bxg5 ½–½
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Karpov,A | 2780 | Sitta,G | 1484 | ½–½ | 1994 | C05 | Austin Simul | |
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The annotations for the Karpov–Sitta game are based on 1994 post-game analysis by Ron Henley and Doug Root, available unedited at around 57 minutes into this YouTube video. That analysis was also referenced in a Texas Knights article, September–October 1994, by Richard Strauss.
A. Karpov - J. Hendrick
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
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1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 Nbd7 7.Qd2 e5 8.Nge2 Re8?! 8...exd4 9.Nxd4 Re8 9.d5 Nf8 9...Nc5?! 10.b4 Ncd7 10.0-0-0 Bd7 11.Kb1 a6 12.Nc1 Rb8 13.c5 dxc5 14.Bxc5 c6 15.dxc6 Bxc6 16.Qf2 Qc8 16...N6d7 17.Bd6 Ra8 18.Nd3 N6d7 18...a5!? 19.Nxe5 Nxe4! 20.fxe4 Bxe5 21.Bxe5 Rxe5 22.Bc4 Ne6∞ 19.Nb4 Ne6 20.Rc1 Bh6!? 21.Rd1 a5 22.Nbd5 22.Nxc6 bxc6 22...Bf8 23.Bxf8 Nexf8 23...Kxf8 24.h4 Nd4 24...Kg7! 25.f4 Ne6 26.fxe5 26.f5 Nd4 27.h5 g5 26...Nxe5 27.Nf6 24.h4 Qd8 25.h5 g5 26.h6 Ng6 26...Ne6 27.Bb5 Ne7 28.Nf6+ Nxf6 29.Rxd8 Raxd8 30.Qg3 Ng6 31.Qxg5 Re6 32.Bxc6 bxc6 33.Rc1 Rd4 34.g3 Kf8 35.a3 Rd3 36.f4 exf4 37.gxf4 Nxe4 38.Nxe4 Rxe4 39.f5 Ne5 40.Qg7+ Ke7 41.Qxh7 Re2 42.f6+ Kd6 43.Rc2 Re1+ 44.Ka2 a4! 45.Qxd3+? 45.Rc4‼ Rdd1 45...Nxc4?? 46.Qxd3++- 46.Rxa4 45...Nxd3 46.Rd2 Re3?? 46...Rh1 47.Rxd3+ Ke5 47...Kc7?! 48.Re3 Rxh6 49.Re7+ Kd6 50.Rxf7 Ke6 51.Ra7 Rxf6 52.Rxa4= 47...Ke6 48.Rc3 Kd5 49.Rd3+ Ke6 50.Rd4 Rxh6 51.Rxa4 Rxf6 48.Rc3 Kxf6!? 49.Rxc6+ Ke5 50.Ra6 f5 51.Ra5+ Ke4 52.Rxa4+ Ke3 53.Ra6 f4 54.Kb3 f3 55.Re6+ Kd3 56.Rf6 Ke2 57.h7 f2 58.Re6+ Kf3 59.h8Q? Rxh8 60.Rf6+ Ke2 61.Re6+ Kf3= 62.Rf6+ Ke3 63.Re6+ Kd3! 64.Rf6 64.Rd6+?! Ke4 65.Rd1! 65.Rf6 Rh3+! 66.Kc4 Rf3 64...Rb8+ 65.Ka2 Ke2 66.Re6+ Kf3 47.h7 Rh3? 47...Re8 48.Rxd3+ Kc7 48...Ke6 49.Re3+ Kd7 50.Rxe8 Kxe8 51.h8Q++- 49.Rh3 Rh8 50.Rh6 Kd6 51.b3 axb3+ 52.Kxb3 48.Rxd3+ 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Karpov,A | 2780 | Hendrick,J | 1522 | 1–0 | 1994 | E85 | Austin Simul | |
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In 2021, John Hendrick analyzed his 1994 game with Karpov in a YouTube video.
A. Karpov - Flewelling
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 Nbd7 7.Nh3 b6 8.Nf2 Bb7 9.Be2 e6 10.Qd2 e5 11.d5 a6 12.0-0-0 Qc8 13.Kb1 Rd8 14.a4 Nc5 15.h4 Ne8 16.h5 c6 17.dxc6 Qxc6 18.Nd5 Bf8 19.g3 Nd7 20.Ng4 Rab8 21.Bd3 Ba8 22.hxg6 fxg6 23.Qh2 Kf7 24.Qxh7+ Bg7 25.Nh6+ 1–0
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Karpov,A | 2780 | Flewelling,H | 1452 | 1–0 | 1994 | E81 | Karpov Simul | |
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The Karpov–Flewelling game has not been annotated.
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