He has, like those two former world champion, take less than five years to make the transition from promising junior to world championship candidate.
In December 1973, Karpov was awarded the Chess Oscar, well-merited by a string of successes throughout the year, in the course of which he lost but one game.
Even the very few of the pundits were prepared to predict that Karpov would be the man to face Fischer in 1975, though most were agreed that he would meet Fischer in 1978 and that by then he, and he alone, might be able to wrest away the title and take it back to the USSR.
At age 4, he learnt chess from his father Evgeny Stapanovich and became a 3rd category player at 7. He became a 2nd and first category player at age 9.
A Candidate Master, Master, International Master, Grandmaster and World Championship Candidate at age 11, 15, 18, 19 and 22 respectively.
He was the youngest master in USSR history18 won the World Junior Championship that earned him the International Master title.
Other chess Oscar winner were former and retired world champion Gary Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand of India and Judit Polgar of Hungary, the only woman who is in the top 10 of the men's FIDE (World Chess Federation) ranking.
Source: Chess Oscar by Roberto Hernandez
Island Times Newspaper
Page 19
March 29-April 02, 2007
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