June Babies: A Chess Zodiac
Gemini – the twins. Opposite sides of the same coin? Are they conjoined? They certainly seem inseparable. Perhaps they are descendants of Janus, the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings? Definitely an auspicious sign for those seeking to continuously transition from one stage of their chess growth to the next. One need only consider some of the premier chess champions who are members of the Gemini club: Morphy, Petrosian, and Kramnik. Each oversaw the overthrow of a previous regime. Are you, someone you know, or someone you admire, part of that same group that alters the course of chess history? Feel free to speculate!
So, here are the big questions.
What do the biographies of the chess personalities born on a given day say about the chess potential of those born that same day in June?
What might Wikipedia and other sources be saying about you and chess in the future? Will someone credit you for starting them on the path to World CC? Or will it be you sitting on the throne?
Like any good zodiac, it often admits to multiple interpretations. What? Did you expect more than pseudo-science? And for now, you'll have to draw your own inferences from the information provided. The lucre, and stunning lack thereof, received to date from these blogs hardly pays for me to walk over to the faucet and fill up my glass of water. Let alone to provide my keen insights into how people are influenced by those with whom they share a random day of birth.
Below you'll find images of photos, stamps, YouTube videos, paintings, book covers, or sketches of various chess luminaries, along with bios that range from short and pithy to chess-nut extremes. In some cases, you'll also find links to websites people maintain and their handle on various social media, including your fave, chess.com.
Scroll through the entire list or just click on a specific day, World CC, particularly famous player, or chess couple. And after looking at the biography of the birthday personality or personalities on a given day you should find a link that returns you here so you can select another day of the month. If you want. Enjoy!
Links to June Birth Dates
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30
Links to June Classical World CCs (not blitz, rapid, Fischer Random, etc.)
Links to Other June GM Notables
Short, Kamsky, Svidler, Firouzja, Gelfand, Giri
Links to June Chess Couples
Al-Modiahki, Kamsky, lAmi, Truong, Sziva, Majdan-Gajewska, Houska, Maisuradze, Wagner, Rogers, Giri
Looking for birthdays in other months?
October Chess Babies Zodiac
February Babies: A Chess Zodiac
Sources for this information included chess.com, wikipedia.com, ChessBase, FIDE, individuals' websites, YouTube.com, news articles, Edward Winter, books, and other sources including A-Z Quotes | Quotes for All Occasions. Plus, my faulty memories. I mixed, matched, cut, and pasted so much that separation is implausible. Particularly with quotes which are found in a thousand repositories, not to mention book covers, t-shirts, and the rantings of chess coaches of whom I've had more than a few thanks to Chess University and IM @AttilaTurzo (my primary chess instructor).
Nigel David Short, 1 June 1965, is an English GM, columnist, coach, commentator, and FIDE Director for Chess Development. He placed second to Kasparov in the 1980 World Junior CC, won the British Lightning CC at age 13, three British CCs, one British Rapid CC, one English CC, three Commonwealth CCs, and the 2006 EU Individual Open CC. He represented England in seventeen consecutive Olympiads. During those events, he secured three team silvers, one team bronze, and an individual performance gold. In World Team CCs he earned a team gold and bronze, and an individual silver.
With a peak rating of 2712 in April 2004, he reached #3 globally in July 1998, five years after losing the PCA World CC match with Kasparov. ChessMetrics posts his peak rating at 2750 in April 1989, but never placed him higher than #5 worldwide. He lost 7 rating points in April 2025 to fall to 2587. He plays regularly on chess.com @NigelShort where he boasted a 2900 blitz rating at the end of the day on 26 May. It’s gone up a bit so far today, 27 May. I doubt that I’ll check back to see where his rating ended the day. Blitz is blitz.
A coach for superstar prodigies such as Pentala Harikrishna, Sergey Karjakin, David Howell and Parimarjan Negi, he also coached the Islamic Republic of Iran team to a bronze medal in the 2006 Asian Games.
No stranger to controversy, perhaps Short’s most notable “stepping in it” moment came in 2015 when he alleged that men are biologically better suited to chess than women…despite his repeated defeats by Judit Polgar.
His King-walk game against Jan Timman at Tilburg in 1991 was voted one of the hundred greatest games ever (well, in one list).
Humorously, Short’s book Winning opens with the following, “This is my first book, and it has taken a global pandemic for me to write it" and "I must confess that all books with my name on the cover – and with profound apologies to those who bought them – were all ghost-written".
Short has written columns and book reviews for The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, and The Spectator. Additionally, he reported on the 2005 World CC for ChessBase, and covered other World CC matches for other media companies. Short was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to chess.
Mihai Șubă, June 1, 1947) is a Romanian and Spanish GM, three-time Romanian CC, Senior World CC, and author. His title in the Senior World CC was somewhat marred because the wrong tiebreak system was initially used and Șubă was declared to have finished second. The FIDE Presidential Board subsequently declared joint winners, allowing the other player to retain the GM title they won by winning a World CC (Șubă was already a long-time GM).
A true outlier, Șubă did not begin playing chess until he was 19 years old. Șubă’s peak rating was 2580 in July 1986, #20 globally. ChessMetrics lists him at 2674 in August 1983 with a peak rank of #30 in April 1083. Until February 2024 he played regularly on the FIDE circuit, with his rating regressing to 1956.
He has a spot on chess.com @mihaisuba but hasn’t played since September 2019.
His book Dynamic Chess Strategy redefined how players think about the game, showing that traditional concepts of improving the position could prevent a player from finding the correct plan. Instead, Șubă focused on dynamic potential, as seen in Hedgehog structures. The book won the 1991 British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award. You can find a positive review of Positional Chess Sacrifices at Book Review Of Positional Chess Sacrifices by Mihai Suba - The Chess Advisor. His book The Hedgehog goes into detail on a Black position that seems cramped, but is full of dynamic, counterpunching potential…the very theme of his most famous book on dynamics.
Leonid Aleksandrovich Shamkovich (Russian: Леони́д Алекса́ндрович Шамко́вич; June 1, 1923 – April 22, 2005) was a Russian-born, Canadian and American GM, one-time Canadian CC, one-time US Masters CC, author. With a peak FIDE rating of 2540 in July 1973, he reached #41 globally. ChessMetrics offers a more useful measure of his peak, slotting him in at 2675 and #19 in January 1966.
His nickname was Prince because of his aristocratic bearing.
He wrote numerous books, many of them collaborations with authors such as Raymond Keene and Eric Schiller. I counted more than twenty books with minimal research on my part.
Alina l'Ami (née Moţoc; born 1 June 1985) is a Romanian IM and WGM, World Girls U10 CC, European Girls U18 CC, and Women’s Balkan CC. With a peak rating of 2446 in August 2014, she has not played since January 2024 when her rating rose slightly to 2290. Though she was online at chess.com @alinalami as recently as 22 April 2025, I found no games after 2014. She is a member of chess.com staff.
She has a website Welcome to the official website of Alina l'Ami. There is an informative and amusing section (posted in 2010) where she poses 26 questions with her answers so people can get to know her better. I’ll skip over the resume stuff and get to the personal items I found most interesting.
#6. What is usually the first thought when I wake up: What time is it?!
#7. What do I usually think about right before falling asleep: Did I lock the door?!
#25. Ever wish I were born the opposite sex: I am very curious in general, I would have liked to have this experience for one day, but I prefer to be a girl, I got used to it
She is married to GM Erwin l’Ami who has a peak rating of 2651. Together this chess power couple’s peak ratings cross the 5000 ELO threshold, topping out at 5097.
Mohammed Ahmed Al-Modiahki (Arabic: محمد أحمد المضيحكي), 1 June 1974, is a Qatari GM, four-time Arab CC, President of the Qatar Chess Federation, and a FIDE International Director. His peak rating was 2588 in October 2003. He is still rated 2542 as of May 2025, but has not played a FIDE-rated game since September 2016. He participated in nine Olympiads and won two individual board one gold medals and two individual bronze medals.
He was awarded the trophy of Player of the Century within the Arab Countries. You can see him receiving that trophy above.
ZAl-Modiahki is married to former Women's World CC, Zhu Chen. With her peak rating of 2548, this chess power couple has a peak combined rating of 5136.
Elena Sedina (Russian: Елена Седина; Ukrainian: Оле́на Се́діна, Olena Sedina; born 1 June 1968) is a Ukrainian-Italian IM, WGM, one-time Ukrainian Women’s CC, one-time Australian Open CC (the first woman to ever win), and PhD in chess training methods. She won an individual gold medal in the 1994 Olympiad, plus a silver medal for the best rating performance. Her peak rating was 2434 in April 2003. In April 2025 she lost seven rating points to fall to 2201 ELO.
She has not played on chess.com @elena1668 since May 2024.
#46 chess.com Hall of Fame: Gata Kamsky
Gata Kamsky (Tatar/Russian: Гата Камский; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American GM, five-time US CC, and author. With a peak rating of 2763 in July 2013, his peak world ranking was almost twenty years earlier at #4 in July 1995. At age 16 Gata reached #8 globally, the youngest player ever to reach the top ten. Somehow, Gata’s lifetime arc in the FIDE rating system aligns mysteriously with the ChessMetrics baseline as the latter lists him with a peak rating of 2779 and ranking of #4 in March 1995.
He competed for the FIDE World CC in 1996, losing to Karpov. After losing that match Kamsky retired from chess until 2004, barring a brief match in 1999 that he lost to Khalifman. Upon his return he quickly returned to the upper echelons of the super-GM world despite, some would say, reliance on simple systems such as the London opening. In recent years his rating began a gradual decline. In February 2025 he lost four rating points to drop to 2607 ELO.
I have seen Kamsky playing regularly in chess.com Titled Tuesday events as @TigrVShlyape. Hikaru always speaks highly of his skills…while regularly beating him.
Gata’s wife, Vera Nebolsina (Russian: Вера Неболсина; born 16 December 1989) is a WGM with a peak rating of 2389. This chess power couple has a combined peak rating of 5152.
What Gata had to say about Volume 1 of his two-volume set.
For the first time in my life, I was free to pursue directions of my own choosing. The decision was a difficult one, but finally I decided to return to chess, feeling that I could somehow positively influence both FIDE and the chess world in general.
Clearly there were some triumphs and failures during this period of my chess career, but ultimately, I feel that I have left a certain mark on the generation from which the world’s current top players have emerged.
For me, there still exists the exciting journey to find the great truth of what is happening on the chess board, and the search for an even greater objective, the beauty of the game.
Below you'll find two Kamsky wins, one against Karpov and the other victory over Kramnik. Plus, Ben is always ready with some extra anecdotes and insights...though the time he spends scrolling through Gata's Wikipedia page were moments lost in my life.
If you'd like to read a lot more about Gata and view some games of his with outstanding annotations he provided, let me point you to my post HoF #46: Kamsky–"London's King".
Paul Truong (born June 2, 1965) is a Cambodian and American FM, trainer, coach, organizer, author, and photographer. He was born Trương Hoài Nhân in Saigon, South Vietnam. His peak rating of 2395 was achieved in July 1986. He has not played actively since then.
Truong has served as a coach and the chief strategist of the Webster University chess team and the Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE). He was also captain of the 2004 US Women’s Olympiad team.
