Simen Agdestein
Encyclopedia
Simen Agdestein is a Norwegian
chess
grandmaster
and ex-football
star. He has won seven Norwegian chess championship
s, including the 2005 title.
The young Agdestein developed a prodigious chess talent, culminating in his becoming Norway's national champion at the age of 15, an International Master at 16 and a Grandmaster at 18.
On a local level, his regular dominance of the Nordic
and Norwegian Chess Championship
s during the 1980s amply demonstrated that there were few players who could resist his enterprising and inventive style. In international competition, his early achievements were noteworthy; he finished second at the 1986 World Junior Championship
behind Walter Arencibia
but ahead of Evgeny Bareev
, Viswanathan Anand
and Jeroen Piket
. A little later, his Elo rating rose to a level in excess of 2600, but he never quite managed to break into the world elite circuit.
In the late 1980s, Agdestein managed to juggle top-flight chess with a full time football career, representing his country at both.
In the early 1990s, a knee injury cut short his football activities and the difficult times that followed also reflected in his chess, with his rating going into steady decline. In 1999 however, Agdestein resurrected his game and returned to winning ways, topping the popular Cappelle La Grande tournament that year and a very strong Isle of Man
tournament in 2003.
, mostly playing first board and winning an individual (board 4) gold medal at his first appearance in 1982
.
As a player of the white pieces, he shows a preference for the queen pawn opening
s, while with Black, favours the Ruy Lopez
, Dutch Defence
and Semi-Open Game
s. On the January 2007 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2583, just short of his 5-year top score of 2595 achieved in January 2004.
Simen Agdestein works at a sports academy, where he teaches chess and football. He has been a chess coach to many young talents, including leading Grandmaster and former child prodigy Magnus Carlsen
.
His handle on the Internet Chess Club
(ICC) is "Gruk".
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Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
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...
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....
and ex-football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
star. He has won seven Norwegian chess championship
Norwegian Chess Championship
The Norwegian Chess Championship is an annual tournament held in Norway during the month of July, in order to determine the national chess champion. The tournament is held at different venues each year as part of the Landsturnering...
s, including the 2005 title.
The young Agdestein developed a prodigious chess talent, culminating in his becoming Norway's national champion at the age of 15, an International Master at 16 and a Grandmaster at 18.
On a local level, his regular dominance of the Nordic
Nordic Chess Championship
The first Nordic Chess Championship took place in Stockholm in 1897.-Winners:The winners in the Nordic Championship in 1934 and 1936, Aron Nimzowitsch and Erik Lundin, got the Nordiske kongresmestre title, as the champion 1930, Erik Andersen, defended his title with 3-3 against Gideon Ståhlberg at...
and Norwegian Chess Championship
Norwegian Chess Championship
The Norwegian Chess Championship is an annual tournament held in Norway during the month of July, in order to determine the national chess champion. The tournament is held at different venues each year as part of the Landsturnering...
s during the 1980s amply demonstrated that there were few players who could resist his enterprising and inventive style. In international competition, his early achievements were noteworthy; he finished second at the 1986 World Junior Championship
World Junior Chess Championship
The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....
behind Walter Arencibia
Walter Arencibia
Walter Arencibia is a Cuban chess grandmaster. He learned chess at the age of eight and has won various tournaments, including the 1986 World Junior Chess Championship, for which he automatically gained the International Master title. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1990...
but ahead of 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....
, 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 Jeroen Piket
Jeroen Piket
Jeroen Piket is a retired Dutch chess player who earned the Grandmaster title in 1989. He won the Dutch Chess Championship in 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1994. Other notable results include a second place at the Hoogovens tournament 1997...
. A little later, his Elo rating rose to a level in excess of 2600, but he never quite managed to break into the world elite circuit.
In the late 1980s, Agdestein managed to juggle top-flight chess with a full time football career, representing his country at both.
In the early 1990s, a knee injury cut short his football activities and the difficult times that followed also reflected in his chess, with his rating going into steady decline. In 1999 however, Agdestein resurrected his game and returned to winning ways, topping the popular Cappelle La Grande tournament that year and a very strong Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
tournament in 2003.
Chess
Agdestein has represented his country seven times at the Chess OlympiadChess 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...
, mostly playing first board and winning an individual (board 4) gold medal at his first appearance in 1982
25th Chess Olympiad
The 25th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 29 and November 16, 1982, in Lucerne, Switzerland.-References:...
.
As a player of the white pieces, he shows a preference for the queen pawn opening
Queen's Pawn Game
In the most general sense the term Queen's Pawn Game can refer to any chess opening which starts with the move:It is the second most popular opening move. The name is now usually used to describe openings beginning with the moves 1.d4 d5 where White does not follow through with an early pawn...
s, while with Black, favours the Ruy Lopez
Ruy Lopez
The Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
, Dutch Defence
Dutch Defence
The Dutch Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:Elias Stein , an Alsatian who settled in The Hague, recommended the defence as the best reply to 1.d4 in his 1789 book Nouvel essai sur le jeu des échecs, avec des réflexions militaires relatives à ce jeu.-Theory:Black's 1.....
and Semi-Open Game
Semi-Open Game
A Semi-Open Game is a chess opening in which White plays 1.e4 and Black breaks symmetry immediately by replying with a move other than 1...e5.The Semi-Open Games are also called Single King Pawn Games, and are the complement of the Open Games or Double King Pawn Games which begin 1.e4 e5.-Popular...
s. On the January 2007 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2583, just short of his 5-year top score of 2595 achieved in January 2004.
Simen Agdestein works at a sports academy, where he teaches chess and football. He has been a chess coach to many young talents, including leading Grandmaster and former child prodigy Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
.
His handle on the Internet Chess Club
Internet Chess Club
The Internet Chess Club is a commercial Internet chess server devoted to the play and discussion of chess and chess variants. ICC currently has over 30,000 subscribing members...
(ICC) is "Gruk".
Football career statistics
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|1985||||4||1||colspan="2"|-||4||1
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|1986||||4||1||colspan="2"|-||4||1
|-
|1987||||19||8||colspan="2"|-||19||8
|-
|1988||||17||13||1||0||18||13
|-
|1989||||17||5||colspan="2"|-||17||5
|-
|1990||||17||8||3||0||20||8
|-
|1991
Norwegian Premier League 1991
The Tippeligaen 1991 is the highest Football league in Norway. 22 games are played with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Number eleven and twelve are relegated...
||rowspan="2"|Premier League
Norwegian Premier League
Tippeligaen is a Norwegian professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the Norwegian football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. The league is also unofficially known under its neutral name Eliteserien , although the name has never been official...
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|1992
Norwegian Premier League 1992
The Tippeligaen 1992 is the highest Football league in Norway. 22 games are played with 3 points given for wins and 1 for draws. Number eleven and twelve are relegated...
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