My life for chess by Viktor Korchnoi

My life for chess by Viktor Korchnoi

Viktor Korchnoi ( 1931 - 2016 ) was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating personalities in the chess world. The two-time World Championship finalist played successful and attractive chess, even into old age. In 2004 he visited ChessBase and recorded his video biography “My life for chess”. With these recordings Korchnoi created a living memorial to himself and his great chess career. This historical document is now available again: remastered by ChessBase, playable on many platforms (Windows, Mac) or as a stream and supplemented with a game database.

Korchnoi presents many of his most brilliant efforts from the years 1949-2005, among them, games against Smyslov, Geller, Tal, Huebner, Karpov, Kasparov, Spassky and Short. In each case Korchnoi describes in detail the story of the game, never beating around the bush, sometimes criticising his opponents harshly, but also lavishing praise on them when due. Embedded in the game commentaries are many details of Korchnoi’s biography; for instance, before commenting on his game against Spassky, the veteran speaks extensively about his personal relationship with the exworld champion. Throughout these lectures, you can feel Korchnoi’s enduring love for chess. Whenever the great master gets to the heart of an opening (King’s Indian, English and French) or shows an astonishing move, one can see the joy sparkling in his eyes. Little wonder – no other chess genius has lived chess as intensively as “Viktor the Terrible”. A must-have for every chess fan!

• Video running time: 7 hours 36 minutes(English)
• Database with more than 5,000 games by Viktor Korchnoi/p>

Sample video

1. Part 1: 1949 - 1979
2. Golenichev - Korchnoi 1949
3. Smyslov - Korchnoi 1952
4. Korchnoi - Geller 1954
5. Korchnoi - Tal 1962
6. Korchnoi - Udovcic 1967
7. Navara - Korchnoi 2004
8. Korchnoi - Huebner 1973
9. Korchnoi - Karpov 1978
10. Filguth - Korchnoi 1979
11. Part 2: 1986 - 2004
12. Kasparov - Korchnoi 1986
13. Korchnoi - Spassky 1989
14. Korchnoi - Piket 1992; Korchnoi - Gallagher 1998
15. Van der Wiel - Korchnoi 1991
16. Korchnoi - Short 1990
17. Korchnoi - Onischuk 1997
18. Felgaer - Kortchnoi 2002
19. Korchnoi - Moskalenko 2004
20. Extra
21. Interview

All Games