He co-authored five books with Susan Polgar. In a singular claim to fame, imo, he has taken as many as 30K chess-related photos per year, which he then posts in the public domain for use by all.
Married to GM Susan Polgar, with a peak rating of 2577, this chess power couple falls just shy of the 5000 barrier, peeking at that barrier from a close-up view at 4972 combined.
In 2007 Paul and Susan were elected to the USCF Executive Board. Interestingly, both had their memberships revoked by USCF in 2010 over allegations of financial malfeasance. That led to court and an eventual settlement in which Polgar and Truong severed all their USCF affiliations. They could still play in events if they chose to do so, but as non-members.
Jon Ludvig Hammer, 2 June 1990, is a Norwegian GM, three-time Norwegian CC, and author. His peak rating was 2705 in February 2016, #40 globally. His rating entering May 2025 was 2608 ELO, after gaining four rating points in March.
You can find Hammer on chess.com @gmjlh where his bullet rating was 2953 as of 20 March 2025. His blitz rating was a “mere” 2721 as of 13 March 2025.
Hammer has published three books on chessable.com, though one is just a Short & Sweet version of the fuller Hammer’s Nimzo-Indian, as you’ll note above. He also published an educational video series 1.e4 A Complete White Repertoire. You can learn more about that online.
István Csom (June 2, 1940 - 28 July 2021) was a Hungarian chess GM, two-time Hungarian CC, and IA. His peak rating was 2545 in January 1989, but he was #39 globally almost fifteen years earlier, in May 1974. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2645 in June 1974. He played for Hungary in seven Olympiads, including the 1978 gold-medal team.
Nurgyul Salimova (Bulgarian: Нургюл Салимова; Turkish: Nurgül Salimova; born 2 June 2003) is a Turkish-Bulgarian IM and WGM, one-time Blugarian Women’s CC, European Girls U8 CC, World U12 Girls CC, European Girls U12 CC, and earned silver in the 2023 Bulgarian CC as the only woman to compete in the open section. Her peak rating was 2449 in July 2024 but that slipped below 2400 to 2399 entering May 2025. She had two GM norms as of April 2024.
She plays frequently on chess.com @ nurgyulsalimova with blitz and bullet ratings over 2700 as of 27 May 2025.
Yannick Gozzoli (born 2 June 1983) is a French GM who tied for first in the 2018 French CC but lost in the three-way playoff. His peak rating was 2633 in March 2019, but that had slipped to 2567 entering May 2025.
He has not been on chess.com @Noukii since February 2022.
Nils Axel Grandelius (born 3 June 1993) is a Swedish GM, one-time Swedish CC, European U16 CC, and author. His peak rating was 2694 in March 2019 and he reached #44 globally in September of that year. Entering May 2024 his rating stood at 2637, still in the Top 100 at #93.
He was a second for Carlsen in the 2018 World CC and for Nakamura at the 2024 Candidates.
He plays on chess.com @Grandelicious where he had a 2075 blitz rating as of April 15, 2025. His most recent bullet game was in February 2025 and found him at 2844.
He has eight books published on chessable.com. His writing style is particularly engaging based on a few of his books I have picked up.
Alik Gershon (born 3 June 1980, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) is an Israeli GM, one-time Israeli CC, one-time world record holder for the most simultaneous games (523), and author. His score was 454W-58D-11L. His record was broken in February 2011. His peak rating was 2573 in January 2003 but was at 2431 for April and May 2025.
His book San Luis 2005 (coauthored with Igor Nor) won the English Chess Federation’s 2007 Book of the Year award.
Aryan Tari (Persian: آرین طاری; born 4 June 1999) is a Norwegian GM, two-time Norwegian CC, and former World Junior CC. His peak rating of 2672 in July 2022 closely preceded his peak rank of #70 in August 2022. As of May 2025 he is rated 26367 and #96.
He can be found on chess.com @AryanTari where his blitz and bullet ratings were both over 3000 as of 28 May.
Vinay Subrahmanya Bhat (June 4, 1984) is an American GM with a peak rating of 2549 in March 2010. In 2010 he gave up ambitions of playing professionally and focused on a career as a data scientist. I found only one set of FIDE-rated games in October 2014, when he gained eight rating points to reach 2519.
Although he was on chess.com as recently as 28 May 2025 @vbhat, I found no games since February 2019.
Olga Alexandrovna Girya (Russian: Ольга Александровна Гиря; born 4 June 1991) is a Russian GM, one-time Russian Women’s CC, U18 World Girls CC, European U18 Girls CC, and runner-up a the World Girls U20 CC in 2008. Her peak rating was 2505 in September 2017 and she was at 2400 entering May 2025.
Olga was a member of gold-medal teams at a Women’s Olympiad and 2017 Women’s World Team CC. In 2013, she earned an individual gold in the Women’s World Team CC, while the team took bronze. That same year, she earned an individual silver in the Women’s European Team CC.
She plays on chess.com @Olga-Girya relatively frequently, with games as recent as April 2025.
Salomon Lipschütz (July 4, 1863 – November 30, 1905) was a US CC and writer. His peak years were from 1900 – mid-1902. Throughout that span, he was ranked in the top ten in the world with a peak rating of 2742 and rank of #4. To be blunt, poor health (tuberculosis) and then death interrupted that streak.
Lipschütz became the US CC with a devastating defeat of Showalter in 1892 (the central image above).
There is a lengthy article at S. Lipschütz – Samuel, Simon or Solomon? by Edward Winter in which various worthies attempted to determine what his first name actually was. It is now deemed likely that his official name was Salomon, but that family and friends knew him by Samuel.
Lipschütz wrote a 122-page appendix to The Chess Player’s Manual that was well received by several reviewers. The book is probably in the public domain by this point. That means I could access a free copy, had I any interest in doing so.
Henri (Henry) Grob (4 June 1904 – c. 5 July 1974) was a Swiss IM, two-time Swiss CC, artist, and author. ChessMetrics lists his peak rating at 2491 in January 1934, #79 globally. He represented Switzerland in four Olympics, with a losing record overall (14W-19D-26L). He lost badly in matches against Flohr, Euwe, Najdorf, Bogoljubow, and Prins, but beat Flohr decisively.
Interestingly, he played just over 3,600 games against readers of a Swiss newspaper, winning over 2,700 of the games. Kudos to the 430 who managed to beat him.
He wrote two books, one on the Grob Attack (1.g4) and one on the Englund Gambit (1.d4 d5).
Mikheil Mchedlishvili (Georgian: მიხეილ მჭედლიშვილი; born 4 June 1979) is a Georgian GM, four-time Georgian CC (I had to correct the Wikipedia page as they were missing his 2023 championship), and head coach of a Dubai Chess and Culture Club. His peak rating was 2659 in August 2012, and he was #84 globally in April 2008. His current rating is 2562 after losing six rating points in February 2025. His FIDE rapid and blitz ratings are also above 2500. He plays actively at all three time controls.
He can be found on chess.com @mishikomchedlishvili and had just been on-site a half hour before I gathered this data (29 May 2025), but has not played a game there since September 2024. He offers coaching services.
Natalia Oleksandrivna Zhukova (Ukrainian: Наталія Олександрівна Жукова; born 5 June 1979) is a Ukrainian GM, two-time European Women’s CC, European Girls U14 and then U16 CC, World Girls U16 CC, and finished second in the Girls U20 CC the following year. Her peak rating was 2499 in May 2010, but gradually slid to 2305 after losing one rating point in April 2025.
She has played for the Ukrainian Women’s team since age seventeen and was on board one of the gold-medal winning 2006 Olympiad team, earning an individual gold medal as well.
She plays in bursts on chess.com @Tashik, though I found no games for April or May 2025. That said, she was online on 28 May.
At one point, she was married to Alexander Grischuk. Had they remained married, this chess power couple would have had a combined peak rating of 5309. With his new wife, Kateryna Lagno, that chess power couple has a combined peak rating of 5326.
Georg (German nickname, Eiserner Schorsch) Kieninger, 5 June 1902, in Munich – 25 January 1975, was a German IM, three-time German CC, and cigar smoker…maybe he had the same idea as Winawer, to smoke out his opponents? He was almost certainly stronger than his title suggests, given that ChessMetrics lists him with a peak rating of 2636 in October 1948, and he reached #23 globally a decade before that. He was in the top 100 for over twenty years, only falling out of that elite group as he neared age 51.
Csaba Horváth (5 June 1968) is a Hungarian GM and two-time Hungarian GM. His peak rating of 2566 was achieved in June 2014. He gained one rating point in May 2025 to edge up to 2477, closer to the 2500 mark. ChessMetrics offers a similar peak rating, 2582 in February 1995, high enough for #179 globally.
He should not be confused with Csaba Horvath, a CM, also from Hungary, but born in 1980.
His older brother József is also a GM, with a peak rating of 2567. His brother has a chess.com presence @oldfish64, but Csaba does not. That said, József has not been online for almost two years.
Wouter Spoelman, 5 June 1990, is a Dutch GM. His peak rating was 2588 in March 2017. That has slipped slightly, falling fifty points as of March 2022. No FIDE-rated games are shown after that data.
He can be found on chess.com @Mr_Dynamic. He was online as recently as April 2025 as of 2 June but had not played a game since November 2023.
Vladimir Burmakin, 6 June 1967, is a Russian GM with a peak rating of 2627 in July 2009. ChessMetrics suggests a similar peak rating (2611), placing Burmakin #107 globally. His rating descended to 2430 as of June 2025, losing a single handful of points (5) in May. He also plays somewhat regularly in FIDE-rated rapid and blitz events.
He played for Russia in the 2019 European Senior Team CC (50+ Division), sharing in the team gold. He is an expert in the Caro-Kann and the Chebanenko Slav.
He plays blitz quite frequently on chess.com @burbur555 with his rating at 2697 as of May 30, 2025.
Maria Horvath, 6June 1963, is an Austrian WFM and one-time Austrian Women’s CC. She has played for Austria in ten Women’s Olympiads, earning an individual gold on Board 3 in 1988. Her peak rating was 2094 in October 2004.
Boris Kreiman (June 7, 1976) is an American GM, two-time US Junior CC, coach, and trainer. His peak rating was 2515 in January 2000. ChessMetrics lists his peak at 2564 in April 2003, #238 globally.
Kreiman retired from active play in 2006 to focus on bringing chess to the educational community, although he played a few rated games in April 2013. He founded the Kreiman Chess Academy and several of the students have earned Samford Chess Fellowships.
Liudmila Sergeyevna Belavenets (Russian: Людмила Сергеевна Белавенец; also transliterated Lyudmila Sergeevna Belavenets; 7 June 1940 – 7 November 2021) was a Russian WIM, ICCF Lady GM, one-time Women’s Soviet CC, and FIDE Senior Trainer. Her peak rating was 2210 in January 1990 and her peak ICCF rating was 2215 in July 1994. She died from COVID-19.
Her father was a Russian master who was killed in action (KIA) during WW-II. ChessMetrics estimated his peak rating at 2650 in October 1940, and he topped out at #15 globally.
Yu Yangyi (Chinese: 余泱漪; born 8 June 1994) is a Chinese GM, three-time Chinese CC, World Junior CC, and one-time Asian CC. His peak rating was 2765 in September 2018 and he reached #10 globally one year later. He is still a member of the super-GM club, rated 2714 and ranked #28 entering June 2025.
