Vassily Ivanchuk

Vassily Ivanchuk

Ivanchuk in 2006
Full name Vasyl Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
Country Soviet Union
Ukraine
Born (1969-03-18) March 18, 1969
Kopychyntsi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Title Grandmaster
FIDE rating 2722 (September 2016)
Peak rating 2787 (October 2007)

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk, also transliterated as Vasyliy or Vasyl (Ukrainian: Василь Михайлович Іванчук; born March 18, 1969), is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster.

A leading player since 1988,[1] Ivanchuk was ranked No. 2 three-times (July 1991, July 1992, October 2007).[2] His erratic results has seen him drop as low as 30th in July 2009[3] before returning to the top ten in the next list.[4]

Ivanchuk has won Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, Gibraltar Masters and M-Tel Masters titles. Ivanchuk was the 2007 World Blitz Chess champion,[5] won the Melody Amber rapid in 1992 and shared the combined event in 2010.

In 2011, by the decree of the President of Ukraine, Ivanchuk was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise IV degree.[6]

Career

Early years

Ivanchuk was born in Kopychyntsi, Ukraine. He won the 1987 European Junior Chess Championship in Groningen and first achieved international notice by winning the 1988 New York Open with 7½/9, 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.[7] He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1988, and entered the world top 10 the same year.[2]

Reaches world elite

Ivanchuk attained chess world fame at the age of 21 when he won the Linares tournament in 1991. Fourteen players participated, eight of them rated top-ten of the world, including World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, while the rest were all among the world's top 50 players. Ivanchuk narrowly edged Kasparov by a half-point,[8] defeating Kasparov in their individual game.[9]

It was widely believed that Ivanchuk might become World Champion. He has not so far achieved this, although he came close in 2002 when he reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002. While being consistently among the top 10 from 1988, Mark Crowther's The Week in Chess said that his erratic play was due to "poor temperament."[10] His inability to become World Champion despite his immense talent and longevity among the chess elite has been attributed to his admittedly poor nerves, demonstrated by astonishing blunders such as in the 1994 London Grand Prix blitz, failing to complete a strong attack on Viswanathan Anand in blitz with a basic and obvious mate in one, all despite having 1:14 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 Viswanathan Anand in the semifinals, only to lose to countryman Ruslan Ponomariov in a significant upset, denying him the World 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 unfortunate title split 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.[11] 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.[12]

Assessment and personality

Ivanchuk

In 2013, Gawain Jones described Ivanchuk as "possibly the most talented [player] ever".[13] Judit Polgár, when asked in 2012 to name chess players whom she considers geniuses, named only Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.[14]

"Chucky", as Ivanchuk is called, has been described by Anand as the most eccentric player in the chess world. Anand, tongue-in-cheek, gave his view on Ivanchuk like this:[15]

He's someone who is very intelligent ... but you never know which mood he is going to be in. Some days he will treat you like his long-lost brother. The next day he ignores you completely.

The players have a word for him. They say he lives on "Planet Ivanchuk". (Laughs) ... I have seen him totally drunk and singing Ukrainian poetry and then the next day I have seen him give an impressive talk.

His playing style is unpredictable and highly original, making him more dangerous but sometimes leading to quick losses as well.

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.[16][17] However, he soon recanted on this decision.[18]

Notable tournament victories

  • Lvov 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[19]
  • 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
  • Odessa 2006, 7/9 1st
  • Mérida 2006, 1st
  • Odessa 2007, 7/9 1st
  • La Habana 2007, 7½/9 1st
  • Foros 2007, 7½/11 1st
  • FIDE World Blitz Chess Champion 2007
  • 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 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.[20]

Team chess performances

Vassily Ivanchuk
Medal record
Chess Olympiad
Representing  Soviet Union
Thessaloniki 1988 Open
Novi Sad 1990 Open
Representing  Ukraine
Calvià 2004 Open
Khanty-Mansiysk 2010 Open
Yerevan 1996 Open
Elista 1998 Open
Istanbul 2000 Open
Istanbul 2012 Open

