Anatoly Karpov<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1975-1985<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n The young Karpov made early waves in the chess scene, with many tournament wins under his belt including the 1969 World Junior Championship title. Throughout his career, he would attain over 160 first-place finishes, a peak rating of 2780, and over 100 months at the number-one rating spot. Interestingly, Karpov attained the Grandmaster title in 1970 at 19 years old and would go on to become World Champion only 5 years later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He placed first at the 1974 Candidates matches which placed him as a (dangerous) challenger for the World Championship title against Bobby Fischer. However this largely anticipated match never happened as Fischer abdicated the title, therefore making Karpov the 12th World Chess Champion by default. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Karpov’s style is quite technical and he is considered to be one of the best endgame players of all time. His games were very much “slow burns” where he would suffocate his opponents gradually. In the book Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov<\/a>, Karpov’s endgame technique is showcased. Including this example from when he was only 10 years old:<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/12-1024x1024.png\")
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