He was a member of the 2014 Olympiad team gold medalists and won an individual gold medal on board three for the best performance rating of the event. He was also a member of the gold medal-winning team at the 2015 World Team CC
Yu Yangyi plays regularly on chess.com @chesspanda123.
Erika Sziva (born 8 June 1967) is a Hungarian-born Dutch WGM, one-time Hungarian Women’s CC, and five-time Dutch Women’s CC. Her peak rating was 2331 in January 2001. She represented the Netherlands in five Women’s Olympiads, playing first or second board in every instance. Her overall record was 22W-26D-10L.
Her husband was IM Johan van Mil who passed away at age 49. His peak rating was 2518 according to ChessMetrics. Together this chess couple would have had a peak combined rating of 4849.
Daniela Nuțu-Gajić (born Daniela Silvia Nuțu; 8 June 1957) is a Romanian Australian WGM, three-time Romanian Women’s CC, one-time Yugoslav Women’s CC, one-time Australian Women’s CC, and trainer. Her peak rating was 2355 in January 1993. She has not played actively since 1998 but is an active coach for juniors.
Daniela represented Romania in seven Women’s Olympiads, winning two individual gold medals and three team medals (one silver and two bronze).
Võ Thị Kim Phụng (born 8 June 1993) is a Vietnamese WGM, one-time Asian Women’s CC, and two-time Asian Junior Girls CC. Her peak rating was 2425 in January 2018. That means she only needed norms to earn the IM title, but I found no information to indicate whether that happened.
Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky (Ukrainian: Ісаак Єфремович Болеславський, Russian: Исаак Ефремович Болеславский; 9 June 1919 – 15 February 1977) was a Soviet GM, three-time Ukrainian CC, two-time Belarusian CC, trainer, and writer. His peak Elo was listed at 2560 in July 1971, #28 globally. ChessMetrics suggests his actual peak occurred in 1950 with a 2760 rating and #3 in the world. He died at the relatively young age of 57 after contracting a fatal infection in a hospital while receiving treatment for a fractured hip.
Boleslavsky was the chief trainer for the USSR Chess Federation in the 1960s. He also served as Bronstein’s second in the 1951 World CC match against Botvinnik, and was Tigran Petrosian’s assistant from 1963 – 69.
Boleslavsky wrote extensively about the Sicilian Defense.
@KevinSmithIdiot [aka, The Grumpy Olde Man (GOM)], 9 June, like most of us, was born to two parents. Unlike most of y'all, he was born two blocks from a toxic waste dump, otherwise known as the Love Canal. Other than the occasional mental twitch, this seems to have affected him in what he believes are useful ways. For instance, he espouses the notion that there are at least ten sides to everything. But he'll let you figure that out on your own time. Let's get this brief bio done and over with.
Our Dostoyevsky fan, then in his teens, was spotted and tagged by a US Chess Federation Senior Master (top 50 in the nation at the time) as someone who would make master. Sorry to disappoint you, Don.😭 Instead, it was off to the Air Force, pilot training, and attendance at over a dozen colleges...I actually graduated from some of them! Got married, changed diapers for a couple kids, retired from the military, became a cybersecurity guy who made lists that should have been naming other people, retired again, wrote a couple chess books, discovered chess blogging, won some blogging awards, opened a blogging club or three or more, and judge blogs when not blogging. (Currently writing three chess books on chessable.com, in collaboration with IM Attila Turzo.)
Klaus Bischoff, 9 June 1961, is a German GM, two-time German CC, and eleven-time German Blitz CC. His peak Elo was 2569 in November 2009. As of May 2025, his rating stands at 2428. He plays quite regularly.
He was a participant in multiple Olympiads and part of the team that took silver in the 2000 Olympiad. He also earned team bronzes with the German team in two European Team CCs.
You can read more about him in GM @Gserper’s article Personal Mona Lisa of GM Klaus Bischoff. It’s a rather amusing article because GM Gserper chose a different game than GM Bischoff chose when asked the question of Bischoff’s “best game ever played.”
Radoslaw Jedynak, 9 June 1982, is a Polish GM and President of the Polish Chess Federation. His peak rating was 2559 in October 2006. He reached this shortly after returning from a six-year chess hiatus to complete his education in Journalism and Political Science.
Joanna Majdan-Gajewska, 9 June 1988, is a Polish WGM. Her peak rating was 2420 in November 2013. I found no games for her since November 2023 when her Elo stood at an even 2300.
In the 2008 Women’s Olympiad. she earned the individual gold medal on board four and won an individual gold on board five in the 2009 European Women’s Team CC.
Joanna is married to GM Grzegorz Gajewski. With his peak rating of 2659 their combined peak ratings easily place this duo in the chess power couple (>5000 combined Elo) at 5079.
Jovanka (“Jovi”) Houska, 10 June 1980, is an English IM/WGM, nine-time British Women’s CC, European Junior CC, Commonwealth Women’s CC, English Federation Chess Player of the Year (2006), writer, announcer, and has a law degree. Her peak rating was 2433 in July 2010. She lost two rating points in February 2025 to dip to 2342.
You can find her on chess.com @JovankaHouska where she is part of the staff and plays regularly, both rapid and blitz, with occasional bullet forays.
She has written several opening books and one romance novel. The latter has a chess-themed title, and the lead character is a female chess professional. The novel is set in London, Monaco, Budapest, Helsinki, Odessa, New York, and Leicester.
She has been a frequent commentator at huge events including Norway Chess, World CC matches, and the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour. You can frequently find her paired with GM David Howell. You can find her on Instagram at Jovi Houska (@jovihouska).
She is married to Arne Hagesather who had a peak Elo of 2186 in July 2006. Together this chess couple has a peak combined Elo of 4619.
Her brother is also an IM. According to Jovanka, sibling rivalry sparked her excellence in the game.
Johan-Sebastian Christiansen, 10 June 1988, is a Norwegian GM, author, and content producer. His peak rating was this year at 2664 in January 2025, #61 globally. He’s dropped 22 rating points since then and is now at 2642 and #84.
You can find him on chess.com @JSPrepz where he plays regularly and has a blitz rating of 2951 and bullet of 2925.
His two chessable courses include a short & sweet version of his full course on the Alapin Sicilian.
He also has a chessable sponsored video during which he tries to solve numerous problems quickly. I’ve got that book, so I recognized all the puzzles he faced in his almost 50-minute video. I was glad to see him moving slowly on some of the ones I’ve struggled with! He has numerous other videos, this was just the one I related to quickly.
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Antipov (Russian: Михаил Александрович Антипов; born 10 June 1997) is a Russian-born GM who plays for the US. He won the 2015 U20 World Junior CC and twice tied for first in the US Masters CC. He also won the Swiss Rapid CC twice and tied for second in the 50th Annual World Open. His peak Elo was 2626 in July 2018. He gained 9 rating points in May 2025 to creep closer to the 2600 watermark with a rating of 2593.
He is a coach for the St. Louis Chess Club and can be found on chess.com @Antipov_Mikhail_Al. He plays blitz regularly and sports a 3005 rating as of 6 June 2025. His bullet rating is a touch lower at 2893.
Antipov was the main coach for the 2024 US Olympiad team that won silver, and assisted Caruana in his preparations for two successful US CC titles.
Milan Matulović (10 June 1935 – 9 October 2013) was a Yugoslav GM, two-time Yugoslav CC His peak Elo rating was 2530 in May 1974 and he reached as high as #47 globally in July 1971. ChessMetrics offers a better estimate of his true playing strength, listing him at 2676 in December 1967, and #19 in the world in January and February 1968.
His lifetime score in five Olympiads was 76.9%, the 10th all-time best performance. He won seven team and board medals in his five Olympiads. His individual medals included one gold and two silvers, to go with two team golds and two team silvers.
Matulović had an unenviable history of playing losing moves, realizing it, and then retracting the move after saying j’adoube. This earned him the unfortunate moniker of “J’adoubovic”. He also had a reputation of playing on in clearly lost positions, a “violation” of norms at the GM level.
On a somber note, he spent nine months in prison for a car accident in which a woman was killed.
Maria Albuleț (10 June 1932 – 17 January 2005), also Maria Pogorevici and Maria Albuleț-Pogorevici, was a Romanian WGM, three-time Romanian Women’s CC, and medical doctor.
Her daughter Maria Makropoulou (3 December) was also a WGM, one-time Romanian Women’s CC, and nine-time Greek Women’s CC. Her son-in-law, IM Georgios Makropoulos (23 September), won seven Greek CCs. Quite the chess dynasty!
Zhou Jianchao (Chinese: 周健超; born June 11, 1988) is a Chinese-American GM, one-time Chinese Rapid CC, and winner of the 2024 US Grand Prix. His peak rating was 2669 in November 2010, and he reached #67 globally in July 2010. His rating was 2581 entering June 2025. He switched to the US Federation in 2024.
He played for China in the 2008 Asian Team CC and won an individual gold. He earned a team silver in the 2005 World Team CC, and won a team gold in the 2004 World Youth U16 Olympiad (I didn’t even know they had those).
Although he has a presence on chess.com @cruise99 he has not been online since 2021.
Konstantin Valeryevich Chernyshov (Russian: Константин Валерьевич Чернышов, born June 11, 1967) is a Russian GM, coach, and author. His peak rating was 2597 in January 2011. He wrote the book shown next to his picture.
Donald Byrne (June 12, 1930 – April 8, 1976) was an American IM, US Chess Hall of Fame inductee, one-time US CC, and university English professor who coached the Penn State chess team. His peak rating was 2475 in July 1973, shortly after FIDE instituted their Elo system. As usual with players whose careers peaked before FIDE had a rating system, ChessMetrics offers a better view. That site lists Donald Byrne with a peak rating of 2633 in April 1955, #38 globally.
Donald played for or captained five American teams at the Olympiad.
There is no “Game of the Century” unless the defender puts up resistance. Here’s a chess.com article with Donald Byrne on the losing side of Bobby Fischer’s remarkable attack Game Of The Century | Byrne vs Fischer (1956).
Dimitrios Mastrovasilis (Greek: Δημήτριος Μαστροβασίλης; born 12 June 1983) is a Greek GM, the first-ever Mediterranean Junior CC and tied for first the second year, and silver medalist in the 2000 European Youth CC. His peak rating was 2631 in January 2012. Dimitrios gained five rating points in April 2025, an uptick that took him to 2540.
He maintains a presence on chess.com @Koutsalogo and was online in June 2025, but I found no games played since September 2024.
Ivan Sokolov (Cyrillic: Иван Соколов; born 13 June 1968) is a Dutch-Bosnian GM, first-ever winner of the European CC, one-time Yugoslav CC, two-time Dutch CC, trainer, and author. His peak rating was 2706 in January 2004, and he reached #13 globally almost eight years earlier in July 1996.
Sokolov worked as Salem Saleh’s coach and second for four years and also trained the UAE national team. Later he coached the Iranian national time, working extensively with Firouzja. Perhaps the pinnacle of his success as a team coach was preparing the Uzbek national team so well that they won the 2022 Olympiad.
