Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi ( rus, Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, r=Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, p=ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj, a=Ru-Ian Alexandrovich Nepomnyashchij.ogg; born 14 July 1990), is a Russian
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 ...
grandmaster.
Nepomniachtchi won the 2010 and 2020
Russian Superfinal and the 2010
European Individual titles. He also won the 2016
Tal Memorial
The Tal Memorial is an annual chess tournament played in Moscow from 2006 to 2018 with the exception of 2015, to honour the memory of the former World Champion Mikhail Tal (1936–1992).
Many of the world's strongest players compete. In 2014 it w ...
and both the 2008 and 2015
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid
Rapids are sections ...
events. He won the
World Team Chess Championship
The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent. It is played every two years. In chess, this tournament and the Chess Olympiads ...
as a member of the Russian team in
Antalya
la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 07xxx
, area_code = (+90) 242
, registration_plate = 07
, blank_name = Licence plate
...
(2013) and
Astana
Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
(2019). Nepomniachtchi won the 2015
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 ...
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 ...
with the Russian team.
In October 2016, Nepomniachtchi was ranked fourth in the world in both
rapid chess
Fast chess, also known as Speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz ...
and
blitz chess
Fast chess, also known as Speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz ...
. He has won two silver medals in the World Rapid Championship and a silver medal at the World Blitz Championship as well as winning the 2008 Ordix Open. In December 2019, he qualified for the
Candidates Tournament 2020–2021
The 2020–2021 Candidates Tournament was an eight-player chess double round-robin tournament to decide the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2021, played in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Ian Nepomniachtchi won the tournament with a round to ...
by finishing second in the
FIDE Grand Prix 2019
The FIDE Grand Prix 2019 was a series of four chess tournaments that formed part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship 2021. The top two finishers who had not yet qualified, qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2020–21. ...
. He won the
2021 FIDE Candidates tournament with a round to spare, which qualified him as the challenger in the
World Chess Championship 2021
The World Chess Championship 2021 was a chess match between the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen and the challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi to determine the World Chess Champion. It was held under the auspices of FIDE and played during Expo 202 ...
for the world championship title but lost his challenge to defending champion
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
. In July 2022, he won the
2022 FIDE Candidates tournament with a round to spare, thereby winning two Candidates tournaments in a row and again qualifying him to play in the
World Chess Championship 2023
The World Chess Championship 2023 is an upcoming chess match, taking place from 7 April to 30 April 2023 to determine the new world chess champion. The incumbent champion Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi, t ...
; additionally, he garnered the highest score in any
Candidates tournament since the modern format was introduced in 2013.
In October 2022, he won a silver medal in
FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022
The FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022 (WFRCC) was the second official world championship in Fischer Random Chess (also known as Chess960). The competition followed a similar format to the first championship in 2019, with qualif ...
.
Career
Early career
Nepomniachtchi learned to play chess at the age of four. His grandfather
Boris Iosifovich Nepomniashchy
Boris may refer to:
People
* Boris (given name), a male given name
*:''See'': List of people with given name Boris
* Boris (surname)
* Boris I of Bulgaria (died 907), the first Christian ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, canonized after his ...
(1929–1998) was a famous teacher and lyricist in
Bryansk
Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population:
Geography Urban la ...
. Ian's first coaches were his uncle Igor Nepomniashchy, Valentin Evdokimenko, international master
Valery Zilberstein
The French name Valery () is a male given name or surname of Germanic origin ''Walaric'' (see Walric of Leuconay), that has often been confused in modern times with the Latin name ''Valerius''—that explains the variant spelling Valéry (). The S ...
and grandmaster Sergei Yanovsky. At the age of five, Ian moved to
Bryansk
Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population:
Geography Urban la ...
with his first coach,
Valentin Evdokimenko
Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule, terco". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Scandinavia, Latin America ...
, and trained until Ian was thirteen. Under the guidance of his coach, he took part in the World and European Championships.
Nepomniachtchi won the
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 ...
three times. In 2000, he won the under-10 category, and in 2001 and 2002, he came first in the U12 championship. In 2002, Nepomniachtchi also won the
World Youth Chess Championship
The World Youth Chess Championship is a FIDE-organized worldwide chess competition for boys and girls under the age of 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Twelve world champions are crowned every year. Since 2015, the event has been split into "World Cade ...
in the U12 category, edging out
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
on tiebreak score.
