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Gata Kamsky
GataKamsky24.jpg
Kamsky in 2024
Full name Gataulla Rustemovich Kamsky
Country
Born (1974-06-02) June 2, 1974 (age 51)
Novokuznetsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Title Grandmaster (1990)
FIDE rating 2674 (August 2025)
Peak rating 2763 (July 2013)
Peak ranking No. 4 (July 1995)

Gata Kamsky (Tatar: Гата Камский; Russian: Гата Камский; born June 2, 1974) is a chess grandmaster from the United States, originally from the Soviet Union. He has won the U.S. Chess Championship five times.

Kamsky made it to the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 when he was 22 years old. He was ranked as the fourth best chess player in the world in 1995. He took a break from playing professional chess from 1997 to 2004.

Kamsky won the Chess World Cup 2007. This win earned him a special match against Veselin Topalov, which he lost. Kamsky also played in the Candidates Tournament in 2011, where he lost to Boris Gelfand.

Early Life and Chess Beginnings

Kamsky was born in Novokuznetsk, a city in Russia. His family is Tatar. His last name, Kamsky, comes from his grandfather's stage name, Gataullah "Kamsky" Sabirov, who started the Tatar Drama Theater in Kazan.

When he was 12, Gata beat a very experienced Grandmaster named Mark Taimanov in a tournament game. In the same year, he earned his National Master title. He won the Soviet under-20 championship in both 1987 and 1988.

Moving to the United States

In 1989, Gata moved to the United States with his father, Röstäm. His father was a former boxer who guided Gata's chess studies and was his coach and manager. Allen Kaufman, who was in charge of the American Chess Foundation, helped them settle in. A businessman named James Cayne also provided financial support.

In 1989, Gata Kamsky won a tournament in New York. This win gave him the chance to play a two-game match against Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest chess players ever. Kamsky lost that match 0–2. In 1990, when he was 16, he played in the Interzonal tournament in Manila. This was an important step towards the World Chess Championship.

In 1990, FIDE, the world chess organization, gave Kamsky the Grandmaster title. In 1991, he won the U.S. Chess Championship. Kamsky also did well in other big chess tournaments, like winning the Las Palmas tournament in 1994.

Becoming a World Championship Challenger

In 1993, two different chess organizations, FIDE and PCA, held their own qualifying tournaments. Kamsky played in both and qualified for the special "Candidates Tournament" in each. These tournaments decide who gets to challenge for the World Championship title. Kamsky and Viswanathan Anand were two of the strongest players in these events.

FIDE Candidates Matches

In the first round of the 1994–95 FIDE Candidates matches, Kamsky beat Paul van der Sterren. Kamsky's next match was against Anand in India. Anand took an early lead, but Kamsky fought back to tie the match. He then won the tie-break games to move forward. In the final round of the Candidates, Kamsky easily defeated Valery Salov.

PCA Candidates Matches

In the 1994–95 PCA Candidates matches, Kamsky beat Vladimir Kramnik and then Nigel Short. However, in the final match against Anand, Kamsky lost.

In 1996, Kamsky played a long match against Anatoly Karpov for the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 title. Kamsky lost this match.

Taking a Break from Chess

After losing to Karpov, Kamsky decided to stop playing professional chess for a while. He went to Brooklyn College and earned a degree in 1999. After that, he went to law school at Touro Law Center in New York.

Kamsky played very few rated games during this time. His first games after his break were in 1999 at the FIDE Knockout World Championship in Las Vegas. He played against Alexander Khalifman, who ended up winning the tournament. Kamsky won the first game but lost the second and then the tie-break games.

The Comeback to Chess

Kamsky was away from the chess world for about eight years, except for that one match in 1999. People started hearing about his return in 2004.

He officially returned to playing in June 2004. He played in several smaller tournaments and then in the 2005 U.S. Championship. By April 2005, his rating was 2700, placing him among the top players in the world.

Recent Successes

Since his comeback, Kamsky has had many notable achievements. He finished second at the M-Tel Masters event behind Veselin Topalov. Kamsky also helped the US team win a bronze medal at the 2006 Chess Olympiad in Turin. In July 2006, he tied for first place at the Philadelphia World Open and won the play-off.

In November–December 2007, Kamsky played in the Chess World Cup 2007. He was seeded 11th but surprised many by winning the title. He defeated strong players like Peter Svidler, former world champion Ruslan Ponomariov, and future world number-one Magnus Carlsen. In the final, he beat Alexei Shirov.

Kamsky's victory in the World Cup earned him a match against world number-one Veselin Topalov in 2009. The winner would challenge Viswanathan Anand for the World Chess Championship. Kamsky lost this match to Topalov.

Kamsky played for the United States team in the 2008 Chess Olympiad and helped them win bronze medals again. He also participated in the Chess World Cup 2009 but was upset in the third round.