He plays relatively regularly on chess.com @vegasicilia, perhaps once a month. He used to post videos regularly until September 2017. That included tournaments (Isle of Man: Brilliant Moves - Chess.com), endgames (Rook And Knight vs Rook: Grandmaster Handling - Chess.com), creating complications on the board (Making A Middlegame Crisis - Chess.com), and other useful topics.
Bottom Line up Front (BLUF) regarding Sokolov’s books—the ones I’ve read are pitched towards master level and above players. In that regard, they remind me of Dvoretsky’s tomes. Ridiculously, I think their books are great!
Chess.com article by CM@ArnieChipmunk from August 2011 Review: Winning Chess Middlegames that is rightly critical of Winning Chess Middlegames - an Essential Guide to Pawn Structures because many statements assume IM/GM levels of understanding! That and the fact that the book does not cover all pawn structures, unlike GM Rios’ Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide. That said, Sokolov’s book was brilliant, and I beat an IM in an online rapid game because of some neat tricks I learned about the White side of the Nimzo-Indian.
At Sacrifice and Initiative: Book Review - Chessentials, you can find a review of another Sokolov book I found very formative in my chess development, Sacrifice and Initiative in Chess. The article’s author praises Sokolov’s choice of games and highlights a facet I also found particularly useful, sidebars that summarize the important principles of a chapter. But here also we find a pointed and valid criticism regarding numerous points in the illustrative games that offer a tree of moves with minimal to zero explanatory text. Mere annotation symbols are sheerly insufficient, unless you happen to be an IM or GM.
Here's Sokolov himself talking about Understanding Middlegame Strategies Vol.1 - Dynamic Pawns.
Sokolov’s Winning Chess Middlegames (volume 2) was IM Andras Toth’s candidate for Book of the Year! Here you can listen to his chess.com video about Winning Chess Middlegames (volume 2) Book Review. It’s 22m long, so settle in if you have the time.
Nino Maisuradze (13 June 1982) (Georgian: ნინო მაისურაძე; born 13 June 1982) is a Georgian and French WGM, two-time French Women’s CC and two-time Vice-Champion, two-time French Women’s Rapid CC, and two-time Francophone Women’s CC. The French Republic has twice awarded her an honorable Vase of Elysée.
She has represented the French Women’s team in three Olympiads, but was controversially left off the team in the 2014 Olympiad despite being the reigning national champion, a title she won again immediately after the Olympiad…without losing to any member of the 2014 team in either national CC. Go figure.
She plays regularly on chess.com @NinoMaisuradze.
She is married to Brazilian GM Alexandr Fier with a peak rating of 2653. Adding their peak ratings together, they just squeak into the ELO 5000+ combined couples club at 5002. You can read more about him in @PokeGirl93’s blog A Chess Saga In The Land Of Soccer - Chess.com under “Strongest Players”, which you can jump to from the Table of Contents in her post, or looking at 11 March in the following March Babies: A Chess Zodiac (her blog has much more information).
Paul Motwani, 13 June 1962, was the first-ever Scottish GM, a World U17 CC, seven-time Scottish CC, math teacher, and writer/author. His peak rating was 2552 in July 2004. ChessMetrics estimates his peaks at 2584 and #187 globally in August 1987.
Somewhat curiously, he opened on chess.com @PaulMotwani in August 2024 but hasn’t been online since that day and has zero games played.
Motwani is a regular contributor to Scottish Chess, The Scotsman, and other chess publications. He has written five chess books. A very recognizable feature of his books is the use of acronyms in the titles that represent key concepts of the book. For instance, H.O.T. Chess refers to “highly original thinking” and the sequel C.O.O.L. Chess about Creative Original Opening Lines. Meanwhile, STAR Chess is all about strategy, tactics, attack, and reaction. His other two books feature more mundane titles, The Most Instructive Games of the Young Grandmasters and Chess Under the Microscope.
He also has a site about chess books. At Books – Paul Motwani you can find links to his reviews of the book endeavors of many chess authors. FAIR WARNING: At the links he provides he does talk about a chess book. But that book is woven into a post with lots of non-chess puzzles and discussions about his life and family. It's actually quite enchanting if you're in the right mood.
Lajos Steiner (14 June 1903 – 22 April 1975) was a Hungarian-born Australian IM, two-time Hungarian CC, four-time Australian CC, nine-time New South Wales CC, and writer. He would have been a five-time Australian CC, but his first victory did not earn the title as he was not yet a citizen.
ChessMetrics cites his peak rating at 2654 in January 1938 and lists him at #11 globally for July and August 1938. By their reckoning he was among the top 100 players for almost thirty years. He would have undoubtedly earned the GM title, but did not play enough international tournaments after 1939 due to the war followed by a lack of international play as he lived and worked in Australia.
Steiner wrote frequently for magazines and published the book Kings of the Chess Board 1948 following his last trip to Europe to play in tournaments there.
He was married to Augusta Edna Kingston, a six-time New South Wales Women’s CC.
Sir George Thomas (14 June 1881 – 23 July 1972) won the British chess crown twice and was an IM and IA. ChessMetrics estimated his peak rating at 2610 in January 1923, good enough for #15 globally. The last time he was in the Top 100 was in April 1949 at age 67. Not bad, not bad!
Impressively, he tied for first with Max Euwe and Salo Flohr at the famed 1934/5 Hastings International Chess Congress, beating Botvinnik and Capablanca along the way. He was a charter member of the Vera Menchik club with a lifetime record of 7W-7D-8L, thus putting rest to the notion that being a member of that club indicated anything other than how strong a player she was.
He was also renowned for his skill at badminton (a 21-time All-England badminton champion) and no slouch at tennis where he reached Wimbledon's men's quarterfinals and doubles semifinals in 1911. His scores against Alekhine (0W-7L-6D) and Capablanca (1W-6L-4D) indicate that he was no world beater but certainly capable of putting up a fight.
Giovanni Vescovi Giovanni Portilho Vescovi (born 14 June 1978) is a Brazilian GM, seven-time Brazilian CC, South American CC. He won the gold medal on board one in the first World Junior Team CC. His peak rating was 2660 in January 2010, but reached his peak rank of #48 in April 2004. He played no FIDE-rated classical games between September 2012 and May 2023. Bad months in May 2023 and May 2025 (yes, two years later) saw him shed 57 rating points and his rating now sits at 2549.
You can read more about him in @PokeGirl93’s blog A Chess Saga In The Land Of Soccer under “A Historic Rivalry”, which you can jump to from the Table of Contents in her post.
He was online @keyser_stark for one day (31 March 2022) and played five blitz games, finishing with a blitz rating of 2390. Well, that’s what it shows on his home page. A bit odd since it shows him as a member of five clubs. I get the “Verified Titled Players” club, but how did he get included in the Champions Chess Tour 2025 club?
Wang Zili (Chinese: 汪自力; born June 14, 1968) is a retired Chinese GM and two-time Chinese CC. His peak rating was 2603 in July 2000, placing him #86 globally. He has not played since July 2010 when his rating dropped four points to 2488 Elo.
Perhaps he took up Rubik's cube competitions?
Alexander Areshchenko (Ukrainian: Олександр Арещенко, romanized: Oleksandr Areshchenko; born June 15, 1986) is a Ukrainian GM World U14 CC and one-time Ukrainian CC. His peak rating was 2710 in December 2012 when he reached #28 globally. He dropped from the 2600 club in March 2025 when his rating slipped four points to 2598 Elo.
He plays on chess.com @CopperBrain occasionally.
Frode Elsness, 15 June 1973, is a Norwegian IM, one-time Norwegian CC, and medical doctor. His peak rating was 2506 in November 2011. His rating stands at 2416 after gaining eight rating points in April 2025.
He plays frequently on chess.com @DarkPassenger007.
Alexander Nikolayevich Zaitsev (June 15, 1935 – October 31, 1971) was a Soviet GM, electrical engineer, and took second in the 1968 USSR CC after losing a playoff to Polugaevsky. ChessMetrics estimate his peak rating at 2669 in January 1969 while he twice reached #21 globally.
He died in a hospital at age 36 from complications after surgery for a long-term health issue.
Marina Brunello, 16 June 1994, is an Italian IM/WGM and two-time Italian Women’s CC. Her peak rating was 2400 in August 2019 and she was among the top twenty women globally. She helped lead the Romanian team to a silver medal at the first Women’s Olympiad
She played for the Italian team in six Olympiads and won an individual gold on board four in 2018. Marina also supported the national team in four European Team Women’s CCs and won an individual bronze in 2015.
An annual tournament is held in her honor in Braila, Romania.
I found no games for @marina1994 on chess.com since September 2024.
Her brother Sabino (27 June) is a GM.
Mikhail Semyonovich Tseitlin (Belarusian: Міхаіл Сямёнавіч Цэйтлін; German: Michael Zeitlein; born 16 June 1947) is a Belarusian-born German GM, International Correspondence GM, and author. FIDE lists his peak rating at 2510 in January 1978 and again in July 1990. ChessMetrics lists his peak rating at 2641 in January 1979 and places him at #49 globally two months later.
Above are three books he wrote. I can offer no insights about these books, good, bad, or indifferent. Well, not 100% true. Got beat by the Vienna the first time I ever played an NM in an OTB tournament. Never actually seen the Schliemann in a game even though I studied it in case it was played against me...so that was a waste of time. I've bumped into the Budapest once in a while, but not enough to justify prepping for it.
Tigran [Iron Tigran] Vardani Petrosian (Armenian: Տիգրան Վարդանի Պետրոսյան; Russian: Тигран Вартанович Петросян; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian GM, ninth World CC, and four-time Soviet CC. FIDE lists his peak rating at 2645 in July 1972, third in the world. ChessMetrics is far more useful in that regard, estimating his peak playing strength at 2796 in July 1062 and ranking him #1 globally in 33 different months from 1961 – 64.
Petrosian played in ten Olympiads, earning nine team golds, one team silver, and six individual golds. He also participated in the first eight European Team CCs, earning eight team golds and four individual golds.
Two of Tigran’s earliest influences were Chess Praxis by Nimzowitsch and The Art of Sacrifice in Chess by Spielmann. A third great influence was the style of Capablanca. Knowing that, it should be no surprise that his peers considered him one of the greatest defenders of all time, but also one with an extremely keen eye for sacrifices. Petrosian was particularly well known for his positional exchange sacrifices.
You can read more about Iron Tigran at @RoaringPawn’s The Day Petrosian Failed to Smell Danger: A Stunning Tactical Upset, @kamalakanta’s Petrosian's Magic, or @NMChessToImpress’ Breaking Through the Brick Wall Known as Iron Tigran.
Tigran didn't make it to my Chess Quotemasters Candidates list, but still had a thing or five to say about the game.
