Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

in 1961. During his career, he won the Moscow Championship on six occasions (1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1972, and 1978) and scored numerous victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin 1962, Reykjavik 1968, and Manila 1974. He was rarely at his best in Soviet Championship Finals, which were among the very toughest events in the world, and never made the Soviet team for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship. Vasiukov won the

World Senior Chess Championship The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. The 2024 tournament took place in Porto Santo, Portugal from November 16–29, 2024. Overview Originally, the minimum age w ...

in 1995.

Early years

Vasiukov was born on March 5, 1933, in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. His family was evacuated to Tula during World War II, and his father died in the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

. He learned to play chess at the age of 15, a very late age even for that time. In 1954, he was awarded the title Master of Sports of the USSR in Chess (ru). That same year, Vasiukov represented Moscow in the Soviet Team Championship finals in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. He scored his first important chess success in 1955 by winning the Moscow City Championship with a score of 10½/15 points, ahead of

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

, who was second. He played in the Soviet Championship semi-final at

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

1955 and finished in the middle of a powerful field. Vasiukov represented the Soviet Union twice in Student Olympiads. In 1955 at

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, he was first reserve, and scored 5½/6 (+5 =1 −0). Then at

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1956, he made exactly the same score as first reserve, this time winning a board gold medal. Both times, the Soviet Union won team gold medals. Although scoring respectably in his first two attempts at qualifying for the Soviet Final (10/18 at

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

1956 and 10½/19 at

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

1957), he failed to advance, but was gathering experience and strength at high levels.

International Master

Vasiukov got his first international chance at

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

1957, where he placed third with 10/15; the winner was

David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (; February 19, 1924 – December 5, 2006) was a Soviet chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in World Chess Championship 195 ...

. This earned him the title of

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 1958; he won the Moscow Championship again later that same year. At the Moscow International of 1959 (

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

memorial), Vasiukov tied for 4th-6th places with 6/11, behind only winners

Vasily Smyslov Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov (; 24 March 1921 – 27 March 2010) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who was the seventh World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidates Tournament, Candidate for the World Chess Championship on ...

Boris Spassky Boris Vasilyevich Spassky (; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigra ...

, and Bronstein. He made the field for his first Soviet final at

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

1959 (URS-26ch), where he finished tied 16th-17th with 7/19;

Tigran Petrosian Tigran Vardani Petrosian (; ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster and the ninth World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost-impenetrable defensive playing s ...

won. However, he regrouped with his third Moscow Championship title in 1960.

Grandmaster, peak form

Vasiukov scored his best result when he won the 1961

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Open, ahead of

Svetozar Gligorić Svetozar Gligorić ( sr-Cyrl, Светозар Глигорић; 2 February 1923 – 14 August 2012) was a Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster and musician. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record 11 times, and is considered the best ...

. Then, in the Moscow International of 1961, he tied for first place with Smyslov at 7½/11. These two fine finishes earned him the title of Grandmaster later that year. In the 1961 Moscow Championship, he tied for 3rd–5th places with 11/17, behind winners Bronstein and Leonid Shamkovich. Qualifying again for the Soviet final at

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1961 (URS-29ch), he showed improvement to tie for 4th–5th places, with 12/20, as Spassky won. This would prove to be his best performance at that level. At the 1962 Moscow International, Vasiukov ended up second with 9½/15, behind winner

Yuri Averbakh Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (; 8 February 1922 – 7 May 2022) was a Russian chess grandmaster and author. He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1973 to 1978. Averbakh was the first centenarian FIDE Grandmaster. Despite his eyesight and ...

. Vasiukov proved his grandmastership at

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

1962 with a powerful victory, at 11½/15, ahead of

Leonid Stein Leonid Zakharovych Stein (; November 12, 1934 – July 4, 1973) was a Soviet Union, Soviet chess Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster from Ukrainian SSR, Ukraine. He won three USSR Chess Championships in the 1960s (1963, 1965, and 1966), and was amo ...

. Vasiukov also tied for first in the 1962 Moscow Championship, his fourth title there. During his peak years, from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, Vasiukov scored wins in individual games over many top Soviet players, such as Smyslov, Bronstein,

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one ...

