View source for Alexander Beliavsky

{{short description|Ukrainian-Slovenian chess grandmaster (born 1953)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{other people|Aleksandr Belyavsky}}
{{BLP sources|date=December 2019}}
{{family name hatnote|Genrikhovich|Beliavsky|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox chess player
|name = Alexander Beliavsky
|image = Beliavsky Bled 2002.jpg
|caption = Beliavsky at the [[35th Chess Olympiad]], Bled 2002
|full_name = Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky
|country = {{ubl|[[Soviet Union]] (until 1992)|[[Ukraine]] (1992–1995)|[[Slovenia]] (since 1996)<ref name=slo>{{cite web|url=https://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/player/Beliavsky,%20Alexander%20G..html|title=Beliavsky, Alexander G.|website=OlimpBase|access-date=3 August 2021}}</ref><ref name=slo2>{{cite web|url=http://www.chessdiagonals.ch/402840523|title=Tribute to Viktor Korchnoi|access-date=3 August 2021|archive-date=2 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002073817/http://www.chessdiagonals.ch/402840523|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|12|17}}
|birth_place = [[Lviv]], [[Ukrainian SSR]], Soviet Union
|death_date =
|death_place =
|title = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (1975)
|worldchampion =
|peakrating = 2710 (July 1997)
|peakranking = No. 4 (July 1985) <!-- https://www.olimpbase.org/Elo/Elo198507e.html -->
|FideID = 14602377
}}

'''Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky''' ({{langx|uk|Олександр Генріхович Бєлявський}}, {{langx|sl|Aleksander Henrikovič Beljavski}}; also romanized ''Belyavsky''; born December 17, 1953) is a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]], [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] and [[Slovenia]]n [[chess]] player. He was awarded the title of [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] by [[FIDE]] in 1975. He is also a chess coach and in 2004 was awarded the title of [[FIDE]] Senior Trainer.

Beliavsky was born in [[Lviv]], [[USSR]], now [[Ukraine]]. He now lives in Slovenia and has been playing for its national team since 1996.<ref name=slo/><ref name=slo2/>

==Career==

Beliavsky won the [[World Junior Chess Championship]] in 1973 and the [[USSR Chess Championship]] four times (in 1974, 1980, 1987 and 1990).

In the 1982–84 [[World Chess Championship]] cycle, he qualified for the [[Candidates Tournament]], losing to eventual winner [[Garry Kasparov]] in the quarterfinals of the [[World Chess Championship 1984|1983 Candidates matches]]. Beliavsky played on the top board for the USSR team that won the gold medal in the [[1984 Chess Olympiad]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chesspro.ru/interview/beliavsky_interview|last=Vasiliev|first=Yuri|title=АЛЕКСАНДР БЕЛЯВСКИЙ: ИГРАЮЩИЙ ДИНОЗАВР|website=ChessPro|date=8 June 2015|language=ru|access-date=4 December 2016}}</ref> Beliavsky was a mainstay at international tournaments throughout the eighties and early nineties, however, he did not perform to the highest levels. In the 1985-87 Candidates he finished 7/16, and neither did he qualify for the 1988-90 Candidates tournament nor the 1994-95 PCA Candidates tournament.

In tournaments, he was first equal at [[Baden bei Wien]] 1980, first at [[Tilburg]] 1981, second equal at Tilburg 1984, joint winner at [[Tata Steel Chess Tournament|Wijk aan Zee]] 1984 and joint second at the same event a year later. At the second [[Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World]] match in 1984, he was the top scorer for the victorious Soviet team, defeating [[Yasser Seirawan]] 2–0 and [[Bent Larsen]] 1½–½. Beliavsky won the [[Vidmar Memorial]] tournament four times: in 1999, 2001, 2003 (with [[Emil Sutovsky]]) and 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sah-zveza.si/mv12/mvarc.html|title=Dr. Milan Vidmar Memorial Tournaments|publisher=sah-zveza.si|access-date=6 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208055909/http://www.sah-zveza.si/mv12/mvarc.html|archive-date=8 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> He finished third in the [[Linares International Chess Tournament|Linares]] tournament of 1991, behind [[Vasyl Ivanchuk]] and [[Garry Kasparov]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Linares (1991) |url=https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=94061 |website=Chessgames |access-date=10 July 2021}}</ref>