2007–2009
In 2007, he finished second in the C group of the
Corus Chess Tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament is an annual chess tournament held in January in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. It was called the Hoogovens Tournament from its creation in 1938 until the sponsor Koninklijke Hoogovens merged with British Ste ...
in
Wijk aan Zee
Wijk aan Zee ( literally ''Neighborhood at Sea'') is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Corus ...
earning his first grandmaster (GM)
norm
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the envi ...
. Later that same year, Nepomniachtchi gained his second GM norm at the
European Individual Chess Championship
The European Individual Chess Championship is a chess tournament organised by the European Chess Union. It was established in 2000 and has since then taken place on a yearly basis.
Apart from determining the European champions (open and women's), ...
in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
. The third and final norm required for the GM title was won at the ''5th Vanya Somov Memorial – World's Youth Stars'' tournament in
Kirishi
Kirishi (russian: Ки́риши, ) is a town and the administrative center of Kirishsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Volkhov River, southeast of St. Petersburg. Population:
It was previously kno ...
. Nepomniachtchi won the latter event, edging out
Rauf Mamedov,
Parimarjan Negi
Parimarjan Negi (born 9 February 1993) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He achieved the grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 4 months, and 20 days, which made him the second youngest grandmaster in history at the time. As of July 2021, he ...
and
Zaven Andriasian
Zaven Andriasian (sometimes transliterated as Andriasyan; hy, Զավեն Անդրիասյան; born March 11, 1989, in Yerevan) is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and former World Junior Chess Champion.
Chess career
He won the 2005 European Yo ...
on tiebreak score.
By winning the
Aeroflot Open The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament; in 2013 it was converted to a rapid
Rapids are sections ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in February 2008, he qualified for the 2008
Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting
The Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting is an elite chess tournament held every summer in Dortmund, Germany. Dortmund is an invite-only event, with the exception that one slot at Dortmund is awarded to the winner of the annual Aeroflot Open in Moscow ...
. In this tournament, he shared second place after an undefeated run. In the same year, he also won the Ordix Open, a
rapid chess
Fast chess, also known as Speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz ...
tournament in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
.
He won the gold medal in chess at the
2009 Maccabiah Games.
2010–2011
In 2010, in
Rijeka, Nepomniachtchi won the
European Individual Championship with a score of 9/11. Later the same year, in Moscow, he won the
Russian Chess Championship
The Russian Chess Championship has taken various forms.
Winners by year (men) Imperial Russia
In 1874, Emanuel Schiffers defeated Andrey Chardin in a match held in St. Petersburg with five wins and four losses. Schiffers was considered the first ...
, after defeating
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, . (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (formerly representing Ukraine). A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, (until it was eventually taken ...
in a playoff.
In November 2011, Nepomniachtchi tied for 3rd–5th with
Vasily Ivanchuk and
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, . (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (formerly representing Ukraine). A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, (until it was eventually taken ...
in the category 22
Tal Memorial
The Tal Memorial is an annual chess tournament played in Moscow from 2006 to 2018 with the exception of 2015, to honour the memory of the former World Champion Mikhail Tal (1936–1992).
Many of the world's strongest players compete. In 2014 it w ...
in Moscow.
Nepomniachtchi's coach in 2011 was
Vladimir Potkin
Vladimir Potkin (russian: Владимир Поткин; born 28 June 1982) is a Russian chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster (2001) and a former European champion. He is also Ian Nepomniachtchi's trainer and one of the coaches of the Russian nat ...
.
2013–2015
In May 2013, Nepomniachtchi tied for 1st–8th with
Alexander Moiseenko
Alexander Moiseenko ( uk, Олександр Моісеєнко, ; born 17 May 1980) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster and the 2013 European champion. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Ukrainian team at the Chess Olympiads of 2004 and 201 ...
,
Evgeny Romanov,
Alexander Beliavsky
Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky (, ua, Олександр Генріхович Бєлявський, sl, Aleksander Henrikovič Beljavski; also romanized ''Belyavsky''; born December 17, 1953) is a Soviet, Ukrainian and Slovenian chess pl ...
,
Constantin Lupulescu,
Francisco Vallejo Pons
Francisco Vallejo, son of Ángel R. Vallejo Jiménez, military academy graduate in Law, and Felicidad Pons Gomila. He was born in Mahón, where the main hospital on the island of Menorca was located, but he has never lived there, but rather in E ...
