My Favorite Not-So-Famous Players
Hello, hello, chess community!
I have been tasked with writing a new blog post, which is precisely what I intend to do now! The only problem was that, usually, the text must be about something... and I struggled for weeks to decide on a topic. Then, inspiration struck me, and I had one of my most brilliant ideas ever.
In this article, I will reveal who my favorite players are! I know, I know... I'm very creative. You can stop applauding my outstanding thinking-outside-the-box skills. It is such an honor, but I am used to it.
Jokes aside, and despite the quite common subject, I thought it could be interesting to introduce my readers to some players I appreciate for various reasons and explain why I like them. The aim here is not to write a biography, but to provide a personal reflection on what makes me support a player.
Also, I don't want to mention obvious names like Carlsen, Polgár, or Gukesh. I am surely a big fan of them and many other top GMs, but that could be boring and repetitive, so let's give some of my favorite 'not-so-famous' players a chance to shine today, in no order of preference.
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Table Of Contents
5. Deysi Cori
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As you all know, I am a patriotic Brazilian! Even though my country has many problems, that doesn't mean I won't be proud of some of our most prominent figures. In my article 'A Chess Saga in the Land of Soccer', I talk about famous players and our chess history. However, two of them are not mentioned there and must be recognized. The first is Herman Claudius van Riemsdijk.
'Wait, Leticia, is he really Brazilian? With a name like that?' Good question! The answer is no; he was not born here. In fact, he was born in Tiel, the Netherlands, on 26 August 1948, and arrived in Brazil on 16 June 1958 at the age of nine. Therefore, despite not being born, he has adopted our identity and culture, and can be considered one of us.
Herman was awarded the title of International Master by FIDE in 1978 and the title of International Arbiter in 1981. He was the Brazilian champion three times, in 1970, 1973, and 1988, and represented us in eleven Chess Olympiads.
Here is another interesting fact about him that a certain friend of mine will be very happy to know: Herman Claudius was captain and coach of the New Zealand women's team at the 43rd Chess Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, in 2018.
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Why Him?
It is usually difficult to articulate what we appreciate about a person, whether they are a friend or a famous figure. But I will try to explain rationally some of my main reasons for each of the players I choose to mention here. I can't pinpoint one specific reason why I like Herman, but there are many things that, together, contribute. In his case, I would say it is probably strongly related to:
• The fact that he is not Brazilian by birth, yet assimilated into our culture and became part of our chess history. Brazil is a very diverse country in general, so it makes me happy to see people of different origins proud to represent us, regardless of where they come from.
• He is 'just' an International Master, but I strongly believe this is because, at his peak, the GM title was much harder to achieve. By the time the rules were loosened, he was unfortunately no longer playing at his best. This sense of injustice makes me like him, because he should be a Grandmaster but isn't due to circumstances beyond his control.
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Below is the most remarkable game of his career.
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Now, let's move on to another Brazilian player who is more well-known, at least among younger people. Renato Rodrigues Quintiliano Pinto was born in Osasco on 4 October 1992 and is Brazil’s most recent Grandmaster (GM), having received his title in February 2022. At the last Chess Olympiad, he represented Brazil on board 3, delivering an impressive performance with 8 points out of 11 games.
Interestingly, it took him longer than usual to reach his peak, but he is certainly one of our strongest players today. I really hope to see him win the Brazilian Championship at some point in the next few years.
However, as I said, the idea is not to write biographies, but to talk about my personal reasons for liking the players mentioned.
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Why him?
In this case, the explanation is easier to understand.
• I started playing chess again in 2019 (I will soon publish a blog explaining my entire chess biography), and at the time, all the other 14 GMs already had their titles. This meant that Quintiliano was the only Brazilian player I could watch 'live' as he fought for the norms and became a GM. This made the connection and my happiness at his achievement much more special because I had followed his journey and struggles.
• I'm not saying that any other Brazilian GM is stuck-up or rude, but from what I can gather from interviews, Renato is very humble and respectful. Perhaps it is the way he answers questions and thinks that makes me feel like “I would answer the same way” or “That’s what I wanted to hear”.
• Less important, but still relevant, is the fact that some of his courses helped me to improve my chess, so he is my indirect teacher, at least in some aspects of the game.
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Now, regarding the next name, it is an opportune moment to reveal something that many people don't know about me. I have Polish origins! My paternal grandparents were born there and came to Brazil to escape World War II. You might have guessed this from my name, if you knew it. I’m Leticia Sobczak, nice to meet you!
Having a special connection with Poland, a place I have visited more than once, I felt it was important to include a player from the country. The chosen one was Radosław Wojtaszek, born in Elbląg on 13 January 1987. He is one of their strongest grandmasters and has won the Polish championship six times.
Radosław has a peak rating of 2750, reaching No. 15 in the world in December 2014. He has also acted as second to Viswanathan Anand in many World Championship matches, including the successful title defense matches against Veselin Topalov in 2010 and Boris Gelfand in 2012. He was also present in 2013 and 2014, when Anand lost to Magnus Carlsen.