Occasionally, an opening is used against an opponent who is known to favor it himself. The idea is to force him to fight against his own weapons, when he will have to face not only real dangers but very often imaginary ones as well. Chess Quotes - Psychology
Even the most distinguished players have in their careers experienced severe disappointments due to ignorance of the best lines or suspension of their own common sense. Chess Mistakes
I repeat, that the first and main difficulty in making a positional exchange sacrifice is a psychological caution: after all, you have to give up a rook for a minor piece. The second difficulty is that the exchange is given up when this is not forced by circumstances. Therefore, you must anticipate beforehand, in good time, how events will develop and take the necessary measures. Chess Quotes - Sacrifices
In general, I consider that in chess everything rests on tactics. If one thinks of strategy as a block of marble, then tactics are the chisel with which a master operates, in creating works of chess art. Chess Quotes - Strategy
Yes, perhaps I like defending more than attacking, but who has demonstrated that defense is a less risky and dangerous occupation than attack? And are there so few games that have found their way into the treasury of chess thanks to a virtuoso defense? Chess Quotes - Strategy
Turning chess into poker and hoping for a "bluff" is not one of my convictions. Chess Quotes - Strategy
The criterion of real strength is a deep penetration into the secrets of a position. Chess Quotes - Success
Today, many players, especially young ones, think that the older openings are so thoroughly analyzed that nothing more can be tried. This is a serious mistake. The methods of positional play become deeper and finer each year. Being well acquainted with them, it is possible even in openings which seem to be fully explored to find ways to create a real fight. Chess Quotes - Youngsters
It is easy to play against the young players, for me they are like an open book. Chess Quotes - Youngsters
What others had to say about Tigran Petrosian.
In those years, it was easier to win the Soviet Championship than a game against 'Iron Tigran'. — Lev Polugaevsky
It is to Petrosian's advantage that his opponents never know when he is suddenly going to play like Mikhail Tal. — Boris Spassky[50]
During tournament analysis sessions players all speak at once, but whenever Petrosian said anything, everyone would shut up and listen. — Yasser Seirawan
I associate Tigran Petrosian with Warne Marsh [a jazz tenor saxophonist]. A unique style of play which, it seemed, was too calm and dull, while in reality it was deep and cunning. — Levon Aronian [Kevin: Levon showed his depth with that very apt cross-cultural reference.]
Boris Spassky, who succeeded Petrosian as World Chess Champion, described his style of play thus: Petrosian reminds me of a hedgehog. Just when you think you have caught him, he puts out his quills.
Svetozar Gligorić described Petrosian as being "very impressive in his incomparable ability to foresee danger on the board and to avoid any risk of defeat."
Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler [aka, Peter Svidler] (Russian: Пётр Вениами́нович Сви́длер; born 17 June 1976), is a Russian GM, eight-time Russian CC, World Cup CC, World U18 CC, and incredibly popular player and commentator. His peak rating was 2769 in May 2013 with a peak ranking about nine years earlier in January 2004. As of 1 June 2025, he was ranked #32 in the world at 2698 Elo, having gained all of TWO rating points in February.
Svidler has represented Russia in ten Olympiads. His medal haul includes five team golds, two team silvers, and an individual bronze. In eight European Team CCs he earned three team golds, two team silvers, and one team bronze, as well as one individual golds, two individual silvers, and one individual bronze. Svidler assisted Kramnik in the 2000 and 2004 World CC matches.
Svidler was one of 43 Russian players to sign an open letter to Putin protesting the invasion of Ukraine.
As a Chessable author, Peter has written extensively on the Grünfeld, creating two volumes plus a Short and Sweet on that very sharp opening. Given his reputation as a player who loves to fight for the initiative, it’s no surprise that he should write on this signature opening from his own repertoire. I own the Short and Sweet, but his presentation almost convinced me to pick up the two full volumes! (Then I remembered I’m kind of busy, certainly too busy to change my existing repertoire, even as rusty as that is.)
Does he really play the Grünfeld? Ah, grasshopper, scroll on. Shortly you'll be able to read how the Grünfeld sparked his first, and only, Titled Tuesday victory.
He manages to play most months on chess.com @PSvidler, but not many games. Here’s a link that reports on his first victory in Titled Tuesday: Svidler Winning With Grünfeld, way back in February 2021. That’s his only victory to date, but he also has two second-place finishes. You can check stats on all players for Titled Tuesday, Bullet Brawl, and several other chess.com events at Titled Tuesday Winners and Statistics (I checked this link.)
On April 13, 2024, Svidler posted six videos about Mikhail Tal. You can find them on his chess.com home page GM Peter Svidler (PSvidler) - Chess Profile. Here’s the first one and it includes two games from the 1950s: Tal's Early Games.
Alexander Anatolyevich Motylev (Russian: Александр Анатольевич Мотылёв; born 17 June 1979) is a Russian GM, one-time Russian CC, Russian U16 CC, Russian U18 CC, and one-time European CC. His peak rating was 2710 in July 2009, but his peak rank was a bit over four years earlier at #23 April 2005. He gained four rating points in April 2025 to creep closer to the 2600 waterline by reaching 2595. He switched Federations to Romania in 2023 and is now the Technical Director of the Romanian National Teams.
He does not appear to have played on chess.com @almo64 since December 2024, and only played three games all of last year.
Like Peter Svidler, he was one of 43 Russian players to sign an open letter to Putin protesting the invasion of Ukraine.
Lilit Galojan (Armenian: Լիլիթ Գալոյան; born 17 June 1983) is an Armenian IM/WGM, two-time Armenian Women’s CC, Armenian Girls U16 CC, and Girls U18 CC. Her peak rating was 2402 in May 2010. She played no FIDE-rated games from January 2018 until December 2024 when she picked up five rating points to reach 2290 Elo.
She represented Armenia if five Women’s Olympiads, three World Team CCs, and six European Team CCs.
She does not appear to have a presence on chess.com.
Branko Damljanović, 17 June 1961, is a Serbian GM. His peak rating was 2625 in July 2006. His peak rank was #37 in July 1988. He plays regularly, but his rating has gradually declined and is 2390 entering June 2025.
Alireza Firouzja (Persian: علیرضا فیروزجا, pronounced [æliːɾeˈzɒː fiːɾuːzˈdʒɒː]; born 18 June 2003) is an Iranian and French GM who set a record as the youngest ever to reach 2800 Elo. A two-time Iranian CC, Asian U12 CC, French Rapid CC, tied for the 2021 World Blitz CC but placed third on tiebreaks, and won the 2024 chess.com Bullet CC. His peak rating reached 2804 in December 2021, placing him #2 globally behind Carlsen. His performances have been deemed a bit off since the 2022 Candidates when his extensive preparation yielded poorer results than expected—he had been a favorite going into the event. His rating stood at 2766 as of June 2025.
Firouzja is a member of the Saudi esports organization Team Falcons. He plays on chess.com @Firouzja2003 and sported a blitz rating of 3292 on 10 June 2025 and a bullet rating of 3265. As of 13 June 2025 he had won 18 Titled Tuesdays, placed second 17 times, and landed at third 8 times. In Bullet Brawl he has one gold and one bronze, and in the new Chess960 Titled Arena he has already earned a first place.
Gyula Sax (18 June 1951 – 25 January 2014) was a Hungarian GM, IA, European Junior CC, and two-time Hungarian CC. His peak rating was 2610 in January 1988 and a year later he reached #12 globally. ChessMetrics lists his peak rating at 2691 in September 1982 but never found him to be higher than #20 in the world, and that in January 1980. He was in the world’s top 100 for almost twenty years.
Judit Polgar had this to say about him:
Gyula Sax was one of the greatest chess players of Hungary. He was the first GM who treated me as a fellow chess player when I was only 9 years old. He was ready to analyze positions with me, and shared ideas and by doing so he gave me a lot of self-confidence. Later I met him in many different occasions, we played against each other, and played in the national team together. He was also an Olympic gold medalist and a fantastically energetic attacking player!
Andrei Volokitin (Ukrainian: Андрій Волокітін, Andriy Volokitin; born 18 June 1986) is a Ukrainian GM, two-time Ukrainian CC, and author. His peak rating was 2725 in March 2013, but he reached his peak rank over eight years earlier, topping out at #20 in January 2005. He lost two rating points in March 2025, but is still a member of the 2600+ club at 2626.
He competed in four Olympiads for the Ukrainian team, including the gold-medal-winning 2004 team and the bronze medal team in 2012.
He wrote one book, co-authored with his coach.
Dennis Wagner, 19 June 1997, is a German GM and German U10 CC. His peak rating was 2620 in March 2024. He plays regularly and still stands at 2619 as of June 2025.
He can be found on chess.com @chessdjw where he sported blitz and bullet ratings in the 2800s as of 15 June 2025.
He is married to Dinara Wagner (née Dordzhieva), an IM/WGM with a peak rating of 2469. She was born 25 May 1999. Notably, she has achieved two GM norms. Together, this chess power couple has a combined peak rating of 5089.
Gunay Vugar qizi Mammadzada (Azerbaijani: Günay Vüqar qızı Məmmədzadə; born June 19, 2000) is an Azerbaijani IM/WMG, World U10 Girls CC, European U8 and U14 Girl’s CC, and two-time Azerbaijani Women’s CC. Her peak rating was 2483 in October 2022, placing her as the #20 woman globally. Entering June 2025 her rating had slipped to 2390.
On chess she plays regularly @themind1hunter. You can follow her on Instagram @gunaymammadza or X @MammadzadaGunay.
Guliskhan Nakhbayeva (Kazakh: Гүлісхан Сайфулинқызы Нахбаева/Gülishan Saifulinqızı Nahbaeva; born 20 June 1991) is a Kazakh IM and WGM and four-time Kazakhstani Women’s CC. Her peak rating was 2394 in September 2018. She has not played an rated games at a classic time control since August 2022 when she lost three rating points to slip to 2326.
She plays frequently on chess.com @Boxerandchessplayer. I have no idea what the "boxer" is for, whether she puts on gloves and gets in the ring or owns that breed of dog.
Boris Katalymov (Russian: Борис Николаевич Каталымов, romanized: Boris Nikolaevich Katalymov or Katalimov; 13 June 1932 – 1 February 2013) was a Soviet (Ukrainian) and later Kazakhstani IM, four-time Kazakhstani CC, and chess teacher. His peak rating is listed as 2460 in July 1995. ChessMetrics offers a more useful measurement, rating him at 2605 in May 1978, #84 in the world.
Vladimir Simagin (June 21, 1919 in Moscow – September 25, 1968) was a Russian GM and ICCF Correspondence IM. ChessMetrics published a peak rating of 2650 in October 1949 and placed him at #21 globally in December 1946. A three-time Moscow CC and one-time Soviet Correspondence CC, he helped train Smyslov for his victorious assumption of the World CC title in 1957. Simagin contributed greatly to the theory of many openings including the Accelerated Dragon, the Grünfeld Defence, Nimzo-Indian, and Simagin’s Defense (1.e4 d6. 2.d4 c6 3.Nf3 Bg4).
You can read more about him thanks to @RoaringPawn’s Heroes of the Past: GM Vladimir Simagin, Part 1 and Heroes of the Past: GM Vladimir Simagin, Part 2, or a natural repository @simaginfan’s Kasparian - Simagin. Blunders, Brilliance, Endgames, and Pictures, Simagin In 1944. 6 Wonderful Games By A Chess Artist, and The Moscow Championship 1947. Simagin, Bronstein and Ravinsky.
Here’s a short 7 minute video of a Simagin positional victory against one of my favorite players, Paul Keres.
Valeriy Neverov (Russian: Валерий Неверов; Ukrainian: Валерій Невєров; born 21 June 1964 in Kharkiv) is a Ukrainian GM and four-time Ukrainian CC. His peak rating was 2601 in October 2002, placing him #98 globally. ChessMetrics places him at 2663 and #40 in May 1986.
