Karpov was born on May 23, 1951, in Zlatoust, in the Urals region of the former Soviet Union, and learned to play chess at the age of four. Karpov was a candidate master by age 11. At the time Karpov became the youngest soviet master. Karpov won a gold medal for academic excellence in high schoo1. After highschool he went to Moscow State University in 1968 to study mathematics. He later transferred to Leningrad State University, and graduating there with a degree in economics.


Moscow State University