Peter Leko ( hu, Lékó Péter; born September 8, 1979) is a Hungarian
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 and commentator. He became the world's
youngest grandmaster in 1994. He narrowly missed winning the
Classical World Chess Championship 2004
The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004, to October 18, 2004, in Brissago, Switzerland. Vladimir Kramnik, the defending champion, played Peter Leko, the challenger, in a fourteen-game match.
The match ended 7 ...
: the match was drawn 7–7 and so
Vladimir Kramnik retained the title. He also came fifth in the
FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.
Background
In the face of criticism of the knockout FIDE World Chess C ...
and fourth in the
World Chess Championship 2007
The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from 12 September 2007 to 30 September 2007 to decide the world champion of the game of chess. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament.
Viswanathan Anand of India won the t ...
.
Leko has achieved victories in many major chess tournaments, including the annual tournaments at
Dortmund,
Linares,
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 ...
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 Moscow. He won two team silver medals and an individual gold medal representing Hungary at eight
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...
s as well as team bronze and silver and an individual silver medal at three
European Team Championships.
Leko has been ranked as high as fourth in the
FIDE world rankings
The International Chess Federation (FIDE) governs international chess competition. Each month, FIDE publishes the lists "Top 100 Players", "Top 100 Women", "Top 100 Juniors" and "Top 100 Girls" rankings of countries according to the average rating ...
, which he first achieved in April 2003.
Early years
Peter Leko was born into an ethnic Hungarian family in the city of
Subotica, Yugoslavia but moved to
Szeged
Szeged ( , ; see also other alternative names) is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat of Csongrád-Csanád county. The University of Szeged is one of the m ...
when he was one year old. He was taught chess by his father shortly before he turned seven and took part in tournaments from the age of nine.
[ His first coach Tibor Károlyi began work with him in 1989, ending three months before Leko became a grandmaster. They later reunited in 1998 until the end of 2000. Leko also worked with International Master Gaspar Mathe when he was ten years old.
As a junior player, Leko competed in several age categories in 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 ...
, winning bronze in the under-10 section in 1989, bronze in the under-12 in 1990, fourth place in the under-14 in 1992, silver in the under-14 in 1993 and gold in the under-16 in 1994.
Leko earned the International Master title in 1992. In 1994 he became a Grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 4 months and 22 days, at the time the youngest to have done so, breaking the record previously held by Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár (born 23 July 1976) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster, generally considered the strongest female chess player of all time. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, at the time the yo ...
. His norms came at a First Saturday tournament in Budapest and Leon (sharing third place with 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 ...
and Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by wi ...
) in 1993, and shared third place at Hoogovens
Koninklijke Hoogovens known as Koninklijke Nederlandse Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken (KNHS) until 1996 or informally Hoogovens. was a Dutch steel producer founded in 1918. Since 2010, the plant is named Tata Steel IJmuiden.
The IJmuiden steelwor ...
in 1994.
Rising to the top
Leko showed his class in winning at Copenhagen in 1995 with 8 points out of 11 games. Soon after, Leko competed at Dortmund where he shared third place (5 points out of 9 games) with Vassily Ivanchuk, backing up his new world ranking, placing him 55th with 2605 Elo. At Belgrade, a last round loss to Ivanchuk pushed him down to eighth place. He slipped to last place in Dortmund in 1996 but recovered with fourth place in Vienna (5/9). In 1997, Leko won in Cienfuegos (5/9) and Yopal (6½/9) and took fourth place at the traditional Tilburg chess tournament
The Tilburg chess tournament was a series of very strong chess tournaments held in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was established in 1977 and ran continuously through 1994 under the sponsorship of Interpolis, an insurance company. Fontys Hogescholen sho ...
(7/11) establishing him as a rising star, climbing to 16th in the world rankings in the January 1998 list.
Leko continued his rise up the rankings with second place (7/11) behind Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating o ...
at Tilburg in 1998, fourth place (5/9) in Dortmund and fourth place (6½/14) at Linares in early 1999. Leko's run of form culminated in achieving his first major tournament win (5/7) at Dortmund, half a point ahead of Vladimir Kramnik. It was at this tournament that he met his future wife, Sofia.