Yusnel Bacallao Alonso, 21 June 1988, is a Cuban GM with a peak rating of 2605 in January 2018. He does not appear to have played a FIDE-rated game since April 2024 and his classical rating current stands at 2564. He is a chess coach.
He plays infrequently on chess.com @Bacallo2019 with bullet and blitz ratings in the 2700s as of April 2025.
Alejandro Tadeo Ramírez Álvarez (born 21 June 1988) is a Costa Rican-American GM and banned player, commentator, and coach. His peak rating was 2601 in December 2013. His rating has stood unchanged at 2571 since September 2023. He tied once for the US CC, but lost to Gata Kamsky in the Armageddon tiebreak.
Following 2023 reports from Jennifer Shahade and other female chess players, Ramírez resigned from the St Louis Chess Club and was removed from the FIDE Athletes’ Commission. Articles appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and numerous newspapers and other media sources. You can read an initial report by @PeterDoggers from Feb 2024 here. In this May 2023 article, the US Chess Federation announced a lifelong ban.
Chess.com HoF #10: Paul Morphy
Paul Morphy (June 22, 1837 – July 10, 1884) was the best chess player in the world in the late 1850s. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2743 and placed him #1 globally for almost the entirety of his brief career of less than four years. His last meaningful chess game was in 1859 at the age of 22. A good reason that he was considered "The Pride and Sorrow of Chess". After his too-early retirement, there are still recorded simul games and odds games until 1869.
Because everybody expects to see the Opera House game when Morphy's name is mentioned, I'll present it using a KIMPLODES! analytic approach. You're also invited to read Morphy v the Duke and Count by Edward Winter
If you want to know more about KIMPLODES!, an approach that is close kindred to concepts of IM Silman and others, feel free to look at the summary provided at KIMPLODES! Cogito ergo sum: An Explosive Analysis Approach.
Here's what a few notable chess players had to say about Morphy.
Anderssen: I cannot describe better the impression that Morphy made on me than by saying that he treats chess with the earnestness and conscientiousness of an artist. With us, the exertion that a game requires is only a matter of distraction, and lasts only as long as the game gives us pleasure; with him, it is a sacred duty. Never is a game of chess a mere pastime for him, but always a problem worthy of his steel, always a work of vocation, always as if an act by which he fulfills part of his mission. [Paul Morphy, The Pride and Sorrow of Chess. University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press., p. 178, quoting a letter from Anderssen to von der Lasa, translated by Dr. Buschke.]
Kasparov: [Morphy] became the most erudite player of his time. Fluent in French, English, Spanish, and German, he read Philidor's L'analyse, the Parisian magazine La Régence, Staunton's Chess Player's Chronicle, and possibly also Anderssen's Schachzeitung (at least, he knew all of Anderssen's published games). He studied Bilguer's 400-page Handbuch—which consisted partly of opening analyses in tabular form, and also Staunton's Chess Player's Handbook. ["Chess before Steinitz". My Great Predecessors, Part I. Everyman Chess. pp. 32–44.]
Steinitz: It was Paul Morphy and his exploits that first induced me to enter chess life and to him I owe my career in the first instance. [International Chess Magazine, May 1886, page 114]
Steinitz: Morphy possessed the most profound book knowledge of any master of his time, and he never in his practice introduced a single novelty, whereas since his day the books have had to study the players. [International Chess Magazine, July 1886, pages 204-205]
Fischer: Paul Morphy was a great chessplayer, a genius… Morphy, I think everyone agrees, was probably the greatest genius of them all, and he’s never gotten a single stamp. [Transcript from a press conference transcribed in No Regrets by Y. Seirawan and G. Stefanović, p.116] [Fischer had a lot to say about the fact Paul Morphy didn’t have a commemorative stamp but let’s ignore that rabbit hole.]
C.S. Howell: We admire the modern style of a Lasker who accumulates small advantages and relentlessly squeezes his opponent, but the big majority of us would rather play over the games of Morphy than those of Lasker. We want sacrifices and combinations and brilliancy. [Chess Weekly, 12 December 1908, p. 17-18]
You can read about two spectacular mating patterns that bear the imprint of Paul Morphy at Secrets of Trapping Pieces: Opera Mate and
Below you can find a series of four videos by Ben Finegold on Paul Morphy.
Other sources of information about Morphy beyond just looking in Wikipedia:
- @batgirl's Paul Morphy Links to tens, perhaps hundreds, of posts about Paul Morphy😁! All written by batgirl, now that's a golden ticket for readers.
- Articles about Paul Morphy by Edward Winter An index that links you to multiple articles. Scroll down to Morphy and you will find links to twelve other Winter articles. Some fun stuff, you can bank on that!
- @SheldonofOsaka's Hidden Jewels From Morphy's Tactical Treasure Chest
- IM @MatBobula's Morphy’s Stunning Move
- @sleepyporcyy's The Best Chess Players from A-Z: Part 3 - Letters L to Q
- @Nimzowitsch's Top 5 Romantic Chess Players Scroll down to #1!
- @simaginfan 'The Morphy Trick' And A Special Memory. A delightful post that includes games from three centuries.
Kirill Alexeyevich Alekseenko (Russian: Кирилл Алексеевич Алексеенко; born 22 June 1997) is a Russian-born Austrian GM, World U14 CC, and silver medalist in the World U16 and World U18 championships. Rated 2655 as of June 2025, his peak rating was 2715 in November 2019. Two years later, he topped out at #29 globally.
Alekseenko was one of the 43 elite Russian players to sign an open letter to Putin protesting the Ukrainian invasion.
He plays in bursts as @BilodeauA on chess.com.
In a change of pace, I’ll show a Ben Finegold video for one of the lesser-known giant talents. It's very short, but fun.
Milan Vidmar Sr. (22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovenian GM, IA, chief referee for the 1948 World CC, chess theorist, writer, and electrical engineer (well, I can claim the last two for my resume.) ChessMetrics lists his peak rating at 2731 in April 1919, placing him #5 in the world. He reached #4 globally in 21 different months between July 1917 and January 1923, and was in the top ten for most of the period from June 1908 until October 1933.
Although he wrote three chess books, I found on images of the covers. The texts he published on electrical engineering were findable, but uninteresting for my purposes.
His son, Milan Vidmar Jr., was an IM. The Slovene Federation hosts an annual memorial tournament named after Vidmar Sr.
Evgeniy Yuryevich Najer (Russian: Евгений Юревич Наер, romanized: Evgeniy Yuryevich Nayer; born 22 June 1977) is a Russian GM, one-time European CC, and a coach for the Russian Women’s national team. His peak rating was 2707 in August 2017. His peak ranking was over a decade earlier when he reached #27 in July 2006. He lost 9 rating points in May 2025 to slide to 2614 Elo.
Najer was one of the 43 elite Russian players to sign an open letter to Putin protesting the Ukrainian invasion.
He plays regularly on chess.com @ENajer77.
Pavel Blatný, 22 June 1968, is a Czech GM who placed second in the 1985 World Junior CC. A two-time Czechoslovakian CC, he once tied for first in the US Masters CC. His peak rating was 2600 per the ChessBase online DB (Wikipedia has it wrong), but dipped below 2500 by January 2006 and never crossed that threshold again. ChessMetrics estimated his playing strength at 2594 Elo, placing him at #161 in September 1993. His Elo is 2229 as of June 2025.
He often plays the London System as is well-documented in Lakdawala’s play the London system. Apparently, he plays an aggressive system in which he tends to castle long and attack the enemy, reminding me of GM Hebden’s approach. I also recognize Blatný as a meticulously detailed annotator! He’s one of the annotators I look for when I want to study lines in a specific opening. Heck, Pavel even annotated an 1818 game between Napoleon and General Bertrand.
Từ Hoàng Thông, 22 June 1972, is a Vietnamess GM, six-time national CC, and two-time Asian Youth CC. His peak rating was 2525 in July 1999. He has not played a FIDE-rated classical game in twelve months with an Elo of 2364 since June 2024.
He represented Vietnam in ten consecutive Olympiads and in six Asian Team CCs.
David Antón Guijarro, 23 June 1995, is a GM, supposedly won eight age/format Spanish CCs but I couldn’t find details except for mention of a blitz title where he finished ahead of Vallejo Pons, World U18 silver medalist, and chessable.com author. Guijarro has a peak rating of 2703 in March 2020, #35 globally. His rating has bounced up and down a bit and he was rated 2642 entering June 2025.
He plays on chess.com @tptagain and had a blitz rating of 2997 as of 8 June 2025.
He has four books on chessable.com published as David Antón. Well, he sort of has four books. He has a 1.e4 e5 book and the accompanying Short & Sweet in English. Then a version of each in Spanish. Perfecto.
Vitali Matveyevich Golod (Russian: Виталий Матвеевич Голод; born 23 June 1971) is a Soviet-born Israeli GM. A one-time Ukrainian CC, he tied for first in the 2004 Israeli CC, but ended in second based on an unknown tiebreaker. Golod won the Israeli CC outright in 2010. His peak rating was 2606 in January 2008. He lost a single rating point in March 2025 to slip to 2483.
At the link, you can find a scintillating example of Golod’s play presented by GM @Gserper, Personal Mona Lisa of GM Vitali Golod. It starts with a stellar victory against super-GM Vladimir Akopian and then presents Golod’s personal choice of his favorite game ever.
Chess.com Hall of Fame # 39: Boris Gelfand
Boris Abramovich Gelfand (Hebrew: בוריס אברמוביץ גלפנד; born 24 June 1968) is a Belarusian-Israeli GM, two-time Belarusian CC, USSR Junior CC, European Junior CC, placed second in the World Junior CC, and author. With a peak rating of 2777 in November 2013, his peak rank was over 23 years earlier when he reached #3 globally in July 1990. Gelfand was in the Top Thirty for 27 years. His rating is still a robust 2652 Elo as of March 2025.
A six-time World Championship candidate who won the 2011 Candidates, Gelfand lost to Anand in a rapid tiebreak after the classical portion was tied 6-6. The match ended in a 6-6 tie and saw Gelfand losing the tiebreaker 2½–1½ at a rapid time control.
Gelfand appeared in eleven Olympiads. He earned a team gold with the USSR team, and a team silver and bronze with Israel in 2008 and 2010 respectively. In the European Team CC, he earned a Soviet Union team gold in 1989, and two Israeli team silvers in 2003 and 2005.
You can read more about Boris Gelfand at chess.com’s site Boris Gelfand | Top Chess Players. Although he has a 2843 blitz rating on chess.com @Remontada2017, I found no games since September 2024.
Boris has written multiple books, several of which are deemed modern classics. He also contributes to books that collect the thoughts of various leading GMs on specific openings, such as the Benoni publication seen above.
Given that Gelfand played on the highest stages in our multi-media world and continues to maintain a strong presence at the board, it's not surprise he's had a few things to offer about the game of chess and the state of play.
