History of Chess

History of Chess

I find it interesting that the 1978 World Championship
tournament, where Anatoly Karpov defended his title
against Korchnoi. Of course, a lot was on the line
for Karpov.

He'd become the first World Champion to gain his title
by default, because Bobby Fischer refused to play
under the FIDE rules in effect.

Since a lot of people were still excited by Fischer's
win against Boris Spassky in 1972, they looked down
on Karpov.

So this was his first real chance to compete for the
title in a tournament actually played.

I'm curious as to where it actually took place.

Baguio is sort of high in the mountains of The
Philippines. It's not high by the standards of real
mountains such as the Rockies in the U.S. or the
Himalayas in Asia. But for The Philippines, it's pretty
high.

Although it's not a far distance north of Manila,
only 150 miles, it takes hours to drive. You'll be
told 5, but that's optimistic. I don't think I've
ever made it in that short a time. That's true, even now, along
the Marcos Highway. And the final route is up a long
and winding road that circles around the mountains.

They have done a lot of work on that road recently, so
I wonder what kind of shape it was in 30 years ago.