He made his first entry into World Championship tournaments at the FIDE World Chess Championship 1999
The FIDE World Chess Championship 1999 was held at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip between 31 July and 28 August 1999. The championship was won by Russian Alexander Khalifman, making him the FIDE World Chess Champion.
Format
The format was ...
held in Las Vegas, defeating Christian Bauer
Christian Bauer (born 11 January 1977) is a French chess grandmaster and author. He is a three-time French Chess Champion (1996, 2012, 2015).
In 2005 he won the 2nd Calvia Chess Festival. In 2009, came first at Vicente Bonil ahead of 21 GMs an ...
1½-½ but losing to eventual quarter-finalist 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 ...
after rapid tiebreaks 2½-1½. In January 2000, Leko faced the winner, FIDE World Champion Alexander Khalifman in a six-game match held in Budapest, which he won 4½-1½.
Leko followed up his victory by sharing second place (8/13) with Kramnik and Anand at Corus behind a dominant 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 ...
, sharing last place (4½/10) at Linares and sharing second place (5/8) with Kramnik at Dortmund. At the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 was held in New Delhi, India, and Tehran, Iran. The first six rounds were played in New Delhi between 27 November and 15 December 2000, and the final match in Tehran started on 20 December and ended on 24 De ...
held in New Delhi
New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
(rounds 1-6) and Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
(final), Leko was knocked out in the third round by Khalifman (4½-3½) after "sudden death" tiebreaks.
In 2001, Leko posted solid results in Corus (6½/13), Linares (4½/10), third place in Dortmund (5½/10) and winning an eight-game Chess 960
Fischer random chess, also known as Chess960 (often read in this context as 'chess nine-sixty' instead of 'chess nine hundred sixty'), is a variation of the game of chess invented by the former world chess champion Bobby Fischer. Fischer announ ...
(Fischer Random Chess) match against Michael Adams at Mainz. The year was rounded off with an early exit in the second round of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2002 was held in Moscow, Russia. The first six rounds were played between 27 November and 14 December 2001, and the final match started on 16 January and ended on 23 January 2002. The Ukrainian Grandmaster Rusla ...
, held in Moscow, at the hands of Ashot Anastasian
Ashot Anastasian ( hy, Աշոտ Անաստասյան; 10 July 1964 – 26 December 2016) was an Armenian chess Grandmaster. He won two team bronze medals and one individual gold medal at Chess Olympiads. On the March 2011 FIDE list, he had an ...
(2½-1½) after rapid tiebreaks.
Leko started 2002 solidly with a sixth-place finish (7/13) at Corus, sharing third place (4½/9) in the NAO Masters held in Cannes and second place (7/9) at Essen behind Vadim Zvjaginsev
Vadim Zvjaginsev (; born 18 August 1976 in Moscow) is a Russian chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 1994. He played for the gold medal-winning Russian team in the 1997 World Team Chess Championship and in the 1998 Che ...
.
Classical World Championship Challenger
Under the terms of the Prague Agreement signed in May 2002, "The Dortmund winner will play the Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik and the present FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov will play Garry Kasparov, the current World's number one rated player".
The Dortmund Chess Meeting was held in June 2002 with the format a two-stage event, with two-four player groups played as double round robins, with the two top players from each group progressing to a knockout stage determining the winner.
Leko qualified comfortably from the B Group in second place to Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Ilgizovich Bareev (russian: Евгений Ильгизович Бареев; born 21 November 1966) is a Russian-Canadian chess player and trainer. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1989, he was ranked fourth in the FIDE world r ...
and faced Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov (, lv, Aleksejs Širovs; born 4 July 1972) is a Latvian and Spanish chess player. Shirov was ranked number two in the world in 1994.
He won a match against Vladimir Kramnik in 1998 to qualify to play as challenger for the classic ...
in a four-game match. This ended early with the score 2½-½ in Leko's favour. In the final of the Tournament Leko met Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by wi ...
, who had been in good form in the run up to the tournament but had a draining match which had gone to tiebreaks against Bareev in the semi-finals. The match was won by Leko 2½-1½, ensuring he became the official challenger to Vladimir Kramnik for the Classical World Chess Championship 2004
The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004, to October 18, 2004, in Brissago, Switzerland. Vladimir Kramnik, the defending champion, played Peter Leko, the challenger, in a fourteen-game match.
