Ian Nepomniachtchi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ian Nepomniachtchi |
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Nepomniachtchi at the World Blitz Chess Championship 2024
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| Full name | Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi |
| Country | Russia |
| Born | 14 July 1990 Bryansk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Title | Grandmaster (2007) |
| FIDE rating | 2784 (June 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2795 (March 2023) |
| Peak ranking | No. 2 (February 2023) |
Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi (Russian: Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий, tr. Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy, IPA: [ˈjan ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj]; born 14 July 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can earn.
Ian Nepomniachtchi is currently one of the best chess players in the world. He is the reigning (current) World Blitz Chess Champion, sharing the title with Magnus Carlsen. He is also one of the few players to win the important Candidates Tournament two times in a row. This tournament decides who gets to challenge for the World Chess Championship title.
Nepomniachtchi has won many major chess events. He won the Russian Superfinal in 2010 and 2020. He also won the European Individual Championship in 2010. Other big wins include the 2016 Tal Memorial and the Aeroflot Open in 2008 and 2015. He has also won team championships with Russia, like the World Team Chess Championship and the European Team Chess Championship.
He has earned several medals in fast chess games. These include silver and bronze medals at the World Rapid Championships. He also won a silver medal at the 2014 World Blitz Championship. In 2024, he became the joint World Blitz Champion.
Ian Nepomniachtchi challenged for the World Chess Championship title twice. He qualified for the World Chess Championship 2021 but lost to Magnus Carlsen. He then won the 2022 Candidates Tournament again. This made him the challenger for the World Chess Championship 2023, but he lost to Ding Liren.
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Chess Journey
Starting Young
Ian Nepomniachtchi began playing chess when he was just four years old. His grandfather, Boris Iosifovich Nepomniashchy, was a well-known teacher. Ian's first chess coaches included his uncle Igor Nepomniashchy and Valentin Evdokimenko. He trained with Evdokimenko from age five to thirteen.
Under his coaches' guidance, Ian competed in many youth championships. He won the European Youth Chess Championship three times. He won the under-10 category in 2000. Then, he won the U12 championship in both 2001 and 2002. In 2002, he also won the World Youth Chess Championship in the U12 group. He won this title by beating Magnus Carlsen on a tiebreak score.
Becoming a Grandmaster
In 2007, Ian started earning "grandmaster norms." These are special achievements needed to become a grandmaster. He earned his first norm at the Corus Chess Tournament. Later that year, he got his second norm at the European Individual Chess Championship.
He earned his third and final norm at the 5th Vanya Somov Memorial tournament. Ian won this event, officially becoming a Grandmaster in 2007.
In February 2008, he won the Aeroflot Open in Moscow. This win qualified him for the 2008 Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. He finished second in that tournament without losing a single game. That same year, he also won the Ordix Open, a fast chess tournament. In 2009, he won a gold medal in chess at the 2009 Maccabiah Games.
Major Wins in 2010-2011
In 2010, Ian Nepomniachtchi won the European Individual Chess Championship in Rijeka. He scored 9 out of 11 points. Later that year, he won the Russian Chess Championship in Moscow. He beat Sergey Karjakin in a playoff game to take the title.
He also played in the Chess World Cup 2011. He won his first two matches but lost in the third round to Gata Kamsky. In November 2011, he tied for third place at the Tal Memorial tournament. His coach in 2011 was Vladimir Potkin.
Success in Rapid and Blitz Chess
Ian Nepomniachtchi is very strong in faster versions of chess. In June 2013, he finished second at the World Rapid Chess Championship. This tournament uses shorter time limits for each player.
In 2014, he won a silver medal at the World Blitz Chess Championship in Dubai. Blitz chess games are even faster than rapid games. He also won the Tournament of Champions in Yaroslavl, a rapid chess event. In December 2014, he won a gold medal in "Basque chess" at the SportAccord World Mind Games.
In April 2015, he won the Aeroflot Open for the second time. He also won the Aeroflot blitz tournament right after. In September, he won the Moscow Blitz Championship. A month later, he earned a silver medal at the World Rapid Chess Championship in Berlin.
More Victories (2016-2020)
In July 2016, Nepomniachtchi won the Hainan Danzhou tournament. In October, he won the Tal Memorial. At the 42nd Chess Olympiad in 2016, he helped Russia win a team bronze medal. He also won an individual silver medal for his play on board 4.
