Russian chess legend Anatoly Karpov unable to get U.S. visa, friend says

FILE PHOTO: Former Russian chess world champion Anatoly Karpov (front) walks away from Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev, who decorated him with the Friendship Order, during an awarding ceremony in Moscow's Kremlin October 10, 2011. REUTERS/Alexander Nemenov/Pool/File Photo

(Reuters) - Russian chess grandmaster Anatoly Karpov has been unable for several months to obtain a visa to travel to the United States, his friend, the owner of a chess academy in New York who invited him to teach a summer camp there, said on Wednesday.

Karpov, 68, considered one of the greatest chess players of the modern era, has visited the United States regularly since 1972. He first applied for the non-immigrant visa in March and is still waiting for it to be approved, said Maxim Dlugy of the Chess Max Academy.