Top 20 Chess Player celebrities in Russia
Here is the latest list of the world's top 20 Chess Player celebrities [Updated January 28, 2023].
Anatoly Karpov was born
on May 23, 1951
in Russia.
He is known for his various humanitarian efforts, receiving the Order of Merit in 2006 for his assistance to the victims of the disaster in Chernobyl.
Net Worth 2020: $5 Million
Anish Giri was born
on June 28, 1994
in Russia.
He became a Grandmaster at the young age of 14 and in January 2011, he beat world number one
Magnus Carlsen.
Boris Spassky was born
on January 30, 1937
in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Russian chess champion who was famously the 1972 World Chess Championship Bobby Fischer in a match that has come to be known as the Cold War Confrontation.
He was chess champion from 1969 to 1972 and in 1992 he lost to
Bobby Fischer again in an unofficial rematch in Yugoslavia.
Andrei Sokolov was born
on March 20, 1963
in Russia.
A series of unexpected losses in the late 1980s led to lesser chess activity.
Alexandra Kosteniuk was born
on April 23, 1984
in Russia.
She became a chess Grandmaster in 2004 and in 2011 she was ranked 44th in the FIDE women's Elo rating list with a rating of 2439.
Alexander Morozevich was born
on July 18, 1977
in Russia.
He has been ranked as high as second in the world and he is known for employing unusual openings, such as the the Chigorin Defense and the Albin Countergambit
Alexander Kotov was born
on August 12, 1913
in Russia.
He won only the third Soviet Grandmaster and Kotov syndrome is named after him due to his writings about cracking under pressure.
Alexander Khalifman was born
on January 18, 1966
in Russia.
He runs a chess academy in St. Petersburg, Russia called "The Grandmaster Chess School" where he trains players worldwide following the motto: "chess = intellect + character".
Mikhail Botvinnik was born
on August 17, 1911
in Russia.
He worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time he was competing in chess professionally, making him one of the very few professional chess players who achieved distinction in another career.
Semyon Furman was born
on December 1, 1920
in Russia.
He played for the Soviets in the 1961 European Chess Championship, one of the few opportunities he had to play in a high profile event abroad.
Sergei Rublevsky was born
on October 15, 1974
in Russia.
He won the prestigious Aeroflot Open in 2004 and finished in the top 10 in the 2005 FIDE World Cup.
Viktor Korchnoi was born
on March 23, 1931
in Russia.
While almost exclusively a counter-attacker early in his career, he became proficient at initiating attacks and developed a deadly endgame.
Valentina Golubenko was born
on July 29, 1990
in Russia.
She is the first World Youth Chess Champion from Estonia but she plays under the Croatian flag as she is not qualified to represent Estonia due to her Russian citizenship.
Vera Nebolsina was born
on December 16, 1989
in Russia.
She won the World Junior Championship for Girls (under 20) at Yerevan in 2007.
Leonid Shamkovich was born
on June 1, 1923
in Russia.
Remembered best for winning a prestigious 1967 chess tournament in Sochi, Russia, this Grandmaster competed against such chess greats as Boris Spassky and Vladimir Simagin. He also published a book titled Sacrifice in Chess.
His fans and fellow chess players nicknamed him "Prince."
Igor Bondarevsky was born
on May 12, 1913
in Russia.
He excelled in both over-the-board chess and correspondence chess and he was among the 27 players named International Grandmaster in 1950 by FIDE on its inaugural list when the title was first introduced.
Gata Kamsky was born
on June 2, 1974
in Russia.
He has been ranked as high as fourth in the World and he reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 at the age of 22
Anatoly Lein was born
on March 28, 1931
in Russia.
He was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2005.
Alexander Grischuk was born
on October 31, 1983
in Russia.
He became one of the greatest internet chess players in the world.
Alexander Alekhine was born
on October 31, 1882
in Russia.
In 1927 he won the fourth ever World Chess Championship and he played first board for France in five Chess Olympiads.
