Darius Ruželė (born 27 April 1968) is a Lithuanian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player who holds the title of Grandmaster (GM, 1996). He is

Lithuanian Chess Championship The first unofficial Lithuanian Chess Championship was held in Kaunas (Temporary capital of Lithuania) in 1921. The Champion's title was granted after victorious or drawn match between previous champion and challenger, mostly a winner of Championshi ...

silver (1992, 2000) and bronze (1988, 1993, 1998, 2001) medalist.

Biography

The first significant success was in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, when Darius Ruželė won the Soviet Union Junior Chess Championship. From early 1990s to 2002 he was one of the top Lithuanian chess players. From 1987 to 2002, Darius Ruželė regularly participated in the

s. In 1988, he shared 1st place in this tournament with Vitalijus Majorovas and

Gintautas Piešina Gintautas Piešina (8 April 1952 – 24 April 2014) was a Lithuanian chess player who holds the title of International Master (IM, 1988). He is five time winner of Lithuanian Chess Championship (1972, 1974, 1978, 1984, 1988) and two time winner ...

but remained in 3rd place according to additional indicators. In 1992 Darius Ruželė won silver medal in the Lithuanian Chess Championship. After one year he repeated this success. In 1998 Darius Ruželė won bronze medal in the Lithuanian Chess Championship. In 2000 he shared 1st-6th place in the Lithuanian Chess Championship but remained in 2nd place according to additional indicators. In 2001 Darius Ruželė won bronze medal in the Lithuanian Chess Championship. In 1993 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Darius Ruželė ranked in 3rd place in FIDE World Chess Championship Baltic Zonal tournament. In 1994 he shared the 1st place in Open Chess tournament in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. In 1996 Darius Ruželė achieved great success, winning (before Mikhail Gurevich) in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. In 2000 Darius Ruželė won Open Chess tournament in

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; ) is the List of cities in Germany by population, 25th-most populous city of Germany and the 11th-most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher, Emscher River (a tribu ...

. In 2007 he shared the first place (together with

Tony Miles Anthony John Miles (23 April 1955 – 12 November 2001) was an English chess player and the first Englishman to earn the International Grandmaster, Grandmaster title. Early and personal life Miles was born on 23 April 1955 in Edgbaston, a sub ...

and Vladimir Burmakin among others) in

Cappelle-la-Grande Open The Cappelle-la-Grande Open is a chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboa ...

. Darius Ruželė played for Lithuania in the

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 FIDE Onli ...

s: * In 1992, at second reserve board in the

30th Chess Olympiad The 30th Chess Olympiad, organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well as several other events designed to ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

(+4, =6, -1), * In 1994, at second reserve board in the

31st Chess Olympiad The 31st Chess Olympiad (, ''31-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, took pla ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(+5, =3, -3), * In 1996, at reserve board in the

32nd Chess Olympiad The 32nd Chess Olympiad (, ''32-rd Shakhmatayin olimpiadan''), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

(+3, =5, -2), * In 1998, at reserve board in the

33rd Chess Olympiad The 33rd Chess Olympiad (, ''33-ya Shakhmatnaya olimpiada''; Kalmyk language, Kalmyk: 33-гче Шатрин олимпиад, ''33-gçe Şatrin olimpiad''), organized by FIDE and comprising an open and a women's tournament, took place between Se ...

Elista Elista (, ;"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. Москва и Санкт-Петербург, 1997, стр. 1402 , ''Elst'', )The approximate pronunciation of the Cyr ...

(+3, =4, -1), * In 2000, at second board in the 34th Chess Olympiad in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

(+5, =4, -1). Darius Ruželė played for Lithuania in 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 ...

: * In 1992, at fourth board in the 10th European Team Chess Championship in

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

(+2, =3, -3). Darius Ruželė also four times played for Lithuanian chess clubs in

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 ...

s (1994-1996, 1998). In 1988 Darius Ruželė awarded Master of Sports of the USSR in chess title. In 1993, he was awarded the FIDE International Master (IM) title and received the FIDE Grandmaster (GM) title three years later. After 2002, he no longer participates in chess tournaments.

References

External links

* * * 1968 births Living people Chess Grandmasters Lithuanian chess players Soviet chess players {{Lithuania-chess-bio-stub Chess Olympiad competitors