,
Sergei Movsesian
Sergei Movsesian ( hy, Սերգեյ Մովսիսյան; born 3 November 1978) is an Armenian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1997. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Armenian team at the 2011 World Team Ches ...
,
Hrant Melkumyan
Hrant Melkumyan ( hy, Հրանտ Մելքումյան; born April 30, 1989, in Yerevan) is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and European Blitz Champion in 2011.
Chess career
He won the international Internet championship organized by the ICC ches ...
,
Alexey Dreev
Alexey Sergeyevich Dreev (, also transliterated as Aleksey or Alexei; born 30 January 1969) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1989.
Career
While being a promising young chess talent, he was for a period ...
and
Evgeny Alekseev in the European Individual Championship. The following month, Nepomniachtchi finished second to
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Shahriyar Hamid oghlu Mammadyarov ( az, Şəhriyar Həmid oğlu Məmmədyarov; born 12 April 1985), known internationally as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov , is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. he is ranked No. 1 in Azerbaijan and No. 13 in the world. ...
in the
World Rapid Chess Championship
The World Rapid Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under rapid time controls. Prior to 2012, FIDE gave such recognition to a limited number of tournaments, with non-FIDE recognized tourn ...
, held in
Khanty-Mansiysk
Khanty-Mansiysk ( rus, Ха́нты-Манси́йск, Khánty-Mansíysk, lit. ''Khanty-Mansi Town''; Khanty: , ''Jomvoćś''; Mansi: , ''Abga'') is a city and the administrative center of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug–Yugra, Russia. It stan ...
. In October 2013, he tied for first with
Peter Svidler
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (russian: Пётр Вениами́нович Сви́длер; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian chess grandmaster and an eight-time Russian Chess Champion who now frequently comment ...
in the Russian Championship Superfinal, finishing second on tiebreak.
Over the course of 2013, Nepomniachtchi's blitz rating surged from 2689 in January, to 2830 in December.
Nepomniachtchi won the silver medal at the
World Blitz Chess Championship
The World Blitz Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under blitz time controls. Since 2012, FIDE has held an annual joint rapid and blitz chess tournament and billed it as the World Rapid & ...
of 2014 held in
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
. In August, at the 5th International Chess Festival “
Yaroslav the Wise
Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was al ...
” in
Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...
, he won the Tournament of Champions, a rapid chess event held with the double
round-robin format featuring the six European champions of 2009–2014. At the
SportAccord World Mind Games
The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) inaugurated the SportAccord World Mind Games December 2011 in Beijing. For all sports, the meet was invitational and the events were not world championships. Beside satisfaction of the participating ...
, held in December 2014 in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, he won the gold medal in the men's
Basque chess
This glossary of chess explains commonly used terms in chess, in alphabetical order. Some of these terms have their own pages, like ''fork'' and ''pin''. For a list of unorthodox chess pieces, see Fairy chess piece; for a list of terms specific t ...
tournament.
In April 2015, he won the Aeroflot Open for the second time in his career, edging out
Daniil Dubov
Daniil Dmitrievich Dubov (russian: Даниил Дмитриевич Дубов; born 18 April 1996) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He achieved his final norm for the Grandmaster title at the age of 14 years, 11 months, 14 days in 2011. He i ...
on tiebreak, having played more games with the black pieces, and earned a spot in the 2015 Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Right after the end of the tournament he also won the Aeroflot blitz tournament. Later that year, in September, he won the Moscow Blitz Championship and one month later, he took the silver medal at the
World Rapid Chess Championship
The World Rapid Chess Championship is a chess tournament held to determine the world champion in chess played under rapid time controls. Prior to 2012, FIDE gave such recognition to a limited number of tournaments, with non-FIDE recognized tourn ...
in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
2016–2020
![Ian Nepomniachtchi Satka 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Ian_Nepomniachtchi_Satka_2018.jpg)
Nepomniachtchi won the 7th
Hainan
Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
Danzhou
Danzhou () is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of the Chinese island province of Hainan. Although called a "city", Danzhou administers a large area which was called Dan County or Danxian () until 1993. The administrative seat and urban ...
tournament in July and the
Tal Memorial
The Tal Memorial is an annual chess tournament played in Moscow from 2006 to 2018 with the exception of 2015, to honour the memory of the former World Champion Mikhail Tal (1936–1992).
Many of the world's strongest players compete. In 2014 it w ...
in October.