In 2004, Wojtaszek won both the European and World Youth Chess Championships in the U18 category. Between 2005 and 2025, he won the Polish Chess Championship six times and represented Poland in many Chess Olympiads, usually on the first or second board. He is therefore considered one of the strongest players in the country in recent years, alongside the famous super GM and former Candidates player Jan-Krzysztof Duda.
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Why him?
I believe the main reason is already obvious to you, but there is something else that might seem childish, but is fun. So, let's discuss them.
• Firstly, he comes from a country that I have a deep affection for, especially because of my own origins. Even though I do not consider myself Polish, I usually support them in sports competitions when Brazil is not taking part. This includes not only chess players, but I also root for their teams in football, volleyball, and athletes in all Olympic sports.
• The second reason is quite simple and perhaps a little silly, but I am being honest here. Actually, if you pronounce his surname in Portuguese, it really sounds like 'Vou te dar xeque', which means 'I will check you'. This is very appropriate and funny for a chess player. Even though it is nonsense, it helps create a certain connection.
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Moving on to perhaps the most famous player in this text, or maybe the second one, behind Wojtaszek. I'm not quite sure. In any case, it may come as a surprise to many of you, but I am a fan of the still very young Russian grandmaster Andrey Esipenko. If you don’t know him, I will give you a brief summary.
Andrey Evgenyevich Esipenko was born on 22 March 2002 in Novocherkassk. He won the European U10 Championship in 2012 and the European U16 and World U16 Chess Championships in 2017. After he beat Magnus Carlsen in their first classical game during the 2021 Tata Steel Tournament, some analysts even pointed to him as a possible world title contender.
However, despite this incredible feat and a promising start, his career has not progressed as expected. Although he is still considered a very strong player, hopes of becoming a world champion or competing in a Candidates Tournament seem distant today. I hope not.
At the 2023 FIDE Grand Swiss, Esipenko only needed a draw in his final game against Anish Giri to secure his place at the 2024 Candidates Tournament. However, a painful loss meant he finished third and lost the spot. It was very sad to watch, but unfortunately, that is how high-level competition works.
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Why him?
There are two main reasons for that, both of which are important to mention. In this case, they are more emotional and have nothing to do with country, identity, or gender.
• When he played against Carlsen in 2021, I had no idea who that 18-year-old boy was. He was completely unknown and a true underdog. Suddenly, he defeated Magnus, leaving me thinking, "What the hell? Who is he?”, and I liked this boy. He also cried after the game, clearly touched by his achievement, and this generated some empathy, making me want to cheer him on from that moment on.
• After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Esipenko and 43 other elite Russian chess players signed an open letter to Vladimir Putin protesting against the invasion and expressing solidarity with the Ukrainian people. We all knew it would be useless in practical terms, but I think it is important to express an opinion on such an important issue, and he did so by choosing the right side. You can't change reality, but knowing what he thinks has made me like him even more.
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And below is the historic game, annotated by Dejan Bojkov.
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In conclusion to this article, I felt like I had to include a woman too, and I chose my second favorite, only after Judit Polgár. I am very happy to tell my readers more about her. Please allow me to introduce Deysi Cori, an International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) from Peru.
Born in Lima on 2 July 1993, Deysi Estela Cori Tello is a three-time American Continental women's champion. At the junior level, she was twice a world champion and a six-time Pan American champion in her age category. She is Peru's top-ranked female player and has played for her country's national team in all editions of the Women's Chess Olympiad since 2004.
She achieved her peak rating in February 2015 with an Elo of 2444. In May 2013, Cori qualified for the 2013 Chess World Cup in the open section, becoming one of the few women to play in it. In the first round, she played none other than the famous streamer Hikaru Nakamura. Despite the loss, it must have been a valuable experience for her.
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Why her?
It's quite simple to deduce that, but if you haven't understood yet, here are the main reasons why I'm a fan of hers:
• Gender plays an important role here, since, as a woman, I look to female players for inspiration and to show that, with dedication and perseverance, they too can play chess at a high level. Deisy may never have been part of the super elite or become worldwide famous with exceptional results, but she has been a very strong and consistent player throughout her career, so she is a role model to me.
• Also, she is from South America! And even though she is not from my country, I feel proud when I see a South American representing the continent well around the world! With its amazing natural beauty and rich history of the Inca Empire, Peru was one of my favorite countries to visit when I travelled around the continent for judo competitions, and a place that won my heart deserves to have at least one player mentioned here.
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Thank you very much for reading my blog! I hope you enjoyed finding out more about the players and understanding what makes my connection with them so strong. As you can see, there are different reasons, and that is what makes it so interesting.
Two of them are Brazilian, which is quite normal. One player is from the country where my grandparents come from, and his name is a funny pun. Another is purely an emotional connection from a single game, and the last obviously involves gender, together with some South American pride.
Of course, I must finish by also mentioning the texts that inspired me to write mine. The main ones were two blog posts by @VOB96: 'My Top 5 Favorite Chess Players' and 'My Top 5 Favorite Female Chess Players'. I tried to emulate the style in those posts to talk about my own favorites, and I think it is interesting to have this information on record for anyone who is interested.
As a quick suggestion, maybe every blogger should have at least one article like this, as it reveals a lot about the person behind the screen and makes the connection with the readers stronger.
I'll see you next time!