In December 2017, Ian beat the world champion, Magnus Carlsen, in a game in London. He finished second in that tournament after a tie-break. Later that month, he took third place in the World Rapid Chess Championship.
In July 2018, he won the 46th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. He finished a full point ahead of other top players. In January 2019, he placed third at the 81st Tata Steel Masters. In March 2019, he helped Russia win the World Team Chess Championship.
Ian also played in the FIDE Grand Prix series in 2019. This series was part of the path to the World Chess Championship. He won two of the three tournaments he played in. He finished second overall, which qualified him for the 2020 Candidates Tournament. In December 2020, he won the Russian Championship again.
World Championship Challenges (2021-2023)
In April 2021, Nepomniachtchi won the 2020/2021 Candidates Tournament. This win meant he would challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Chess Championship 2021 title. However, Carlsen won the match, keeping his title.
In August 2021, Ian was Russia's highest-ranked chess player. He was fourth in the world and second in Europe. In December 2021, he finished second at the FIDE World Rapid Championship. He lost in a playoff to Nodirbek Abdusattorov.
In 2022, Nepomniachtchi qualified for the 2022 Candidates Tournament as the previous World Championship runner-up. He played under the FIDE flag because Russian teams were suspended from international events. He won the Candidates Tournament without losing a single game. This was a great achievement, as he scored 9.5 out of 14 points. This win meant he would challenge for the World Chess Championship title again in 2023.
In March 2023, Nepomniachtchi reached his highest rating ever, 2795. This is one of the highest ratings in chess history. During the FIDE World Chess Championship 2023, he tied with Ding Liren in the main games. However, he lost to Ding in the tie-breaker games.
In May 2023, he played in the Superbet Chess Classic but finished in ninth place. At the Chess World Cup 2023, he reached the fifth round but lost in tiebreaks. In September, he won the 2nd Levitov Chess Week.
In December 2023, there was a small issue at the World Blitz Chess Championship 2023. Ian and another player, Daniil Dubov, quickly agreed to a draw. FIDE, the world chess organization, ruled that they had planned the draw beforehand. Both players were penalized. Ian later apologized for this.
Recent Games (2024)
In January 2024, Ian played in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. He finished eighth out of 14 players. As the losing finalist of the 2023 World Chess Championship, he got a direct spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. He was a strong leader for most of the tournament. He was also the only player who did not lose any games. However, he was overtaken by Gukesh D in the final rounds.
In June, he played in the Superbet Romania Chess Classic, finishing with a 50% score. In August, he played in the Sinquefield Cup 2024 and finished ninth. In September, Nepomniachtchi won the 10th Gashimov Memorial tournament.
In December, he finished second in the Champions Chess Tour 2024, losing to Magnus Carlsen in the finals. Later that month, he won a bronze medal at the World Rapid Chess Championship 2024. He also became the joint winner of the World Blitz Chess Championship 2024 with Magnus Carlsen. They agreed to share the title after their tie-break games ended in draws.
Fast Chess Skills
Besides regular chess, Ian Nepomniachtchi is very good at rapid and blitz chess. These games have much shorter time limits. As of September 2023, he was ranked fourth in the world for rapid chess and sixth for blitz chess. This shows his amazing speed and skill.
Personal Life
Ian Nepomniachtchi is Jewish. People often call him by his nickname, "Nepo." He studied at the Russian State Social University. In October 2021, he appeared on a Russian TV show called What? Where? When?.
Gaming Hobbies
Ian is also interested in video games! In 2006, he started playing Defense of the Ancients (Dota). He even became a semi-professional Dota 2 player. He was part of a team that won the ASUS Cup Winter 2011 Dota tournament. He has also worked as a commentator for Dota 2 tournaments, using the name FrostNova.
He also plays Hearthstone, a popular card game. He even introduced his fellow grandmaster, Peter Svidler, to the game. They both gave feedback to the game's creators.
Views on Important Issues
In March 2022, Ian Nepomniachtchi, along with 43 other top Russian chess players, signed an open letter. This letter was sent to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. It protested against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and showed support for the people of Ukraine.
See also
- List of Jewish chess players
- List of Russian chess players
Images for kids
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Nepomniachtchi at the World Blitz Chess Championship 2024
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Nepomniachtchi looking over a chess board at the 2018 Russian Chess Championships Super Finals
