Ivan Cheparinov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Cheparinov is a Bulgarian chess
player, who won the Bulgarian Chess Championship
in 2005.
Veselin Topalov
. According to Topalov's website, Cheparinov was responsible for many of the opening novelties Topalov played during his 2006 World Championship match
against Vladimir Kramnik
.
with 7/9, and in April 2007 he won the Sigeman & Co tournament in Malmö
with the same score. He also shared first place—with six others—at the 2007 European Individual Chess Championship in Dresden
, but Vladislav Tkachiev
won the tie-break. On the January 2008 FIDE rating list, Cheparinov was for the first time rated higher than 2700—often seen as the line that separates "elite" players from other grandmasters. In June 2010, he won the Ruy Lopez Masters tournament with a performance rating of 2904. In October 2011 he tied for 3rd-15th in the open section of the 15th Corsican Circuit.
, Cheparinov's game in the eighth round of Group B against Nigel Short
was declared a forfeit after the first move because he had twice refused to shake Short's hand at the start. After Cheparinov refused to shake hands, Short informed the arbiter that in such cases, the rules prescribe an immediate forfeit (Short claims that the arbiter was not aware of this rule and had had to be reminded of it). Cheparinov's team claimed the arbiter was not aware of the rule since there is no such rule. The Topalov - Kramnik game at the same tournament started without a handshake, although in that case neither player 'refused' a handshake since neither had offered one. FIDE's behavioural norms state that, "[a]ny player who does not shake hands with the opponent (...) before the game starts in a FIDE tournament or during a FIDE match (and does not do it after being asked to do so by the arbiter) (...) will immediately and finally lose the relevant game.
The reason for Cheparinov's refusal was, according to the appeal made by him and his manager Silvio Danailov
, that "some time ago in one of his interviews Mr. Short insulted him and our team gravely". They also claimed the arbiter had not given Cheparinov another opportunity to shake hands, but had immediately declared the game a loss. After their protest, the Appeals Committee of the tournament—consisting of Vladimir Kramnik
, Michał Krasenkow and Judit Polgár
—overturned the decision to forfeit the game. The Committee also decided that Cheparinov should apologize to Short, that the game was to be replayed the next day and that it should start with a handshake. Short won.
The handshake incident was recorded on video, and posted by chess website Chessdom on YouTube
, where it was viewed over 150,000 times.
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...
player, who won the Bulgarian Chess Championship
Bulgarian Chess Championship
The Bulgarian Chess Championship is an event inaugurated in 1933 to crown the best chess player in Bulgaria. The championship has been held on a nearly annual basis since, with only a few years missed...
in 2005.
Topalov's second
Until 2007, he was best known as the second of former FIDE World ChampionWorld Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
. According to Topalov's website, Cheparinov was responsible for many of the opening novelties Topalov played during his 2006 World Championship match
FIDE World Chess Championship 2006
The World Chess Championship 2006 was a chess match between Classical World Chess Champion Vladimir Kramnik, and FIDE World Chess Champion Veselin Topalov. The match, which was won by Kramnik, determined the undisputed World Chess Champion for the first time in 13 years...
against Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
.
Tournament successes
In October 2006 Cheparinov won the Essent Open in HoogeveenHoogeveen
Hoogeveen is a municipality and a town in the northeastern Netherlands.- Population centres :Elim, Fluitenberg, Hoogeveen and Noordscheschut, which still have the canals which used to be throughout the town...
with 7/9, and in April 2007 he won the Sigeman & Co tournament in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
with the same score. He also shared first place—with six others—at the 2007 European Individual Chess Championship in 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....
, but Vladislav Tkachiev
Vladislav Tkachiev
-Biography:In 1982, he moved to Kazakhstan with his parents and learnt to play chess a year later. A winner of the Kazakhstani Youth Championship in 1985, he went on to represent Kazakhstan at the 1992 Chess Olympiad in Manila and was twice the national champion....
won the tie-break. On the January 2008 FIDE rating list, Cheparinov was for the first time rated higher than 2700—often seen as the line that separates "elite" players from other grandmasters. In June 2010, he won the Ruy Lopez Masters tournament with a performance rating of 2904. In October 2011 he tied for 3rd-15th in the open section of the 15th Corsican Circuit.
Handshake controversy
During the 2008 Corus chess tournamentCorus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
, Cheparinov's game in the eighth round of Group B against Nigel Short
Nigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
was declared a forfeit after the first move because he had twice refused to shake Short's hand at the start. After Cheparinov refused to shake hands, Short informed the arbiter that in such cases, the rules prescribe an immediate forfeit (Short claims that the arbiter was not aware of this rule and had had to be reminded of it). Cheparinov's team claimed the arbiter was not aware of the rule since there is no such rule. The Topalov - Kramnik game at the same tournament started without a handshake, although in that case neither player 'refused' a handshake since neither had offered one. FIDE's behavioural norms state that, "[a]ny player who does not shake hands with the opponent (...) before the game starts in a FIDE tournament or during a FIDE match (and does not do it after being asked to do so by the arbiter) (...) will immediately and finally lose the relevant game.
The reason for Cheparinov's refusal was, according to the appeal made by him and his manager Silvio Danailov
Silvio Danailov
Silvio Danailov is a Bulgarian International Master chessplayer and the manager of two former FIDE world chess champions, Veselin Topalov and Ruslan Ponomariov....
, that "some time ago in one of his interviews Mr. Short insulted him and our team gravely". They also claimed the arbiter had not given Cheparinov another opportunity to shake hands, but had immediately declared the game a loss. After their protest, the Appeals Committee of the tournament—consisting of Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the undisputed World Chess Champion from 2006 to 2007...
, Michał Krasenkow and Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár
Judit Polgár is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. She is by far the strongest female chess player in history. In 1991, Polgár achieved the title of Grandmaster at the age of 15 years and 4 months, the youngest person ever to do so at that time.Polgár was ranked No...
—overturned the decision to forfeit the game. The Committee also decided that Cheparinov should apologize to Short, that the game was to be replayed the next day and that it should start with a handshake. Short won.
The handshake incident was recorded on video, and posted by chess website Chessdom on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, where it was viewed over 150,000 times.