Vassily Ivanchuk

Vassily Ivanchuk
Ivanchuk in 2006
Full name	Vasyl Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk
Country	Soviet Union Ukraine
Born	March 18, 1969 Kopychyntsi, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster
FIDE rating	2710 (April 2016) (No. 35 in the April 2016 FIDE World Rankings)
Peak rating	2787 (October 2007)

Vassily Mykhaylovych Ivanchuk, also transliterated as Vasyliy or Vasyl (Ukrainian: Василь Михайлович Іванчук; born March 18, 1969), is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster.

A leading player since 1988,^[1] Ivanchuk was ranked No. 2 three-times (July 1991, July 1992, October 2007).^[2] His erratic results has seen him drop as low as 30th in July 2009^[3] before returning to the top ten in the next list.^[4]

Ivannchuk has won Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, Gibraltar Masters and M-Tel Masters titles. Ivanchuk was the 2007 World Blitz Chess champion,^[5] won the Melody Amber rapid in 1992 and shared the combined event in 2010.

In 2011, by the decree of the President of Ukraine, Ivanchuk was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise IV degree.^[6]

Career

Early years

Ivanchuk was born in Kopychyntsi, Ukraine. He won the 1987 European Junior Chess Championship in Groningen and first achieved international notice by winning the 1988 New York Open with 7½/9, ahead of a field of Grandmasters. He tied for first place in the 1988 World Junior Chess Championship at Adelaide, but lost the title on tiebreak to Joël Lautier.^[7] He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1988, and entered the world top 10 the same year.^[2]

Reaches world elite

Ivanchuk attained chess world fame at the age of 21 when he won the Linares tournament in 1991. Fourteen players participated, eight of them rated top-ten of the world, including World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov, while the rest were all among the world's top 50 players. Ivanchuk narrowly edged Kasparov by a half-point,^[8] defeating Kasparov in their individual game.^[9]

It was widely believed that Ivanchuk might become World Champion, although he came close in 2002 when he reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002. While being consistently among the top 10 from 1988, Mark Crowther's The Week in Chess said that his erratic play was due to "poor temperament."^[10] His inability to become World Champion despite his immense talent and longevity among the chess elite has been attributed to his admittedly poor nerves, which were exposed during the high-tension atmosphere of World Championship match-format tournaments, such as in 2002 where he was heavily favored in the FIDE championship final after having defeated defending champion Viswanathan Anand in the semifinals, only to lose to countryman Ruslan Ponomariov in a significant upset, denying him the World Championship. Subsequent match-play tournaments in World Championship cycles saw Ivanchuk consistently underperform; in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004, Chess World Cup 2005, Chess World Cup 2007, and Chess World Cup 2009, he failed to advance past the third round despite being seeded No. 5, No. 1, No. 1 and No. 6 respectively in those events.

Ivanchuk's world championship aspirations were also dampened by the unfortunate title split 1993 to 2006. Due to obligations with FIDE, Ivanchuk and Anand did not participate in the 2002 Dortmund Candidates tournament for the Classical World Chess Championship 2004.^[11] He was then narrowly excluded, on the basis of rating, from the rival FIDE World Chess Championship 2005. While he won one of the events of the FIDE Grand Prix 2008–2010, his overall performance was not enough to qualify him for the World Chess Championship 2012 candidates tournament.

Since 2013

Ivanchuk played in the 2013 Candidates Tournament, which took place in London, from 15 March to 1 April. He finished seventh, with a score of +3−5=6.^[12]

Assessment and personality

Ivanchuk

In 2013, Gawain Jones described Ivanchuk as "possibly the most talented [player] ever".^[13] Judit Polgár, when asked in 2012 to name chess players whom she considers geniuses, named only Ivanchuk, Magnus Carlsen and Viswanathan Anand.^[14]

"Chucky", as Ivanchuk is called, has been described by Anand as the most eccentric player in the chess world. Anand, tongue-in-cheek, gave his view on Ivanchuk like this:^[15]

He's someone who is very intelligent ... but you never know which mood he is going to be in. Some days he will treat you like his long-lost brother. The next day he ignores you completely.

The players have a word for him. They say he lives on "Planet Ivanchuk". (Laughs) ... I have seen him totally drunk and singing Ukrainian poetry and then the next day I have seen him give an impressive talk.

His playing style is unpredictable and highly original, making him more dangerous but sometimes leading to quick losses as well.