I am amazed with the richness of chess and I am happy to start my day with chess and finish it with chess. It makes me happy. [Chess News by ChessBase, "Chess makes me happy": An interview with Boris Gelfand, 04.23.2020]
30 years ago it was important to get information. Nowadays we are overloaded with it. It is much more important to analyze it and to my make correct conclusions. However, the key factors to success are the same: talent, work ethic, a strong character and believing in one’s vision of chess. [Ibid]
The good thing in chess is that very often the best moves are the most beautiful ones. The beauty of logic. TOP 6 QUOTES BY BORIS GELFAND | A-Z Quotes
I believe that, not only in chess, but in life in general, people place too much stock in ratings – they pay attention to which TV shows have the highest ratings, how many friends they have on Facebook, and it’s funny. The best shows often have low ratings and it is impossible to have thousands of real friends. TOP 6 QUOTES BY BORIS GELFAND | A-Z Quotes
A lot of these ideas are built under wrong presumptions which officials have that chess players are lazy bastards whose sole idea is to deceive (the) public and to make short draws and go home. It's not true. It's a lie. TOP 6 QUOTES BY BORIS GELFAND | A-Z Quotes
If you watch it, you should watch it with other players and try to find moves, like it was before. Now on many sites you watch together with the computer and the pleasure is gone. TOP 6 QUOTES BY BORIS GELFAND | A-Z Quotes
I am pleased that in a match for the World Championship I was able to conduct a game in the style of Akiba Rubinstein, where the entire strategic course was maintained from the first to the last move. TOP 6 QUOTES BY BORIS GELFAND | A-Z Quotes
When I analyse a position, I have a sparring partner who understands chess amazingly well. In a way I feel sorry for him, because of his work with me he cannot play as much chess as he wants. He more or less gave up his playing career. TOP 6 QUOTES BY BORIS GELFAND | A-Z Quotes
I did not place as much emphasis on finding what others had to say about Boris Gelfand. The below struck me as sufficient.
He is not only - and this is accessible only to a few - a highly universal player, capable of playing equally well in the most varied types of positions...This inexorable consistency in the realisation of his strategic conceptions is, in my view, the main trait of Boris Gelfand the chess player. [Vladimir Kramnik, preface to Gelfand’s autobiography My Most Memorable Games]
Gelfand is not a natural attacker; instead he is a deep strategic player who likes to get into the logic of a position - and to keep control. [Jacob Aagard, Grandmaster Preparation - Attack & Defence, p. 67]
Ian Rogers, 24 June 1960, is an Australian GM, four-time Australian CC, FIDE Senior Trainer, writer, and reporter. His peak rating was 2628 in January 1999, and he reached #50 a few months later, in May 1999. Based on medical advice, he retired in 2007 with a final rating of 2545.
Rogers represented Australia at fourteen Olympiads, twelve on the first board. He has also won over 120 classical tournaments, including fifteen GM round-robin matchups! He was awarded the Order of Australia for his outstanding achievements as both a player and supporter of chess.
Two of his book titles brought to mind Britney Spears' songs.
He is married to Cathy Rogers, a WFM, IA, photographer, and lawyer. With her peak rating of 2070 this chess couple has a combined peak rating of 4698.
Juan Corzo y Príncipe (June 24, 1873 – September 27, 1941) was a Spanish–Cuban master, five-time Cuban CC, and influential force in the growth of the Cuban chess community. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2453 in September 1915, placing him #56 globally.
Corzo lost a close match to Capablanca when the latter was just 13. Later the two of them founded the Cuban Chess Federation and Corzo served as the editor of Capablanca’s Chess Magazine. You can read much, much more about Corzo in Immortal but Unknown by Edward Winter.
Juan Carlos González Zamora (born June 24, 1968) is a Cuban-born Mexican GM and nine-time Mexican CC. His peak rating was 2568 in October 2008. He lost 22 rating points in April 2025 to descend to 2458, but spent most of this century rated over 2500. ChessMetrics lists his peak rank at #338 in November 2004.
He was last on chess.com @JuanCGlez in May 2020 and has not played a game since April 2019.
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian GM, PCA-FIDE-Unified World CC, His peak rating was 2817 in October 2016. FIDE lists him at #1 globally in January 1996, but that’s because Kasparov had broken with FIDE and was playing in the Professional Chess Association (PCA) he had formed. Later, Kramnik did seize the #1 spot when Kasparov had retired and Kramnik had played more games than the identically rated Anand. In 2019, Kramnik announced his retirement from active play with a final rating of 2756 in January 2019. He has played some rated blitz and rapid events over the intervening years.
He has played in xx Olympiads. In his first time on that stage, though only an FM at the time, he scored 8W-1D-0L as a reserve to claim a gold medal for the best performance.
Here are two of his games that NM Sam Copeland picked out as top ten games in a decade, one from the 1990s, the other from 2018.
Top 10 Games Of The 1990s: Kramnik Crushes Kasparov–Kasparov vs Kramnik 1996
Top 10 Games Of The 2010s: Vladimir Kramnik's No Castling Chess Attack–Aronian vs Kramnik 2018
Kramnik has been the topic of innumerable articles and books. He has also taken the time to author some books. Well, that’s who the books indicate is the author. Given some famous GMs have had ghost writers produce their shelf works, who can be sure? The six on the left can be found on chessable.com...accompanying videos offer some assurance that he was responsible for the works.
Kramnik has had more than a few memorable thoughts about chess and the chess environment. In keeping with my usual practice, I'll skip over the more volatile utterances.
I don’t know whether computers are improving the style of play, I know they are changing it. Chess has become a different game, one could say that computers have changed the world of chess. That is pretty clear. Chess Quotes - Computers
My very first book was a games collection of Anatoly Karpov. On the whole I was attracted by positonal play with some tactics, and already then I was aiming for universality. Chess Quotes - Practice & Study
Every month I look through some ten thousand games, so not as to miss any new ideas and trends. Chess Quotes - Practice & Study
On the whole, the life of a chess professional is not as easy as it appears at first sight. One needs to devote some ten hours a day to chess and to everything connected with it - physical and psycholgical preparation. Chess Quotes - Practice & Study
It is rightly said that the most difficult thing in chess is winning a won position. Chess Quotes - Success
In the current FIDE World Championship, on the knock-out system, weaker players have good chances. Those, who in a long match would practically have no chance, here may creep through. Chess Quotes - The World Championship
I’ll largely skip over his dethroning of Kasparov and the Topalov – Kramnik Toilet Gate contretemps as they are quite well known. Instead, I'll delve lightly into Kramnik's recent and persistent presence on chess.com.
Kramnik can be found on chess.com @VladimirKramnik. Beginning on June 21, 2023, and continuing until December 23 of that year, he seemingly sought to become the final arbiter of the topic of cheating in chess. The first two blogs were deleted, and the multitude published since are disabled. Given his stature as a chess legend, it’s no surprise that his posts received thousands of views, sometimes over 10K. Given my decades as a mathematician and operations research analyst, it’s no surprise that the one or two posts I viewed when originally posted struck me as demonstrating a great deal of innumeracy…imo. Well, mine and a PhD who did some analysis that @TarjeiJS published Professor Finds Nakamura’s Winning Streaks Statistically Normal, Kramnik Dismisses It.
Despite his ability to blog being blocked, he still plays regularly with a blitz rating of 3108 as of 17 June 2025.
Jan Gustafsson, 25 June 1979, is a German GM, analyst, trainer, German U15 and U17 CC, one-time German blitz CC, FIDE Senior Trainer, coach, author, poker player, and co-founder of Chess24.com. With a peak rating of 2652 in November 2010, his peak world rank was about five years earlier when he reached #85. He lost ten rating points in April to fall below the 2600 line and now stands at 2591.
He has represented Germany at four Olympiads and was part of the gold-medal winning German team in the 2011 European Team CC. Part of Carlsen’s team for three World CC contests, he served as a second for Nepo in the 2024 Candidates.
Gustafsson has produced multiple books for chessable.com. His 1.e4 e5 Lifetime Repertoire had no title on the cover, so I left it out of the above image and shared the short and sweet (S&S) instead. Most of his books are about openings, but I found one that is a bootcamp for endgames, but available only in German. I still found the S&S (i.e., free for Pro members) version of his endgame bootcamp an amusing canapé of puzzles while killing time one day.
GM Gustafsson (@JanistanTV) and GM Nielsen (@PeterHeineNielsen) produced short videos and multiple lessons regarding chess.com’s top 50 chess players of all time. Here is a link that lists all their work Hall of Fame | The 50 Greatest Chess Players of All Time - Chess Lessons - Chess.com. You can find my alternative take on the Hall of Famers starting with #50 at HoF #50: Nimzowitsch–"The Stormy Petrel". The subjects under examination are approached very differently in my presentations. Gustafsson also has a selection of opening material on the Scotch Four Knights and the Spanish Four Knights you can find on his home page.
Edward Winter named Gustafsson one of the Top Five Internet Chess Broadcasters. Banter blitz was a Chess24 staple until taken over by chess.com. But then chess.com brought it back! Banter Blitz Is Back With The OG Jan Gustafsson.
Anton Sergiyovych Korobov (Ukrainian: Антон Сергійович Коробов; born 25 June 1985) is a Ukrainian GM, four-time Ukrainian CC, and one-time European Blitz CC. His peak rating was 2723 in January 2014, with a peak rank of #25 in July 2013. He plays very actively and at one point had a rapid rating of 2818. His classical, rapid, and blitz ratings bounced around the 2650 mark over the last several years.
He has been a member of several medal-winning Ukrainian teams. He won an individual gold in the 2013 World Team CC, contributing to the team’s bronze. Then he was part of the silver medal Olympiad team in 2016, and won an individual gold in the 2018 Olympiad as the best player on the reserve board.
In 2012 and 2013 he was a second for Anna Ushenin during those two Women’s World CC cycles.
He plays occasionally on chess.com @GOGIEFF and had a 3053 rating as of 17 June 2025.
Kamil Dragun, 25 June 1995, is a Polish GM, European U14 CC, World U16 CC, and coach. His peak rating was 2625 in August 2017. It is 2509 as of February 2025, with no FIDE-rated games since then.
He plays intermittently on chess.com @Drags95. His blitz rating was 3007 after beating Daniel Naroditsky in two games on 23 May 2025.
Wolfgang Unzicker (26 June 1925 – 20 April 2006) was a German GM, six-time German CC, and lawyer. The man Karpov called “the world champion of amateurs” is listed by FIDE with a peak Elo of 2545 in July 1971, #38 globally. ChessMetrics offers an estimate that resonates more clearly, citing a peak rating of 2686 in July 1960 and slotting him in at #14 globally in January 1951.
Although the legal profession was his full-time occupation, he still found time to play in twelve Olympiads, on first board for ten of those events. His best performance was a gold-medal tie with Najdorf for the best performance on board one in 1950. It probably didn’t hurt his ability to play chess that he was legal advisor to the German Chess Association for many years.
Zhao Zong-Yuan (simplified Chinese: 赵宗辕; traditional Chinese: 趙宗轅; pinyin: Zhào Zōngyuán; born 26 June 1986) is a Chinese-born, Australian GM, Australian CC, Australian Junior CC, two-time Oceania CC, Australian team coach, and earned a medical degree.
He has represented Australia in three Olympiads.
He plays regularly on chess.com @Megazz with a 2872 blitz rating.
Alisa Melekhina, 26 June 1991, is an FM, WIM, classically trained ballerina, and lawyer. Her peak rating was 2304 in March 2011. From 2016 – 2024 she rarely played, and her rating currently resides at 2180. She won a gold medal as part of the 2009 Women’s World Team CC.
