Lev Khariton: Korchnoi - professional rights or political convictions?

I remember how I was rooting for Korchnoi when he was playing his
matches with Karpov in 1974, 1978 and 1981. I was not alone; most of
my friends in the Soviet Union, most of the people sick and tired of
the communist rule and ideology wished Viktor the Terrible success in
his struggle against Karpov who represented the totalitarian regime.

Our support of Korchnoi became more intense after his defection to the
West. His struggle against Karpov symbolized for most of us the
confrontation between the world of freedom and the world of slavery.
In 1981 just before the match in Merano Korchnoi’s son Igor was
imprisoned by the Soviet authorities and exiled to Siberia for dodging
military service. In fact, he was punished for his intention to join
his father in the West. The struggle between the two chess players was
turning more and more into a political conflict, and in the eyes of
many people both in the USSR and in the world Korchnoi was regarded as
a political dissident.

What is totally disappointing is that today Korchnoi in his numerous
interviews invariably maintains that he has never been a dissident,
and he left the USSR purely for professional reasons. In other words,
he means to say that in the Soviet Union he was thwarted as a chess
player. In pain language, the Soviet authorities allowed him to travel
to international tournaments only twice a year when he wanted to go
abroad four times a year. I have no doubt that Korchnoi is quite
honest in asserting that he was not interested in what was happening
in the USSR politically and morally. But do the people who believed in
him as a symbol of freedom, the people who lived in, chessically
speaking, a smothered mate situation deserve such honesty? I know that
some people even wrote letters to the Soviet government to liberate
Korchnoi’s son, some people went on political demonstration to
support Korchnoi. Were they committing themselves to risk to support
his professional rights?! No, for them he was a martyr of the Soviet
political system.

When today Korchnoi is shaking Karpov’s hand, all those who
sympathized with Korchnoi, many years ago, feel absolutely frustrated.
When Korchnoi says that in Baguio Karpov stopped shaking his hand
before the game on Botvinnik’s advice, we can say that the
grandmaster is suffering from idiosyncrasy towards Botvinnik.
Botvinnik, as is well known, could not stand Karpov. I can add that
Botvinnik for years did not shake Averbakh’s hand, and he knew
what he was doing. Averbakh after Korchnoi’s defection wrote a
letter to FIDE requesting the world’s chess federation to ban
Korchnoi’s participation in the FIDE competitions on political
grounds.Is Korchnoi now shaking Averbakh's hand?

Is Korchnoi's son still in prison ?

(Aryeh Davidoff) wrote in message . com...
Lev Khariton: Korchnoi - professional rights or political convictions?

I remember how I was rooting for Korchnoi when he was
playing his matches with Karpov in 1974, 1978 and 1981.
I was not alone; most of my friends in the Soviet Union,
most of the people sick and tired of the communist rule
and ideology wished Viktor the Terrible success in his
struggle against Karpov who represented the totalitarian regime.

Our support of Korchnoi became more intense after his
defection to the West. His struggle against Karpov
symbolized for most of us the confrontation between
the world of freedom and the world of slavery.
In 1981 just before the match in Merano Korchnoi's
son Igor was imprisoned by the Soviet authorities and exiled
to Siberia for dodging military service. In fact, he was
punished for his intention to join his father in the West.
The struggle between the two chess players was
turning more and more into a political conflict, and in the
eyes of many people both in the USSR and in the world Korchnoi
was regarded as a political dissident.

What is totally disappointing is that today Korchnoi in his
numerous interviews invariably maintains that he has never
been a dissident, and he left the USSR purely for professional
reasons. In other words, he means to say that in the Soviet
Union he was thwarted as a chess player.

So fatr so good, say in 95%. However that remaining 5%
is very important!

In plain language, the Soviet authorities allowed him to
travel to international tournaments only twice a year when
he wanted to go abroad four times a year.

Now you are trivializing things, and that's not nice.

