Karpov on Karpov: A Memoirs of a Chess World Champion

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful insight
Review: In his autobiography Karpov details everything from his early childhood to his rivalries with Korchnoi and Kasparov. The fluency of the book, however, is flawed and there is a virtual chasm between his childhood and rest-of-life. That said, I think this is one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. Karpov tells about his spiritual approach to the game, his gentle and kind personality, and most importantly, his match with Korchnoi.
To be honest, I think that the description of the match with Korchnoi (actually all their matches) is one of the best passages in a book I've read yet. The absolutely intense labor, momentum of the match, and conspiracies surrounding all of his games are fascinating and intriguing. If you are going to buy a book on Karpov or any autobiography, but this one.

Rating:
Summary: Near Masterpiece
Review: The first half of this book is startlingly well written, literary, and even sometimes quite humorous, as when Karpov recounts the story about his mother checking up on him after he had been forbidden to think about chess. As the book nears the present, however, Karpov loses the thread of his own story and begins to wander (some would put it stronger than that) in his analysis of Kasparov and their bitter rivalry. One wishes, therefore, that Karpov had waited til he was well into his 50's before attempting the sort thing he tries here; because his childhood is recalled with vivid insight and the point of view that emerges is astonishing: he just happened to find himself World Champion one day! On the other hand, I can easily imagine chess players not liking this book at all since it has no chess games in it; but that really doesn't matter if one is fascinated by the subject (as I am). I only mention the fact to warn people who might be expecting something other than what they will find here: an autobiography. That said, this is a very good book from the former World Champion which ends with him hopefully predicting his future re-claiming of the world title (the book came out in 1990). You can read that last part any way you like or ignore it, but there it is: Karpov is a romantic who had to somehow make his way through the demi-human universe of Soviet Chess. A number of fans will undoubtedly disagree with this assessment, but one can tell when someone is lying about the unacceptable deeds of their past: Karpov's memoir is, therefore, touching at times, as his telling of the events surrounding the aborted match with Fischer amply demonstrates.... I recomend this book to anyone who has a heart, and, wants to know more about the history of the royal game in our times.