Evgeni Vasiukov
Encyclopedia
Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (born Moscow, March 5, 1933) is a Russian chess
Grandmaster. During his career, he won the Championship of Moscow on six occasions (1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1972, and 1978) and scored many victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade
Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin
1962, and Manila
1974. He was ranked as high as #11 in the world during part of 1962. He was rarely at his best in Soviet Championship Finals, which were among the very toughest events in the world. Somewhat remarkably, Vasiukov never made the Soviet team for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship.
Vasiukov has continued to play Master events, well into his 70s, and was active in February 2007 at the European Seniors event at Dresden
.
. He scored his first important chess success in 1955 by winning the Moscow City Championship
with 10.5/15, ahead of Salo Flohr
who was second. He played in the Soviet Championship semi-final at Yerevan
1955 and finished in the middle of a powerful field.
Vasiukov represented the Soviet Union twice in Student Olympiads. In 1955 at Lyon
, he was first reserve, and scored 5.5/6 (+5 =1 −0). Then at Uppsala
1956, he made exactly the same score as first reserve, this time winning a board gold medal. Both times, the Soviet Union won team gold medals.
Although scoring respectably in his first two attempts at qualifying for the Soviet Final (10/18 at Kharkov 1956 and 10.5/19 at Kiev
1957), he failed to advance, but was gathering experience and strength at high levels.
1957, where he did very well to place third with 10/15; the winner was David Bronstein
. This earned him the International Master title in 1958; he won the Moscow Championship again later that same year. At the Moscow International of 1959 (Alexander Alekhine
memorial), Vasiukov tied for 4th-6th places with 6/11, behind only winners Vasily Smyslov
, Boris Spassky
, and Bronstein. He made the field for his first Soviet final at Tbilisi
1959 (URS-26ch), but was overmatched and finished tied 16th-17th with 7/19, as Tigran Petrosian
won. However, he regrouped with his third Moscow Championship title in 1960.
Open, ahead of Svetozar Gligorić
. Then, in the Moscow International of 1961, he tied for first place with Smyslov at 7.5/11. These two fine finishes earned him the Grandmaster title, later that year. In the 1961 Moscow Championship, he tied for 3rd-5th places with 11/17, behind winners Bronstein and Leonid Shamkovich
. Qualifying again for the Soviet final at Baku
1961 (URS-29ch), he showed enormous improvement to tie for 4th-5th places, with 12/20, as Spassky won. This would prove to be his best performance at that level. At the 1962 Moscow International, Vasiukov ended up 2nd with 9.5/15, behind winner Yuri Averbakh
. Vasiukov proved his grandmastership at East Berlin
1962 with a powerful victory, at 11.5/15, ahead of Leonid Stein
. Vasiukov also tied for first in the 1962 Moscow Championship, his fourth title there.
Chessmetrics
.com, a site which tracks historical performances throughout chess history, ranks Vasiukov as #11 in the world from August to October 1962, with a peak rating of 2714 in September of that year. During his peak years, from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, Vasiukov scored wins in individual games over many top Soviet players, such as Smyslov, Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian
, Mikhail Tal
, Paul Keres
, Mark Taimanov
, Efim Geller
, and Lev Polugaevsky
. He was unable to defeat top-ranking Soviet stars such as Viktor Korchnoi
, Anatoly Karpov
, Spassky, or Stein.
