Yuri Nikolaevsky
Encyclopedia
Yuri V Nikolaevsky was a Russian
chess
player. He won the Ukrainian Chess Championship
three times (1963, 1967 (jointly), and 1977), and represented the Soviet Union
three times in international student team competition, winning a total of four medals. He was of Grandmaster strength at his peak in the early 1960s, but never received an international chess title. He played in three Soviet
finals (1966, 1967, 1971).
Championship with 9.5/13 ahead of a strong field. This qualified him for the Ukrainian Chess Championship
at Kiev later that same year, where he scored 8/16 to finish 10th; the winner was Efim Geller
. These two strong performances earned selection to the Soviet student team for the 1958 Student Olympiad at Varna
, where he scored 1.5/3 on the second reserve board, and contributed to the team's gold medal win.
He placed second in the 1959 Ukrainian Chess Championship
at Kiev with 16/21, as Geller won again. Another appearance at the 1959 Student Olympiad at Budapest
went exceptionally well as he scored 8/10 on board four, earning the board gold medal, and the Soviet team won silver. He scored 9.5/16 in the semi-final of the 1960 Ukrainian Chess Championship
at Kiev, as Anatoly Bannik
won. He held down board four at the 1960 Student Olympiad at Leningrad
, scoring 5.5/9, as the Soviets won team silver.
Nikolaevsky won his first Ukrainian Chess Championship
in 1963 at Kiev with 11/17. He repeated this success in 1967 at Kiev, tied with Valery Zhidkov, and won this title for the third time in 1977 at Zhytomyr
. He represented Ukraine in two team matches against Bulgaria
, in 1962 at Kiev where he scored 2/2, and again in 1968 at Odessa
where he scored 1/1.
He qualified for his first Soviet final at Tbilisi
1966, where he struggled with only 7.5/20, as fellow Ukrainian Leonid Stein
won. An excellent performance in the 1967 Soviet Team Championship at Moscow
saw him post 7/9. He played in the Soviet final that year at Kharkov, which had a Swiss format and over 100 players; the winners were Mikhail Tal
and Lev Polugaevsky
. His final Soviet final appearance was at Leningrad
1971, where he scored 8.5/21, as Vladimir Savon
won.
Nikolaevsky got his sole chance at an individual international tournament at Varna
1968, where he tied 4th-5th places with 8/14, while Yuri Sakharov
won. He retired from most high-level competitive play after 1978, but played in the Igor Platonov
Memorial tournament at Kiev 1995, an event won by Yuri Kruppa.
Chessmetrics
.com, a site which ranks historical chess performances, ranks Nikolaevsky as high as 38th in the world, with a rating of 2634, in early 1960. This is Grandmaster territory. There is a selection of 105 of his games at ChessGames.com
.
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
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 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...
three times (1963, 1967 (jointly), and 1977), and represented the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
three times in international student team competition, winning a total of four medals. He was of Grandmaster strength at his peak in the early 1960s, but never received an international chess title. He played in three Soviet
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...
finals (1966, 1967, 1971).
Biography
Nikolaevsky made his first important chess result when he won the 1958 KievKiev
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....
Championship with 9.5/13 ahead of a strong field. This qualified him for 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...
at Kiev later that same year, where he scored 8/16 to finish 10th; the winner was 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...
. These two strong performances earned selection to the Soviet student team for the 1958 Student Olympiad at Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
, where he scored 1.5/3 on the second reserve board, and contributed to the team's gold medal win.
He placed second in the 1959 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...
at Kiev with 16/21, as Geller won again. Another appearance at the 1959 Student Olympiad 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...
went exceptionally well as he scored 8/10 on board four, earning the board gold medal, and the Soviet team won silver. He scored 9.5/16 in the semi-final of the 1960 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...
at Kiev, as Anatoly Bannik
Anatoly Bannik
Anatoly Bannik is a Ukrainian Chess Master, who was of Grandmaster strength during his peak years. He is a five-time Ukrainian champion, and qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship final seven times. He was among the top half-dozen Ukrainian players from 1944 to 1966...
won. He held down board four at the 1960 Student Olympiad 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...
, scoring 5.5/9, as the Soviets won team silver.
Nikolaevsky won his first 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 1963 at Kiev with 11/17. He repeated this success in 1967 at Kiev, tied with Valery Zhidkov, and won this title for the third time in 1977 at Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr is a city in the North of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Zhytomyr Oblast , as well as the administrative center of the surrounding Zhytomyr Raion...
. He represented Ukraine in two team matches against Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, in 1962 at Kiev where he scored 2/2, and again in 1968 at Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
where he scored 1/1.
He qualified 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...
1966, where he struggled with only 7.5/20, as fellow Ukrainian 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 :...
won. An excellent performance in the 1967 Soviet Team Championship at Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
saw him post 7/9. He played in the Soviet final that year at Kharkov, which had a Swiss format and over 100 players; the winners were 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....
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...
. His final Soviet final appearance was 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...
1971, where he scored 8.5/21, as Vladimir Savon
Vladimir Savon
Vladimir Andreyevich Savon was a Ukrainian chess player.He learned how to play late, at the age of 13....
won.
Nikolaevsky got his sole chance at an individual international tournament at Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
1968, where he tied 4th-5th places with 8/14, while Yuri Sakharov
Yuri Sakharov
Yuri Nikolaevich Sakharov was a Soviet chess master.Sakharov was twice Ukrainian Champion in 1966 and 1968...
won. He retired from most high-level competitive play after 1978, but played in the Igor Platonov
Igor Platonov
Igov Platonov was a Ukrainian–Soviet Grandmaster of chess , generally a middle-ranking player for most of his career. Platonov had no international title at all...
Memorial tournament at Kiev 1995, an event won by Yuri Kruppa.
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 ranks historical chess performances, ranks Nikolaevsky as high as 38th in the world, with a rating of 2634, in early 1960. This is Grandmaster territory. There is a selection of 105 of his games at ChessGames.com
Chessgames.com
ChessGames.com is a large chess community on the Internet, with over 156,000 members. The site maintains a large database of historical chess games where every game has a distinct message board for comments and analysis. Basic membership is free and the site is open to players at all levels of...
.