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Mikhail Gurevich (chess player)
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Naumovich Gurevich (born 22 February 1959, in Kharkiv
, USSR) is a Soviet chess
player. He lived in Belgium from 1991 to 2005 and since then resides in Turkey.
Gurevich won the Ukrainian Chess Championship
in 1984 and became USSR Champion
in 1985, controversially taking the title on tiebreak points from co-winners Alexander Chernin
and Viktor Gavrikov
, after a three-way playoff was organized and all the games were drawn. However, he was not allowed to leave the country to participate in the Interzonal
, and Gavrikov and Chernin went in his place.
Gurevich was awarded the International Master title in 1985, and became an International Grandmaster
in 1986. In 1987 he was first at Moscow ahead of Oleg Romanishin
and Sergey Dolmatov
. He finished second at Leningrad
after Rafael Vaganian
, but ahead of Andrei Sokolov
and Artur Yusupov
.
At his peak, between 1989 and 1991, Gurevich was consistently ranked in the top ten players in the world. He took first at Reggio Emilia
1989, ahead of Vassily Ivanchuk, Jaan Ehlvest
and Viswanathan Anand
and tied for first at Moscow 1990 with Alexander Khalifman
and Evgeny Bareev
. His highest world rank ever was a tie for fifth place on the January 1990 and January 1991 FIDE rating lists, with ratings of 2645 and 2650 respectively.
Mikhail Gurevich's results in the late 1990s were not as impressive as in previous years, but he has since made a comeback. He achieved his highest rating of 2694 on the January 2001 rating list, ranking him 14th in the world. In 2001 he won the Belgian Chess Championship
with a perfect 9/9 score.
He placed 8th at the 2005 FIDE World Cup, beating Robert Markuš
, Pavel Eljanov
, Alexei Shirov
and Vladimir Malakhov along the way before losing to eventual winner Levon Aronian
. This qualified him for the Candidates Tournament
for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in May–June 2007. However he was eliminated in the first round, losing his match against Peter Leko
3.5-0.5.
He currently lives in Turkey and won the 2006 Turkish Chess Championship
. In 2009 he tied for first with Michał Krasenkow at the World Chess Open in Leon.
In team chess events, he represented the USSR at the 1989 Haifa
European Team Championship
, winning team gold and individual bronze medals. In 1992, playing for Belgium, he had a fine result at the Manila
Chess Olympiad
, scoring 75% on board 1. In 2006, playing top board for his second adopted nation Turkey at the Turin
Olympiad, he registered a respectable 58%.
Mikhail Gurevich was also a long-time second to eventual world champion Vishwanathan Anand in the 1990s. He is known as an expert on the French Defence
, the Reshevsky
Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence
, and the Petrosian
Variation of the Queen's Indian Defence. In 1991, he wrote a book on the latter, entitled Queen's Indian Defence: Kasparov System, published by Batsford.
In 2006, Gurevich was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. He also holds the title of FIDE Arbiter.
In the Fourth ACP World Rapid Cup knockout tournament, held between 27 and 29 May 2010 in Odessa, Ukraine, Gurevich created a sensation after beating two grandmasters rated at over 2700.
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, USSR) is a Soviet chess
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. He lived in Belgium from 1991 to 2005 and since then resides in Turkey.
Gurevich won the Ukrainian Chess Championship
Ukrainian Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the Ukrainian Chess Championship, including those held when Ukraine was a Soviet republic and those held after Ukraine became independent. Players' names listed in parentheses indicate that the player won the tournament but did not receive the title since he...
in 1984 and became USSR Champion
USSR Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
in 1985, controversially taking the title on tiebreak points from co-winners Alexander Chernin
Alexander Chernin
Alexander Mikhailovich Chernin is a prominent chess master and a former Soviet Champion now living in Hungary.-Tournaments and championships:...
and Viktor Gavrikov
Viktor Gavrikov
Viktor Gavrikov is a Lithuanian-Swiss chess Grandmaster.Gavrikov shared 1st with Gintautas Piešina in the 1978 Lithuanian Chess Championship at Vilnius...
, after a three-way playoff was organized and all the games were drawn. However, he was not allowed to leave the country to participate in the 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 :...
, and Gavrikov and Chernin went in his place.
Gurevich was awarded the International Master title in 1985, and became an International Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
in 1986. In 1987 he was first at Moscow ahead of Oleg Romanishin
Oleg Romanishin
Oleg Mikhailovich Romanishin is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster and former European junior champion.Many honours and awards were bestowed on him as a young man. After winning the European Junior Championship in 1973, he became an International Master the same year...
and Sergey Dolmatov
Sergey Dolmatov
Sergey Viktorovich Dolmatov is a Russian Grandmaster of chess and former World Junior Chess Champion.Born in Kiselevsk in the former Soviet Union, Dolmatov's solid yet enterprising style of play was soon to launch him to the forefront of youth chess, culminating in him winning the World Junior...
. He finished second 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...
after Rafael Vaganian
Rafael Vaganian
Rafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play...
