Loser barred from stage

Press, 23 November 1981, Page 38

Loser barred from stage

NZPA Merano The defeated challenger, Viktor Korchnoi, was barred from the stage on Saturday evening as the world chess champion, Anatoly Karpov, of the Soviet Union, collected his prize money. Korchnoi, self-exiled from the Soviet Union, was not on the stage to accept his cheque from the sponsors. The championship match ended on Friday, with Karpov retaining his title by six games to two. “The Soviet delegation asked that Viktor Korchnoi

should not be present on stage because they feared he would make another speech about his family,” said the challenger’s press spokesman, Mr Edward Sztein. Korchnoi’s wife and son have been refused permission to join him in the West. The issue has contributed to the deep antipathy between the two rivals. The sponsor, an Italian bank, was not available for comment. However, an Italian Chess Federation spokesman said that Kor-

chnoi was officially requested to remain in the audience at the ceremony. In spite of his absence, Korchnoi, aged 50, still collected a loser’s cheque for the equivalent of SUSI7O,OOO. Karpov, aged 30, received SUS2BO,OOO for his victory in the seven-week duel. In 1978, Karpov beat Korchnoi for the world title, 6-5, in the Philippines. The champion, who will next defend his title in 1984, told a press conference that he had no idea who his next opponent would be.

Asked if he was afraid of the rising Soviet chess expert, Garry Kasparov, aged 18, the champion replied: “I am not afraid of anyone if I am in good fighting trim.” Karpov paid tribute to Korchnoi as a player but accused the challenger of “filthy behaviour” during some of their 18 games. At one point, the head of Korchnoi’s delegation, Mr Alban Brodbeck, asked Karpov if he would petition the Soviet President, Mr Leonid Brezhnev, for the release of Korchnoi’s family.