Kárpov turns 75: Chess legend's enduring legacy

Anatoly Karpov, one of chess history's most consequential figures, turns 75 this week — a milestone that invites reflection on what it means to master a game that has since been transformed by machines. For a decade beginning in 1975, Karpov held the world championship with a precision and discipline that made him not merely a champion but a teacher, his games becoming instruction manuals for generations that followed. His legacy endures not because the era he inhabited still exists, but because the philosophy he embodied — that deep understanding outlasts any particular system or moment — rem