Viktor Korchnoi: Biography, Facts and Career

Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (Russian: Виктор Львович Корчной, IPA: [vʲiktər ˈlʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj]; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Born in Leningrad, Korchnoi defected to the Netherlands in 1976, and resided in Switzerland from 1978, becoming a Swiss citizen. Korchnoi played four matches against GM Anatoly Karpov, three of which were official. In 1974, Korchnoi lost to Karpov in the Candidates Tournament final. After GM Bobby Fischer declined to defend his title against Karpov, Karpov was declared World Champion in 1975. In 1978 and 1981, Korchnoi won consecutive Candidates cycles and qualified to challenge Karpov for the World Chess Championship, but lost both matches. The two players also played a drawn training match of six games in 1971. Korchnoi was a candidate for the World Championship on ten occasions (1962, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988, and 1991). He was also four times a USSR Chess Champion, five times a member of Soviet teams that won the European championship, and six times a member of Soviet teams that won the Chess Olympiad. He played competitive chess until old age. At age 75, he won the 2006 World Senior Chess Championship and became the oldest person ever to be ranked among the world's top 100 players.

Quick facts about Viktor Korchnoi

• Full name: Viktor Korchnoi
• Born: 1931-03-23
• Nationality: Switzerland
• Known as: Author
• Wikidata ID: Q212889

Profile compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.