Igor Arkadyevich Zaitsev (russian: Игорь Аркадьевич Зайцев; born 27 May 1938) is a Russian grandmaster of

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 ...

Early life and family

Zaitsev was born in Ramenskoye, a town outside

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 ...

. His

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

father, Arkady Gevorgovich Aghaian, was a deputy commander of a

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

; his mother, Anna Fyodorovna Zaitseva, was a worker at the

Red Banner Textile Factory The Red Banner Textile Factory (russian: Трикотажная фабрика «Красное Знамя»; ''Trikotazhnaya fabrika "Krasnoye Znamya"'') in Leningrad (now St Petersburg), ''Pionerskaya ulitsa'' (Pioneers street), 53 was designed ...

Chess career

In 1969, Zaitsev attained the title of Moscow Champion by defeating

Yakov Estrin Yakov Borisovich Estrin (Russian: Я́ков Бори́сович Эстрин, April 21, 1923 – February 2, 1987) was a Russian chess player, chess theoretician, writer, and World Correspondence Chess Champion who held the chess titles of Inte ...

using the

Giuoco Piano The Giuoco Piano (Italian: "Quiet Game"; ), also called the Italian Opening, is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Bc5 "White aims to develop quickly – but so does Black. White can construct a pawn cen ...

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

. The next year, Zaitsev was given the title of

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 ...

and in 1976 he became a Grandmaster. Zaitsev played in six

USSR Chess Championships The USSR Chess Championship was played from 1921 to 1991. Organized by the USSR Chess Federation, it was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners ...

(1962, 1967, 1968–69, 1969, 1970, 1991), his best finish being joint 1st (coming 2nd after a play-off) in 1968-69. His results in international tournaments include 2nd at

Polanica-Zdrój Polanica-Zdrój (german: link=no, Altheide-Bad) is a spa town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Kłodzko, and south-west of the regional capital, Wrocław. As at 2021, ...

1970; 2nd at

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of ''naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and one o ...

1976; 1st at

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

1976.

Contribution to theory

Zaitsev is best known for his contribution to opening theory. His variation of the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez is named after 16th-century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura. It is one o ...

opening (known as the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, jointly named for Grandmaster

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

) follows one of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez and remains in wide use today. In the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, Black plays 9...Bb7 after the moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3. The move

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many " hypermodern" ...

es the light-squared

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, putting pressure on White's

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

on e4.

Coach

Zaitsev became one of the trainers of World Champion

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Ches ...

in the late 1970s, following the death of Karpov's

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Semyon Furman Semyon Abramovich Furman (December 1, 1920 – March 17, 1978) was a Soviet chess player and trainer of Belarussian Jewish origin. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1966. Furman is best known for developing Anatoly Karpov into a ...

in March, 1978. Zaitsev was one of Karpov's seconds in a number of his

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

matches, including the matches against

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

in 1984 to 1990. Karpov popularized Zaitsev's line at the top level, playing it with success for many years. Zaitsev is Honoured Coach of USSR and Russia. In 2006 he 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.

Books

*Зайцев, Игорь (2004). ''Атака в сильном пункте.'' Советский спорт.

Notable games

Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev vs Anatoli Karpov, Leningrad 1966, Russian Game, Center Variation (C43), ½–½Yakov Estrin vs Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev, Moscow 1969, Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack (C57), 0–1Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev vs Oleg Dementiev, USSR Championship 1970, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (B90), 1–0Apartsev vs Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev, Moscow 1963, Italian Game: Two Knights Defense. Traxler Counterattack (C57), 0–1

References

External links

Igor A Zaitsev
chess games at 365Chess.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaitsev, Igor 1938 births Living people People from Ramensky District Russian people of Armenian descent Chess grandmasters Chess theoreticians Chess coaches Russian chess players Soviet chess players Russian chess writers