s, with very few if any weaker opponents, since the arduous qualifying process eliminated the outsiders. Other than his superb showing in 1961, Vasiukov usually played below his expectations in these finals. He qualified for the finals a total of eleven times. At Kiev
1964-5 (URS-ch32), he scored 8/19 to tie 13-14th place; the winner was Korchnoi. At Tallinn
1965 (URS-ch33), he again made only 8/19 for a tied 14-17th place; the winner was Stein. At Tbilisi
1966 (URS-ch34), also a Zonal, he scored below 50 per cent once more with 9/20, for a tied 14-16th place, as Stein won again. The next year at Kharkov (URS-ch35), the format was a Swiss System, and Vasiukov was just above the middle of the pack, as Tal and Polugaevsky won. He was quite respectable at Alma Ata 1968 (URS-ch36) with 10.5/19, good for a tied 6-10th spot, as Polugaevsky tied with Alexander Zaitsev. At Moscow 1969 (URS-ch37), also a Zonal, he managed just 9.5/22 for 15th place; the winners were Polugaevsky and Tigran Petrosian
. At Baku
1972 (URS-ch40), he did well with 11.5/21 for a tied 6-7th finish; the winner was Tal. At Leningrad
1974 (URS-ch42), he ended with 7/15 for a tied 12-13th place; the winners were Tal and Alexander Beliavsky
. In the 1975 Vilnius
Zonal, he scored 7.5/15 for tenth place, as the winners were Boris Gulko, Vladimir Savon
, Yuri Balashov
, and Vitaly Tseshkovsky
. Finally at Vilnius
1980-81 (URS-ch49), he placed tied 11-12th with 8.5/17, as the winners were Beliavsky and Lev Psakhis
.
Since Vasiukov never placed near the top in Soviet Zonal competition, he was unable to earn an opportunity to play in an Interzonal
tournament, where he might have done well in the mixed-strength fields featured there, as he excelled in similar circumstances in regular International tournaments.
1965 with Peter Dely at 9.5/13. At Reykjavík
1968, he tied for first with Taimanov on 10.5/14. He again tied with Taimanov for the title at Skopje
1970 with 11/15. Vasiukov claimed his fifth Moscow Championship in 1972.
Vasiukov had the top performance of his career with his win at Manila
1974 at 10.5/14, as he was ahead of Petrosian and Bent Larsen
, among others, in a top-class field. He won at Zalaegerszeg
1977 with 9/12, ahead of Ratmir Kholmov
. He was Moscow Champion for the sixth time in 1978, and won at Dnepropetrovsk 1980.
He tied for first at Moscow 'B' 1986 (still a very strong field) on 7.5/11, along with Edvins Kengis
and Zurab Azmaiparashvili
. Vasiukov won at Athens 1987 (Acropolis International
) and at Budapest
1989 with 10/13, ahead of Gennady Timoshchenko. He took 2nd at Belgorod
1990 (1st was Miron Sher) at 9/14. He took the title at Graested 1990 with 6/9, ahead of Nigel Davies
and Bent Larsen
. He tied for first in a Veterans' event at Moscow 1991 with 5.5/9, along with Geller.
, at Lvov 1962, Rijeka
1963, Sukhumi
1966, Skopje
1969, and Tbilisi
1973. He played against Hungary at Moscow 1971. He also competed in the first two Telechess Olympiads: 'I' from 1977–78, and 'II' from 1981-82.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Grandmaster. During his career, he won the Championship of Moscow on six occasions (1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1972, and 1978) and scored many victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
1962, and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
1974. He was ranked as high as #11 in the world during part of 1962. He was rarely at his best in Soviet Championship Finals, which were among the very toughest events in the world. Somewhat remarkably, Vasiukov never made the Soviet team for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship.
Vasiukov has continued to play Master events, well into his 70s, and was active in February 2007 at the European Seniors event at Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
Early years
Evgeni Vasiukov was strong enough, certainly National Master strength, by 1954 to represent Moscow in the Soviet Team Championship finals in RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. He scored his first important chess success in 1955 by winning the Moscow City Championship
Moscow City Chess Championship
-References: ****** from chessbase.com...
with 10.5/15, ahead of Salo Flohr
Salo Flohr
Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...
who was second. He played in the Soviet Championship semi-final at Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
1955 and finished in the middle of a powerful field.
Vasiukov represented the Soviet Union twice in Student Olympiads. In 1955 at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, he was first reserve, and scored 5.5/6 (+5 =1 −0). Then at Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
1956, he made exactly the same score as first reserve, this time winning a board gold medal. Both times, the Soviet Union won team gold medals.
