Sergei Rublevsky
Encyclopedia
Sergei Rublevsky is a Russian chess
grandmaster
(1994). He won the prestigious Aeroflot Open
in 2004, and became the 58th Russian chess champion after winning the Russian Superfinal
in Moscow (18–30 December 2005), one point clear from Dmitry Jakovenko
and Alexander Morozevich
.
He finished in the top 10 in the 2005 FIDE World Cup, which qualified him for the Candidates Tournament
for the FIDE World Chess Championship 2007, played in May–June 2007. He defeated Ruslan Ponomariov
3½-2½ in the first round. In the second round he played Alexander Grischuk
. The match was tied 3-3, but Grischuk won the rapid playoff 2½-½, eliminating Rublevsky from the championship.
said of Rublevsky, "Rublevsky is not a sexy player. There are younger and more gifted individuals around and he knows it. Yet he has canniness, which the greenhorns don't. He does not engage the teenagers on the sharp end of opening theory, testing his ailing memory against the freshness of their computer-assisted analysis. Instead he heads a little off the beaten track - not exactly to the jungle, but to lesser-travelled byways where his experience counts."
GM Alexander Morozevich
has said, "... my opening repertoire is not any ‘weirder’ than, say, that of Rublevsky."
With White, Rublevsky plays 1.e4 the overwhelming percentage of the time.
Against 1...e5, which is Anand's usual but not exclusive first move, Rublevsky plays the Scotch
. Against 1...c5, Rublevsky sometimes goes for Open Sicilians, but he has a couple of non-Open pet lines: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4. Against the French
and Caro-Kann
, he plays 2.d4 followed by 3.Nd2.
With Black, he meets 1.e4 with Kan/Paulsen/Taimanov Sicilians; against 1.d4 he generally plays the QGA and the occasional Slav.
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
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....
(1994). He won the prestigious Aeroflot Open
Aeroflot Open
The Aeroflot Open is an annual open chess tournament played in Moscow and sponsored by the airline Aeroflot. It was established in 2002 and quickly grew to be the strongest open tournament. The first event had around 80 grandmasters, while in the second event 150 grandmasters participated...
in 2004, and became the 58th Russian chess champion after winning the Russian Superfinal
Russian Chess Championship
-Imperial Russia:In 1874, Emanuel Schiffers defeated Andrey Chardin in a match held in St. Petersburg with five wins and four losses. Schiffers was considered the first Russian champion until his student, Mikhail Chigorin, defeated him in a match held in St. Petersburg in 1879...
in Moscow (18–30 December 2005), one point clear from Dmitry Jakovenko
Dmitry Jakovenko
Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko is a Russian chess grandmaster. On the March 2010 FIDE Elo rating list, Jakovenko has a rating of 2725, making him the 20th highest ranked player in the world....
and Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
.
He finished in the top 10 in the 2005 FIDE World Cup, which 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, played in May–June 2007. He defeated Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olegovich Ponomariov is a Ukrainian chess player and former FIDE World Champion.-Early career:Ponomariov was born in Horlivka in Ukraine. In 1994 he placed third in the World Under-12 Championship at the age of ten. In 1996 he won the European Under-18 Championship at the age of just...
3½-2½ in the first round. In the second round he played Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Grischuk
Alexander Igorevich Grischuk is a Russian chess grandmaster and Russian Champion in 2009.-Chess career:In the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000, Grischuk he made it to the semifinals, losing to Alexei Shirov....
. The match was tied 3-3, but Grischuk won the rapid playoff 2½-½, eliminating Rublevsky from the championship.
Style
GM Nigel ShortNigel 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...
said of Rublevsky, "Rublevsky is not a sexy player. There are younger and more gifted individuals around and he knows it. Yet he has canniness, which the greenhorns don't. He does not engage the teenagers on the sharp end of opening theory, testing his ailing memory against the freshness of their computer-assisted analysis. Instead he heads a little off the beaten track - not exactly to the jungle, but to lesser-travelled byways where his experience counts."
GM Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
has said, "... my opening repertoire is not any ‘weirder’ than, say, that of Rublevsky."
With White, Rublevsky plays 1.e4 the overwhelming percentage of the time.
Against 1...e5, which is Anand's usual but not exclusive first move, Rublevsky plays the Scotch
Scotch Game
The Scotch Game is a chess opening that begins with the movesWhite aims to dominate the centre by exchanging his d-pawn for Black's e-pawn. Black usually plays 3...exd4, as he has no good way to maintain his pawn on e5...
. Against 1...c5, Rublevsky sometimes goes for Open Sicilians, but he has a couple of non-Open pet lines: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ and 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4. Against the French
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...
and Caro-Kann
Caro-Kann Defence
The Caro-Kann Defence is a chess opening —a common defense against the King's Pawn Opening characterised by the moves:The usual continuation isfollowed by 3.Nc3 , 3.Nd2 , 3.exd5 , or 3.e5 . The classical variation has gained much popularity...
, he plays 2.d4 followed by 3.Nd2.
With Black, he meets 1.e4 with Kan/Paulsen/Taimanov Sicilians; against 1.d4 he generally plays the QGA and the occasional Slav.
Notable games
- Sergei Rublevsky vs Garry Kasparov, 20th European Club Cup 2004, Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack (B30), 1-0
- Sergei Rublevsky vs Alexey Dreev, Russian Championship Superfinal 2005, Sicilian Defense: Nyezhmetdinov-Rossolimo Attack (B30), 1-0
- Sergei Rublevsky vs Pentala Harikrishna, Aerosvit GM Tournament 2006, Sicilian Defense: Canal Attack (B51), 1-0
- Sergei Rublevsky vs Ruslan Ponomariov, Candidates Match: Ponomariov-Rublevsky 2007, Caro-Kann Defense: Bronstein-Larsen Variation (B16), 1/2-1/2