She plays on chess.com occasionally @Alisa_Melekhina. Back in 2014 – 2015 she produced a number of chess.com videos such as this Defeating "Drawish" Players | Part 1: The Repeater!. You can find them on her home page. Then, in 2023, she wrote a blog about a corporate chess league tournament in which she participated.
Ulf Andersson, 27 June 1951, is a Swedish GM and ICCF GM. His peak FIDE rating was 2655 in January 1997. Ulf was #4 globally in January 1983. He still plays events and gained a rating point in February 2025 to climb to 2519. ChessMetrics offers slightly different estimates, showing a peak rating of 2691 in January 1992, but only #27 across the globe. ChessMetrics claims his peak over the board rating was equivalent to 2743 in October 1983, placing Ulf at #3 around the world. His peak ICCF rating was 2821 in July 1998, with a most recent rating of 2737 in April 2004. He was #1 globally for some period of time, but gave up correspondence chess as the use of computers became too widespread and email tournaments relied on faster time controls than he found comfortable.
Andersson is credited with advancing the theory of the hedgehog formation. His interest was spurred after Fischer beat him using that formation.
Links to some other Ulf Andersson games and tales.
- An interesting example of Andersson’s playing style, presented by GM @BryanSmith (no relation) From Opening to Endgame: Ulf's Endgame.
- WIM @energia offers thoughts on an endgame book with 70 games of the Endgame Virtuoso, Ulf Andersson.
- In (W)Ulf is at Korchnoi's Door!, @RoaringPawn shows a young Ulf dismantling his 20-years senior Korchnoi in an endgame.
Larry Christiansen, 27 June 1957, is an American GM, three-time US CC, three-time US Junior CC, author, and one of the few GMs who skipped the IM title enroute to becoming a GM. FIDE lists his peak rating at 2625 in July 1992, #21 globally.
A member of the US team in nine Olympiads, he was the recipient of one team silver and four team bronzes.
A renowned tactical thrashing machine, he wrote two books on the topic.
Ernst Falkbeer (June 27, 1819 – December 14, 1885) was an Austrian master and journalist. ChessMetrics estimates his peak strength at 2524 in January 1856 and placed him at #5 globally in eighteen different months from 1855 – 1858.
Falkbeer is most noted for his introduction of the Falkbeer Countergambit in response to the King’s Gambit. Tarrasch opined that it refuted the King’s Gambit completely.
Falkbeer edited a chess column for The Sunday Times for three years in London. He then returned to Vienna, where he wrote a column for eight years in Neue Illustrierte Zeitung, until the time of his death.
Watu Kobese, 27 June 1973, is a South African IM, three-time South African CC, FIDE Trainer, and chess author writing in both Zulu and Xhosa. His peak rating was 2419 in January 2005. He has represented his nation in a dozen Olympiads.
He plays in infrequent bursts on chess.com @umngqusho. The background on his home page is far more interesting than that of most!! PeterDoggers concluded a chess.com interview series with Kobese On Racism: IM Watu Kobese.
Sabino Brunello, 27 June 1989, is an Italian GM, Italian U18 CC, and silver medalist in the Italian CC and the European CC. His peak rating was 2617 in September 2013. He lost 15 Elo in May 2025 to slip to 2484.Sabino has played for Italy in six Olympiads and four European Team CCs.
When I looked, he had been online at chess.com @SabinoBrunello on 14 June 2025, but had not played a game since May 2024.
His sister, Marina, is an IM/WGM.
Anish Kumar Giri (Nepali: अनीश कुमार गिरि; Russian: Аниш Кумар Гири; born 28 June 1994) is a Dutch GM, five-time Dutch CC, and author. His peak rating was 2798 in October 2015, placing him #2 globally. He is currently ranked 2748 and #12. He has been a member of six Netherlands teams at Olympiads, earning three bronze medals on first board.
In April 2025 Giri was signed by the esports organization Team Secret. Anish plays quite regularly on chess.com @AnishGiri, though I found no games in June as of the 20th. His blitz and bullet ratings were 3134 and 3084 when I checked them on the aforementioned date.
Not counting his Short & Sweet (S&S) versions of longer texts or those published in multiple languages, Anish has written six books on chessable.com. That includes the three-part series on 1. e4, but only the S&S stated what the opening was! As a Pro member, I have enjoyed his S&S versions simply to expose myself to openings I don’t play these days. Anish has also annotated a number of top player games for ChessBase and has published articles in New in Chess, 64, Schach Magazin 64, and ChessVibes Training. He also published one book in traditional media, seen above on the right.
His wife, IM Sopiko Guramishvili, was born 1 January 1991 and has a peak rating of 2383. Married in 2015, this chess power couple has a peak combined rating of 5181.
Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko (Russian: Дмитрий Олегович Яковенко; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian GM, World U18 CC, European CC, four-time Russian Cup CC, and lost on tiebreak in the 2018 Russian CC. With a peak rating of 2760 in January 2009, he reached #5 globally in July of that year. I found no FIDE-rated games since August 2021 when he lost two rating points to edge downward to 2682. Presumably he was caught up in sanctions against playing under the Russian flag because of the invasion of Ukraine.
Dmitry was a member of the gold-medal winning Russian teams in one World Team CC and two European Team CCs.
Although Jakovenko was online at chess.com @DJakovenko as recently as 19 June 2025, I saw no games after 11 May 2023.
Vladimir Potkin (Russian: Владимир Поткин; born 28 June 1982) is a Russian GM, former European CC, trainer for Nepomniachtchi, and coach for the Russian national team. With a peak rating of 2684 in November 2011, he reached #52 globally in May of that year. His most recent rating was 2555, reached when he lost nine Elo in September 2023. He has played some rated blitz and rapid games since then, but no FIDE-rated classical games.
He plays somewhat regularly on chess.com @VladimirPotkin. His last time online was 13 May 2025 when I checked his profile.
Zhang Pengxiang (simplified Chinese: 张鹏翔; traditional Chinese: 張鵬翔; pinyin: Zhāng Péngxiáng; born 29 June 1980 in Tianjin) is a Chinese GM, two-time Chinese Junior CC, one-time Chinese CC, one-time Asian CC, and former #47 globally. His peak was 2567 Elo and #47 globally in April 2007. He has played FIDE-rated events rarely since July 2016, except in 2023 when he gained a few rating points while playing in around six events (from what I could guesstimate about the number of events since an event that starts in one month and finishes in another generates rating changes for both months.)
He has competed for China in two Olympiads and won an individual gold in the 2003 Asian Team CC.
Arnold Engelinus van Foreest (29 June 1863 – 24 June 1954) was a Dutch master, three-time Dutch CC, inspector at the Dutch postal company, and served one year as President of the Dutch Chess Federation. ChessMetrics estimates his peak rating at 2496 in February 1899 and placed him #38 globally in April 1903.
Arnold is the great-great-grandfather of the brothers Jorden van Foreest, the 2016 Dutch CC, and Lucas van Foreest, the 2019 Dutch CC.
Vladimir Pavlovich Zagorovsky (Russian: Влади́мир Па́влович Загоро́вский; 29 June 1925, Voronezh, Russia, formerly USSR – 6 November 1994, Voronezh, Russia) was a Russian ICCF GM and the fourth ICCF World CC, holding the title from 1962 – 1965, and author. His peak ICCF rating was 2590 in July 1991. He also played OTB and FIDE lists his peak rating at 2370 in July 1972. ChessMetrics offers rating estimates well before FIDE instituted its rating system in 1970. Accordingly, ChessMetrics suggests his peaks were 2614 and #41 globally in November and July 1953, respectively.
You can download a free .pdf of his book at Romantic Chess Openings - Vladimir Zagorovsky | PDF | Competitive Games | Chess Theory, if such things interest you.
Jesús de la Villa, born 30 June 1958, is a Spanish GM, FIDE Senior Trainer, and author. A two-time Spanish CC with a peak rating of 2595 in 1996, his rating has declined to 2445 as of November 2024. ChessMetrics placed his peak rating almost fifty points lower, 2546, with his top ranking at #300 in July 1995.
His biggest mark in the chess author’s pantheon are his three 100 Endgames books. That began with 100 Endgames You Must Know : Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player, a masterpiece I found particularly useful as I sought to breach the 2000 rating barrier. There are two companion books: The 100 Endgames You Must Know Workbook: Practical Endgame Exercises for Every Chess Player and 100 Endgame Patterns You Must Know: Recognize Key Moves & Motifs and Avoid Typical Errors. Surely those must make him a competitor in the Longest Book Titles category. He also wrote an opening book, Dismantling the Sicilian. An admirably brief title unless you include the subtitle!
Deep Sengupta (born 30 June 1988) is an Indian GM, World U12 CC, Indian Junior CC, and Commonwealth CC. His peak rating was 2596 in July 2017. He was rated 2502 entering June 2025.
You can find him online occasionally at chess.com @deep306, but I found no games since November 2022. He had been online 17 hours before I wrote this draft on 22 June 2025.
Michele Godena, 30 June 1967, is an Italian GM, five-time Italian CC (with two runner-up outcomes), one-time European Union CC, and author (in Italian). His peak rating was 2561 in March 2010. He plays frequently, and his rating was 2435 entering June 2025.
He has not played on chess.com @M_Godena since February 2020 and has not been online since July 2024 when I checked.
Godena has written two books, both in Italian. Intriguing covers on both!
Nikita Evgenievich Meshkovs (Latvian: Ņikita Meškovs, Russian: Никита Евгеньевич Мешков; born 30 June 1994) is a Latvian GM, one-time Latvian CC, winner of six Latvian Junior CCs in different age groups, and European U14 CC. His peak rating was 2586 in March 2023. He continues to play tournaments frequently and stood at 2523 entering June 2025.
He plays regularly on chess.com @1stSecond with a bullet rating of 2971 and a blitz rating of 2912 as of 21 June 2025.
Luís Santos, 30 June 1955, is an IM and ICCF GM, and a three-time Portuguese CC. His peak OTB rating was 2401 in October 2008. ChessMetrics lists him at 2455 in December 1988 and #495 globally in November 1972—there were fewer FIDE players, so it was a bit easier to edge into the top 500!
Daniel Hugo Cámpora, 30 June 1957, is an Argentine GM, two-time Argentine CC (and two-time runner-up). His peak rating was 2565 in July 1992. ChessMetrics offers a more meaningful, imo, estimate of his full potential. The site lists him at 2668 in March 1987, and #41 globally in April of that year (he was #42 in March). He played in nine Olympiads, and in 1994 won a first board gold medal and a performance rating silver medal!
Let's Wrap it Up!
I hope you enjoyed this blog, even if there were no twins other than in the images. It continued to scratch my interest in historical and contemporary chess figures. To the extent time and my lack of diligence allowed, there are links to personal websites, chess.com usernames, and individual home pages. There are even references to some of their feeds on X or YouTube. Along this journey, I also found some interesting games. Given all the material, I was only able to include a smattering of games, books, images, and video clips. I hope you find some of interest.
If there were any errors, please advise me and I'll correct those.
If there is some other information you would like included in every future chess player bio, I'll do what I can to oblige.
Only three more months to go to complete the full Zodiac cycle!!
