30 Facts About Vasyl Ivanchuk

Vasyl Ivanchuk was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1988.

Vasyl Ivanchuk has won Linares, Wijk aan Zee, Tal Memorial, Gibraltar Masters and M-Tel Masters titles.

Vasyl Ivanchuk has won the World Blitz Championship in 2007 and the World Rapid Championship in 2016.

Vasyl Ivanchuk tied for first place in the 1988 World Junior Chess Championship at Adelaide, but lost the title on tiebreak to Joel Lautier.

Vasyl Ivanchuk was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1988, and entered the world top 10 the same year.

Vasyl Ivanchuk attained chess world fame in 1991 at the age of 21 when he won the Linares tournament.

Vasyl Ivanchuk beat Kasparov by a half point, defeating Kasparov in their head-to-head game.

Vasyl Ivanchuk came close in 2002, when he reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship 2002.

Vasyl Ivanchuk's nerves were notably exposed during the high-tension atmosphere of World Championship match-format tournaments, such as in 2002 where he was heavily favored in the FIDE championship final after having defeated defending champion Anand in the semifinals, only to lose to countryman Ruslan Ponomariov in a major upset, denying him the championship.

Vasyl Ivanchuk was then narrowly excluded, on the basis of rating, from the rival FIDE World Chess Championship 2005.

Vasyl Ivanchuk played in the 2013 Candidates Tournament, which took place in London, from 15 March to 1 April.

In July 2016, Vasyl Ivanchuk began playing checkers and has achieved a certain level of success.

Vasyl Ivanchuk is possessing of a unique and daring playing style consisting of extraordinary creativity fused with high-level technical play, often leading to considerable inbalances.

Vasyl Ivanchuk is well known for his imaginative play, seemingly breaking all principles with sudden sacrifices consisting of deep and immense calculation rather than material balances.

The sharp contrast of Vasyl Ivanchuk creating a narrow path, a path only fit for one to prevail and enter through.

Vasyl Ivanchuk is regarded by his peers and many observers as a chess genius.

Kasparov explained in an interview that Vasyl Ivanchuk had a level equivalent to that of a world champion although he had never been one.

Vasyl Ivanchuk's playing style is unpredictable and highly original, making him more dangerous but sometimes leading to quick losses as well.

Vasyl Ivanchuk played board 1 for Ukraine in the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany.

Vasyl Ivanchuk was chosen to be tested for illegal substances in his system immediately after the last round.

Vasyl Ivanchuk was so distraught after the game that he was seen "kicking a large concrete pillar".

Vasyl Ivanchuk refused to take a doping test and stormed out, risking punishment under FIDE rules and forfeiting his games in the event as had happened in the 2004 Chess Olympiad in Majorca.

Vasyl Ivanchuk was cleared when it emerged that he had not been warned of the test, and that in his distraught frame of mind, he had not fully understood the arbiter's request.

Vasyl Ivanchuk has often been at his best in international team competitions.

Vasyl Ivanchuk has played in 14 Chess Olympiads, twice for the Soviet Union, and twelve times for Ukraine, after the Soviet Union split up in 1991.

Vasyl Ivanchuk has won a total of thirteen medals, and has been on four gold-medal winning teams.

In 162 games, Vasyl Ivanchuk has scored, for 65.7 per cent.

At round one of Linares in 1991, the 21-year-old Vasyl Ivanchuk gave up both his bishops for knights and then boxed Kasparov, then world champion, into complete passivity.

Vasyl Ivanchuk threatened to withdraw from the tournament altogether, but his wife convinced him to continue.

Vasyl Ivanchuk had been leading in the tournament before this event, but did not play as well in the second half of the tournament.