At the
42nd Chess Olympiad, held in 2016, he won the team bronze medal and an individual silver playing board 4 for Russia.
On 10 December 2017, Ian won a chess game against world champion Magnus Carlsen at the super tournament in London. In the tournament Nepomniachtchi, who was the leader after 8 rounds (+3-0=5), lost in a tie-break to Fabiano Caruana, who managed to catch up with the leader in the 9th round, and took 2nd place. On 27 December 2017, he took third place in the World Rapid Chess Championship, which ended in
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of th ...
.
In July 2018, he won the
46th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, scoring 5/7 (+3–0=4) to finish a point ahead of his nearest competitors.
In January 2019, Nepomniachtchi competed in the
81st Tata Steel Masters, placing third with 7½/13 (+4–2=7).
In March 2019, Nepomniachtchi contributed to
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
's
World Team Chess Championship
The World Team Chess Championship is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of 10 countries whose chess federations dominate their continent. It is played every two years. In chess, this tournament and the Chess Olympiads ...
.
In late May of the same year, he participated in the Moscow
FIDE Grand Prix
The FIDE Grand Prix is a biennial series of chess tournaments, organized by FIDE and its commercial partner Agon. Each series consist of three to six chess tournaments, which form part of the qualification cycle for the World Chess Championship or ...
tournament, which was part of the qualification cycle for the
2020 World Chess Championship. The tournament was a 16-player event. Nepomniachtchi defeated GM
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk (born October 31, 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. Grischuk was the Russian champion in 2009. He is also a three-time world blitz chess champion (in 2006, 2012 and 2015).
He has competed in five Candidates ...
in rapid tiebreaks during the finale, winning the tournament. This brought him a total of 9 Grand Prix points, placing him at the top of the scoreboard.
In December 2020, he won the Russian championship with 7.5 points out of eleven matches, edging out GM
Sergey Karjakin
Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin, . (born 12 January 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster (formerly representing Ukraine). A chess prodigy, he previously held the record for the world's youngest ever grandmaster, (until it was eventually taken ...
by half a point.
2021
In April 2021, Nepomniachtchi won the
2020/2021 Candidates tournament with 8.5/14 points (+5-2=7) half a point above second place
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave (; born 21 October 1990), often referred to by his initials, MVL, is a French chess grandmaster who is the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. With a peak rating of 2819, Vachier-Lagrave is the seventh-highest ...
. The Candidates win qualified Nepomniachtchi to challenge
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
in a match for the
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013.
The first event recognized as a world championship was the World Chess ...
in November–December 2021. Carlsen retained his title, winning 7½-3½.
In August 2021 Nepomniachtchi was Russia’s highest-ranked chess player, with a rating of 2792. This placed him fourth in the world and second in Europe (after
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen (born 30 November 1990) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster who is the reigning five-time World Chess Champion. He is also a three-time World Rapid Chess Champion and five-time World Blitz Chess Champion. Carlsen has h ...
).
From 26–28 December 2021, Nepomniachtchi participated in the 2021 FIDE World Rapid Championship, where he ended up as one of the joint leaders with 9.5/13 points, and scored second place after tiebreaks. As a result, he qualified for a playoff against
Nodirbek Abdusattorov
Nodirbek Abdusattorov (born 18 September 2004) is an Uzbek chess grandmaster and the 2021 World Rapid Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he qualified for the grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 1 month, and 11 days. FIDE awarded him the ...
, who also had 9.5/13 points and scored first place after tiebreaks. Nepomniachtchi held Abdusattorov to a draw in their first playoff game, but lost in the second. As a result, he ended up with second place in the event.
In December 2021 Nepomniachtchi played a friendly match with
Nornickel
Norilsk Nickel (russian: ГМК «Норильский никель»), or Nornickel, is a Russian nickel and palladium mining and smelting company. Its largest operations are located in the Norilsk–Talnakh area near the Yenisei River in the no ...
president
Vladimir Potanin
Vladimir Olegovich Potanin (russian: Владимир Олегович Потанин; born 3 January 1961) is a Russian billionaire businessman. He acquired his wealth notably through the controversial loans-for-shares program in Russia in ...
, which ended with victory for the grandmaster in the 38th move.
