Ivan Sokolov (
Cyrillic
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...
: Иван Соколов; born 13 June 1968) is a Dutch-
Bosnian
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 dist ...
player and writer. He was awarded the title of
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 ...
in 1987.
Sokolov won the 1988
Yugoslav Championship and in 1995 and 1998 the
Dutch Championship.
Before earning the GM title, he became a
FIDE 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 ...
in 1985 and an
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 ...
in 1986.
In 1987 and 1993, he won the
Vidmar Memorial.
In 2000, he won the 1st European
Rapid Chess Championship in
Neum edging out on tiebreak
Alexey Dreev and
Zurab Azmaiparashvili.
Following his playing career, Sokolov has become a successful chess trainer. From 2013 - 2016, he worked as a coach and second for
Salem Saleh and served as the trainer of the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...
national team. In 2016, he left his job in the UAE to coach
Iran's national team, a position that included extensive work with
Alireza Firouzja
Alireza Firouzja ( fa, علیرضا فیروزجا, ; born 18 June 2003) is an Iranian and French chess grandmaster. Firouzja is the youngest ever 2800- rated player, beating the previous record set by Magnus Carlsen by more than five month ...
. Sokolov became the coach of the
Uzbek national team in May 2022, leading them to victory in the
Chennai Olympiad later that year.
Bibliography
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References
External links
Ivan Sokolovchess games at 365Chess.com
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1968 births
Living people
Chess grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Dutch chess players
Bosnia and Herzegovina chess players
Yugoslav chess players
Dutch chess writers
Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to the Netherlands
People from Jajce
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