The match ended 7 ...
.
His Candidates triumph was followed up by leading the Hungarian team on board one to team silver in the 35th Chess Olympiad with an unbeaten run, along with sharing first (7/12) at Linares in early 2003 with Kramnik, half a point ahead of Anand and Kasparov, notably ending a ten super-tournament winning streak by Kasparov. This was shortly followed up by second place at the 12th Amber Melody tournament (Blind 6/11, Rapid 7½/11) a point behind Anand, and a solid result (5/9) in Budapest. At Dortmund, Leko disappointed with 4/10, considered to be due to the difficulties regarding the organising of the match with Kramnik.
2004 started brightly for Leko with shared second place (8/13) with Adams in Corus, half a point behind Anand and sharing second place (6½/12) with Kasparov in Linares, half a point behind Kramnik. He competed as part of an Armenia vs Rest of the World match, scoring 4/6 and finished in fourth place in Dortmund (held in the same format as the Candidates Tournament in 2002 but with play-offs for final positions).
Classical World Championship Match
After several delays due to the collapse of the Einstein Group, who were originally to have organised the match, Leko contested the Classical World Chess Championship 2004
The Classical World Chess Championship 2004 was held from September 25, 2004, to October 18, 2004, in Brissago, Switzerland. Vladimir Kramnik, the defending champion, played Peter Leko, the challenger, in a fourteen-game match.
The match ended 7 ...
held from September 25 to October 18, 2004, in Brissago
Brissago () is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Brissago lies on the western shore of Lake Maggiore and includes the Brissago Islands.
History
An ax and ceramic pieces from the Neolithic era as we ...
, Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. Leko was helped by Vladimir Akopian, Arshak Petrosian
Arshak B. Petrosian ( hy, Արշակ Պետրոսյան; born December 16, 1953) is an Armenian chess player and National Coach. FIDE awarded him the International Grandmaster title in 1984. He won the Armenian Chess Championship in 1974 and 1976 ...
and Vladislav Tkachiev
Vladislav Tkachiev (, born Moscow November 9, 1973) is a Russian-born Kazakh-French chess player.
Biography
In 1982, he moved to Kazakhstan with his parents and learnt to play chess a year later. A winner of the Kazakhstani Youth Championship in ...
.
In a match containing six games agreed as drawn before 25 moves, Leko lost the first game in dramatic fashion despite placing Kramnik's Petroff Defence
Petrov's Defence or the Petrov Defence (also called Petroff Defence, Petrov's Game, Russian Defence, or Russian Game – russian: Русская партия) is a chess opening characterised by the following moves:
:1. e4 e5
:2. Nf3 Nf6
Th ...
under pressure after making a blunder in an unbalanced endgame where his Queen was slowly outmanoeuvred by Kramnik's pair of Rooks. Then followed two short draws and a hard-fought draw in Game 4 where Leko over-pressed with Black in a Ruy Lopez opening but Kramnik failed to take advantage of an extra pawn in the rook endgame.
Leko equalised the match score in Game 5 after switching his White opening from 1.e4 to 1.d4 playing a Queen's Gambit Declined
The Queen's Gambit Declined (or QGD) is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:
:1. d4 d5
:2. c4 e6
This is known as the ''Orthodox Line'' of the Queen's Gambit Declined. When the "Queen's Gambi ...
line that Kramnik was familiar with. Kramnik allowed himself to enter a Rook and Bishop endgame a pawn down but with the likely result a draw. Leko used his pawns to press through the centre. Kramnik believed he could construct a fortress and save a draw but Leko managed to find a way to convert the win. In game six, a short draw was agreed after Kramnik declined a pawn sacrifice. In game seven, Leko was surprised by an unusual move order in the opening and simplified the position leading to a draw soon after, closing out the first half of the match with the score 3½–3½.
