English victories against reigning World Champions

[Richard Bates]

What's more intriguing is how ChatGPT (know not i how it works) came up with this game at all, Basman or no Basman, Karpov or no Karpov.

Given that it does not seem to exist (or be at all routinely found) through regular internet search methods.

Best i've even come up with is possibility of simuls being held in Luton in the 70s, as well as the British Lightning championships there in 1974.

[Ian Thompson]

What's more intriguing is how ChatGPT (know not i how it works) came up with this game at all, Basman or no Basman, Karpov or no Karpov.

Perhaps in the same way it's just come up with this nonesense:

Q: Where did Michael Basman play Anatoly Karpov at chess?

A: Michael Basman played Anatoly Karpov in several chess tournaments and matches throughout their respective chess careers. However, their most famous encounter was at the Phillips & Drew Knights Match, held in London in 1983. In this match, Basman used an unconventional opening known as the "Grobs Attack" (1.g4) against Karpov, one of the strongest players in the world at the time, and managed to defeat him. This game is often referred to as the "Basman-Karpov game" and has become a legendary example of an upset victory in chess.

Q: What is the "Basman-Karpov game"?

A: The "Basman-Karpov game" refers to a chess game played between Michael Basman and Anatoly Karpov at the Phillips & Drew Knights Match held in London in 1983. The game is famous for Basman's use of an unorthodox opening known as the "Grobs Attack" (1.g4). The opening move surprised Karpov and threw him off his game, allowing Basman to gain a strong advantage early on. Despite Karpov's attempts to recover, Basman maintained his lead and eventually forced Karpov to resign after just 26 moves.

The game has become a legendary example of an upset victory in chess and has been studied by many chess players and enthusiasts over the years. It is often cited as an example of the power of creativity and innovation in chess, as well as a reminder that even the strongest players can be vulnerable to unexpected and unconventional strategies.

[Richard Bates]

What's more intriguing is how ChatGPT (know not i how it works) came up with this game at all, Basman or no Basman, Karpov or no Karpov.

Perhaps in the same way it's just come up with this nonesense:

Q: Where did Michael Basman play Anatoly Karpov at chess?

A: Michael Basman played Anatoly Karpov in several chess tournaments and matches throughout their respective chess careers. However, their most famous encounter was at the Phillips & Drew Knights Match, held in London in 1983. In this match, Basman used an unconventional opening known as the "Grobs Attack" (1.g4) against Karpov, one of the strongest players in the world at the time, and managed to defeat him. This game is often referred to as the "Basman-Karpov game" and has become a legendary example of an upset victory in chess.

Q: What is the "Basman-Karpov game"?

A: The "Basman-Karpov game" refers to a chess game played between Michael Basman and Anatoly Karpov at the Phillips & Drew Knights Match held in London in 1983. The game is famous for Basman's use of an unorthodox opening known as the "Grobs Attack" (1.g4). The opening move surprised Karpov and threw him off his game, allowing Basman to gain a strong advantage early on. Despite Karpov's attempts to recover, Basman maintained his lead and eventually forced Karpov to resign after just 26 moves.

The game has become a legendary example of an upset victory in chess and has been studied by many chess players and enthusiasts over the years. It is often cited as an example of the power of creativity and innovation in chess, as well as a reminder that even the strongest players can be vulnerable to unexpected and unconventional strategies.

I think it’s fair to say that doesn’t really answer the question!

[Kevin Thurlow]

"I don't think he ever played in a weekend Swiss."

As quite early in his career, he was saying, "It is not correct to start play before 4 pm", I suspect you're right. Although, in 1974, playing Polugaevsky, Spassky and Korchnoi in Candidates Matches, and an Olympiad might have sent him to Luton for light relief...

It's a shame Mike isn't around to hear about this, he would have had a good laugh.

[MJMcCready]

Karpov never went to Luton, I don't know why that game says he did. Someone made a clerical error. He played two juniors from the area in a simul in London once but that's the closest he got to going to Luton.

