Efstratios Grivas (born March 30, 1966) is a
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
player who holds the titles of
Grandmaster,
FIDE Senior Trainer
FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating an ...
,
International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022
In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed.
International Arbiter
''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...
, and
FIDE International Organizer.
Early years
He was born in
Egio,
Achaia
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
and grew up in
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, in the neighbourhood of
Kallithea
Kallithea (Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a district of Athens and a municipality in south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth largest municipality in Greece (96,118 inhabitants, 2021 census) and the fourth biggest i ...
, as his family moved to the Greek capital in 1970. His registration at the Kallithea Chess Club in 1979 was his first contact with chess. Two years later he won the Greek Cadet Championship, under the guidance of FM Panagiotis Drepaniotis (1979–1981).
He wrote the book "The Grivas Sicilian".
Chess career
A relatively late starter, Grivas was taught how to play at a chess club when he was 13 years old. He was later trained by IM Dr.
Nikolai Minev (1981–1982), FM Michalis Kaloskambis (1984–1986), GM
Efim Geller
Efim Petrovich Geller (russian: Ефим Петрович Геллер, uk, Юхим Петрович Геллер; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Champi ...
(1987–1988) and IM Nikolai Andrianov (1990–1996). He took part in a FIDE training camp in Moscow in 1984.
Grivas has played in Greece for the following clubs: Kallithea Chess Club (1979–1994), OAA “Iraklion” (1995–1998), Kavala Chess Club (1999), AO “Kydon” Khania (2000–2005) and A.E.K. (2006-).
From 1982 until 1999 he represented Greece 186 times (12 in the National Junior Team and 174 in the National Men's Team), having participated in eight
Olympiads
An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games.
Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not unti ...
(1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998), three
European Team Chess Championship
The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...
s (1989, 1992, 1997), and twelve Balkaniads (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994).
His greatest success was winning the Silver Individual Medal (on 3rd board) at the
33rd Chess Olympiad in 1998. Other important successes were the Gold Individual Medal (on the 3rd board) at the European Team Championship in 1989, 4th place at the
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
The idea was the brainchild of William Ritso ...
in 1985, 1st place at the 1987 Munich international tournament (320 participants), 11th individual place (on the 4th board) at the
32nd Chess Olympiad
The 32nd Chess Olympiad ( hy, 32-րդ Շախմատային օլիմպիադա, ''32-rd Shakhmatayin olimpiadan''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male ...
in 1996, qualification of his club (OAA “Iraklion”) to Europe's best 16 clubs in 1997 (European Club Cup)
He scored the following at international tournaments: 3rd in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
1982, 1st in
Cap d'Agde
Cap d'Agde () is a seaside resort on France's Mediterranean coast. It is located in the commune of Agde, in the Hérault department within the region of Occitanie. Cap d'Agde was planned by architect Jean Le Couteur as part of one of the large ...
1983, 2nd in
Karditsa
Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of region of Thessaly.
Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BC. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the ...
1984, 3rd in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
1984, 2nd in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
1985, 2nd in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
1986, 3rd in
Xanthi
Xanthi ( el, Ξάνθη, ''Xánthi'', ) is a city in the region of Western Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Xanthi (regional unit), Xanthi regional unit of the modern regions of Greece, region of East Macedonia and Thrace.
A ...
1991, 2nd in
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru. Other villages in Gausdal include Follebu, Forse ...
1993, 3rd in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...
1994, 2nd in
Limassol
Limassol (; el, Λεμεσός, Lemesós ; tr, Limasol or ) is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the district with the same name. Limassol is the second largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population ...
1997, 1st in Hellexpo-Sportexpo 2001.
His handles on the
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club (ICC) is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC had over 30,000 subscribing members in 2005.John Black, Martin Cochran, Martin Ryan Gardner"Lessons Learned ...
are "E-Grivas" and "Gref".
Author
From 1982 on he successfully worked as a journalist in newspapers and magazines (in Greek and in English). Between January 1992 and September 1999 he was editor-in-chief and main contributor of the monthly magazine of the Greek Chess Federation, Greek Chess.
In 2010 he was awarded the
Boleslavsky Medal (best author) for 2009.
Administrator and organizer
He was a founding member of the Association of Top Greek Chessplayers (1995) and has since been a member of its Policy Board (Executive Secretary 1996-1997 and Vice-President since 1998). From 1996 until 1999 he held the position of Greek Chess Federation Technical Advisor. Finally, he served as a member of FIDE's Players’ Council (1998–2002). He holds the titles of
FIDE International Organizer (was a co-organizer of the 1999
European Youth Chess Championship The European Youth Chess Championship is organized by the European Chess Union (ECU) in groups under 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 years old. The first tournament was held in 1991, and the under 8 category was introduced in 2007. Until 2002 there was als ...
s in Litochoro Pierias with more than 1000 participants) and FIDE
International Arbiter {{No footnotes, date=April 2022
In chess tournaments, an arbiter is an official who oversees matches and ensures that the rules of chess are followed.
International Arbiter
''International Arbiter'' is a title awarded by FIDE to individuals deemed ...
, titles that are awarded according to specific requirements and are not honorary.
Trainer
His work in this field includes more than 12000 hours of training in many clubs, especially with younger players. From 1986 to 1991 he was the Federal Trainer of the National Juniors Team. During the period 1989–1990 he was the Trainer of the DEI Macedonia-Thrace Chess Academy, while during 1996–1998 and 2002–2004 he held the same position in Pnevmatiki Stegi Peristeriou Chess Club and finally during 2002–2005 he worked with Koropi Sports & Chess Club as well. In 2001–2002 he worked as a professor at the Institute of Professional Education in Peristeri and as External Contributor with O.E.E.K. (Sports Department - Chess Trainer Faculty) while from 2001–2004 he also offered his chess services to the Military Officers’ Academy.
In 2004 Grivas was awarded the title of
FIDE
The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
Senior Trainer.
Notable games
Efstratios Grivas vs Nigel Short, Ol. 1986, Queen's Gambit Declined: Tartakower Defense (D58), 1-0Efstratios Grivas vs Vladimir Tukmakov, Kavala op 1991, Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation (E17), 1-0Efstratios Grivas vs Zhaoqin Peng, Corus (Group C) 2008, Zukertort Opening: Queen Pawn Defense (A06), 1-0Efstratios Grivas vs Arik Braun, Corus (Group C) 2008, Slav Defense: Breyer Variation (D11), 1-0
Books
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*
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References
External links
*
*
Exclusive Video InterviewEfstratios Grivas at 365Chess.comOfficial WebsiteInterview*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grivas, Efstratios
1966 births
Living people
Chess grandmasters
Chess coaches
Greek chess players
Greek non-fiction writers
Chess writers
Chess officials
Chess arbiters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Sportspeople from Athens
20th-century Greek people