From September 2009 to May 2010, he was the oldest person among the [[FIDE World Rankings|world's top 100 active players]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=149|title=Top 100 Players September 2009 - Archive|publisher=[[FIDE]]|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-date=6 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006181002/http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=149|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=153|title=Top 100 Players November 2009 - Archive|publisher=[[FIDE]]|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-date=19 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419103520/http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=153|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=157|title=Top 100 Players January 2010 - Archive|publisher=[[FIDE]]|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-date=11 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180511150620/http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=157|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=161|title=Top 100 Players March 2010 - Archive|publisher=[[FIDE]]|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-date=3 March 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303225737/http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=161|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=165|title=Top 100 Players May 2010 - Archive|publisher=[[FIDE]]|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-date=1 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501051515/http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=165|url-status=dead}}</ref> and he made a brief reappearance in June 2013 at age 59.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=261|title=Top 100 Players June 2013 - Archive|publisher=[[FIDE]]|access-date=7 September 2023|archive-date=20 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020000105/http://ratings.fide.com/toparc.phtml?cod=261|url-status=dead}}</ref> He competed at the [[2009 Maccabiah Games]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/2013-maccabiah-games---the-jewish-olympics-240713|last=Soffer|first=Ram|author-link=Ram Soffer|title=2013 Maccabiah Games - The Jewish Olympics|date=2013-07-24|website=Chess News|publisher=ChessBase|access-date=2019-11-14}}</ref> In 2013 he tied for 1st–8th places with [[Alexander Moiseenko]], [[Evgeny Romanov (chess player)|Evgeny Romanov]], [[Hrant Melkumyan]], [[Constantin Lupulescu]], [[Francisco Vallejo Pons]], [[Sergei Movsesian]], [[Ian Nepomniachtchi]], [[Alexey Dreev]] and [[Evgeny Alekseev (chess player)|Evgeny Alekseev]] in the [[European Individual Chess Championship]], thus qualifying for the [[Chess World Cup 2013|FIDE World Cup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theweekinchess.com/chessnews/events/14th-european-individual-championships-2013|title=14th European Individual Championships 2013|last=Crowther|first=Mark|date=2013-05-16|website=The Week in Chess|access-date=18 May 2013}}</ref>

Beliavsky shares [[List of world records in chess#Most wins against world champions|the record for having defeated the most undisputed world champions]]. He has defeated nine - every undisputed world champion from [[Vassily Smyslov]] to [[Magnus Carlsen]] except [[Bobby Fischer]] - a record he shares with [[Paul Keres]] and [[Victor Korchnoi]].

==Books==
{{Incomplete list|date=August 2008}}
* {{Citation
 | last = Beliavsky | first = Alexander
 | last2 = Mikhalchishin| first2 = Adrian |author-link2 = Adrian Mikhalchishin
 | year = 1995
 | title = Winning Endgame Technique
 | publisher = Batsford
 | isbn=0-7134-7512-9
}}
*{{cite book
 | author=Beliavsky, Alexander
 | author2=Mikhalchishin, Adrian
 | year=1998
 | title=Fianchetto Grunfeld
 | publisher=Everyman Chess
 | isbn=978-1-85744-204-5}}
* {{Citation
 | last = Beliavsky | first = Alexander
 | year = 1998
 | title = Uncompromising Chess
 | publisher = Cadogan
 | isbn=1-85744-205-9
}}
* {{Citation
 | last = Beliavsky | first = Alexander
 | last2 = Mikhalchishin | first2 = Adrian
 | year = 1999
 | title = The Two Knights Defence
 | publisher = Batsford
 | isbn=0-7134-8441-1
}}
* {{Citation
 | last = Beliavsky | first = Alexander
 | last2 = Mikhalchishin | first2 = Adrian
 | year = 2000
 | title = Winning Endgame Strategy
 | publisher = Batsford
 | isbn=0-7134-8446-2
}}
* {{Citation
 | last = Beliavsky | first = Alexander
 | last2 = Mikhalchishin | first2 = Adrian
 | year = 2003
 | title = Modern Endgame Practice
 | publisher = Batsford
 | isbn=0-7134-8740-2
}}

==See also==
* [[List of Jewish chess players]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{FIDE|name=Alexander G. Beliavsky}}
* {{OlimpBase FIDE ratings|Beliavsky,%20Alexander%20G.|Alexander G. Beliavsky}}
* {{365Chess.com player|Alexander_G_Beliavsky|Alexander G. Beliavsky}}
* {{Chessgames player|13755|Alexander G. Beliavsky}}
* {{OlimpBase player|mqiiswmk|Alexander Beliavsky}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beliavsky, Alexander}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Chess Grandmasters]]
[[Category:Chess Olympiad competitors]]
[[Category:Chess coaches]]
[[Category:Ukrainian chess players]]
[[Category:Slovenian chess players]]
[[Category:Jewish chess players]]
[[Category:Soviet chess players]]
[[Category:Soviet Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century Ukrainian Jews]]
[[Category:Slovenian Jews]]
[[Category:Slovenian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe)]]
[[Category:Chess players from Lviv]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of Slovenia]]
[[Category:World Junior Chess Champions]]
[[Category:Ukrainian emigrants to Slovenia]]
[[Category:Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games]]
[[Category:Maccabiah Games chess players]]
[[Category:Maccabiah Games competitors for Slovenia]]