, but ahead of Andrei Sokolov
Andrei Sokolov
Andrei Yurievich Sokolov is a French chess Grandmaster of Russian origin, now living in France...
and Artur Yusupov
Artur Yusupov
Artur Mayakovich Yusupov is a German International Grandmaster of chess, and a chess writer.-Chess career:...
.
At his peak, between 1989 and 1991, Gurevich was consistently ranked in the top ten players in the world. He took first at Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia chess tournament
The Reggio Emilia chess tournament is a chess tournament played in Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italian the tournament is called Torneo di Capodanno , as it starts just after Christmas and ends on the day of Epiphany...
1989, ahead of Vassily Ivanchuk, Jaan Ehlvest
Jaan Ehlvest
Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 is a chess player, who was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1987 and was named Estonian sportsman of the year in 1987 and 1989...
and Viswanathan Anand
Viswanathan Anand
V. Anand or Anand Viswanathan, usually referred as Viswanathan Anand, is an Indian chess Grandmaster, the current World Chess Champion, and currently second highest rated player in the world....
and tied for first at Moscow 1990 with Alexander Khalifman
Alexander Khalifman
Alexander Valeryevich Khalifman is a Soviet and Russian chess Grandmaster of Jewish descent; he is also a former FIDE champion.When Khalifman was 6 years old, he was taught chess by his father....
and Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev
Evgeny Bareev is a Russian chess Grandmaster and chess coach. In October 2003, he was in fourth place in the world rankings, with an Elo rating of 2739....
. His highest world rank ever was a tie for fifth place on the January 1990 and January 1991 FIDE rating lists, with ratings of 2645 and 2650 respectively.
Mikhail Gurevich's results in the late 1990s were not as impressive as in previous years, but he has since made a comeback. He achieved his highest rating of 2694 on the January 2001 rating list, ranking him 14th in the world. In 2001 he won the Belgian Chess Championship
Belgian Chess Championship
The Belgian Chess Championship is a championship organised yearly by the Fédération Royale Belge des Echecs . The winner of the championship is awarded the title: Chess Champion of Belgium....
with a perfect 9/9 score.
He placed 8th at the 2005 FIDE World Cup, beating Robert Markuš
Robert Markuš
Robert Markuš is a Serbian chess Grandmaster.His current FIDE rating is 2606 and he is a member of Novi Sad Chess Club....
, Pavel Eljanov
Pavel Eljanov
Pavel Eljanov is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster.In 1999, he was a member of the Ukrainian national youth team, which won the U-16 Chess Olympiad in Artek, Ukraine.Eljanov won the Corus B 2007 in Wijk aan Zee, Holland with a score of 9/13...
, Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
and Vladimir Malakhov along the way before losing to eventual winner Levon Aronian
Levon Aronian
Levon Grigor Aronian is an Armenian chess Grandmaster and the reigning World Blitz Chess Champion. On the September 2011 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2807, making him number three in the world and Armenia's number one...
. This qualified him for the Candidates Tournament
Candidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, in May–June 2007. However he was eliminated in the first round, losing his match against Peter Leko
Péter Lékó
On the way to winning the prestigious Corus chess tournament in 2005, Lékó defeated Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand with the black pieces. The moves were:...
3.5-0.5.
He currently lives in Turkey and won the 2006 Turkish Chess Championship
Turkish Chess Championship
The Turkish Chess Championship is a national chess tournament which determines the champion of Turkey.-Winners:-References:*...
. In 2009 he tied for first with Michał Krasenkow at the World Chess Open in Leon.
In team chess events, he represented the USSR at the 1989 Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
European Team Championship
European Team Championship
The European Team Championship 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...
, winning team gold and individual bronze medals. In 1992, playing for Belgium, he had a fine result at the 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,...
Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
, scoring 75% on board 1. In 2006, playing top board for his second adopted nation Turkey at the Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
Olympiad, he registered a respectable 58%.
Mikhail Gurevich was also a long-time second to eventual world champion Vishwanathan Anand in the 1990s. He is known as an expert on the French Defence
French Defence
The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...
, the Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
Variation of the Nimzo-Indian Defence
Nimzo-Indian Defence
The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:This hypermodern opening was developed by Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in the early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings the Nimzo-Indian does not involve an immediate fianchetto,...
, and the 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...
Variation of the Queen's Indian Defence. In 1991, he wrote a book on the latter, entitled Queen's Indian Defence: Kasparov System, published by Batsford.
In 2006, Gurevich was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. He also holds the title of FIDE Arbiter.
In the Fourth ACP World Rapid Cup knockout tournament, held between 27 and 29 May 2010 in Odessa, Ukraine, Gurevich created a sensation after beating two grandmasters rated at over 2700.
Notable games
- Joel Lautier vs Mikhail Gurevich, 21 1993, English Opening: Anglo-Dutch Defense (A10), 0-1
- Mikhail Gurevich vs Normunds Miezis, Bonn GSK 1996, Budapest Defense: Rubinstein Variation (A52), 1-0
- Sergei Movsesian vs Mikhail Gurevich, Sarajevo Bosnia 2000, French Defense: Advance, Euwe Variation (C02), 0-1
- Alexey Shirov vs Mikhail Gurevich, FIDE World Cup 2005, French Defense: Advance, Lputian Variation (C02), 0-1