After a string of unsuccessful performances culminated in his elimination at the early stages of the 2009 World Cup, Ivanchuk announced, in a highly emotional interview, his retirement from professional chess.^[16][17] However, he soon recanted on this decision.^[18]

Notable tournament victories

Lvov 1987, 11½/17 1st New York Open 1988, 1st Debrecen 1988, 10 8/11 1st Linares 1989, 7/10 1st Yerevan 1989, 8½/11 1st Biel 1989, 9/14 1–2 Tilburg 1990, 8½/14 1–2 Linares 1991, 9½/13 1st Reykjavik 10½/15, 1–2 Munich 1994, 7½/11 1st Linares 1995, 10/13 1st Horgen GER 1995, 7/10 1–2 Wijk aan Zee 1996, 9/13 1st Belgrade 1997 6/9, 1–2 Tallinn 2000 6/7, 1st Montecatini Terme 2000, 5/7 1st Malmö 2003, 13 7/9 1st European Individual Chess Championship 2004 European Rapid Chess Championship 2004[19] La Habana 2005, 9½/12 1st Barcelona 2005, 4/5 1–2 Canadian Open Chess Championship 2005, Joint 1st Tallinn 2006, 7/9 1–3

Odessa 2006, 7/9 1st Mérida 2006, 1st Odessa 2007, 7/9 1st La Habana 2007, 7½/9 1st Foros 2007, 7½/11 1st FIDE World Blitz Chess Champion 2007 Montreal International 2007 M-Tel Masters, Sofia 2008 8/10 2008, 1st Tal Memorial, Moscow 2008, 6/9 1st Tal Memorial (Blitz), Moscow 2008, 1st Linares 2009 8/14, Joint 1st (Alexander Grischuk declared winner because of higher number of wins) Bazna 2009, 7/10 1st Jermuk 2009, 8½/13 1st Amber Rapid 2010, 8/11 Joint 1st (with Magnus Carlsen) Amber Overall 2010, Joint 1st (with Magnus Carlsen) Capablanca Memorial Havana 2010, 7/10 1st Cap d'Agde Rapid 2010, 1st Gibraltar 2011, 9/10 1st Capablanca Memorial Havana 2011, 6½/10 1st Grand Slam Bilbao – São Paulo 2011, Joint 1st (Magnus Carlsen wins the tie-break blitz games) Capablanca Memorial Havana, Cuba 2012, 6½/10, 1st.[20]

Team chess performances

Vassily Ivanchuk

Medal record
Chess Olympiad
Representing  Soviet Union
	Thessaloniki 1988	Open
	Novi Sad 1990	Open
Representing  Ukraine
	Calvià 2004	Open
	Khanty-Mansiysk 2010	Open
	Yerevan 1996	Open
	Elista 1998	Open
	Istanbul 2000	Open
	Istanbul 2012	Open

Ivanchuk has often been at his best in international team competitions. He has played in eleven Chess Olympiads, twice for the Soviet Union (1988 and 1990), and nine times for Ukraine, after the Soviet Union split up in 1991. He has won a total of twelve medals, and has been on four gold-medal winning teams (USSR in 1988 and 1990, Ukraine in 2004 and 2010). In 133 games, Ivanchuk has scored (+50 =77 -6), for 66.5 per cent. His detailed Olympiad records are as follows:^[21]

• Thessaloniki 1988, USSR 2nd reserve, 6½/9 (+4 −0 =5), team gold
• Novi Sad 1990, USSR board 1, 7/10 (+5 −1 =4), team gold, board bronze
• Manila 1992, Ukraine board 1, 8½/13 (+6 −1 =5)
• Moscow 1994, Ukraine board 1, 9½/14 (+5 −0 =9)
• Yerevan 1996, Ukraine board 1, 8½/11 (+6 −0 =5), team silver, board silver, perf. bronze
• Elista 1998, Ukraine board 1, 7/11 (+3 −0 =8), team bronze
• Istanbul 2000, Ukraine board 1, 9/14 (+4 −0 =10), team bronze
• Bled 2002, Ukraine board 2, 9/14 (+4 −0 =10)
• Calvià 2004, Ukraine board 1, 9½/13 (+6 −0 =7), team gold, board bronze
• Turin 2006, Ukraine board 1, 8/13 (+4 −1 =8)
• Dresden 2008, Ukraine board 1, 6/11 (+3 −2 =6)
• Khanty-Mansiysk 2010, Ukraine board 1, 8/10 (+7 −1 =2), team gold, board gold

Notable games

• Ivanchuk vs Kasparov, Linares 1991

At round one of Linares in 1991 the then only 21-year-old Ivanchuk gives up both his bishops for knights and then boxes Kasparov, then world champion, into complete passivity.^[22][23]

