Master Class Vol. 15: Viktor Kortschnoi

Master Class Vol. 15: Viktor Kortschnoi

Viktor Korchnoi (born in 1931 in Leningrad) is one of the great players in chess history. He first qualified for a Candidates Tournament for the World Championship as early as 1962, and subsequently took part many times in further Candidates Matches. His final candidates match was against Kasparov in 1983. For decades Korchnoi belonged to the absolute world elite. In the late 1970s he was number two in the world rankings behind Anatoly Karpov.

After Korchnoi fled the USSR as a dissident in 1976, he engaged in two exciting and politically heated competitions for the world championship against Karpov, in 1978 and 1981. In 1978, Korchnoi lost by a narrow margin. He continued to play at a high level in many tournaments well into his later years. He cultivated a very combative, concrete style, and was a master of defence. He gladly accepted sacrifices, or won and then defended a material advantage until victory. Korchnoi had outstanding knowledge of the endgame, and was probably the world’s best expert on rook endgames. In this video course, experts including Yannick Pelletier, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh, examine the games of Viktor Korchnoi. Let them show you which openings Korchnoi chose to play, where his strength in middlegames were, or how he outplayed his opponents in the endgame. Finally, you’ll get a glimpse of his tactical abilities in the Tactics section. This edition features an additional video by Yannick Pelletier, who looks back on Korchnoi’s life, and shares the memory of his experiences with one of the greatest players of all time.

• Video running time: 7 hours 53 minutes(English)

• Interactive tactics test with video feedback

• “Korchnoi Powerbooks”: Korchnoi’s opening repertoire as a variation tree

• Tactical training with 24 games

• Extra video by Yannick Pelletier

My life for chess

Viktor Korchnoi ( 1931 - 2016 ) was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating personalities in the chess world. The two-time World Championship finalist played successful and attractive chess, even into old age. In 2004 he visited ChessBase and recorded his video biography “My life for chess”. With these recordings Korchnoi created a living memorial to himself and his great chess career. This historical document is now available again: remastered by ChessBase, playable on many platforms (Windows, Mac) or as a stream and supplemented with a game database.

Korchnoi presents many of his most brilliant efforts from the years 1949-2005, among them, games against Smyslov, Geller, Tal, Huebner, Karpov, Kasparov, Spassky and Short. In each case Korchnoi describes in detail the story of the game, never beating around the bush, sometimes criticising his opponents harshly, but also lavishing praise on them when due. Embedded in the game commentaries are many details of Korchnoi’s biography; for instance, before commenting on his game against Spassky, the veteran speaks extensively about his personal relationship with the exworld champion. Throughout these lectures, you can feel Korchnoi’s enduring love for chess. Whenever the great master gets to the heart of an opening (King’s Indian, English and French) or shows an astonishing move, one can see the joy sparkling in his eyes. Little wonder - no other chess genius has lived chess as intensively as “Viktor the Terrible”. A must-have for every chess fan!

• Video running time: 7 hours 36 minutes(English)

• Database with more than 5,000 games by Viktor Korchnoi