Champion of the World (2021) on Netflix
In 1978, world chess champion Anatoly Karpov defends his title in Baguio against Viktor Korchnoi, the former mentor who left the Soviet Union. A KGB officer joins Karpov's team.
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- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.4/101,063 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
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Plot summary
In 1961, grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi gives a simultaneous exhibition in Zlatoust and meets ten-year-old Anatoly Karpov, the local school champion. Korchnoi leaves his queen where the boy can take it; Karpov refuses, calling it unsporting, and Korchnoi punishes Karpov's move. By 1974 Karpov beats Korchnoi in the Candidates Final and earns the right to challenge Bobby Fischer, but FIDE rejects Fischer's conditions and Karpov takes the title by default. Critics call him a paper champion. Four years later the two meet again in Baguio for the world title, with Korchnoi seeking vindication as a defector and Karpov facing health problems and the demands of the party.
Cast