Personal life

Ivanchuk was first married to chess Woman Grandmaster Alisa Galliamova. On November 18, 2006, he married for the second time.^[24]

In 2011, Ivanchuk and his second wife were mugged the day they were set to leave from São Paulo, Brazil on a plane bound for Spain to finish the second half of the Bilbao Grand Slam Masters. Ivanchuk threatened to withdraw from the tournament altogether, but his wife convinced him to continue. He had been leading in the tournament before this event, but did not play as well in the second half of the tournament.^[25]

Doping test controversy

Ivanchuk was playing on board 1 for Ukraine in the 2008 Chess Olympiad held in Dresden. Going into the last round Ukraine was second with decent chances of placing 1st, and only a strong loss against a 10th-seeded USA would leave them without a medal. Ivanchuk was chosen to be tested for illegal substances in his system immediately after the last round.

In a major upset, the USA defeated Ukraine 3½ to ½ with Ivanchuk losing his game against GM Gata Kamsky, causing Ukraine to fall to fourth and miss out on a medal. Ivanchuk was in such a distraught state after the game that he was seen "kicking a large concrete pillar". Ivanchuk refused to take a doping test and stormed out, risking punishment under FIDE rules and forfeiting his games in the event as had happened in the 2004 Chess Olympiad in Majorca.^[26] Ivanchuk was cleared when it emerged that he had not been warned of the test, and that in his distraught frame of mind, he had not fully understood the arbiter's request.^[27]

References

1. "Fide Rating Lists - Archive: July 1988 - FIDE Rating List". fidelists.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
2. "All Time Rating List". Chess.eusa.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
3. "FIDE Top 100, July 2009". FIDE. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
4. "FIDE Top 100, September 2009". Ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
5. "Ivanchuk wins World Blitz Championship, Anand second". ChessBase. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
6. "Vassily Ivanchuk awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise IV degree". Chessdom. 28 August 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
7. "Event Details: Adelaide (U20 World Championship), 1988". Chessmetrics. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
8. John Henderson (2 March 2002). "Linares 2002: Just How Much Wood Can a Woodchuck Chuck, Chucky?". Chessbase. Archived from the original on 2002-04-09.
9. "Vassily Ivanchuk vs Garry Kasparov (1991) "Chess Boxing"". chessgames.com. 23 March 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
10. "Corus, Wijk aan Zee 2006". The Week in Chess. Archived from the original on 2006-08-26.
11. Yasser Seirawan (2002). "From a Fresh Start to a New Dawn – Part 2". The Week in Chess. Archived from the original on 2002-06-09.
12. "Tournament standings". FIDE. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
13. Peter Doggers (13 March 2013). "FIDE Candidates: Predictions". ChessVibes. Archived from the original on 2013-03-16. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
14. "KC-Conference with Judit Polgar". Crestbook. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
15. Shekhar Gupta (1 January 2004). "Talking with: Viswanathan Anand". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2004-06-03.
16. "Ivanchuk threatens to quit professional chess". 26 November 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
17. "Chess in Khanty-Mansiysk". ugra-chess.ru. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009.
18. "Ivanchuk: Sorry, I am not quitting chess". 30 November 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
19. "Ivanchuk Vassily (UKR) is the European Rapid Chess Champion 2004". FIDE. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
20. 47th Capablanca Memorial won by Ivanchuk Chessbase Retrieved 15 May 2012.
21. "Ivanchuk, Vasyl". olimpbase.org. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
22. "Vassily Ivanchuk vs Garry Kasparov (1991) "Chess Boxing"". Chessgames.com. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
23. "Vassily Ivanchuk's Amazing Immortal Sicilian Defence Crush vs Kasparov in Linares 1991". YouTube. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
24. Evgeny Surov (21 February 2011). "В своей модели жизни удалось объединить игру и цирк" ["In my life model I managed to unify the game and the circus"]. chess-news.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 21 July 2015.
25. "São Paulo Masters – Highway robbery in São Paulo!". Chessbase.com. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
26. "Olympiad Dresden: The Ivanchuk Files". ChessBase. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
27. "Decision of the FIDE doping hearing panel". FIDE. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.

External links

• Vassily Ivanchuk player profile and games at Chessgames.com
• Elo rating with world rankings and historical development since 1990 (benoni.de/schach/elo) for Vassily Ivanchuk
• Interview with Vassily Ivanchuk (2000)
• Interview of Vassily Ivanchuk: I can still become World Champion" (2011)