In Game 8, Leko scored an important win, taking the match lead for the first time. For the first time Kramnik allowed Leko to play the aggressive Marshall Attack
The Marshall Attack (also called the Marshall Gambit) is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
: 1. e4 e5
: 2. Nf3 Nc6
: 3. Bb5 a6
: 4. Ba4 Nf6
: 5. O-O Be7
: 6. Re1 b5
: 7. Bb3 O-O
: 8. c3 d5
The Marshall Attack is an agg ...
variation of the Ruy Lopez. Kramnik played a queen sacrifice and continuation which his team had believed via computer analysis to be fine for him. However, Leko exploited a hole in the preparation and by sacrificing material created a decisive advantage.
Between two short draws in Game 9 and 11, notable for Kramnik's change of opening with Black to Queen's Indian Defence
The Queen's Indian Defense (QID) is a chess opening defined by the moves:
:1. d4 Nf6
:2. c4 e6
:3. Nf3 b6
The opening is a solid defense to the Queen's Pawn Game. 3...b6 increases Black's control over the central light squares e4 and d5 by ...
, Game 10 saw Leko eventually finding a successful defence to Kramnik's opening advantage. That was enough to persuade Leko to change his opening with Black to the Caro-Kann for Game 12. Kramnik pressed but Leko found enough counterplay to repel him and secure a draw.
In the penultimate Game 13, in search of a win, Kramnik switched opening again with Black to the dynamic Benoni Defence and launched a kingside attack in the middlegame while Leko's pieces were on the queenside. Leko managed to liquidate the position to a tense Rook and pawn endgame where Leko's precise defence nullified Kramnik's advantage, leading to a draw.
In a dramatic final game, with Leko needing only a draw to secure the Championship, Kramnik chose the Advance variation against Leko's Caro-Kann and placed immediate pressure on Leko using a line played during the Tal–Botvinnik World Championship Match of 1961. Leko's plan to exchange off White's pieces and form a fortress did not work and Kramnik was able to break through the Black position. Leko resigned when checkmate was threatened. Under the rules of the match, with the score tied 7–7, Kramnik retained his title as "Classical" World Champion and would move on to an eventual reunification match against Veselin Topalov in 2006. By virtue of a draw, Leko became vice-champion.
Career after Brissago
Despite the drawn match, Leko maintained a high level in 2005, winning the Corus tournament with 8½/13. and finishing fourth at Linares (6/12). After taking a break, Leko attended the first Miskolc
Miskolc ( , , ; Czech language, Czech and sk, Miškovec; german: Mischkolz; yi, script=Latn, Mishkoltz; ro, Mișcolț) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 (1 Jan 2014) Miskolc is the ...
Rapid match against World No.7 Michael Adams in which Leko lost the first three games, won the next three and drew out the remaining two, ending the match 4-4. A 4/9 at Dortmund was followed by competing for the FIDE 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 ...
title in San Luis, Argentina
San Luis () is the capital city of San Luis Province in the Cuyo region of Argentina. It is also the seat of the Juan Martín de Pueyrredón Department.
City information
Points of interest in the city include the Park of the Nations, the neo ...
having qualified as most recent "Classical" challenger, finishing fifth with 6½/14. For more information, see FIDE World Chess Championship 2005
The FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 took place in Potrero de los Funes, San Luis Province in Argentina from September 27 to October 16, 2005. It was won by Veselin Topalov.
Background
In the face of criticism of the knockout FIDE World Chess C ...
.
In 2006, Leko scored solid results at Corus (tied 7th, 6½/14), Morelia-Linares (fifth, 7½/14), a 4½-3½ win in the Miskolc Rapid match against 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 ...
, Dortmund (tied third, 4/7) and in sharing first place with 5½/9 at the inaugural 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 ...
, he completed a career "Grand Slam" of major tournament victories at Dortmund, Linares, Corus and Tal Memorial. The next year, Leko struggled at Morelia-Linares tying for last place and lost the Miskolc Rapid match 4½-3½ against Vladimir Kramnik soon after.
Leko regained his form for the Candidates Matches held between 26 May and 13 June, held to select 4 players for the World Chess Championship 2007
The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from 12 September 2007 to 30 September 2007 to decide the world champion of the game of chess. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament.
Viswanathan Anand of India won the t ...
