Rasmus Svane (born 21 May 1997) is a German

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. He has represented Germany at the

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He is the No. 8 ranked German player as of July 2020.

Personal life

Svane was born in

Allerød Municipality Allerød Kommune is a municipality (Danish, '' kommune'') on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 67 km2, and has a population of 25,867 (1 January 2022). Its mayor is Karsten Längeric ...

, Denmark. He is a son of the Danish cellist

Troels Svane Troels Svane (born 1967) is a Danish cellist. He is a part of the Zapolski Quartet. He studied with David Geringas at the Lübeck Academy of Music in Germany. He graduated from the soloist class with distinction and the highest grade in all sub ...

, and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

is his first language. Svane has a younger brother, Frederik (born 2004), who is also a chess player. Svane received his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

'' in 2016, and when asked in 2017 what he plans to do if a career as a professional chess player does not work out he stated he can return to his studies.

Chess career

Svane learned to play chess at the age of 4 after discovering a chess CD in a cereal packet. He finished second at the German U12 Chess Championship in 2009, and won the German U14 Chess Championship in 2010. He was named the 2010 U14 Player of the Year by the

German Chess Federation The German Chess Federation (german: Deutscher Schachbund, DSB) is the umbrella organization for German chess players. It is a member of the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund and of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. It has over 90,000 members in ov ...

in recognition of the latter achievement. Svane earned his first

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)

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 envir ...

at the 2011

German Chess Championship The German Chess Championship has been played since 1861, and determines the national champion. Prior to 1880, three different federations organized chess activities in Germany: the ''Westdeutscher Schachbund'' (WDSB), the ''Norddeutscher Schachbund ...

, scoring 5/9. He earned his second and third IM norms in 2012. The former came at the

Politiken Cup The Xtracon Chess Open (formerly the Politiken Cup) is an international chess tournament and the main feature event of the annual Copenhagen Chess Festival. History Organized by the Copenhagen Chess Federation (KSU), it was originally set up to giv ...

held in July–August, where he scored 7½/10; the latter was achieved at the 1st Korbach GM tournament in December, with a score of 7/11. He was officially awarded the title 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 May 2013. He earned his first grandmaster (GM) norm at the 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 and blitz event, whil ...

, scoring 4½/9. He earned his second at the 2015 Visma GM tournament, scoring 6/9, and attained the final norm during the 2015/2016

Chess Bundesliga The term Chess Bundesliga (german: Schach-Bundesliga) normally refers to the premier league of team chess in Germany established in 1980. It is arguably the strongest league of its kind and attracts many high-rated grandmasters. Austria also has ...

season, scoring 6/10. He was awarded his GM title in September 2016, at age 19. From 28 October to 6 November 2017, he competed for Germany on board 4 at the

, scoring 5½/7 (+5–1=1) for a of 2762. This was the second-best board 4 performance at the tournament, behind

Rauf Mamedov Rauf Mamedov ( az, Rauf Məmmədov; born 26 April 1988) is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster and a three-time national champion. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015. Career Born in Baku, Mamedov started playing chess a ...

's 2920 performance. From 13 to 25 November, he competed at the

World Junior Chess Championship The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The idea was the brainchild of William Ritso ...

. He placed joint eighth (seventeenth on tiebreak) with a score of 7½/11 (+6–2=3), one point behind the winner

Aryan Tari Aryan Tari (Persian: آرین طاری; born 4 June 1999) is a Norwegian chess grandmaster. Tari was Norwegian champion in 2015 and 2019 and won the World Junior Chess Championship in 2017. he is the second-highest ranked player from Norway b ...

. From 23 January to 1 February 2018, Svane competed in the Tradewise Gibraltar Masters. He finished forty-first, scoring 6½/10 (+4–1=5), one point behind the winner

Levon Aronian Levon Grigori Aronian ( hy, Լևոն Գրիգորի Արոնյան, Levon Grigori Aronyan; born 6 October 1982) is an Armenians, Armenian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, who currently plays for the United States Chess Federation. A ches ...