Although scoring respectably in his first two attempts at qualifying for the Soviet Final (10/18 at Kharkov 1956 and 10.5/19 at Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
1957), he failed to advance, but was gathering experience and strength at high levels.
International Master
Vasiukov got his first international chance at GothaGotha (town)
Gotha is a town in Thuringia, within the central core of Germany. It is the capital of the district of Gotha.- History :The town has existed at least since the 8th century, when it was mentioned in a document signed by Charlemagne as Villa Gotaha . Its importance derives from having been chosen in...
1957, where he did very well to place third with 10/15; the winner was David Bronstein
David Bronstein
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet chess grandmaster, who narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951. Bronstein was described by his peers as a creative genius and master of tactics...
. This earned him the International Master title in 1958; he won the Moscow Championship again later that same year. At the Moscow International of 1959 (Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alekhine
Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
memorial), Vasiukov tied for 4th-6th places with 6/11, behind only winners Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky
Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
, and Bronstein. He made the field for his first Soviet final at Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
1959 (URS-26ch), but was overmatched and finished tied 16th-17th with 7/19, as Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
won. However, he regrouped with his third Moscow Championship title in 1960.
Grandmaster, peak form
Vasiukov scored his best result to date when he won the 1961 BelgradeBelgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
Open, ahead of Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
. Then, in the Moscow International of 1961, he tied for first place with Smyslov at 7.5/11. These two fine finishes earned him the Grandmaster title, later that year. In the 1961 Moscow Championship, he tied for 3rd-5th places with 11/17, behind winners Bronstein and Leonid Shamkovich
Leonid Shamkovich
Leonid Aleksandrovich Shamkovich was a chess Grandmaster, and chess writer.He was born in a Jewish family in Rostov-on-Don in Russia...
. Qualifying again for the Soviet final at Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
1961 (URS-29ch), he showed enormous improvement to tie for 4th-5th places, with 12/20, as Spassky won. This would prove to be his best performance at that level. At the 1962 Moscow International, Vasiukov ended up 2nd with 9.5/15, behind winner Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Averbakh
Yuri Lvovich Averbakh is a Soviet and Russian chess player and author. He is currently the oldest living chess grandmaster.-Life and career:...
. Vasiukov proved his grandmastership at East Berlin
East Berlin
East Berlin was the name given to the eastern part of Berlin between 1949 and 1990. It consisted of the Soviet sector of Berlin that was established in 1945. The American, British and French sectors became West Berlin, a part strongly associated with West Germany but a free city...
1962 with a powerful victory, at 11.5/15, ahead of Leonid Stein
Leonid Stein
Leonid Zakharovich Stein was a Soviet chess Grandmaster from Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s , and was among the world's top ten players during that era.- Early life :...
. Vasiukov also tied for first in the 1962 Moscow Championship, his fourth title there.
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics
Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. It is intended as an improvement over the Elo rating system.-Implementation:...
.com, a site which tracks historical performances throughout chess history, ranks Vasiukov as #11 in the world from August to October 1962, with a peak rating of 2714 in September of that year. During his peak years, from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, Vasiukov scored wins in individual games over many top Soviet players, such as Smyslov, Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
, Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
, Paul Keres
Paul Keres
Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....
, Mark Taimanov
Mark Taimanov
Mark Evgenievich Taimanov is a leading Soviet and Russian chess player and concert pianist.-Chess:He was awarded the International Grandmaster title in 1952 and played in the Candidates Tournament in Zurich in 1953, where he tied for eighth place. From 1946 to 1956, he was among the world's top...
, Efim Geller
Efim Geller
Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...
, and Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Polugaevsky
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title...
. He was unable to defeat top-ranking Soviet stars such as Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
, Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
, Spassky, or Stein.