. The format was held as a 16-player two-round knockout tournament with each match best of six games. He comfortably won his matches against Mikhail Gurevich (+3−0=1) and Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Ilgizovich Bareev (russian: Евгений Ильгизович Бареев; born 21 November 1966) is a Russian-Canadian chess player and trainer. Awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 1989, he was ranked fourth in the FIDE world r ...
(+2−0=3), to qualify for the eight-player championship tournament. A few months later, he won the ACP World Rapid Chess Cup. Shortly after the World Chess Championship 2007
The World Chess Championship 2007 was held in Mexico City, from 12 September 2007 to 30 September 2007 to decide the world champion of the game of chess. It was an eight-player, double round robin tournament.
Viswanathan Anand of India won the t ...
was held in Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
from 12–30 September as an 8-player double round robin. Leko finished in fourth place with 7/14 and rounded off the year tying for third place (4½/9) at the Tal Memorial.
In 2008, Leko tied for fifth in a strong field at Corus with 7/13 but tied for last place in Morelia-Linares with 5½/14 and lost a Miskolc Rapid match 3½-4½ against 17-year-old 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 ...
, but rebounded 4 months later with his third victory at Dortmund (after 1999 and 2002) with 4½/7, sixth place (4½/9) in a tough field at the Tal Memorial and securing individual gold on board 1 at the 38th Chess Olympiad held in Dresden.
Leko took part in the FIDE Grand Prix 2008-2010 which selected two players for the 2011 Candidates Tournament, electing to play in the four later tournaments in the 6-tournament cycle. In Elista
Elista (russian: Элиста́, (common during the Soviet era) or (most common pronunciation used after 1992 and in Kalmykia itself);"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. ...
, Russia, he shared fifth place with 6½/13, in Nalchik shared second with 7½/13, shared fourth at Jermuk
Jermuk ( hy, Ջերմուկ) is a mountain spa town and the center of the Jermuk Municipality of the Vayots Dzor Province in southern Armenia, at a road distance of east of the provincial capital Yeghegnadzor. It was considered one of the popular ...
with 7½/13 and shared seventh place at Astrakhan
Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...
with 6½/13. With his weakest result at Astrakhan not counting towards his points tally, he finished in seventh place overall with 320 points, the highest final placing of a player who did not win an event. As he did not take part in the World Cup held in 2011, Leko did not progress to the Candidates Tournament.
Aside from the FIDE Grand Prix cycle, 2009 saw Leko lose a Miskolc Rapid match 3-5 against Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating o ...
, tie for second place with 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 ...
and Dmitry Jakovenko
Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko (russian: Дмитрий Олегович Яковенко; born 28 June 1983) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001. Jakovenko was European champion in 2012. He was a member ...
with 5½/10 in a very strong Dortmund and finished in fourth place in Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, China. He struggled at the Tal Memorial of 2009 scoring 3/9, broke even at Corus 2010 with 6½/13, lost what would be the final Miskolc Rapid match 3½-4½ against Boris Gelfand
Boris Gelfand ( he, בוריס אברמוביץ' גלפנד; be, Барыс Абрамавіч Гельфанд, Barys Abramavich Hel'fand; russian: Борис Абрамович Гельфанд, Boris Abramovich Gel'fand; born 24 June 1968) ...
and came bottom of the Dortmund field with 4/10. After representing Hungary in the 39th Chess Olympiad in September he took several months away from chess.
He made his return to chess at 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 ...
held in Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
, China in July 2011 with an undefeated 5½/9 on board 1. This was followed up by a shock first round exit from the Chess World Cup 2011
The Chess World Cup 2011 was a chess World Cup tournament. It was a 128-player single-elimination tournament, played between 26 August and 21 September 2011, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The Cup winner Peter Svidler, along with second placed Ale ...
against Sam Shankland
Samuel L. Shankland (born October 1, 1991) is an American chess grandmaster. He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 2018.
Shankland was California State Champion in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, and Champion of State Champions in 2009. He won bron ...
and a third-place finish at the Saratov Governor's Cup. The year was rounded off with 5½/9 at the European Team Championships held in Halkidiki, Greece.
