View source for Vitaly Tseshkovsky

{{Short description|Russian chess grandmaster (1944–2011)}}
{{Infobox chess player
|image = Vitaly Tseshkovsky2.jpg
|name = Vitaly Tseshkovsky
|caption= Vitaly Tseshkovsky, 1973
|full_name = Vitaly Valeryevich Tseshkovsky
|country = {{URS}}<br>{{RUS}}
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|9|25}}
|birth_place = [[Omsk]], [[USSR]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|12|24|1944|9|25}}
|death_place = [[Krasnodar]], Russia
|title = [[Grandmaster (chess)|Grandmaster]] (1975)
|peakrating = 2600 (October 2005)
|peakranking = No. 15 (January 1980)
}}

'''Vitaly Valeryevich Tseshkovsky''' ({{langx|ru|Виталий Валерьевич Цешковский}}; 25 September 1944, [[Omsk]] – 24 December 2011, [[Krasnodar]]) was a Russian [[chess]] [[International Grandmaster|Grandmaster]] and a former champion of the [[USSR]].

==Biography==
Tseshkovsky (Cieszkowski) was born in [[Omsk]] (his noble ancestors lived in [[Volhynia]]).

He was awarded the [[International Master]] title in 1973 and became an [[International Grandmaster]] in 1975.

His best tournament victories include first at [[Leipzig]] 1975, [[Dubna]] 1976, [[Yerevan]] 1980, [[Banja Luka]] 1981, [[Sochi]] 1981 and [[Minsk]] 1982. He was co-winner of the 1978 [[Soviet Chess Championship|Soviet Championship]] (with [[Mikhail Tal]]) and winner of the 1986 Championship.<ref>Cafferty & Taimanov 1998, pp. 179, 202.</ref> He beat some [[World Chess Championship|world champions]]: [[Vasily Smyslov]] at the Moscow Spartakiad 1974, Tal at Sochi 1970, and a young [[Garry Kasparov]] at the 1978 Soviet Championship. Tseshkovsky himself almost qualified for the World Championship candidates matches when he finished fourth in the 1976 [[Manila]] [[Interzonal]], one place lower than was needed to progress to the next stage. At the [[27th Chess Olympiad]] in 1986, he scored 2½/5 as the second reserve board to help the USSR team win the gold medal.<ref>[http://www.olimpbase.org/players/z3r5fl1j.html OlimpBase  Men's Chess Olympiads  Vitaly Tseshkovsky].</ref>

His 6/9 result in [[Saint Petersburg]], 2004 qualified Tseshkovsky to play in the Russian Championship final later in the year, alongside Russia's seven top players (including [[Garry Kasparov]] who won) and five other qualifiers.<ref>[http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1692 ChessBase.com - Chess News - St Petersburg wrap-up – part 2].</ref> In 2008 he tied for first with [[Farrukh Amonatov]] and [[Anton Filippov]] in the [[Georgy Agzamov]] Memorial tournament in [[Tashkent]]. In the following year he took clear first place in the same tournament.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Begmatov|first1=Jamshid|title=VI Georgy Agzamov Memorial – Tashkent Open 2012|url=http://en.chessbase.com/post/vi-georgy-agzamov-memorial-tashkent-open-2012/36|publisher=ChessBase|access-date=8 January 2016|date=2012-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Crowther|first1=Mark|title=TWIC 751: 3rd Georgi Agzamov Memorial|url=http://theweekinchess.com/html/twic751.html#8|publisher=The Week in Chess|access-date=8 January 2016|date=2009-03-30}}</ref> Tseshkovsky won the [[European Senior Chess Championship]] in 2009 and 2010.
In 2010, he also tied for 2nd-4th with [[Algimantas Butnorius]] and [[Nikolai Pushkov (chess player)|Nikolai Pushkov]] in the European Seniors’ [[Fast chess|Rapid]] Championship, which was won by [[Viktor Kupreichik]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/european-seniors-rapid-championship|title=GM Viktor Kupreichik Wins European Seniors' Individual Rapid Championship|publisher=Chessdom|access-date=11 April 2010|archive-date=29 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729000743/http://reports.chessdom.com/news-2010/european-seniors-rapid-championship|url-status=dead}}</ref>

{{chess notation}}
In the [[chess opening|opening]], his choice was 1.e4 with the white pieces. With Black he played the [[Ruy Lopez]], [[Sicilian Defence]], [[Pirc Defence]] and [[Modern Defence]] against 1.e4, and against 1.d4 he most often played the [[Grünfeld Defence]] and [[Benko Gambit]].

Tseshkovsky maintained a high standard of chess throughout his career, registering his highest [[Elo rating]] of 2600 in October 2005. As a coach, he assisted with the training of many high-profile players including [[Vladimir Kramnik]], [[Bartlomiej Macieja]] and [[Boris Savchenko]].

He died on 24 December 2011 in Krasnodar.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ruchess.ru/news/all/ushel_iz_zhizni_vitalij_valerevich_zewkovskij/|script-title=ru:Ушел из жизни Виталий Валерьевич Цешковский|language=ru|publisher=Russian Chess Federation|date=2011-12-24|access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> The cause of death was a heart attack that happened while he was at the chessboard participating in a tournament.

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book 
| author=[[David Vincent Hooper|Hooper, David]] and [[Kenneth Whyld]] 
| title=[[The Oxford Companion To Chess]] 
| edition=2nd
| publisher=Oxford University 
| year=1996 
| isbn=0-19-280049-3}}

*{{cite book 
| author=Cafferty, Bernard and [[Mark Taimanov]] 
| title=The Soviet Championships 
| publisher=Cadogan Chess 
| year=1998 
| isbn=1-85744-201-6}}

==External links==
*{{365Chess.com player|Vitaly_Tseshkovsky}}
*{{Chessgames player|15318}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tseshkovsky, Vitaly}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:Chess Grandmasters]]
[[Category:Chess Olympiad competitors]]
[[Category:Chess coaches]]
[[Category:Russian chess players]]
[[Category:Soviet chess players]]
[[Category:Chess players from Omsk]]