Soviet Championship frustrations
The Soviet Championships were usually the strongest tournaments in the world during Vasiukov's main competitive period, surpassing the strength of InterzonalInterzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
s, with very few if any weaker opponents, since the arduous qualifying process eliminated the outsiders. Other than his superb showing in 1961, Vasiukov usually played below his expectations in these finals. He qualified for the finals a total of eleven times. At Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
1964-5 (URS-ch32), he scored 8/19 to tie 13-14th place; the winner was Korchnoi. At Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
1965 (URS-ch33), he again made only 8/19 for a tied 14-17th place; the winner was Stein. At Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
1966 (URS-ch34), also a Zonal, he scored below 50 per cent once more with 9/20, for a tied 14-16th place, as Stein won again. The next year at Kharkov (URS-ch35), the format was a Swiss System, and Vasiukov was just above the middle of the pack, as Tal and Polugaevsky won. He was quite respectable at Alma Ata 1968 (URS-ch36) with 10.5/19, good for a tied 6-10th spot, as Polugaevsky tied with Alexander Zaitsev. At Moscow 1969 (URS-ch37), also a Zonal, he managed just 9.5/22 for 15th place; the winners were Polugaevsky and Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
. At Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
1972 (URS-ch40), he did well with 11.5/21 for a tied 6-7th finish; the winner was Tal. At Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
1974 (URS-ch42), he ended with 7/15 for a tied 12-13th place; the winners were Tal and Alexander Beliavsky
Alexander Beliavsky
-External links:...
. In the 1975 Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
Zonal, he scored 7.5/15 for tenth place, as the winners were Boris Gulko, Vladimir Savon
Vladimir Savon
Vladimir Andreyevich Savon was a Ukrainian chess player.He learned how to play late, at the age of 13....
, Yuri Balashov
Yuri Balashov
-Chess career:He was awarded the grandmaster title in 1973. Balashov was Moscow Champion in 1970 and 2nd to Anatoly Karpov in the 1976 USSR Chess Championship. In 1977 he won Lithuanian Chess Championship. He finished 1st= at Lone Pine 1977 and 1st= at Wijk aan Zee 1982.Balashov represented the...
, and Vitaly Tseshkovsky
Vitaly Tseshkovsky
Vitaly Valerianovich Tseshkovsky is a Russian chess Grandmaster and a former champion of the USSR.Tseshkovsky was born in Siberia into a Polish family ....
. Finally at Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
1980-81 (URS-ch49), he placed tied 11-12th with 8.5/17, as the winners were Beliavsky and Lev Psakhis
Lev Psakhis
Lev Borisovich Psakhis is a naturalised Israeli chess grandmaster, trainer and author. Born in Siberia, he is also a two-time former champion of the Soviet Union.-Biography:...
.
Since Vasiukov never placed near the top in Soviet Zonal competition, he was unable to earn an opportunity to play in an Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament, where he might have done well in the mixed-strength fields featured there, as he excelled in similar circumstances in regular International tournaments.
Tournament victories in five decades
Vasiukov was unable to maintain his peak of the early 1960s, but he remained remarkably competitive for many years afterwards, especially in international tournaments outside the Soviet Union which had mixed-strength fields, where he scored most of his successes. He won several titles, and was almost always around the top places, when he competed outside the Soviet Union. He tied for first at Polanica ZdrojPolanica Zdrój
Polanica-Zdrój is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.It lies approximately south-west of Kłodzko, and south-west of the regional capital Wrocław...
1965 with Peter Dely at 9.5/13. At Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
1968, he tied for first with Taimanov on 10.5/14. He again tied with Taimanov for the title at Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
1970 with 11/15. Vasiukov claimed his fifth Moscow Championship in 1972.
Vasiukov had the top performance of his career with his win at Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
1974 at 10.5/14, as he was ahead of Petrosian and Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
, among others, in a top-class field. He won at Zalaegerszeg
Zalaegerszeg
In 2001 Zalaegerszeg had 61,654 inhabitants . The distribution of religions were, 71.1% Roman Catholic, 3.8% Calvinist, 1.6% Lutheran, 11.6% Atheist .-Notable people:* Lajos Botfy , mayor...
