Voting Station

Viktor Korchnoi

Please vote to return to collections.

Chess Champ

The Resume

    (March 23, 1931-June 6, 2016)
    Born in Leningrad, USSR (St. Petersburg, Russia)
    Four-time Soviet chess champion
    Member of six Soviet teams that won the Chess Olympiad
    Defected during a tournament in the Netherlands (1976)
    Later settled in Switzerland
    Twice lost World Championship matches to Anatoly Karpov (1978,1981)
    Won the World Senior Chess Championship (2006)

Why he might be annoying:

    He said he played better when he treated his opponent as an antagonist rather than a friendly rival.
    He and fellow Soviet grandmaster Tigran Petrosian allegedly disliked each other so much that they kicked each other under the table during a match.
    During his first championship match against Karpov, he claimed that Karpov’s advisors were using the yogurt that they provided him during games to send coded messages based on what flavor they sent.
    His support team at the 1978 World Championship match included two members of a Indian religious sect who were accused of murder, but were out on bail while awaiting trial.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was hospitalized suffering from malnutrition during World War II.
    He is widely considered one of the greatest players to never win the World Championship.
    When the Soviet chess authorities decided Karpov was the wave of the future, they blatantly undermined older opponents like Korchnoi.
    For example, other Soviet grandmasters were banned from advising Korchnoi before his 1974 match against Karpov to determine which player would face Bobby Fischer for the World Championship. (Karpov won, then became champion by default when Fischer refused to defend his title.)
    After his defection, the Soviets harassed the wife and son he had left behind, including jailing his son for two and a half years for allegedly evading service in the army.
    He was the oldest player to become a national champion, winning the Swiss title at age 78 (2009).
    His defection inspired part of the plot of the musical ‘Chess,’ and thus saved Murray Head from remaining a one-hit wonder.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 16 Votes: 50.0% Annoying