Karpov’s Childhood

The next world champion after Spassky and Fischer was Anatoly Karpov. He was born in 1951 in Zlatoust, a small industrial town in the Urals, close to the border between Europe and Asia. Little Tolya learned to play chess at the age of four, and the game became the greatest passion and the principal vocation of his life.

For the next six years, Tolya played at the chess club of the Zlatoust Machine-Building Plant, where his father, Yevgeny Karpov, was chief production manager. A gifted engineer, he was credited with nearly ninety inventions, both civilian and military, that were put into production.

Unlike, say, Fischer, young Tolya read almost no chess books. He learned to play largely from his own mistakes in actual games, and this method proved remarkably effective. His lack of opening knowledge often meant that by the start of the middlegame he found himself in difficult positions. Yet this developed in him a remarkable tenacity and fighting spirit. Quite often, when an opponent who was satisfied with his position relaxed and made an inaccuracy, Karpov would "sink his teeth" into him and never let go until he had won the game.

Both the young and the mature Karpov played in a manner reminiscent of Capablanca, who likewise was not renowned for his opening preparation but possessed a remarkable intuition that told him which plan to choose and which move to make in any given position.

One of Karpov's first coaches was Gennady Ulyukin. In 1960, Ulyukin was assembling a team of schoolchildren for the Chelyabinsk Regional School Championship. Let me give him the floor:

The captain of our team, fourteen-year-old seventh-grader Zhenya Pyatkov, told me that in the courtyard of a large apartment building on Strelka (the center of old Zlatoust) there was a boy named Tolik who played very well and beat everyone. When I learned that he was only in the third grade, I shook my head skeptically. Nevertheless, I visited the apartment of the little 'yard champion.' Tolik's mother was somewhat surprised by our unexpected visit, but that was how I first met her and her son, Tolya Karpov. We played several games. The boy was thin, rather small for a third-grader, and had large eyes. He was lively, quick at the board, yet accurate and fearless, boldly seeking complications. He knelt on a chair because otherwise it was difficult for him to see the position on the chessboard. I noted to myself that playing in the yard against opponents of all ages and strengths had toughened him psychologically and taught him to ignore differences in age. He conducted the game purposefully and boldly...

To make a long story short, nine-year-old Tolya won the championship, defeating opponents who were sixteen and seventeen years old. Soon he attained the First Category, then became a Candidate Master, and at the age of fourteen he fulfilled the norm for the title of Master of Sports.

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Picturesque Koltushi Heights in Saint Petersburg 🌄

Another perfect spot for sketches or photosessions 📸

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🕵🏻‍♂️🎬 On 19 July 1935, Vasily Livanov – one of the most distinguished Soviet and Russian actors – was born.

For millions of viewers worldwide, Livanov became the definitive Sherlock Holmes. His portrayal of the English detective in the Soviet series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979–1986) was praised for its elegance, intelligence and faithfulness to Arthur Conan Doyle’s character.

When the series was shown on British television in the 1980s, it received great appreciation from audiences. Livanov later recalled being told the words of Conan Doyle’s daughter:

If my father had seen this Russian Sherlock Holmes, he would have been delighted.

In 2006, Livanov was awarded an honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire at the British Embassy in Moscow. The honour was presented on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II by Ambassador Tony Brenton, in recognition of his contribution to the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and to cultural ties between Russia and the UK.

In 2007, a monument to Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson was unveiled near the British Embassy in Moscow. The sculptures bear the likeness of Livanov and Vitaly Solomin, who brought the iconic detective duo to life in the acclaimed Soviet adaptation.