What is Anatoly Karpov’s IQ?
No IQ score is on record. The record is ten years as world champion and a 2780 rating.
Anatoly Karpov’s IQ is unknown: no IQ test result has been published for him. What is documented is a chess record: the 12th World Chess Champion, who held the title from 1975 to 1985, and a peak FIDE rating of 2780 on the July 1994 list.
Anatoly Karpov’s estimated IQ
- A peak FIDE rating of 2780 on the July 1994 list, when he ranked first, according to Olimpbase’s reproduction of the FIDE rating lists.
- FIDE’s own profile lists him as International Master (1969), Grandmaster (1970) and “12th World Champion.”
- Ten years as world champion (1975–1985): crowned by FIDE in 1975, he defended the title against Viktor Korchnoi in 1978 and 1981, according to Chessgames, and lost it to Garry Kasparov in 1985.
- A second reign as FIDE champion from 1993, defending against Gata Kamsky in 1996 and Viswanathan Anand in 1998, per Chessgames.
This is an inference from a chess record, not a test result. No source gives an IQ test result for Karpov. A rating measures results against other players, not general ability, so the range borrows its width from this section’s other chess profiles rather than from any conversion of rating into IQ.
- Born
- 1951, Russia
- FIDE titles
- International Master (1969), Grandmaster (1970)
- World Champion
- 12th World Champion; title held 1975–1985, FIDE title again from 1993
- Peak rating
- 2780, July 1994 FIDE list, ranked first (Olimpbase)
- Last FIDE standard rating
- 2617, inactive (November 2026 list)
- Circulating figure
- None found; no published IQ test result
What an IQ of 135–155 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Anatoly Karpov is
FIDE lists Anatoly Karpov as a Russian grandmaster born in 1951. It gives his International Master title as 1969 and his Grandmaster title as 1970, and calls him a FIDE Ambassador for Life and the 12th World Champion. His last FIDE standard rating on the November 2026 list is 2617, shown as inactive.
Chessgames says Karpov earned the right to play Bobby Fischer for the title in 1975. Fischer resigned the title after FIDE rejected his match conditions, and FIDE crowned Karpov the 12th World Chess Champion, the youngest since Mikhail Tal in 1960. Karpov defended the title twice against Viktor Korchnoi, in 1978 and 1981.
His matches with Garry Kasparov defined the next decade. Chessgames says the 1984–85 match was aborted after 48 games with Karpov leading by two points. The following year he lost the title to Kasparov, then lost the 1986 rematch narrowly, drew the 1987 match and lost the 1990 match narrowly.
In 1993 Karpov regained the FIDE title against Jan Timman, after Kasparov had broken away from the organization. He defended it against Gata Kamsky in 1996 and Viswanathan Anand in 1998. In 1999 FIDE changed the rules for deciding the champion, and Karpov retired from championship competition, according to Chessgames.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
Anatoly Karpov: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1951Born in Russia, per FIDE.
- 1969Awarded the International Master title.
- 1970Awarded the Grandmaster title.
- 1975Fischer resigns the title after FIDE rejects his match conditions; FIDE crowns Karpov the 12th World Champion.
- 1978Defends the title against Viktor Korchnoi; he repeats the defense in 1981.
- 1985Loses the title to Garry Kasparov after a first match in 1984–85 is aborted.
- 1993Regains the FIDE title against Jan Timman.
- 1994Reaches his peak rating of 2780 on the July FIDE list, ranked first.
- 1998Defends the FIDE title against Viswanathan Anand; in 1999 he retires from championship competition.
Why no figure circulates
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
No IQ test result has been published for Anatoly Karpov, so Anatoly Karpov’s IQ score is unknown. A number attached to his name without a named test, a date and an examiner is a guess. For how such figures spread, see where celebrity IQ numbers come from.
A chess rating is not an IQ. It is a number built from results against other players. Karpov’s 2780 says he beat strong opponents, not what a test would give him. For what ratings can and cannot say about intelligence, see what chess ratings actually say about IQ and chess players ranked by IQ. The question of whether chess raises IQ is covered in does chess raise your IQ.
Anatoly Karpov’s estimated IQ, 135–155, matches Garry Kasparov (135–155), the one rival with a documented test: a 1987 session for Der Spiegel gave Kasparov 135. It is below Magnus Carlsen (145–160) and Bobby Fischer (160–180). It overlaps Mikhail Tal (140–155).
