The chess player Viktor Korchny died

In the Swiss city, Volno, Canton Argau, the chess player Viktor Korchny died. This was reported by the Russian Chess Federation.

Korchny was born in 1931 in Leningrad. He graduated from the Faculty of History of Leningrad University. He took up chess at the age of 13. In 1952 he made his debut in the USSR championship, in 1956 he received the title of Grossmaster.

Four -time champion of the USSR (1960, 1962, 1964, 1970), two -time winner of interzonal tournaments (1973, 1987) and matches of applicants for playing the world champion (1977, 1980). Five times won the European championship and the same amount in the Switzerland championship. In 1978 and 1981 he participated in the world championships, but both times lost to Anatoly Karpov.

In 1966, during the tournament in West Germany, Koruchny was offered not to return to the USSR, but he refused and subsequently regretted it. In 1974, in an interview with the Yugoslav press, the grandmaster made it clear that his loss of Karpov at the champions match was the result of the pressure of Soviet officials. After that, he was forbidden to leave the USSR. A year later, the ban was lifted thanks to the intercession of Karpov.

In 1976, Korchnoi during the chess tournament in Amsterdam refused to return to his homeland and asked for political asylum in the Netherlands. He explained that he wants to continue the struggle for the title of world champion, but the USSR Chess Federation is betting on younger athletes and opportunities to participate in international competitions.

The Netherlands, however, refused the chess player in the shelter, providing only a residence permit. After some time, Korchno moved to Switzerland, where he received refuge, and in 1994 - citizenship.

Meanwhile, in his homeland from the grandmaster in 1976, after the decision to stay in the West, they removed the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR. In 1978, he was deprived of Soviet citizenship. At the same time, the wife and son of a chess player for six years did not allow him to leave the USSR; During this time, the son was expelled from the institute and spent two and a half years in the colony on charges of evading drafting into the army.

The USSR unsuccessfully tried to achieve a lifelong disqualification of Korchny, and they tried not to mention his name in the Soviet press. During matches with Karpov, the title of chess player was called the "applicant" without specifying the surname.

In 1990, Soviet citizenship was returned to the grandmaster. The chess player refused to return to his homeland, but he repeatedly came to competitions in Russia.

Korchny continued to perform until the end of his life. At the time of death, he was the oldest playing grandmaster in the world.