Alexander Chernin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Alexander Chernin |
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Alexander Chernin in 1987
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| Full name | Alexander Mikhailovich Chernin |
| Country | Soviet Union (until 1991) Hungary (since 1992) |
| Born | 6 March 1960 |
| Title | Grandmaster (1985) |
| FIDE rating | 2614 (June 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2645 (January 1998) |
| Peak ranking | No. 19 (January 1994) |
Alexander Mikhailovich Chernin (born on March 6, 1960) is a famous chess player. He was born in the Soviet Union and later became a citizen of Hungary. He is known as a Grandmaster and also works as a chess coach.
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Alexander Chernin's Early Chess Journey
Alexander Chernin was born in Kharkiv, which was part of the Ukrainian SSR back then. When he was young, he was very good at chess. He quickly moved up the ranks in junior tournaments.
In 1979, he played in the World Junior Chess Championship in Skien. He came in second place, right after Yasser Seirawan. The next year, in January 1980, he won the European Junior Chess Championship in Groningen. He beat players like Zurab Azmaiparashvili to take the top spot.
These big wins helped him earn the International Master title. They also set him up for even more success in the years that followed.
Winning Chess Tournaments
Alexander Chernin won many chess tournaments, sometimes by himself and sometimes by sharing first place. Some of his notable wins include:
- Irkutsk in 1980
- Copenhagen in 1984 (and again in 1986 with Vasily Smyslov)
- Stary Smokovec in 1984
- Polanica Zdroj (Rubinstein Memorial) in 1988 (with Alexander Goldin)
- Prague in 1989
- Marseilles in 1990 (with Evgeny Bareev)
He also finished second in other important events. These included the Capablanca Memorial in Cienfuegos in 1981 and the Reggio Emilia tournament in 1986/87.
Becoming a Grandmaster
The most important year for Alexander Chernin's playing career was 1985. That year, he became a Grandmaster. He also won the USSR Chess Championship along with Viktor Gavrikov and Mikhail Gurevich.
He also did very well in the Gammarth (Tunisia) Interzonal tournament. This earned him a spot in the Montpellier Candidates Tournament. This tournament was a step towards becoming the World Champion. However, he didn't advance further in that competition.
In the same year, he won two gold medals at the first-ever World Team Championship in Luzern. He won for his team and also an individual medal while representing the USSR.
Later Achievements and Blitz Chess
In 1988, Alexander Chernin competed in another new event, the World Blitz Championship. This was held in Saint John. Blitz chess is a very fast version of the game. He finished tied for third place with Kiril Georgiev, behind Mikhail Tal and Rafael Vaganian.
In the 1990s, Chernin continued to play well in international events. He won clearly at Dortmund in 1990, beating strong players like Boris Gelfand. He also shared first or second place at Dortmund in 1991. Other successes followed at Buenos Aires (Najdorf Memorial) in 1992, Gothenburg in 1996, and Aubervilliers in 1996. The Aubervilliers event was a rapid chess tournament.
Representing Hungary
In 1992, Alexander Chernin moved to Budapest. A year later, he became a citizen of Hungary. He has proudly represented his new country many times. He played for Hungary at the Olympiads in 1994 and 1996. He also played in three European Team Chess Championships. In 1999, he won a team silver medal at one of these championships.
Alexander Chernin's Present Activities
Since the year 2000, Alexander Chernin has played chess less often. However, he was a joint winner of the 2001 Corsica Masters tournament. He lost to Viswanathan Anand in the final game for the champion's title.
He is also very involved in coaching young chess players. His most famous student is the talented Italian-American master Fabiano Caruana. In 2004, Alexander Chernin was given the title of FIDE Senior Trainer. This title recognizes his skill and experience as a chess coach.
Alexander Chernin is also a chess theorist. This means he studies and writes about chess strategies. He has written articles for publications like New In Chess. He is known as an expert on the Pirc Defence, which is a specific way to start a chess game. In 2001, he wrote a book about this opening called Pirc Alert! with Lev Alburt.
Notable games
- Alexander Chernin vs John Van der Wiel EUCup Grp3 1997, Zukertort Opening (A04), 1–0
- Alexander Chernin vs Alexander Utnasunov FIDE World Ch 2000, Semi-Slav Defense (D45), 1–0
- Peter K Wells vs Alexander Chernin Tch-AUT −01 2000, Benko Gambit: Accepted. (A57), 0–1
Images for kids
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Alexander Chernin in 1987