In January 2010, Kamsky won the 52nd Reggio Emilia chess tournament. In May 2010, he tied for first place at the President's Cup in Baku.

He became the U.S. Champion on May 25, 2010, after winning a play-off game. This was Kamsky's second U.S. Championship, 19 years after his first win.

In August 2010, Kamsky won the Open Grenke Rapid World Championship, a fast chess tournament. He beat many top players, including Levon Aronian and Rustam Kasimdzhanov. Later that month, he won the Baku Open in Azerbaijan.

From April 13 to April 18, 2011, Kamsky played in the United States Championship again. He won the tournament for the second year in a row, making it his third U.S. Championship title.

As a finalist from the 2010 world championship cycle, Kamsky was invited to the Candidates Tournament in May 2011. This tournament would decide who would challenge for the World Chess Championship 2012. Kamsky faced Veselin Topalov in the quarterfinals and won. In the semifinals, he played against Boris Gelfand. The match was tied, and Gelfand won in the tie-break games, eliminating Kamsky.

In May 2012, Kamsky played in the 2012 U.S. Championship. He won the tournament in 2013 and 2014, making his fifth U.S. Championship title. In 2016, he placed third at the Chigorin Memorial tournament.

In 2025, Kamsky joined the French Chess Federation.

Notable Tournament Wins

  • Buffalo Open, 1989
  • Tilburg, 1990
  • World Open, 1991
  • U.S. Championship, 1991
  • Buenos Aires, 1993
  • Las Palmas, 1994
  • Dos Hermanas, 1995
  • New York, 2006
  • World Open, 2006
  • Mashantucket, 2007
  • Chess World Cup, Khanty-Mansiysk, 2007
  • National Open, Las Vegas, 2008
  • Reggio Emilia, 2010
  • Philadelphia Open, 2010
  • U.S. Championship, 2010
  • Rapid World Championship, Mainz 2010
  • Baku Open, 2010
  • World Open, 2011
  • U.S. Championship, 2011
  • U.S. Championship, 2013
  • Philadelphia Open, 2014
  • U.S. Championship, 2014
  • The 8th New York International, 2015
  • Cappelle la Grande, 2016
  • The 54th Biel Chess Festival Chess Triathlon, 2021

World Championship Matches and Qualifiers

  • FIDE WCC Candidates Match 1994, Wijk aan Zee, Kamsky–van der Sterren (4½–2½)
  • FIDE WCC Candidates Match 1994, Sanghi Nagar, Kamsky–Anand (6–4)
  • PCA WCC Candidates Match 1994, New York, Kamsky–Kramnik (4½–1½)
  • PCA WCC Candidates Match 1994, Linares, Kamsky–Short (5½–1½)
  • FIDE WCC Candidates Match 1995, Sanghi Nagar, Kamsky–Salov (5½–1½)
  • PCA WCC Candidates Match 1995, Las Palmas, Kamsky–Anand (4½–6½)
  • FIDE World Chess Championship 1996, Elista, Kamsky–Karpov (7½–10½)
  • FIDE WCC Knockout 1999 Second Round, Las Vegas, Kamsky–Khalifman (1½–2½)
  • WCC Candidates Match 2007 Round 1, Elista, Kamsky–Bacrot (3½–½)
  • WCC Candidates Match 2007 Round 2, Elista, Kamsky–Gelfand (1½–3½)
  • Chess World Cup 2007 Quarterfinals, Khanty–Mansiysk, Kamsky–Ponomariov (1½–0½)
  • Chess World Cup 2007 Semifinals, Khanty–Mansiysk, Kamsky–Carlsen (1½–0½)
  • Chess World Cup 2007 Championship Match, Khanty–Mansiysk, Kamsky–Shirov (2½–1½)
  • WCC Candidates Match 2009, Sofia, Kamsky–Topalov (2½–4½)
  • WCC Candidates Match 2011 Quarterfinals, Kazan, Kamsky–Topalov (2½–1½)
  • WCC Candidates Match 2011 Semifinals, Kazan, Kamsky–Gelfand [2–2 (2–4)]

A Famous Chess Game

This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Kramnik vs. Kamsky, New York 1994
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
8 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 8
7 {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king 7
6 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn 6
5 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black pawn {{{square}}} black king 5
4 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king 4
3 {{{square}}} white bishop {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white king 3
2 {{{square}}} white pawn {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white queen {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} white pawn 2
1 {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black king {{{square}}} black rook {{{square}}} black king 1
Solid white.svg a b c d e f g h Solid white.svg
Final position

Here is a famous game where Kamsky, playing as Black, defeated Vladimir Kramnik during their 1994 Candidates match. Kamsky played very strongly, taking advantage of Kramnik's mistakes. He created a powerful attack that led to a win. This game showed Kamsky's skill in finding clever moves and forcing his opponent to give up.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Gata Kamski para niños

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