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 (August 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 ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪɕ nʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj]; born on July 14, 1990) is a Russian chess grandmaster. A grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can earn.
Ian Nepomniachtchi is currently a World Blitz Chess Champion, sharing the title with Magnus Carlsen. He has also won the Russian Chess Championship two times. He is one of the few players to win two Candidates Tournaments in a row. He is also Russia's top-ranked active chess player.
Nepomniachtchi won the Russian Superfinal in 2010 and 2020. He also won the European Individual Chess Championship in 2010. He has won other big tournaments like the Tal Memorial in 2016 and the Aeroflot Open three times. He helped the Russian team win the World Team Chess Championship in 2013 and 2019. In 2015, he won the European Team Chess Championship with Russia.
Ian is very good at rapid chess and blitz chess. In October 2016, he was ranked fourth in the world for both. He has won five individual medals at the World Rapid Championships. He also won a silver medal at the 2014 World Blitz Championship. In 2024, he became a joint winner of the World Blitz Chess Championship 2024. In October 2022, he won a silver medal in the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022.
In 2019, he qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2020–2021. He won the 2021 FIDE Candidates tournament, which meant he got to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title. However, he lost to Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2021. In 2022, he won the Candidates Tournament 2022 again. This made him the first player to win two Candidates tournaments in a row. He also got the highest score in a Candidates tournament since 2013. He then played for the world title again in the World Chess Championship 2023. He lost to Ding Liren in a tie-break.
Contents
Ian Nepomniachtchi's Chess Journey
Early Days in Chess
Ian Nepomniachtchi started playing chess when he was four years old. His grandfather, Boris Iosifovich Nepomniashchy, was a famous teacher. Ian's first chess coaches included his uncle Igor Nepomniashchy and other grandmasters. When he was five, he moved to Bryansk with his first coach, Valentin Evdokimenko. He trained with him until he was 13.
Ian won the European Youth Chess Championship three times. He won the under-10 category in 2000. Then, he won the under-12 championship in both 2001 and 2002. In 2002, he also won the World Youth Chess Championship in the under-12 group. He won by a small margin over Magnus Carlsen.
Becoming a Grandmaster (2007–2009)
In 2007, Ian finished second in a group at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament. This helped him get his first grandmaster (GM) norm. A norm is a high-level performance needed to become a grandmaster. Later that year, he got his second GM norm at the European Individual Chess Championship.
He earned his third and final norm at a tournament in Kirishi. Ian won this event, beating other strong young players. By winning the Aeroflot Open in 2008, he qualified for another big tournament. There, he finished second without losing any games. In the same year, he also won a rapid chess tournament called the Ordix Open. In 2009, he won a gold medal in chess at the 2009 Maccabiah Games.
Winning Championships (2010–2011)
In 2010, Ian Nepomniachtchi won the European Individual Chess Championship. He scored 9 out of 11 points. Later that year, he won the Russian Chess Championship. He beat Sergey Karjakin in a playoff match.
At the Chess World Cup 2011, Ian won his first two matches. However, he lost to Gata Kamsky in the third round. In November 2011, he tied for third place at the Tal Memorial tournament. His coach in 2011 was Vladimir Potkin.
More Successes (2013–2015)
In May 2013, Ian tied for first place at the European Individual Championship. The next month, he finished second at the World Rapid Chess Championship. This event was held in Khanty-Mansiysk.
In August 2013, he played in the Chess World Cup 2013. He lost in the first round. In October 2013, he tied for first in the Russian Championship Superfinal. He finished second after a tie-break. During 2013, his blitz chess rating went up a lot.
Ian won a silver medal at the World Blitz Chess Championship in 2014. He also won a rapid chess event called the Tournament of Champions. In December 2014, he won a gold medal in a special chess game called Basque chess.
In April 2015, he won the Aeroflot Open for the second time. This earned him a spot in another big tournament. He also won the Aeroflot blitz tournament right after. In September, he won the Moscow Blitz Championship. A month later, he got a silver medal at the World Rapid Chess Championship. At the Chess World Cup 2015, he won his first two matches. But he lost to Hikaru Nakamura in the third round.
Continued Achievements (2016–2020)
In July 2016, Ian won the Hainan Danzhou tournament. He also won the Tal Memorial in October. At the 42nd Chess Olympiad in 2016, he won a team bronze medal for Russia. He also won an individual silver medal.
