Looking through two autobiographies I have of Korchnoi, the main contraversial match with Petrosian was the one played in 1974. The main dispute was Petrosian’s table shaking, caused by his twitching leg. There is no mention of kicking. Here’s the excerpts:

Viktor Korchnoi: Chess is My Life, (published 1977, Batsford), on the 1974 match with Petrosian:

“During the first game a dispute arose. In recent years Petrosian had acquired the terrible habit of twitching his legs under the table, usually beginning this about an hour before the time control.”

“While my clock was going and I was thinking over my next move, Petrosian would sit in his place and cause the table to shake all over. ‘Its impossible to play like this; shall we sit at separate tables?’ … Petrosian stopped shaking the table, but after the game wrote a statement to the controlled about my behaviour. (I found out about this later)”

Game 4: “During the time scramble I found it difficult to sit at the table. Petrosian was rocking it, and causing it to shake by the rapid twitching of his leg. I went over to the controller to complain, but he merely shrugged his shoulders - what could he do to help? After the game I wrote a statement to the control team, to the effect that, despite repeated requests, Petrosian was continuing to behave in an unsporting manner, and was disturbing my play.”

Game 5: “An hour before the end of play, with the time scramble approaching, Petrosian sat solidly at the board, and when it was my turn to move, began shaking the table. What was I to do? I had already used up all the accepted ways of curtailing his behaviour. I gained the impression (and at the board, in a highly tense situation, a player senses his opponent much more keenly) that if earlier Petrosian had been shaking the table subconsciously, by habit, he now realised how much this disturbed me, and with the connivance of the controller wanted to utilize his opportunity. ‘Stop shaking the table, you’re disturbing me’, I said to him. Petrosian made out that he hadn’t heard what I said. ‘We’re not in a bazaar’ he replied. On seeing the commotion, the controller rushed up. ‘Calm down, calm down’ he said. Petrosian seated himself more comfortably, and again began shaking the table. What was I to do? I was playing a match for the world championship, and I was in a trap.! My clock was going, and Petrosian would not allow me to play. Then I uttered the sacred and at the same time naive words: ‘This is your last chance!’ Petrosian caught this (and, perhaps so did some of the spectators). On the other hand, I gained the chance to continue playing, under normal circumstances.”

Korchnoi’s updated autobiography, Chess is my life (2005, published by Edition Olms) goes into less detail, but he still talks about the table shaking incidents.

Petrosian apologised to Korchnoi, via a journalist (Alexander Geller) in 1984, weeks before he passed away.

Hope that info is of use to you.

Thanks! Yes, it was their game I was looking for to blog with the post..
If one could contact Paul and ask him .. wish it was me to play him!

I’m guessing you are referring to one of the Karpov games he played in South Africa - if so, no.

I recall that the game was Karpov vs Paul McAvoy, can’t remember who played what colour, but the gamescore was published in a Johannesburg Paper, I can’t remember if it was the Citizen or The Star. I do distinctly remember seeing a news clipping of the game score. (the reason I remember it was against Paul McAvoy is because Paul played for the Wits Chess Club while I was there. I never got around to asking him about the game)

And apologies, Mark, for confusing you with Craig Young. I think it was him that managed to get myself and Neil Kaplan to meet Karpov at Eddie Price’s house.

Thanks for dropping by, great to see you again.

I am the Mark Buswell referred to above! Great read on the blog. I shall have to rack my brain to remember the name of the pairing system used by Roosevelt Park Chess Club. Obviously it is named after the guy who invented it. Will get back to you.

Mark

I admire the challenging Korchnoj, to some extend a positional player, but a brilliant non-conformist one and although not a prodigy - but virtuous and very versatile, never achieved in his originality of idea, looking for the “exception of the rules”.

No matter when, where and against whom, Korchnoi goes always for a win - still very much alive!

Thanx a lot