Peter Svidler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Peter Svidler
Svidler at the European Team Championship in Warsaw, November 2013
Full name	Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler
Country	Soviet Union (until 1992) Russia (1992–2022) FIDE (since 2022)
Born	(1976-06-17) 17 June 1976 (age 49) Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster (1994)
FIDE rating	2723 (August 2025)
Peak rating	2769 (May 2013)
Peak ranking	No. 4 (January 2004)

Pyotr Veniaminovich Svidler (Russian: Пётр Вениами́нович Сви́длер), known as Peter Svidler, was born on June 17, 1976. He is a Russian chess grandmaster and a popular chess commentator. He has won the Russian Chess Championship eight times.

Svidler has played in three World Chess Championship tournaments. These include the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002 and 2005. He also played in the World Chess Championship 2007 after the chess titles were reunited. He also competed in three Candidates Tournaments, which decide who challenges for the World Championship. His best finishes were third place in 2005 and 2013.

Peter Svidler has won the Russian Chess Championship in 1994, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2013, and 2017. He has played for Russia in the Chess Olympiad ten times. During these events, he helped his team win five gold medals and two silver medals. He also won an individual bronze medal. Svidler won the Chess World Cup 2011. He was also the runner-up in the World Blitz Championship in 2006. He has won major tournaments in Tilburg, Biel, and Gibraltar. Svidler also tied for first place at Dortmund, Aeroflot Open, and Karpov Poikovsky. He also helped Vladimir Kramnik in his World Championship matches in 2000 and 2004.

Chess Journey

Starting Out in Chess

Peter Svidler began playing chess when he was six years old. His first coach was Viacheslav Stjazhkin. He played in his first tournament in 1989. This was the USSR Junior Championship in Pinsk. He became an International Master in 1991. The next year, he tied for first place in the last USSR Junior Championship.

Svidler also attended the famous Botvinnik–Kasparov Chess School. Later, he joined the Dvoretsky–Yusupov School. In 1993, he started working with coach Andrei Lukin. Svidler said that Lukin helped him make a real breakthrough in his chess career.

Becoming a Grandmaster

The year 1994 was a big one for Svidler. He won the Russian Chess Championship in Elista. He also won the Under-18 section of the World Youth Chess Championship in Szeged. He played for Russia for the first time at the 31st Chess Olympiad in Moscow. In this year, he also earned the three norms needed to become a Grandmaster. He also won the Linares Anibal Open and tied for first at the St Petersburg Chigorin Memorial.

In January 1995, Svidler entered the top 100 chess players in the world. He won the St Petersburg Championship in April. He also tied for first place in Novosibirsk. He won his second Russian Chess Championship in a row. By the end of 1995, he was ranked 33rd in the world.

In 1996, Svidler helped Russia win a team gold medal at the 32nd Chess Olympiad. He also won an individual bronze medal on board four.

Svidler won the Torshavn Open in February 1997. He then won his third Russian Championship. This was a knockout tournament where he defeated Evgeny Bareev in the final. He also won team silver and an individual bronze medal at the European Team Championships.

In October 1997, Svidler tied for first place at the Fontys Tilburg tournament. He shared the win with Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov. He even beat Kasparov in their individual game. This success moved him up to 9th in the PCA rankings. At the World Team Chess Championship in Lucerne, Svidler won a gold medal on board two for Russia. At the FIDE World Chess Championship 1998 in December, Svidler reached the third round.

Joining the Top 10 Players

Svidler at Dortmund, June 1998

In January 1998, Svidler entered the Fédération Internationale des Échecs top 10 for the first time. He was ranked ninth with a rating of 2690. He tied for victory at Dortmund with 6/9 points. During this tournament, his rating went above 2700 for the first time. Svidler led Russia to a gold medal at the 33rd Chess Olympiad.

In January 1999, Svidler tied for sixth place at the Hoogovens blitz event. In early June, Nigel Short introduced Svidler to cricket. Svidler became a big fan of the sport and supports the England cricket team.

In 2000, Svidler came third at the Ordix Open. He then dominated at the Biel Chess Festival, finishing two points ahead of the runners-up. He also joined Kramnik's team for the Classical World Chess Championship 2000 match in London. He helped the Russian team win gold at the Chess Olympiad in Istanbul.

In 2001, Svidler reached the semifinals of the World Championship 2002. He was eventually eliminated by the winner, Ruslan Ponomariov. In 2002, Svidler scored 6/9 at the 35th Chess Olympiad, helping Russia win team gold.

In January 2003, Svidler tied for first at the Aeroflot Open. He also won the 4th Karpov tournament in Poikovsky. Svidler's strong play helped him climb to 8th place in the FIDE rankings. In August, he won an eight-game Chess960 match against Peter Leko. Svidler won his fourth Russian Championship in September. He also helped Russia win the European Team Championship.