In April 2012, Leko scored 4/6 for Moscow's SHSM-64 team at the Russian Team Championships then came second with 5/7 at Sigeman & Co Tournament, half a point behind Fabiano Caruana
Fabiano Luigi Caruana (born July 30, 1992) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, Caruana became a grandmaster at the age of 14 years, 11 months, and 20 days—the youngest grandmaster in the history of both Italy and the United Sta ...
. At Dortmund, Leko shared third place with Kramnik, Naiditsch and Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olehovych Ponomariov ( uk, Русла́н Оле́гович Пономарьо́в; born 11 October 1983) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was FIDE World Chess Champion from 2002 to 2004. He won the Ukrainian Chess Championship in ...
, scoring 5½/9 and narrowly missed a win against tournament winner Caruana, followed up by scoring 5½/10 at the 40th Chess Olympiad, held in Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
.
In September 2012 he entered the 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 ...
2012-13 as a nominee of AGON, who owned the rights to the World Championship cycle. At the first event, held in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, he finished in fifth place with an undefeated 6/11 and at the Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
event tied for seventh with a solid 5½/11 a month later. In April 2013 at the Zug
, neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri
, twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina)
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
event, he shared seventh place with 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 ...
and Anish Giri scoring 5/11. After skipping the event held in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
during the next month, he tied for third place with eventual series winner Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; bg, Весели́н Александров Топа́лов; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by wi ...
at the fifth event held in Beijing
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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 ...
, scoring 6/11. Having completed his four tournaments in the cycle, Leko did not take part in the sixth and final event and finished the Grand Prix cycle in 13th place with 230 points (the result in Zug not counting towards his points tally).
Outside of the Grand Prix cycle, Leko helped the SHSM team secure third place at the European Chess Club Cup The European Chess Club Cup is an annual chess tournament for club teams from Europe. It is organised by the European Chess Union. The competition is held with the Swiss system over seven rounds. It consists of two sections, open and women's, with e ...
held in Eliat, Israel in October 2012, with a score of 3/6. Leko also took part in the World Mind Games finishing seventh with 3½/7 in the Rapid section and 6½/15 in the Blitz. He placed a strong fifth place at the Tata Steel Chess (formerly Corus) event in January 2013 with 7½/13. In April, he scored 3/6 for Ugra in the Russian Team Championships and in July, shared third with 4½/9 at Dortmund with Naiditsch. Leko tied for third with 5/9 at the Sherbank Rapid held in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
in June. In August 2013, Leko was knocked out of the FIDE World Cup 2013 in the second round ½-1½ by Julio Granda
Julio Ernesto Granda Zúñiga (born February 25, 1967) is a Peruvian chess grandmaster and four-time champion of the Americas.
Career
Born in Camaná, he learned how to play chess at the age of five. In 1980 he won the World Infant Cup in Ma ...
, followed by scoring 4½/7 for sixth-placed Ugra at the European Club Cup held in Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
in October.
Leko finished the year at the World Mind Games with tied first in the Rapid section (losing out on head-to-head tiebreak) but tired with a 16th placed 11/30 in the Blitz section. In April 2014, Leko played in the Russian Team Championships for Malachite scoring 5/7, in July tied for second with 4/7 at Dortmund with Georg Meier
Georg "Schorsch" Meier (; 9 November 1910 – 19 February 1999) was a German motorcycle racer famous for being the first foreign winner of the prestigious Senior TT, the Blue Riband race of the Isle of Man TT Races, in 1939 riding for the f ...
and contributed to a team silver medal at the 41st Chess Olympiad
The 41st Chess Olympiad ( no, Den 41. Sjakkolympiade), organised by the FIDE, Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took pla ...
with 5/10.
In August 2015, he played a 6-game match with Chinese Grandmaster Li Chao in the city of Szeged in Hungary. He lost the match +0-2=4.
Since November 2017, he has been coaching the German prodigy Vincent Keymer
Vincent Keymer (born 15 November 2004) is a German chess grandmaster, and a young chess prodigy.
Chess career
Vincent Keymer was born in Mainz, Germany, a city that has a long history of hosting rapid tournaments and Chess960 tournaments. He le ...
.
