Background: Anatoly is a Russian chess grandmaster, hailing from the Soviet Union era. At the beginning of his canon, he is challenging the current world chess champion, Freddie Trumper, for the title in Merano, Italy. Freddie is staunchly anti-communist and doesn't hesitate to make his feelings known to all and sundry, making for a /very/ interesting match.
The already-drama filled match gains another notch in intensity when Freddie flies into a rage during one of the games and accuses Anatoly of cheating. In an attempt to salvage the match, Freddie's long suffering second and lover, Florence Vassey, arranges a meeting between Anatoly, herself and Freddie at the Merano Mountain Inn. The meeting doesn't precisely go as planned; sparks fly between Florence and Anatoly and Freddie shows up just in time to witness their kiss.
Anatoly is able to beat Freddie, thus becoming the new world champion. Immediately after, he also announces that he is defecting from the Soviet Union. Publically, he states that he only desires freedom. While this is certainly true, he also has fallen in love with Florence and wants to be with her.
They have a year of tranquility, then it's on to the next world championship, this time held in Bangkok (where the bars are temples and the pearls ain't free). The Soviet Union wants him returned to their bosom, however. Alexander Molokov, KGB agent and former second works in collusion with the CIA to make his life miserable. His estranged wife, Svetlana, is brought to Bangkok from Moscow in an attempt to remind him of where his loyalties should lay. Pressure is also placed on Florence by way of her father, long thought dead. If Anatoly loses to Freddie, her father (as well as certain CIA operatives) will be released from prison.
After much turmoil and debate, Anatoly throws the game and returns to Russia, believing this to be the best possible thing he can do for Florence. It is at this point he is whisked away to Tabula Rasa.
Personality: Anatoly is very quiet and reserved, preferring to present a picture of the perfect Soviet Machine to the world. It's not safe to express his thoughts and feelings, not with a KGB agent trailing his every step or lurking behind every door. It's been a hard lesson to learn, but he understands it is a part of his life and he must endure it.
For most people, chess is merely a board game. For Anatoly, it is life. He lives, breathes and sleeps chess; it takes precedence over all else, even family and friends. This obsession has cost him friends and all hopes of a harmonious family life, but he wouldn't change a thing if he could. On the chess board, everything is simple and easily controlled. He finds beauty in the pieces and the patterns he makes. He pities the unenlightened ones who can't see what he does.
He tends to deal with problems or uncomfortable issues by pretending they don't exist or if all else fails, running away. He has a fear of hurting people, and lately it seems that every decision he makes (to travel abroad for the various chess matches, defecting from the USSR, throwing the last match) has brought pain and discomfort to someone he cares about. It's better, then, to simply go it alone and leave the tough decisions to other people.
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