Korchnoi, virtually written off by commentators after his opponent surged into a 5-2 lead, fought back to level the scores before a rattled and exhausted Karpov rallied to defeat him in the final game.
Three years later, Karpov won a rematch comfortably by 6-2, but Korchnoi is still considered one of the strongest players to miss out on the world title.
The Russian chess federation paid a generous tribute to the man once considered by Moscow as a pariah, describing him as a "legendary grandmaster" with an enormous will to win.
Korchnoi died in Switzerland, where he lived for 40 years.
"The chess world loses its greatest fighter. RIP Viktor Korchnoi. We learnt so much from you," former world champion Viswanathan Anand of India said on Twitter.
(Reporting by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Louise Ireland)
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