Vassily Ivanchuk

Born on 18 March 1969 in Kopychintsy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine, into a family of intelligent parents: his father was a lawyer and his mother a physics teacher.

Learned to play chess at the age of six. His father gave him a magnetic chess set for his birthday, and he was captivated by the pieces.

His mother, a school teacher, brought him chess books from the school library. His first book was A Journey in the Kingdom of Chess by Averbakh and Beilin.

His first trainer, Gennady Vassilenko, predicted: "You will become at least a grandmaster."

In 1986, at age 17, he joined the chess faculty of the Lvov State University of Physical Culture. He loved the city of Lvov, which became his home.

Among the chess books he loved all his life were Lasker's Manual of Chess, Bronstein's 1953 Zurich Candidates' book, and Alekhine's and Botvinnik's game collections.

One of the strongest and most universally respected players of the modern era, ranked as high as No. 2 in the world.

Won the USSR Junior Championship in 1985 and the European Youth Championship in 1986.

Won the prestigious Linares tournament three times (1989, 1991, 1995).

A World Championship Candidate on multiple occasions, reaching the semifinals in 2002 and the quarterfinals in 2011.

Known for his incredible versatility and deep understanding of all phases of the game; he has defeated every World Champion from Karpov to Carlsen in classical chess.

Also a dominant force in rapid and blitz chess; won the World Blitz Championship in 2007.

Ivanchuk is famous for his eccentric and emotional personality. He once said: "In my case, emotion is more important than chess preparations, so for some moments I'm losing concentration, it's terrible."

He has a unique habit of looking at the ceiling or walls during games, calculating like in a blindfold game. He explained this originated from a game he played when he was young, when he started thinking about other things and then realized he could calculate better without looking at the board.

He said: "Chess is my life. It plays a central role in my life. If there are no tournaments to play in, then I study chess."

"In my case, emotion is more important than chess preparations, so for some moments I'm losing concentration, it's terrible."

"Chess is my life. It plays a central role in my life. If there are no tournaments to play in, then I study chess."

"Because I cannot do anything else. I play chess because I have no choice, I don't see any serious alternative."

Vassily Ivanchuk: 100 Selected Games by Nikolay Kalinichenko — a comprehensive collection of his best games.

Ivanchuk: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala — a modern instructional work on his greatest games.

Vassily Ivanchuk: A Chess Biography by various authors — detailed career overview.