Vasyl Ivanchuk

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Vasyl Mykhailovych IvanchukTemplate:Efn (Template:Langx; born March 18, 1969) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1988. A leading chess player since 1988,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ivanchuk has been ranked at No. 2 on the FIDE world rankings three times (July 1991, July 1992, October 2007).<ref name="All Time Rankings">Template:Cite web</ref>

Ivanchuk has won Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, Gibraltar Masters and M-Tel Masters titles. He has also won the World Blitz Championship in 2007 and the World Rapid Championship in 2016.

Career

Early years

Ivanchuk was born in Kopychyntsi on March 18, 1969. His father was a lawyer, and his mother was a physics teacher.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp He began playing chess after his father bought him a magnetic chess set for his birthday. The first chess book he read was Journey to the Chess Kingdom by Yuri Averbakh and Template:Ill.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

In 1985, he won the USSR Junior Chess Championship, and won bronze in the Ukrainian Chess Championship. The following year, he joined the chess faculty of the Lviv State University of Physical Culture.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

He won the 1986/1987 European Junior Chess Championship in Groningen and first achieved international notice by winning the 1988 New York Open scoring 7½/9 points, ahead of a field of grandmasters. He tied for first place in the 1988 World Junior Chess Championship at Adelaide, but lost the title on tiebreak to Joël Lautier.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1988, and entered the world top 10 the same year.<ref name="All Time Rankings"/>

Reaches world elite

Ivanchuk won the Linares tournament in 1989, 1991, and 1995. In 1991, of the fourteen players participating, eight of them, including World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, rated in the top ten in the world, and another two among the world's top 50 players. Ivanchuk beat Kasparov by a half point,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> defeating Kasparov in their head-to-head game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It was widely believed that Ivanchuk might become world champion. He came close in 2002, when he reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002. Ivanchuk consistently ranked among the top 10 from July 1988 to October 2002 and among the top 20 up to June 2009, but Mark Crowther's The Week in Chess said his erratic play was due to "poor temperament."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His results saw him drop as low as 30th in July 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but he returned to the top ten in the next list.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His inability to become world champion despite his immense talent and longevity has been attributed to his admittedly poor nerves, demonstrated by blunders such as at the 1994 London Grand Prix blitz, when he failed to complete a strong attack on Viswanathan Anand with a mate in one despite having 0:54 left on the clock. Ivanchuk's nerves were notably exposed during the high-tension atmosphere of World Championship match-format tournaments, such as in 2002 where he was heavily favored in the FIDE championship final after having defeated defending champion Anand in the semifinals, only to lose to countryman Ruslan Ponomariov in a major upset, denying him the championship. Subsequent match-play tournaments in World Championship cycles saw Ivanchuk consistently underperform; in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, Chess World Cup 2005, Chess World Cup 2007, and Chess World Cup 2009, he failed to advance past the third round despite being seeded No. 5, No. 1, No. 1 and No. 6 respectively in those events.

Ivanchuk's world championship aspirations were also dampened by the title split from 1993 to 2006. Due to obligations with FIDE, Ivanchuk and Anand did not participate in the 2002 Dortmund Candidates tournament for the Classical World Chess Championship 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was then narrowly excluded, on the basis of rating, from the rival FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. While he won one of the events of the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010, his overall performance was not enough to qualify him for the World Chess Championship 2012 candidates tournament.

Since 2013

Ivanchuk played in the 2013 Candidates Tournament, which took place in London, from 15 March to 1 April. He finished seventh, with a score of +3−5=6.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The tournament was notable for his unusually poor time management (he lost two games on time), as well as his major impact on the leaderboard despite being a tail ender: he managed to defeat both leaders Magnus Carlsen (round 12) and Vladimir Kramnik (round 14), resulting in Carlsen qualifying for the World Chess Championship by tiebreak.

In 2016, Ivanchuk won the World Rapid Chess Championship in Doha, Qatar, with a score of 11/15. He defeated Carlsen, among many others.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In July 2016, Ivanchuk began playing checkers and has achieved a certain level of success. In the World Draughts Federation's database, he achieved his peak rating of 1997 in July 2019, and his peak ranking at No. 1050 in July 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Playing style

Vasyl Ivanchuk is possessing of a unique and daring playing style consisting of extraordinary creativity fused with high-level technical play, often leading to considerable imbalances. Ivanchuk is well known for his imaginative play, seemingly breaking all principles with sudden sacrifices consisting of deep and immense calculation rather than material balances. The sharp contrast of Ivanchuk creating a narrow path, a path only fit for one to prevail and enter through.

