Gennadi "Genna" Sosonko (russian: Геннадий Борисович Сосонко, ''Gennady Borisovich Sosonk''o; born 18 May 1943) is a Soviet-born
Dutch chess player and writer. He has been awarded the title
Grandmaster (GM) by
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 ...
and is a twice Dutch champion.
Career
Born in
Troitsk, Russia, Sosonko won the
Leningrad juniors' championship in 1958.
He legally emigrated from the Soviet Union to the Netherlands via Israel in 1972.
Sosonko won the
Dutch Championship in 1973 and 1978 (jointly).
His tournament record includes 1st at
Wijk aan Zee 1977, 1st at
Nijmegen
Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...
1978, 3rd at
Amsterdam 1980, 1st at Wijk aan Zee 1981, 3rd at
Tilburg 1982 and 4th at
Haninge 1988. He also drew a match with
Jan Timman (+1 =0 −1) in 1984.
Sosonko played for the Dutch team at the
Chess Olympiad eleven times, in 1974-84, and 1988-96. He won two individual medals: gold at
Haifa 1976, bronze at
Nice 1974, and two team medals: silver at Haifa 1976, and bronze at
Thessaloniki 1988.
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 ...
, the World Chess Federation, awarded Sosonko the
International Master
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 and ...
(IM) title in 1974, the GM title in 1976 and the FIDE Senior Trainer title in 2004.
Arbiters / Trainers
Books
Sosonko has authored six non-technical chess books centering heavily on his chess life in the Soviet Union and his relationships with and memories of both leading Soviet players and lesser-known characters in chess history.
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References
Further reading
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External links
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1943 births
Living people
Soviet chess players
Dutch chess players
Dutch chess writers
Chess grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Chess coaches
Jewish chess players
Jewish Dutch sportspeople
Russian Jews
Soviet emigrants to the Netherlands
People from Troitsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast
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