Russian chess grandmaster Karpov plays with convicts

Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion Anatoly Karpov has played ninesimultaneous games with Russian prisoners in the city of Murmansk, Northern Russia, Russian website Regions.ru reported Wednesday.

“Our prisoners adore playing chess. It’s allowed in our jails. Sometimes the criminals ask for an opportunity to play chess even in the investigative isolation wards” the head of the Murmansk Prison’s Educational Work Department Valery Chobatov said.

“The prisoners are very talented and formidable opponents. I always play to the best of my abilities. And, frankly speaking, although I have not yet lost it’s very difficult to play with such serious opponents. I drew several games this time,” the former Champion said.

A 52 year-old prisoner Sergey Gladyshev, condemned for murder, won qualifying matches against other convicts, but could not beat the famous grand master. He lost on the 52^nd move.

Igor Sabash, who has a Chess Master of Sports degree, managed to draw. Sabash has been playing chess since 1967.