Assessment and personality

Ivanchuk in 2004

The Oxford Companion to Chess (1992) describes Ivanchuk as follows: Template:Bq

The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games (1998) states: Template:Bq

Viswanathan Anand said in 2004 that Ivanchuk was the "most eccentric" player he had met: Template:Bq

When asked in 2012 to name the chess players she considered geniuses, Judit Polgár named only Ivanchuk, Carlsen, and Anand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Before the 2013 Candidates Tournament, Gawain Jones stated that Ivanchuk was "[o]ne of the most talented players, possibly the most talented ever".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, Garry Kasparov said that Ivanchuk belonged in the same category as the world chess champions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ivanchuk played board 1 for Ukraine in the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. Going into the last round, Ukraine was second with decent chances of placing first, and only a strong loss against a 10th-seeded U.S. would leave them without a medal. Ivanchuk was chosen to be tested for illegal substances in his system immediately after the last round. But in a major upset, Ivanchuk lost his game against Gata Kamsky, causing Ukraine to fall to fourth and miss out on a medal. U.S. defeated Ukraine 3½ to ½. Ivanchuk was so distraught after the game that he was seen "kicking a large concrete pillar". He refused to take a doping test and stormed out, risking punishment under FIDE rules and forfeiting his games in the event as had happened in the 2004 Chess Olympiad in Majorca.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ivanchuk was cleared when it emerged that he had not been warned of the test, and that in his distraught frame of mind, he had not fully understood the arbiter's request.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After a string of unsuccessful performances culminated in his elimination at the early stages of the 2009 World Cup, Ivanchuk announced, in a highly emotional interview, his retirement from professional chess,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> but he soon reversed that decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable tournament victories

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  • Lviv 1987, 11½/17 1st
  • New York Open 1988, 1st
  • Debrecen 1988, 10 8/11 1st
  • Linares 1989, 7/10 1st
  • Yerevan 1989, 8½/11 1st
  • Biel 1989, 9/14 1–2
  • Tilburg 1990, 8½/14 1–2
  • Linares 1991, 9½/13 1st
  • Reykjavik 10½/15, 1–2
  • Munich 1994, 7½/11 1st
  • Linares 1995, 10/13 1st
  • Horgen GER 1995, 7/10 1–2
  • Wijk aan Zee 1996, 9/13 1st
  • Belgrade 1997 6/9, 1–2
  • Tallinn 2000 6/7, 1st
  • Montecatini Terme 2000, 5/7 1st
  • Malmö 2003, 13 7/9 1st
  • European Individual Chess Championship 2004
  • European Rapid Chess Championship 2004<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • La Habana 2005, 9½/12 1st
  • Barcelona 2005, 4/5 1–2
  • Canadian Open Chess Championship 2005, Joint 1st
  • Tallinn 2006, 7/9 1–3
  • Odesa 2006, 7/9 1st
  • Mérida 2006, 1st
  • Odesa 2007, 7/9 1st
  • La Habana 2007, 7½/9 1st
  • Foros 2007, 7½/11 1st
  • FIDE World Blitz Chess Champion 2007<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Montreal International 2007
  • M-Tel Masters, Sofia 2008 8/10 2008, 1st
  • Tal Memorial, Moscow 2008, 6/9 1st
  • Tal Memorial (Blitz), Moscow 2008, 1st
  • Linares 2009 8/14, Joint 1st (Alexander Grischuk declared winner because of higher number of wins)
  • Bazna 2009, 7/10 1st
  • Jermuk 2009, 8½/13 1st
  • Amber Rapid 2010, 8/11 Joint 1st (with Magnus Carlsen)
  • Amber Overall 2010, Joint 1st (with Magnus Carlsen)
  • Capablanca Memorial Havana 2010, 7/10 1st
  • Cap d'Agde Rapid 2010, 1st
  • Gibraltar 2011, 9/10 1st
  • Capablanca Memorial Havana, Cuba 2011, 6½/10 1st
  • Grand Slam Bilbao – São Paulo 2011, Joint 1st (Magnus Carlsen wins the tie-break blitz games)
  • Capablanca Memorial Havana, Cuba 2012, 6½/10, 1st.<ref>47th Capablanca Memorial won by Ivanchuk Template:Webarchive Chessbase Retrieved 15 May 2012.</ref>
  • Edmonton International 2014, 8/9 1st<ref>https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=84301&result=1/2-1/2</ref>
  • Capablanca Memorial Havana, Cuba 2016, 7/10, 1st
  • World Rapid Championship 2016, 1st
  • Capablanca Memorial Havana, Cuba 2019, 7/10, 1st<ref>https://www.chess.com/players/vasyl-ivanchuk#recent</ref>
  • Menorca Open 2025, 8/9 1st <ref>https://www.chess.com/news/view/ivanchuk-wins-menorca-returns-to-top-100</ref>

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Team chess performances

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Ivanchuk has often been at his best in international team competitions. He has played in 14 Chess Olympiads, twice for the Soviet Union (1988 and 1990), and twelve times for Ukraine, after the Soviet Union split up in 1991. He has won a total of thirteen medals, and has been on four gold-medal winning teams (USSR in 1988 and 1990, Ukraine in 2004 and 2010). In 162 games, Ivanchuk has scored (+63 =87 -12), for 65.7 per cent. His detailed Olympiad records are as follows:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable games

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  • Ivanchuk vs Kasparov, Linares 1991

At round one of Linares in 1991, the 21-year-old Ivanchuk gave up both his bishops for knights and then boxed Kasparov, then world champion, into complete passivity.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Ivanchuk was married to Russian Woman Grandmaster Alisa Galliamova.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On November 18, 2006, he married for the second time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, Ivanchuk and his second wife were mugged the day they were set to leave from São Paulo, Brazil, on a plane bound for Spain to finish the second half of the Bilbao Grand Slam Masters. Ivanchuk threatened to withdraw from the tournament altogether, but his wife convinced him to continue. He had been leading in the tournament before this event, but did not play as well in the second half of the tournament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and honors

Notes

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References

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Sources

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