On the usual scale (SD 15), 135 is about 1 in 100 people and 155 is about 1 in 8,100. Carlsen’s page records a peak rating of 2882, 102 points above Karpov’s 2780, but a rating gap shows who won more games, not who is smarter. The percentile calculator works out any score in between.
How we read a number →No school, army or adult test result for Karpov is public. The FIDE profile, Olimpbase and Chessgames describe titles, ratings and matches, and none gives an IQ.
Lists Grandmaster (1970), International Master (1969), “FIDE Ambassador for Life,” “12th World Champion,” birth year 1951 and a standard rating of 2617 (inactive) on the November 2026 list.
Reproduces the FIDE rating lists. The July 1994 list shows Karpov at 2780, ranked first, up 40 points from January 1994.
Says FIDE crowned Karpov the 12th World Chess Champion after Fischer resigned the title; gives his 1978 and 1981 defenses against Korchnoi, the aborted 1984–85 match and 1985 loss to Kasparov, the 1993 regained FIDE title and the 1996 and 1998 defenses; lists 2780 as his highest rating in its database.
Explain why a chess rating is not an IQ and where the circulating chess-player figures come from.
Source of the portrait: a 2017 photograph by Veni Markovski under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata Q131674 identifies him as a Russian chess player.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Anatoly Karpov, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
No IQ figure circulates for Anatoly Karpov in the sources we found, although people do search for “Anatoly Karpov IQ.”
FIDE’s profile, Olimpbase’s rating-list history and Chessgames describe titles, matches and ratings. None gives an IQ. Garry Kasparov was tested in 1987 for Der Spiegel, and no matching test is on record for Karpov.
With nothing circulating, there is no spread to audit. 135–155 is this site’s estimated range for Anatoly Karpov and the only figure on the page. It rests on a chess record, not a test, so its floor, its top and its twenty-point width are judgments.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Anatoly Karpov — frequently asked
What is Anatoly Karpov’s IQ?
No IQ test result has been published for Anatoly Karpov, so his IQ is unknown. This site’s estimated range is 135–155. It is inferred from his chess record, including a peak FIDE rating of 2780, not from a test.
Was Anatoly Karpov world champion?
Yes. FIDE lists Anatoly Karpov as the 12th World Champion. He held the title from 1975, when Fischer resigned it, until he lost to Garry Kasparov in 1985, and he regained the FIDE title in 1993.
What was Anatoly Karpov’s highest chess rating?
Anatoly Karpov’s highest FIDE rating was 2780, on the July 1994 list, when he ranked first, according to Olimpbase’s reproduction of the FIDE lists. FIDE shows his last standard rating as 2617, listed as inactive.
Is Anatoly Karpov smarter than Garry Kasparov?
No test settles it. Kasparov scored 135 on a battery compiled for Der Spiegel in 1987, and no matching test is on record for Karpov. This site gives both the same estimated range, 135–155, because both rest on chess records.
How did Anatoly Karpov become world champion?
Chessgames says Karpov won the Candidates Final against Viktor Korchnoi in 1974, earning the right to play Bobby Fischer. Fischer resigned the title after FIDE rejected his match conditions, and FIDE crowned Karpov champion in 1975.
Does a chess rating equal an IQ score?
No. A chess rating is built from results against other players, not from an intelligence test. Ratings and IQ are related only loosely; see this site’s guide to what chess ratings say about IQ for the evidence.
How rare is an IQ of 135 to 155?
On a scale with an average of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, a score of 135 is about 1 in 100 people and 155 is about 1 in 8,100. No source gives either figure for Karpov, so these are estimates from his record.
How does my IQ compare with Anatoly Karpov?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other athletes profiles, starting with Magnus Carlsen.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
- Average IQ by country — how the scale behaves across populations
- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
- More on how IQ testing works — reliability, error and what a score can and cannot say
- More athletes profiles — same field, same method
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Photograph by Fryta 73 (2015), CC BY-SA 2.0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Photograph by Bert Verhoeff for Anefo (1972), CC0. Background removed for the portrait above. · Portrait © Frans Peeters, CC BY-SA 2.0. The background-removed portrait above is a derivative work and is likewise offered under the same licence.
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