1977 with 9/12, ahead of Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Kholmov
Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...
. He was Moscow Champion for the sixth time in 1978, and won at Dnepropetrovsk 1980.
He tied for first at Moscow 'B' 1986 (still a very strong field) on 7.5/11, along with Edvins Kengis
Edvins Kengis
Edvins Kengis is a Latvian chess Grandmaster.Kengis is an eight-time Latvian Champion, winning the national contest in 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2004 and 2005...
and Zurab Azmaiparashvili
Zurab Azmaiparashvili
Zurab Azmaiparashvili is a chess Grandmaster from Georgia. In the September 2010 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2637, making him 114th in the world and Georgia's number two.-Career:He became a Grandmaster in 1988...
. Vasiukov won at Athens 1987 (Acropolis International
Acropolis International chess tournament
The Acropolis International is a chess tournament held in Athens.The longest running international chess tournament in Greece, the first event was won by Luděk Pachman in 1968....
) and at Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
1989 with 10/13, ahead of Gennady Timoshchenko. He took 2nd at Belgorod
Belgorod
-Twin towns/sister cities:Belgorod is twinned with: Wakefield, England, United Kingdom Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia Opole, Poland Vyshhorod, Ukraine Kharkiv, Ukraine-External links:...
1990 (1st was Miron Sher) at 9/14. He took the title at Graested 1990 with 6/9, ahead of Nigel Davies
Nigel Davies (chess player)
Nigel Davies is an English chess Grandmaster, chess coach and writer.Davies won the British Boys Championship in 1979 and the British Rapidplay Chess Championhship in 1987.-External links:* Nigel Davies' own website...
and Bent Larsen
Bent Larsen
Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
. He tied for first in a Veterans' event at Moscow 1991 with 5.5/9, along with Geller.
International team play
While never making the Soviet side for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship, Vasiukov did get several chances to represent the Soviet Union in team matches. He played five times in the traditional match against YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, at Lvov 1962, Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
1963, Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
1966, Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
1969, and Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
1973. He played against Hungary at Moscow 1971. He also competed in the first two Telechess Olympiads: 'I' from 1977–78, and 'II' from 1981-82.
Notable chess games
- Evgeniy Vasiukov vs Mark Taimanov, USSR Team Championship, Riga 1954, Ruy Lopez, Classical Variation (C64), 1-0 Impressive win over a player who had tied for the Soviet title two years earlier.
- Evgeniy Vasiukov vs Lev Polugaevsky, USSR Team Championship semi-final, Voroshilovgrad 1955, Sicilian Defence, Alapin Variation (B22), 1-0 Vasiukov takes Polu out of book with a sharp, original opening, then brings home the point.
- Tigran Petrosian vs Evgeni Vasiukov, Moscow Championship 1956, English Opening (A16), 0-1 White plays a bit passively in the opening, and Black builds an aggressive formation and scores with a strong Kingside attack.
- Evgeniy Vasiukov vs David Bronstein, USSR Championship, Baku 1961, Caro-Kann Defence (B10), 1-0 Very unusual opening brings success.
- Paul Keres vs Evgeniy Vasiukov, USSR Championship, Baku 1961, Sicilian Defence, Kan Variation (B42), 0-1 Vasiukov arrives at the elite level when he can beat world-class players such as Keres with Black.
- Evgeniy Vasiukov vs Vasily Smyslov, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1966, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C92), 1-0 A patient strategical win over a former World Champion.
- Efim Geller vs Evgeniy Vasiukov, Kislovodsk 1968, Pirc Defence, Classical Variation (B08), 0-1 Unusual to see Vasiukov playing an offbeat line as Black, but it works wonderfully here.
- Mikhail Tal vs Evgeniy Vasiukov, USR Championship, Alma-Ata 1968, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C98), 0-1 Former World Champion Tal over-reaches in his attack.