Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi[3] (Russian: Вииктор Львоивич Корчноий, IPA: [vʲiktər

lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj]; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (until 1976) and
Swiss (from 1994) chess grandmaster and writer. He is considered one of the
strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion.[4]

Born in Leningrad, Soviet Union, Korchnoi defected to the Netherlands in 1976, and
resided in Switzerland from 1978, becoming a Swiss citizen. Korchnoi played three
matches against GM Anatoly Karpov. In 1974, he lost the Candidates final to Karpov,
who was declared World Champion in 1975 when GM Bobby Fischer refused to defend his
title. Korchnoi then won two consecutive Candidates cycles to qualify for World
Championship matches with Karpov in 1978 and 1981, but lost both.

Korchnoi was a candidate for the World Championship on ten occasions (1962, 1968,
1971, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1988 and 1991). He was also four times a USSR
chess champion, five times a member of Soviet teams that won the European
championship, and six times a member of Soviet teams that won the Chess Olympiad.
In September 2006, he won the World Senior Chess Championship.[5]