. From 20 to 28 February, he participated in the

. He finished forty-seventh out of ninety-two, scoring 4½/9 (+2–2=5). From 17 to 28 March, he competed in the 2018

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), ...

. He placed thirty-ninth, scoring 7/11 (+6–3=2). In August, he competed in the

Riga Technical University Open Riga Technical University Open (also RTU Open) is international "open" chess festival, annually held in Riga, Latvia in August. It is the largest classical chess tournament in the Baltic states. Abstract The Riga Technical University Open is ...

. He placed fifth with 7/9 (+5–0=4). Svane represented Germany on the reserve board at the

43rd Chess Olympiad The 43rd Chess Olympiad ( ka, 43-ე საჭადრაკო ოლიმპიადა, ''43-e sach’adrak’o olimp’iada''; also known as the Batumi Chess Olympiad), organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and c ...

, from 24 September to 5 October. He scored 4½/8 (+3–2=3), as Germany finished 13th. In 2019, he tied for 2nd-3rd place in the Sunway

Sitges Sitges (, , ) is a town about 35 kilometres southwest of Barcelona, in Spain, renowned worldwide for its Film Festival, Carnival, and LGBT Culture. Located between the Garraf Massif and the Mediterranean Sea, it is known for its beaches, nightspot ...

Festival with

Vasif Durarbayli Vasif Durarbayli ( az, Vasif Durarbəyli; born February 24, 1992) is an Azerbaijani chess Grandmaster. He received the International Master title in 2007 and the Grandmaster Title in 2010. Academic career Vasif received his high-school degree ...

Notable games

Svane vs Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Bundesliga (20 October 2012), Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange. Modern Exchange Variation (D85), 1–0
Svane, in his first Chess Bundesliga game, defeats the former FIDE World Champion

Rustam Kasimdzhanov Rustam Kasimdzhanov; russian: Рустам Касымджанов (born 5 December 1979) is an Uzbek chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Champion (2004-05). He was Asian champion in 1998. In addition to his tournament play, Kasimdzhan ...

Svane vs Gawain Jones, Bundesliga (2 February 2013), King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation. Gligoric-Taimanov System (E92), 1–0
15-year-old Svane defeats the 2641-rated

Gawain Jones Gawain Christopher Bernard Jones (born 11 December 1987) is an English chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 2007. He won the British Chess Championship in 2012 and 2017. He competed in the FIDE World Cup in 2013, 20 ...

in 39 moves, sacrificing a rook for a decisive attack in the process
Alexander Moiseenko vs Svane, Politiken Cup (29 July 2014), Semi-Slav Defense: Accelerated Meran Variation (D45), 0–1
Svane scores his first victory over a 2700+ opponent as he defeats

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 2 ...

with the black pieces in 53 moves
Ernesto Inarkiev vs Svane, Aeroflot Open (4 April 2015), French Defense: Steinitz Variation (C11), 0–1
Svane, as black, defeats the 2706-rated

Ernesto Inarkiev Ernesto Inarkiev (russian: Эрнесто Инаркиев; born 9 December 1985) is a Russian chess grandmaster, the first ever from Kalmykia. He was European champion in 2016. Since July 2005, Inarkiev has continuously been among the 100 highe ...

in 33 moves
Svane vs Pentala Harikrishna, Bundesliga (20 November 2016), Catalan Opening: Open Defense (E04), 1–0
Svane defeats the 2762-rated

Pentala Harikrishna Pentala Harikrishna (born 10 May 1986) is an Indian chess grandmaster. He became the youngest grandmaster from India after attaining the title in 2001, a record now held by Gukesh D. He was Commonwealth Champion in 2001, World Junior ...

in 28 moves

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Svane, Rasmus 1997 births Living people Chess grandmasters Danish chess players German chess players German people of Danish descent People from Allerød Municipality