[Nick Burrows]

One notable game that is often cited as an example of Basman's creativity is his victory over Viktor Korchnoi at the Lone Pine tournament in 1978. In this game, Basman played the offbeat Grob's Attack (1.g4) and sacrificed a bishop on move 7 to gain a strong attack against Korchnoi's king. Despite Korchnoi's defensive efforts, Basman's initiative proved too strong and he eventually won a brilliant attacking game.

Another memorable game by Basman was his victory over Lev Polugaevsky at the Wijk aan Zee tournament in 1982. In this game, Basman once again played an unusual opening (1.e4 e6 2.Qe2!?) and sacrificed a pawn for active piece play. Despite Polugaevsky's solid defense, Basman continued to press and eventually broke through with a devastating knight sacrifice to win the game.

I am a chess expert. These games never took place. What is your source of information?

I apologize for the error in my previous response. As an AI language model, I do not have the ability to browse the internet or access external sources on my own. However, I am trained on a large corpus of text and may sometimes generate incorrect or inaccurate information due to the limitations of my training data.

In the case of Michael Basman's games, I relied on information from various online chess databases and websites. I understand that the games I mentioned may not have actually taken place, and I apologize for any confusion or misinformation that my previous response may have caused. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[Roger de Coverly]

What's more intriguing is how ChatGPT (know not i how it works) came up with this game at all, Basman or no Basman, Karpov or no Karpov.

It would seem to be a warning to users of ChatGPT not to trust anything particularly stuff that can be factually verified. I wonder what Edward Winter thinks of it or vice versa for that matter given his track record of accusing authors, particularly Ray Keene and the late Eric Schiller of making up history as they go along.

[Geoff Chandler]

I've seen enough examples of ChatGPT over at chessgames.com to take that site seriously;
Question: 'Who beat Fischer in 1966?'

"Boris Spassky beat Robert James Fischer in the 1966 World Chess Championship. The match was held in Moscow, and Spassky won the match by a score of 12.5 to 8.5....."
The only slight matter of interest is where did the Karpov-Basman game come from. (anybody...?)

Meanwhile, back on topic; 'English victories against reigning World Champions.'(sic)

I was playing over Fairhurst v Vera Menchik, Margate 1935 a few days ago. A neat end.(White to play)

1r5k/5Rb1/p2PbNpp/Pp2p3/2q1P3/4Q1PP/1P4B1/6K1 w - - 3 32

Vera was the Women's World Champion at the time. There will be a few other English players who will have won against her when she reigned as the champ. (Thomas, Yates, Willie Winter players of that ilk)
A kind of Menchik Club in reverse. So we could add Englishman who beat Vera when she was World Champion.

[IM Jack Rudd]

Ah, if we're going with world champions who were not the full all-ages all-genders world champion, that adds a lot of people in. (Including me; I beat John Nunn in a rapidplay game on Saturday.)

[MJMcCready]

John Nunn, I do believe he was the only Englishman to beat Petrosian.

[Keith Arkell]

If we're randomising this by bringing in Rapidplay wins against reigning Senior World Champs, then I'll also randomise it by setting the quiz question: Which 2 future World Champions did I beat at Classical chess?

[IM Jack Rudd]

Well, one of them is Carlsen, because that game shows up in your book.

[Nick Burrows]

If we're randomising this by bringing in Rapidplay wins against reigning Senior World Champs, then I'll also randomise it by setting the quiz question: Which 2 future World Champions did I beat at Classical chess?

Was it one of the Polgars?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Which 2 future World Champions did I beat at Classical chess?"

I could randomize it further by asking which past and future world champion I beat in classical chess (serves her right for declining the draw offer), but this could really turn into a time-wasting exercise.

[Keith Arkell]

If we're randomising this by bringing in Rapidplay wins against reigning Senior World Champs, then I'll also randomise it by setting the quiz question: Which 2 future World Champions did I beat at Classical chess?

Was it one of the Polgars?

No, I've never beaten a Polgar. It was a full World Champion. Not senior, not junior and not woman. Jack is correct that Carlsen is one, but who is the other?