33 Facts About Peter Leko

Peter Leko is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and commentator.

Peter Leko came fifth in the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005 and fourth in the World Chess Championship 2007.

Peter Leko won two team silver medals and an individual gold medal representing Hungary at eight Chess Olympiads as well as team bronze and silver and an individual silver medal at three European Team Championships.

Peter Leko has been ranked as high as fourth in the FIDE world rankings, which he first achieved in April 2003.

Peter Leko was born into an ethnic Hungarian family in the city of Subotica, Yugoslavia, but moved to Szeged when he was one year old.

Peter Leko was taught chess by his father shortly before he turned seven and took part in tournaments from the age of nine.

Peter Leko worked with International Master Gaspar Mathe when he was ten years old.

Peter Leko's norms came at a First Saturday tournament in Budapest and Leon in 1993, and shared third place at Hoogovens in 1994.

Peter Leko showed his class in winning at Copenhagen in 1995 with 8 points out of 11 games.

Peter Leko slipped to last place in Dortmund in 1996 but recovered with fourth place in Vienna.

In 1997, Peter Leko won in Cienfuegos and Yopal and took fourth place at the traditional Tilburg chess tournament establishing him as a rising star, climbing to 16th in the world rankings in the January 1998 list.

Peter Leko continued his rise up the rankings with second place behind Viswanathan Anand at Tilburg in 1998, fourth place in Dortmund and fourth place at Linares in early 1999.

Peter Leko's run of form culminated in achieving his first major tournament win at Dortmund, half a point ahead of Vladimir Kramnik.

Peter Leko followed up his victory by sharing second place with Kramnik and Anand at Corus behind a dominant Garry Kasparov, sharing last place at Linares and sharing second place with Kramnik at Dortmund.

At the FIDE World Chess Championship 2000 held in New Delhi and Tehran, Peter Leko was knocked out in the third round by Khalifman after "sudden death" tiebreaks.

In 2001, Peter Leko posted solid results in Corus, Linares, third place in Dortmund and winning an eight-game Chess 960 match against Michael Adams at Mainz.

Peter Leko started 2002 solidly with a sixth-place finish at Corus, sharing third place in the NAO Masters held in Cannes and second place at Essen behind Vadim Zvjaginsev.

Peter Leko was helped by Vladimir Akopian, Arshak Petrosian and Vladislav Tkachiev.

Peter Leko equalised the match score in Game 5 after switching his White opening from 1.

Kramnik believed he could construct a fortress and save a draw but Peter Leko managed to find a way to convert the win.

In Game 8, Peter Leko scored an important win, taking the match lead for the first time.

However, Peter Leko exploited a hole in the preparation and by sacrificing material created a decisive advantage.

Between two short draws in Game 9 and 11, notable for Kramnik's change of opening with Black to Queen's Indian Defence, Game 10 saw Peter Leko eventually finding a successful defence to Kramnik's opening advantage.

Kramnik pressed but Peter Leko found enough counterplay to repel him and secure a draw.

Peter Leko managed to liquidate the position to a tense Rook and pawn endgame where Peter Leko's precise defence nullified Kramnik's advantage, leading to a draw.

Peter Leko regained his form for the Candidates Matches held between 26 May and 13 June, held to select 4 players for the World Chess Championship 2007.

Peter Leko comfortably won his matches against Mikhail Gurevich and Evgeny Bareev, to qualify for the eight-player championship tournament.

Peter Leko first represented Hungary aged 15 years and two months at the 31st Chess Olympiad, going on to make nine more appearances at the Chess Olympiad, winning two team silvers and an individual gold, as follows:.

Peter Leko took part in numerous Team Chess Championships, both at World and European level, with results as follows:.

Peter Leko is known for playing in a solid and steady manner, avoiding risks.

Peter Leko has a great opening repertoire, he is a greatly gifted technical player and a very nice guy.

Peter Leko has acted as a second in World Championship matches due to his theoretical understanding in the openings phase of the game.

Peter Leko is married to Sofia Petrosian, daughter of Armenian grandmaster Arshak Petrosian, who is his trainer.