2022
Nepomniachtchi qualified for the
2022 Candidates tournament as the World Championship runner-up, and took an early lead in the tournament. He competed under the
FIDE flag, following FIDE's suspension of the Russian and Belarusian teams from international competition. In round 13, Nepomniachtchi clinched a victory in the Candidates after securing a draw against
Richárd Rapport
Richárd Rapport (born 25 March 1996) is a Hungarian-Romanian chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he earned his grandmaster title at the age of 13 years, 11 months and 6 days, making him Hungary's youngest ever grandmaster. He was the Hungaria ...
, going into the 14th and final round with a lead of 1.5 points. This guaranteed him qualification for the
World Chess Championship 2023
The World Chess Championship 2023 is an upcoming chess match, taking place from 7 April to 30 April 2023 to determine the new world chess champion. The incumbent champion Magnus Carlsen decided not to defend his title against Ian Nepomniachtchi, t ...
. He is the first player to win the Candidates tournament undefeated since Viswanathan Anand in 2014; additionally, he got the highest score of 9.5/14 in any Candidates tournament since the modern format was introduced in 2013.
Rapid and blitz rankings
In addition to his strength in
classical time controls, Nepomniachtchi is very skilled at
rapid and
blitz chess
Fast chess, also known as Speed chess, is a type of chess in which each player is given less time to consider their moves than normal tournament time controls allow. Fast chess is subdivided, by decreasing time controls, into rapid chess, blitz ...
. As of June 2021, Ian ranked 5th on the FIDE rapid list and 10th on the blitz list.
Personal life
Nepomniachtchi is Jewish. He is often referred to by the nickname "Nepo". He graduated from the
Russian State Social University
Russian State Social University (RSSU; russian: link=no, Российский государственный социальный университет, abbreviated as РГСУ) was the first public university in the Russian Federation to offer ...
.
On 4 October 2021, Nepomniachtchi appeared on the TV intellectual show ''
What? Where? When?
''What? Where? When?'' (russian: Что? Где? Когда?, translit. ''Chto? Gde? Kogda?'') is an intellectual game show well known in Russian-language media and other CIS states since the mid-1970s. Today it is produced for televisio ...
''.
Together with 43 other Russian elite chess players, Nepomniachtchi signed an open letter to Russian president
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
in March 2022, protesting against the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
and expressing solidarity with the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
people.
Video gaming
In 2006, he was introduced to the video game ''
Defense of the Ancients
''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA'') is a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) mod for the video game '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' (2002) and its expansion, ''The Frozen Throne''. The objective of the game is for each team to destro ...
'' (''Dota''), later becoming a semiprofessional ''
Dota 2'' player. He was a member of the team that won the Winter 2011 ''Dota'' tournament, and also served as a commentator at the ESL One Hamburg 2018 ''Dota 2'' tournament, using the nickname ''FrostNova''. He also plays ''
Hearthstone'' and introduced fellow Russian chess grandmaster
Peter Svidler
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (russian: Пётр Вениами́нович Сви́длер; born 17 June 1976), commonly known as Peter Svidler, is a Russian chess grandmaster and an eight-time Russian Chess Champion who now frequently comment ...
to the game. The two of them later provided feedback about the game to the ''Hearthstone'' developers.
Books
* Grandmaster Zenon Franco (2021). ''Nail It Like Nepo!: Ian Nepomniachtchi’s 30 Best Wins''.
imited Liability Company Elk and Ruby Publishing House .
* Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco (2021). ''Eight Good Men: The 2020-2021 Candidates Tournament''.
imited Liability Company Elk and Ruby Publishing House .
* Cyrus Lakdawala (2021). ''Nepomniachtchi: Move by Move''.
veryman Chess .
See also
*
List of Jewish chess players
Jews, Jewish players and Chess theory, theoreticians have long been involved in the game of chess and have significantly contributed to the development of chess, which has been described as the "Jewish National game". Chess gained po ...
*
List of Russian chess players
References
External links
*
*
*
* (2007–)
* (1999–2006)
*
*
Ian Nepomniachtchi chess games and profile at Chess-DB.com
Ian Nepomniachtchiprofile at WorldChess.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nepomniachtchi, Ian
1990 births
Living people
Chess grandmasters
European Chess Champions
World Youth Chess Champions
Chess Olympiad competitors
Russian chess players
Jewish chess players
People from Bryansk
Russian Jews
Competitors at the 2009 Maccabiah Games
Maccabiah Games medalists in chess
Maccabiah Games competitors for Russia
Maccabiah Games gold medalists for Russia
Russian State Social University alumni
Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine