Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov, (1951- ). Russian chess player. He gained the world championship in 1975 when Bobby Fischer refused to agree to the conditions for the match. Karpov successfully defended the title against Viktor Korchnoi in 1978 and 1981. Their much-publicized matches were seen by some as a contest between East and West, Karpov being a resident of the Soviet Union and Korchnoi a defector. Karpov was defeated by Gary Kasparov in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1990 but re-gained his title in 1993 (when Kasparov did not compete). He was a member of the Soviet parliament in 1989-91.
