Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

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JustinHorton
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Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:07 am

In the latest New In Chess, Jan Timman has an article (The Unstoppable American, pages 46-53) in which he discusses the first game of the 1971 Candidates Final, both game and match being won by Bobby Fischer against Tigran Petrosian. Introducing his theme, he mentions that Petrosian had won his semi-final against Viktor Korchnoi - and then repeats, at some length, a story that this was a rigged match in which Korchnoi was instructed to lose to Petrosian in return for being allowed to attend "three major international tournaments".

Timman quotes Larsen (an article in Chess in Canada) as dismissing the story - "incredible nonsense" - but then devotes two paragraphs to citing Karpov in its support. Karpov's account is the one given here as coming from his autobiogaphy, Karpov on Karpov- (Timman says it is from Russians Against Fischer, and the two accounts, though using similar phrasing, are worded a bit differently, presumably because they used different translators.) Timman then says "what Karpov writes about the three promised tournaments is correct", mentioning Hastings, the IBM tournament in Amsterdam and Palma de Mallorca.

I admit that my strong inclination is to back Larsen rather than Karpov here, not least because
  • it is 45 years since Korchnoi left the Soviet Union and only five since he died, and therefore he had forty years to complain about being instructed to lose a match.
  • There is also a total absence of any evidence to back up the story - "no documents exist to substantiate this plot" as Karpov admits (or "no documents confirming the deal", if you prefer the NiC version). Again, it is thirty years since the USSR was dissolved and this is plenty of time for contemporary records to be found, and for that matter for people who were party to any such decision to speak or write about it, or for their own personal archives to be read.
  • The "three international tournaments" evidence isn't really evidence of anything at all, unless we can show that the story pre-dated his being sent to those tournaments, as opposed to emerging afterwards.
While the absence of evidence or witnesses doesn't prove an event didn't happen, at the same time it must surely lead the objective observer to agree with this*:
In the absence of any real evidence to the contrary, Korchnoi’s conclusion that both players played the match in good faith cannot be challenged.
That said, I've not read Russians on Fischer, nor Karpov's autobiography, nor (as far as I can remember) Korchnoi's. Timman's article, by the way, is an excerpt from his forthcoming book on the 1970-71 qualifying series.

[* this reads to me as if something were being quoted, though if that is so, I can't see what.]
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Roger de Coverly
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Re: Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:27 am

JustinHorton wrote:
Sun Jul 04, 2021 9:07 am

While the absence of evidence or witnesses doesn't prove an event didn't happen, at the same time it must surely lead the objective observer to agree with this*:
The first 8 games of the match were drawn, Petrosian winning the ninth and the tenth also was drawn. In game nine, Petrosian took a space disadvantage with the white pieces but then managed to control the game to victory. In the subsequent match against Fischer, he tried a similar structure and plan against Fischer in game 6, this time without success.

In there any reason to doubt Korchnoi's play in the 9th or 10th games, or in failing to win in games 1 to 8?

Why would one suppose the Soviet Union would prefer that Petrosian should face Fischer? He had been demolished in the Rest of the World match, There had been a contemporary allegation that Taimanov's opponent in the last round of the Interzonal had been offered an incentive to take a dive, so result manipulation wasn't entirely against Soviet sporting ethos.

Kevin Thurlow
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Re: Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

Post by Kevin Thurlow » Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:44 am

Ironically, at the Hastings event, Korchnoi was the senior USSR player and Karpov as the young player stuck close to him. That was the usual USSR practice, the older player was more or less chaperoning the young one. K&K were even partners in the usual bridge sessions in the evenings. So Korchnoi was the useful senior professional - if USSR thought he was a problem, I doubt they would have assigned him that role.

I find it hard to believe Korchnoi would throw a match.

"it is 45 years since Korchnoi left the Soviet Union and only five since he died, and therefore he had forty years to complain about being instructed to lose a match."

Well, yes.

Timman is not afraid to make accusations - in his book ("Timman's Titans"?), he said that Smyslov cheated when they played by getting advice from another Russian, both of whom disappeared form the playing hall for half an hour.

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JustinHorton
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Re: Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

Post by JustinHorton » Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:47 am

Roger de Coverly wrote:
Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:27 am
Why would one suppose the Soviet Union would prefer that Petrosian should face Fischer? He had been demolished in the Rest of the World match
Oh that's a good point
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Geoff Chandler
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Re: Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

Post by Geoff Chandler » Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:52 am

Hi Justin,

Not seen the NIC article. It was at the 1970 Siegen Olympiad that Korchnoi slept in, lost by default, and was in the bad books.
After the match v Petrosian Korchnoi was allowed to play in Hastings, Amsterdam and Mallorca, as well as make
another Olympiad appearance, Skopje 1972 (though leaving him out would have been too huffy he won the board 2 gold medal).

It is from there the rumours started.

You mentioned the clincher to keep it at a mere rumour. Korchnoi silence on the matter.
He discusses match in his 'Chess Is My Life' and makes no mentions of a fix.
He is very damning of the whole Soviet system and pulls no punches, if it happened then there was the place to put it.

He mentions rumours in the West that the match was not being taken seriously and after the first
8 draws people were saying the USSR Sport Committee had not yet decided who should face Fischer.
He adds that those who knew him knew he was trying his best but his play did not come off and was very upset at losing.

And he did not leave it out due to embarrassment, he admits (page 17) that his unnamed opponent in 1951 had been bribed by his
friends to lose, he knew all about it and actually laughed at his opponent's losing deliberate blunder admitting his behaviour was poor.

IMO owning up to that and never mentioning being ordered to lose v Petrosian is enough to say it never happened.

NickFaulks
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Re: Petrosian v Korchnoi 1971

Post by NickFaulks » Sun Jul 04, 2021 2:23 pm

Geoff Chandler wrote:
Sun Jul 04, 2021 11:52 am
It was at the 1970 Siegen Olympiad that Korchnoi slept in, lost by default, and was in the bad books.
I have always felt that the Captain ( or Head of Delegation, or someone ) is open to criticism when that sort of thing happens. Not as though it was zero tolerance.
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