I have no doubt that Korchnoi is quite honest in asserting
that he was not interested in what was happening in the USSR
politically and morally.

Now, that's your own production.

But do the people who believed in him as a symbol of freedom,
the people who lived in, chessically speaking, a smothered
mate situation deserve such honesty? I know that some people
even wrote letters to the Soviet government to liberate
Korchnoi's son, some people went on political demonstration to
support Korchnoi. Were they committing themselves to risk to support
his professional rights?! No, for them he was a martyr of the Soviet
political system.

But he, Korchnoy, and his family were!

Korchnoy's professional rights were a symbol
of human rights, of the human freedom and dignity.
The general, abstract ideas make sense only
when they translate into things like the freedom
to travel, the artistic freedom, the right to
work in your profession, ... (also freedom of speech, etc).

When today Korchnoi is shaking Karpov's hand, all those who
sympathized with Korchnoi, many years ago, feel absolutely
frustrated.

Sure. But it only shows that Korcznoy doesn't hold
a grudge like a perfectly programmed computer, that he is
a human being, that despite the repute he has, he
needs friendliness and similar nice thingies.

Observe that he was not making those few friendly gestures
for the sake of any business. He was just nice, perhaps
unwisely nice. At one time he even played bridge with Karpov,
after which Korcznoy felt disgusted with himself for associating
with someone as low as Karpov.

For a contrast, Kasparov was making deals with Campo
to gain something by political means in the chess world.
And that was immoral! Fischer was perhaps always sick,
but Fischer was principal and Kasparov was/is not.
There is a world of difference between human gestures,
perhaps even weakness--but a sympathetic waekness of Korchnoy,
and the cynical Kasparov's dealings with Campo and even
with FIDE for the past few years. (True, the situation in
chess is a mess, but Fischer would act in a profound way
in place of Kasparov, while Kasparov acts "pragmatically").

Thus it is Kasparov and not Korchmoy, who lost in my
eyes that nice, idealistic image.

When Korchnoi says that in Baguio Karpov stopped shaking
his hand before the game on Botvinnik's advice, we can
say that the grandmaster is suffering from idiosyncrasy
towards Botvinnik.

Does he? Can you quote Korcznoy exactly? So that I can interpret
his words myself. Korchnoy had to know that: 1.Botvinnik was
never on Karpov's team; 2.Botvinnik was one of very few
top chessplayers who had refused to condemn Korchnoy (Stein
was another one; also Spassky, but Spassky was already in France,
living with his then new French wife. The sad news was that Tal
was among those who did sign the condemnation. And Tal was on
Karpov's team during that champinship match in Fillipines;
in general, Tal played a good Karpov's friend, and I could
only think about Tal's desperate dependence on the Soviet regime,
especially because of Tal's pure health and alcoholism--especially
alcoholism made Tal extra vulnerable).


Botvinnik, as is well known, could not stand Karpov. I can add that
Botvinnik for years did not shake Averbakh's hand, and he knew
what he was doing. Averbakh after Korchnoi's defection wrote a
letter to FIDE requesting the world’s chess federation to ban
Korchnoi's participation in the FIDE competitions on political
grounds.Is Korchnoi now shaking Averbakh's hand?

Botvinnik's political stand late in his life was amazing, very
uplifting for those who want to believe in the human nature.
For this reason I would like to extrapolate backward, I would
like to believe that Botvinnik himself was not abusing his chess
position to get "free" games from Keres or Bronstein. Such
extrapolation is not really justified in general, but everything
specific that I know about Botvinnik indicates that he never
wanted any "chess gifts" from political rulers. In this he was
very different from Karpov, who would, who cooperated, who wanted
and demanded such "gifts".

Summary: Lev, you are playing false tunes, both in 1.interpreting
Korchnoy and 2.philosophically.

