---
product_id: 121172599
title: "Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a Chess World Champion"
brand: "anatoly karpov"
price: "$103"
currency: NZD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 5
url: https://www.desertcart.nz/products/121172599-karpov-on-karpov-memoirs-of-a-chess-world-champion
store_origin: NZ
region: New Zealand
---

# Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a Chess World Champion

**Brand:** anatoly karpov
**Price:** $103
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Karpov on Karpov: Memoirs of a Chess World Champion by anatoly karpov
- **How much does it cost?** $103 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nz](https://www.desertcart.nz/products/121172599-karpov-on-karpov-memoirs-of-a-chess-world-champion)

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- anatoly karpov enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Anatoly Karpov Autobiography
  

*by J***F on Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2017*

I enjoyed this one, which I bought after reading GM Jan Timman (I think) remark that it provides a great deal of background on life in the Soviet system, which is another interest of mine in addition to chess. At times he seems to honestly show his failings, though I do wonder if he's fully open on that. He has a lot to say negative about his main nemeses Korchnoi and Kasparov. There was another book, by Ron Henley, about Karpov ("Win Like Karpov!: Learn To Play Chess Like Anatoly Karpov), that strongly emphasizes his Christianity, so it's certainly possible that Karpov is fairly forthcoming here.The book is all prose (and photos); there is some description of the flow of key games, but no actual game scores or standard annotations. It also had a pretty thorough index.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    Fascinating memoir
  

*by E***R on Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2019*

This book is Karpov's memoir as written in 1990. It's not a long book (232 pages) and can be read in approximately 4-6 hrs. Karpov starts by describing his childhood, mostly as it related to his chess development and development of style, but some non-chess aspects of Karpov's life are described (such as his relationship with his parents) in high detail. Later, Karpov switches almost exclusively to chess related aspects. Hearing his side of the story in his matches and relationship with Kasparov and Korchnoi were fascinating, although Kasparov gives a lot more detail (and is generally more persuasive) in his 'Kasparov on Modern Chess' series. I'd recommend this book to those who are interested in Karpov and wouldn't mind spending 5 hours of chess time on something that isn't improvement related, but as 'Karpov on Karpov' is out of print and can't be found on amazon for under $40, probably only book collectors and hard-core Karpov fans would find this book to be a worthwhile purchase. If you can find a copy for $15-20 or less and fit into the target audience mentioned above, I highly recommend this book.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 







  
  
    There goes the romance of chess.
  

*by S***N on Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2016*

I happened to get a signed leather-bound first edition of this little work. If anything this book and the Spassky-Fisher work by Richard Roberts not to mention the most recent movie Pawn Sacrifice destroyed any romance I had for the world chess championship achievement. It does not sound like Karpov was having fun, but then who can have fun under the old Soviet system with petty communist bureaucrats controlling every move off the chessboard? In addition the mental strain of chess at this lofty level seems to also coincide with mental instability. Most of the book is complaining about the psychological even occult (parapsychology!) games grandmasters play. I found it all annoying to hear his bitching about Korchnoi and Kasparov. I was more intrigued with his perceptions of Fischer, which were complimentary. The tragedy of course is Karpov and Fischer never got to play for the world title because of Fischer's unreasonable demands, thus Karpov won by default (an empty achievement) and never realized his dream of ascending to the next chess level or at least finding out where he stood next to perhaps the greatest player in history (though I suspect that really was Paul Morphy). He could have been more generous in this memoir by publishing his top 25 games....and certainly none of his tens of thousands of draws. Never-the-less this memoir offers an intriguing peek into the lofty world of the super-minds of chess. Fortunately my chess computer does not play these dysfunctional games. It just plays excellent chess.

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*Product available on Desertcart New Zealand*
*Store origin: NZ*
*Last updated: 2026-03-01*