At the Chess World Cup 2017, he won his first two matches. However, he lost in a tie-break in the third round. In December 2017, Ian beat world champion Magnus Carlsen in a game. He finished second in that tournament after a tie-break. He also took third place at the World Rapid Chess Championship.
In July 2018, he won the 46th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. He finished a point ahead of other 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.
At the Chess World Cup 2019, he reached the fourth round for the first time. He lost to Yu Yangyi. In 2019, he played in the FIDE Grand Prix series. 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)
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In April 2021, Ian won the 2020/2021 Candidates tournament. This meant he would challenge Magnus Carlsen for the world title. The match took place in November–December 2021. Carlsen won the match and kept his title.
| Rating | Rank | Match games | Points | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||||
 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) |
2856 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | Not required | 7½ | ||
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (CFR) |
2782 | 5 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3½ | |||
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 played in the 2021 FIDE World Rapid Championship. He tied for first place but finished second after a playoff.
In 2022, Ian qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2022 again. He played under the FIDE flag. He won the Candidates tournament without losing a single game. This was the first time since 2014 that a player won the Candidates undefeated. He also got the highest score in this tournament format since 2013. This win qualified him for the World Chess Championship 2023.
In March 2023, Ian reached his highest rating ever, 2795. This was the 17th highest rating ever achieved by a chess player. In the World Chess Championship 2023, he tied with Ding Liren in the main games. However, he lost to Ding in the tie-break games.
| Rating | Classical games | Points | Rapid games | Total | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||||
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) |
2795 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 7 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 8½ |
 Ding Liren (CHN) |
2788 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 7 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 9½ |
In May 2023, Ian played in the Superbet Chess Classic. He finished in ninth place. At the Chess World Cup 2023, he reached the fifth round. He lost in a tie-break. In September, he won the 2nd Levitov Chess Week tournament.
In December 2023, there was an issue at the World Blitz Chess Championship 2023. Ian and another player, Daniil Dubov, quickly agreed to a draw. FIDE, the world chess organization, investigated and ruled that the draw was prearranged. Both players were penalized. Ian later apologized for what happened.
Recent Tournaments (2024)
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In January 2024, Ian played in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2024. He finished in eighth place. As the player who lost the 2023 World Chess Championship, Ian got a direct spot in the 2024 Candidates Tournament. He was in the lead for most of the tournament. However, Gukesh D overtook him in the second to last round. Ian was the only player in the tournament who did not lose a single game.
In June 2024, Ian played in the Superbet Romania Chess Classic. In August, he played in the Sinquefield Cup 2024. He finished in ninth place. In September, Ian won the 10th Gashimov Memorial tournament.
In December 2024, he finished second in the Champions Chess Tour 2024 after losing to Magnus Carlsen in the finals. Later that month, Ian won a bronze medal at the World Rapid Chess Championship 2024. He also became a 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.
Rapid and Blitz Chess Skills
Ian Nepomniachtchi is very strong in classical chess. He is also very good at rapid and blitz chess. As of September 2023, he was ranked fourth in the world for rapid chess. He was also ranked sixth for blitz chess.
Personal Life
Ian Nepomniachtchi is Jewish. People often call him by his nickname, "Nepo." He went to the Russian State Social University. In October 2021, Ian appeared on a TV show called What? Where? When?.
Ian's Interest in Esports
In 2006, Ian started playing the video game Defense of the Ancients (Dota). He later became a semi-professional Dota 2 player. He was part of a team that won a Dota tournament in 2011. He has also worked as a commentator for Dota 2 tournaments, using the name FrostNova. Ian also plays Hearthstone. He even introduced another chess grandmaster, Peter Svidler, to the game. They both gave ideas to the Hearthstone game makers.
Books About Ian Nepomniachtchi
- Grandmaster Zenon Franco (2021). Nail It Like Nepo!: Ian Nepomniachtchi's 30 Best Wins.
- Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco (2021). Eight Good Men: The 2020–2021 Candidates Tournament.
- Cyrus Lakdawala (2021). Nepomniachtchi: Move by Move.
See also
In Spanish: Yan Nepómniashchi para niños
- List of Jewish chess players
- List of Russian chess players