1. It is very modesdt and nice that Korchnoy does not
play a disident. In those years being a disident had meant
more than opposing the soviet regime just in your
mind. It meant to participate in some dissident activities
like passing around forbiden literature (political, literary,
religious), or even better, to publish some (even by making
hand written copies). It meant meating similarly minded people to
organize some protest action, to sign some petitions, etc.
All those actions were heavily punishable by the regime, they
were very risky, people who did them were true heros, were brave
to the degree that otherwise thery could be called crazy.

It says something nice about Korchnoy, that he is honest, that
he doesn't want to make a false impression, he doesn't
want to show himself as a hero, he doesn't want an undeserved
credit.

On the other hand, he Korchnoy is still a hero. Those who had
supported him have nothing to be sorry for, they still should
be proud of themselves for those actions. As I have written
above, the freedom etc translates into concrete rights like
being free from being controlled by Soviet apparatchiks, e.g.
one should have right to voice his opinion about Fischer being
better than any Soviet GM at the time. If more Soviet GMs would
voice that opinion, the Fischer versus Soviets+Karpov+FIDE
negotiations would look a bit different.

Those who supported Korchnoy should had done it exactly for
these reasons: for the right to travel, to voice opinions, etc.
And that and similar things had meant to defy the Soviet rule!

Best regards,

Wlod

PS. Please, do write more about the support which Korchnoy
got in the USSR. It had to be in an absolute sense miniscule.
On the other hand every such even was heroic and worthy of
recording for the sake of people at any time in history.
The Soviet style is present here and there, on this scale
or another, everywhere. Recording what had happened in the
past helps to recognize such situations, in aprticular the
ugly relatives of the past Soviet dealings. Why, censorship
and manipulation and propaganda happens today, all the time
even on Internet boards, wherever there is something tangible
to gain. The ugly shortcuts to false "success" are happening
all the time, in the Soviet style, by an abuse of power
or by falsifying information, etc. Knowing the history can
make people more sensitive, and then they can see better
the consequences of the ugly dealings.

"Aryeh Davidoff" wrote in message
om...

snip

Dear Aryeh,

I want to make a few comments to your paragraph:-

When today Korchnoi is shaking Karpov’s hand, all those who
sympathized with Korchnoi, many years ago, feel absolutely frustrated.
When Korchnoi says that in Baguio Karpov stopped shaking his hand
before the game on Botvinnik’s advice,

BTW: This is perhaps more the psychological aspect of sports competition,
than political motivation?

we can say that the
grandmaster is suffering from idiosyncrasy towards Botvinnik.
Botvinnik, as is well known, could not stand Karpov.

Yes. Botvinnik once told him to leave his schess school "because you have no
chess talent."

I can add that
Botvinnik for years did not shake Averbakh’s hand, and he knew
what he was doing. Averbakh after Korchnoi’s defection wrote a
letter to FIDE requesting the world’s chess federation to ban
Korchnoi’s participation in the FIDE competitions on political
grounds.Is Korchnoi now shaking Averbakh's hand?

I think Smyslov is not [from 64]

Anyway, on this subject of politics, Mark Taimanov has something new to say
in a forthcoming interview, first in English then in Russian. I will offer
web reference(s) here as soon as it is published. I think MT replies in a
human way from his own experience, and you may be interested in his
response.

Cordially, Phil Innes

Dear Everyone. GM Taimanov has made some recent comments on this subject,
please see;-

http://www.chessville.com/Editorials...s/Taimanov.htm

Cordially, Phil Innes


I can add that
Botvinnik for years did not shake Averbakh’s hand, and he knew
what he was doing. Averbakh after Korchnoi’s defection wrote a
letter to FIDE requesting the world’s chess federation to ban
Korchnoi’s participation in the FIDE competitions on political
grounds.Is Korchnoi now shaking Averbakh's hand?

I think Smyslov is not [from 64]

Anyway, on this subject of politics, Mark Taimanov has something new to
say
in a forthcoming interview, first in English then in Russian. I will offer
web reference(s) here as soon as it is published. I think MT replies in a
human way from his own experience, and you may be interested in his
response.

Cordially, Phil Innes