Gata Kamsky facts for kids
| Gata Kamsky | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Full name | Gataulla Rustemovich Kamsky |
| Country |  United States |
| Born |
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| Title | Grandmaster |
| FIDE rating | 2740 (#17 in the January 2013 FIDE ranking list) |
| Peak rating | 2756 (September 2011) |
Gata Kamsky (born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and the current World Rapid Chess Champion. He is rated #2 in the United States.
Kamsky was a prodigy who reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 1996 at the age of 22, and reached a ranking of fourth in the world in 1996. He played almost no FIDE-rated games between 1997 and late 2004. He was studying medicine at the time.
Kamsky won the Chess World Cup 2007. This earned him a match against Veselin Topalov for the right to challenge for the World Chess Championship 2010, which he lost. Kamsky also played in the Candidates Tournament to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2012. He advanced to the semifinals before losing to Boris Gelfand.
