Closing Gambit: 1978 Korchnoi Versus Karpov and the Kremlin

After Fischer beat Spassky in the 1972 World Chess Championship, the Soviets plotted to regain this coveted title by supporting Anatoly Karpov – a loyal member of the Communist Party. Fischer refused to defend his title and Karpov was crowned King, but his first title defence was against Viktor Korchnoi – a critic of the Soviet regime and high-profile defector since 1976. As the rivals fight on the chess board, their teams are locked in a war that includes espionage, parapsychology, coded yoghurts, KGB agents, death threats, and a mystic sect wanted for murder.