Team chess results
Leko first represented Hungary aged 15 years and two months at the 31st Chess Olympiad, going on to make seven more appearances at the Chess Olympiad, winning two team silvers and an individual gold, as follows:
:
Leko also took part in numerous Team Chess Championships, both at World
In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...
and European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
level (notably debuting at Debrecen in 1992 at the age of 13 years 2 months), with results as follows:
:
Playing style
Peter Leko is known for playing in a solid and steady manner, avoiding risks. In his words, "I like to play in a “clean and clear” way, and I am definitely not the type of guy who takes unnecessary risks. I believe much more in the logic of our game rather than gambling on your opponent's nerves."[
]Jacob Aagaard
Jacob Aagaard (born 31 July 1973) is a Danish-Scottish chess grandmaster and the 2007 British Chess Champion. He is Scotland's third-highest rated player as of July 2021, with an Elo rating of 2477. His peak rating was 2542. In 2004, he took ...
commented, "Peter Leko has three essential qualities (that I know about). He has a great opening repertoire, he is a greatly gifted technical player and a very nice guy. If he had a good understanding of dynamics as well, he would have been one of the greatest players of our time (rather than just one game away from being World Champion!)." Despite criticism that his style leads to drawish chess, his consistent style has seen him remain in the elite since he was a teenager and win multiple elite-level tournaments.
Leko has acted as a second in World Championship matches (for Anand vs Karpov in Lausanne 1997, for Kramnik vs Anand in Bonn 2008, for Anand vs Carlsen in Chennai 2013)Anand-Carlsen World Championship match opens in 8000 seat stadium
The Week In Chess Published 7 November 2013 due to his theoretical understanding in the openings phase of the game.
Sample game
On the way to winning the prestigious 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 2005, Leko defeated Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan "Vishy" Anand (born 11 December 1969) is an Indian chess grandmaster and a former five-time World Chess Champion. He became the first grandmaster from India in 1988, and is one of the few players to have surpassed an Elo rating o ...
with the black pieces. The moves were:
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. Nd5 f5 11. c3 Bg7 12. exf5 Bxf5 13. Nc2 0-0 14. Nce3 Be6 15. Bd3 f5 16. 0-0 Ra7 17. a4 Ne7 18. Nxe7+ Rxe7 19. axb5 axb5 20. Bxb5 d5 21. Ra6 f4 22. Nc2 Bc8 23. Ra8 Qd6 24. Nb4 Bb7 25. Ra7 d4 26. Ba6? (see diagram)
:Better was 26.Bc6 Bxc6 27.Rxe7 Qxe7 28.Nxc6 with approximate equality.
26... Bxg2! 27. Bc4+ Kh8 28. Ra6 Qc5 29. Kxg2 f3+ 30. Kh1 Qxc4 31. Rc6 Qb5 32. Rd6 e4 33. Rxd4 Bxd4 34. Qxd4+ Qe5 35. Qxe5+ Rxe5 36. Nc2 Rb8 37. Ne3 Rc5 38. h3 Rxb2 39. c4 Rg5 40. Kh2 Kg8 41. h4 Rg6 42. Kh3 Kf7 43. Nf5 Rc2 44. Ne3 Rd2 45. c5 Ke6 46. c6 Rg8 47. c7 Rc8 48. Kg3 Rxc7 49. Kf4 Rd4 50. Ra1 Rf7+ 51. Kg3 Rd8 52. Ra6+ Ke5 53. Ng4+ Kd5 54. Nf6+ Rxf6 55. Rxf6 Ke5 56. Rh6 Rg8+ 57. Kh3 e3 0–1
Personal life
Leko is married to Sofia Petrosian, daughter of Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n grandmaster Arshak Petrosian
Arshak B. Petrosian ( hy, Արշակ Պետրոսյան; born December 16, 1953) is an Armenian chess player and National Coach. FIDE awarded him the International Grandmaster title in 1984. He won the Armenian Chess Championship in 1974 and 1976 ...
, who is also his trainer.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Interview ahead of the 2005 [Championship]
Portrait of a chessplayer - PETER LEKO part 1
Portrait of a chessplayer - PETER LEKO part 2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leko, Peter
1979 births
Living people
Chess grandmasters
Chess Olympiad competitors
Hungarian chess players
Sportspeople from Subotica
Hungarians in Vojvodina
World Youth Chess Champions