In 2004, Svidler was ranked fourth in the FIDE rankings. He defended his Mainz Chess960 title in August against Levon Aronian. He also helped Kramnik during his successful World Championship defense. At the Olympiad in Calvia, he won a team silver medal.

In 2005, Svidler successfully defended his Mainz Chess960 title again.

World Championship 2005

At the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 in San Luis, Argentina, Svidler tied for second place with Viswanathan Anand. He finished 1½ points behind the winner, Veselin Topalov. After the tournament, Svidler said he prepared seriously for the event. He also mentioned that he spends most of his free time with his family. Svidler led Russia to a gold medal at the World Team Championship.

In 2006, Svidler was the runner-up at the World Blitz Championship. He lost a sudden-death playoff game against Alexander Grischuk. In October 2006, Svidler visited Kramnik during the World Chess Championship 2006 match. He also signed an open letter protesting how a controversy was handled.

In 2007, Svidler's third-place finish in San Luis earned him a spot in the World Chess Championship 2007 in Mexico City. He finished fifth in the tournament. Svidler's strong performance on first board helped Russia win the European Team Championship again. He also won an individual gold medal.

In 2008, Svidler won his fifth Russian Championship. He won after a playoff against Dmitry Jakovenko and Evgeny Alekseev. He also tied for third at the World Blitz Championship.

In 2009, Svidler won the Gibraltar Masters after a playoff. He also successfully defended his Bunratty title. Svidler reached the final of the ACP Rapid Cup, losing to Boris Gelfand. He helped his team win silver at the European Team Championships. He finished second behind Grischuk at the Russian Superfinal.

In 2010, Svidler led Russia to a team silver medal at the Chess Olympiad.

In 2011, Svidler won his sixth Russian Championship.

World Cup 2011 Winner

At the Chess World Cup 2011 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Svidler had a fantastic run. He defeated several strong players, including Fabiano Caruana and Gata Kamsky. In the semifinals, he beat Ruslan Ponomariov. He then defeated Alexander Grischuk in the final to win the World Cup title. This victory qualified him for the Candidates Tournament 2013.

In 2012, Svidler finished third in the Russian Superfinal playoff.

In February 2013, Svidler came second in the Aeroflot Blitz. He played in the 2013 Candidates Tournament in London. He finished third with 8/14 points. He won against top players like Teimour Radjabov, Levon Aronian, and Vassily Ivanchuk. In a dramatic last round, he also beat Magnus Carlsen. This led to his highest-ever rating of 2769. He won his seventh Russian Championship in October. He also won a team bronze medal at the European Team Championships.

In 2014, Svidler played in the 2014 Candidates Tournament. He won games against Kramnik, Andreikin, and Topalov.

World Cup 2015 Finalist

Svidler reached the final of the Chess World Cup 2015 in Baku. He defeated many strong opponents, including top-seeded Veselin Topalov and Chinese prodigy Wei Yi. In the semifinals, he beat Anish Giri. In the final, he played against his fellow countryman Sergey Karjakin. Svidler won the first two games, but Karjakin won the next two, forcing a tiebreak. Karjakin eventually won the title in the blitz games. However, by reaching the final, Svidler qualified for the Candidates Tournament 2016.

In November 2015, he won a team victory at the European Team Championship.

In 2016, Svidler competed at the Candidates Tournament. He finished fourth out of eight players. Svidler also served as a second (a helper) for Kirill Alekseenko in the Candidates Tournament 2020. He also helped Praggnanandhaa in the Candidates Tournament 2024.

Team Results

Chess Olympiads

Other International Team Championships

Svidler has also played in the World Team Chess Championship and European Team Chess Championship (ETCC). Here are some of his results:

Club Achievements

Svidler has played in the European Chess Club Cup many times. He won with Ladya in 1997, Paris NAO in 2003, and Saint Petersburg in 2011. He also won individual silver and bronze medals in these events.

He has played for Russian clubs often, mostly for Saint Petersburg. He won four times with his team and earned individual gold medals on first board in 2000, 2001, and 2005.

In Germany's Bundesliga, Svidler won every season with Baden-Baden from 2005/06 to 2014/15. He also won the German Team Cup in 2003 and 2005.

He won the French Team Championship with Paris NAO four times. He also won the league in 2009 with Évry Grand Roque.

About Peter Svidler

Svidler is married and has two sons. Outside of chess, he is a big fan of cricket and supports the England cricket team.

Peter Svidler signed an open letter with 43 other Russian chess players. This letter protested a conflict and showed support for the people of Ukraine.

Svidler often works as a commentator for important chess tournaments. He provides live analysis and summaries on the chess website Chess24. He is known for his excellent commentary.

See also

In Spanish: Peter Svidler para niños