39 Facts About Sergey Karjakin

Sergey Karjakin earned the International Master title at age 11 and was awarded his grandmaster title in 2003.

Sergey Karjakin represented Ukraine at the Chess Olympiad in 2004, winning team and individual gold.

Sergey Karjakin competed in two more Chess Olympiads for Ukraine and won the Corus chess tournament in 2009, before transferring to Russia.

Sergey Karjakin has since represented Russia five times in the Chess Olympiad, winning individual gold in 2010.

Sergey Karjakin won team gold with Russia at the World Team Chess Championship in 2013 and 2019.

Sergey Karjakin won the 2012 World Rapid Chess Championship and the Norway Chess tournament in 2013 and 2014.

Sergey Karjakin competed at the Candidates Tournament 2014, placing second.

Sergey Karjakin won the Chess World Cup 2015, thus qualifying for the Candidates Tournament 2016.

Sergey Karjakin won the tournament and earned the right to challenge for the World Chess Championship.

Sergey Karjakin participated in the Candidates tournament again in 2018, placing third, and qualified for the 2022 Candidates by finishing second in the Chess World Cup 2021.

Sergey Karjakin was banned from playing FIDE-rated events for six months, including the Candidates Tournament 2022.

Sergey Karjakin learned to play chess when he was five years old.

Sergey Karjakin won the U10 European championship in 1999 and the U12 world championship in 2001.

Also in 2001, Sergey Karjakin tied for first place in the U14 European championship with Borki Predojevic and Rauf Mamedov, taking the silver medal on tiebreak.

In January 2002, he was the official second of fellow Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov during the final of the FIDE World Championship, though Sergey Karjakin had only just turned 12 at the time.

Sergey Karjakin competed in the 2004 FIDE World Championship in Tripoli, where he lost in the first round to Mikhail Kobalia.

In December 2004, Sergey Karjakin finished second, behind Boris Gelfand at the Pamplona tournament.

Sergey Karjakin entered the world's top 100 in the April 2005 FIDE list, at 64th with an Elo rating of 2635.

In October 2007, Sergey Karjakin finished second behind Bu Xiangzhi in the blindfold chess World Cup in Bilbao, scoring 17 points after five wins, two draws and three losses.

In June 2011, Sergey Karjakin took second place in the Bazna Kings Tournament in Medias, Romania, after sharing the lead with Magnus Carlsen in the final round, and after ranking was then determined by the tournament's official tie-break regulations.

The results affected the world rankings, as Carlsen reclaimed first place, and Sergey Karjakin passed Kramnik for fourth place.

In July 2012, Sergey Karjakin won the World Rapid Chess Championship, a full point ahead of world number one Magnus Carlsen in Astana, Kazakhstan.

In June 2014, Sergey Karjakin won the Norway Chess tournament for the second year running.

In March 2016, Sergey Karjakin won the 2016 Candidates Tournament in Moscow and qualified to play a match against Magnus Carlsen for the title of World Chess Champion.

The tie-break was used to decide the winner, and as Sergey Karjakin's opponents had the better average, Sergey Karjakin was crowned 2016 World Blitz Champion.

From 5 to 16 December 2020, Sergey Karjakin competed in the 73rd Russian Chess Championship.

In round five, Sergey Karjakin defeated French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the rapid tiebreaker after drawing the classical games.

Sergey Karjakin then knocked out US GM Sam Shankland in the quarterfinals and eliminated Russian GM Vladimir Fedoseev in the semifinals to qualify for the Candidates Tournament 2022.

Sergey Karjakin criticised Daniil Dubov for serving as a second for Magnus Carlsen in the World Chess Championship 2021 against Ian Nepomniachtchi.

From 13 to 19 January 2022, Sergey Karjakin competed in the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2022.

However, Carlsen was the initiator of the opening, and in order for Sergey Karjakin to avoid drawish lines, he would have to play riskily against the World Champion.

Sergey Karjakin is known for his defensive skills, which has earned him an informal nickname as Russia's "Minister of Defense".

Sergey Karjakin has no qualms about entering an endgame with a small disadvantage if he deems it his best option as opposed to playing for complications.

Sergey Karjakin is capable of aggressive play if the position demands it, such as in a 30-move victory over Veselin Topalov at the Gashimov Memorial 2017.

Sergey Karjakin married Galiya Kamalova, secretary of the Moscow chess federation, in May 2014.

Sergey Karjakin was previously married since 2009 to Ukrainian chess player Kateryna Dolzhykova.

On 25 July 2009, by the decree of the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, Sergey Karjakin adopted Russian citizenship.

The decision meant that Sergey Karjakin was not able to participate in the Candidates Tournament 2022.

Sergey Karjakin further declared that he considers himself a patriot first and a chess player second, and that he did not regret anything.