GM Zurab Azmaiparashvili

Zurab Azmaiparashvili is a Georgian grandmaster, former FIDE vice-president, and current president of the European Chess Union (as of May 2021). He won international tournaments in Pavlodar (1982), Moscow (1986), Albena (1986), Tbilisi (1986), and London (1989). He also won the 2003 European Individual Chess Championship and the 2009 European Team Chess Championship.

Throughout his career, Azmaiparashvili was involved in a few controversial situations. He was arrested by the police during the closing ceremony of the 2004 Chess Olympiad after he got into a fight with the security of the event. In another incident, Azmaiparashvili verbally abused GM Anton Kovalyov using racial slurs during the 2017 Chess World Cup. Kovalyov withdrew from the event and Azmaiparashvili was largely criticized for his conduct.