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:[21]

Notable games

At round one of Linares in 1991 the then only 21-year-old Ivanchuk gives up both his bishops for knights and then boxes Kasparov, then world champion, into complete passivity.[22][23]

Personal life

Ivanchuk was first married to chess Woman Grandmaster Alisa Galliamova. On November 18, 2006, he married for the second time.[24]

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.[25]

Doping test controversy

Ivanchuk was playing on board 1 for Ukraine in the 2008 Chess Olympiad held in Dresden. Going into the last round Ukraine was second with decent chances of placing 1st, and only a strong loss against a 10th-seeded USA would leave them without a medal. Ivanchuk was chosen to be tested for illegal substances in his system immediately after the last round.

In a major upset, the USA defeated Ukraine 3½ to ½ with Ivanchuk losing his game against GM Gata Kamsky, causing Ukraine to fall to fourth and miss out on a medal. Ivanchuk was in such a distraught state after the game that he was seen "kicking a large concrete pillar". Ivanchuk 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.[26] 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.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Fide Rating Lists - Archive: July 1988 - FIDE Rating List". fidelists.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
  2. 1 2 "All Time Rating List". Chess.eusa.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. ↑ "FIDE Top 100, July 2009". FIDE. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  4. ↑ "FIDE Top 100, September 2009". Ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  5. ↑ "Ivanchuk wins World Blitz Championship, Anand second". ChessBase. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  6. ↑ "Vassily Ivanchuk awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise IV degree". Chessdom. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Event Details: Adelaide (U20 World Championship), 1988". Chessmetrics. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  8. ↑ John Henderson (2 March 2002). "Linares 2002: Just How Much Wood Can a Woodchuck Chuck, Chucky?". Chessbase. Archived from the original on 2002-04-09.
  9. ↑ "Vassily Ivanchuk vs Garry Kasparov (1991) "Chess Boxing"". chessgames.com. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006". The Week in Chess. Archived from the original on 2006-08-26.
  11. ↑ Yasser Seirawan (2002). "From a Fresh Start to a New Dawn – Part 2". The Week in Chess. Archived from the original on 2002-06-09.
  12. ↑ "Tournament standings". FIDE. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  13. ↑ Peter Doggers (13 March 2013). "FIDE Candidates: Predictions". ChessVibes. Archived from the original on 2013-03-16. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  14. ↑ "KC-Conference with Judit Polgar". Crestbook. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  15. ↑ Shekhar Gupta (1 January 2004). "Talking with: Viswanathan Anand". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2004-06-03.
  16. ↑ "Ivanchuk threatens to quit professional chess". 26 November 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Vassily IVANCHUK: 'I was thrown out of the saddle'". Chess in Khanty-Mansiysk. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009.
  18. ↑ "Ivanchuk: Sorry, I am not quitting chess". 30 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
  19. ↑ "Ivanchuk Vassily (UKR) is the European Rapid Chess Champion 2004". FIDE. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  20. ↑ 47th Capablanca Memorial won by Ivanchuk Chessbase Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  21. ↑ "Ivanchuk, Vasyl". olimpbase.org. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Vassily Ivanchuk vs Garry Kasparov (1991) "Chess Boxing"". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  23. ↑ "Vassily Ivanchuk's Amazing Immortal Sicilian Defence Crush vs Kasparov in Linares 1991". YouTube. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  24. ↑ Evgeny Surov (21 February 2011). "В своей модели жизни удалось объединить игру и цирк" ["In my life model I managed to unify the game and the circus"]. chess-news.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "São Paulo Masters – Highway robbery in São Paulo!". Chessbase.com. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "Olympiad Dresden: The Ivanchuk Files". ChessBase. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  27. ↑ "Decision of the FIDE doping hearing panel". FIDE. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
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Awards
Preceded by
Alexander Grischuk		 World Blitz Chess Champion
2007 		Succeeded by
Leinier Dominguez
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