Paul Keres Paul Keres (; 7 January 1916 – 5 June 1975) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s, and narrowly missed a chance at a World Chess Championship match on five ...

Mark Taimanov Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. A prolific chess author, Taimanov was awarded the title of Grandmas ...

Efim Geller Efim Petrovich Geller (; ; 8 March 1925 – 17 November 1998) was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice (in 1955 and 1979) and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occa ...

, and

Lev Polugaevsky Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky ( rus, Лев Абрамович Полугаевский, p=pəlʊɡɐˈjefskʲɪj; 20 November 1934 – 30 August 1995) was a Soviet chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in ...

. He was unable to defeat top-ranking Soviet stars such as

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (, ; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Bor ...

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (, ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion, ⁣and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 ...

, or Stein.

Soviet Championship frustrations

The Soviet Championships were usually the strongest tournaments in the world during Vasiukov's main competitive period, surpassing the strength of

Interzonal Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by the World Chess Federation FIDE from the 1950s to the 1990s. They were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the Ca ...

s, with very few if any weaker opponents, since the arduous qualifying process eliminated the outsiders. Other than his superb showing in 1961, Vasiukov usually played below his expectations in these finals. He qualified for the finals a total of eleven times. At

1964-5 (URS-ch32), he scored 8/19 to tie 13-14th place; the winner was Korchnoi. At

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1965 (URS-ch33), he again made only 8/19 for a tied 14-17th place; the winner was Stein. At

1966 (URS-ch34), also a Zonal, he scored below 50% once more with 9/20, for a tied 14-16th place, as Stein won again. The next year at

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

(URS-ch35), the format was a Swiss system, and Vasiukov was just above the middle of the pack, as Tal and Polugaevsky won. At Alma Ata 1968 (URS-ch36) he scored 10½/19, good for a tied 6-10th spot, as Polugaevsky tied with Alexander Zaitsev. At Moscow 1969 (URS-ch37), also a Zonal, he managed just 9½/22 for 15th place; the winners were Polugaevsky and

. At

1972 (URS-ch40), he did well with 11½/21 for a tied 6-7th finish; the winner was Tal. At

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

1974 (URS-ch42), he ended with 7/15 for a tied 12-13th place; the winners were Tal and

Alexander Beliavsky Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky (, , ; also romanized ''Belyavsky''; born December 17, 1953) is a Soviet, Ukrainian and Slovenian chess player. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1975. He is also a chess coach and in 2004 wa ...

. In the 1975

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Zonal, he scored 7½/15 for tenth place, as the winners were Boris Gulko, Vladimir Savon, Yuri Balashov, and Vitaly Tseshkovsky. Finally at

1980-81 (URS-ch49), he placed tied 11-12th with 8½/17, as the winners were Beliavsky and Lev Psakhis. Since Vasiukov never placed near the top in Soviet Zonal competition, he was unable to earn an opportunity to play in an

tournament.

Tournament victories in five decades

Vasiukov was unable to maintain his peak of the early 1960s, but he remained remarkably competitive for many years afterwards, especially in international tournaments outside the Soviet Union which had mixed-strength fields, where he scored most of his successes. He won several titles, and was almost always around the top places, when he competed outside the Soviet Union. He tied for first at Polanica Zdroj 1965 with Péter Dely at 9½/13. At

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1968, he tied for first with Taimanov on 10½/14. He again tied with Taimanov for the title at

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

1970 with 11/15. Vasiukov claimed his fifth Moscow Championship in 1972. Vasiukov had the top performance of his career with his win at

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

1974 at 10½/14, as he was ahead of Petrosian and

Bent Larsen Jørgen Bent Larsen (4 March 1935 – 9 September 2010) was a Danish chess Grandmaster (chess), grandmaster and author. Known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play, he was the second-strongest non-Soviet Union, Soviet player, behind ...

, among others, in a top-class field. He won at

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; ; ; ) is the administrative center of Zala County, Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders, and west-southwest of Budapest by road. Hi ...

1977 with 9/12, ahead of

Ratmir Kholmov Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov ( Russian: Ратмир Дмитриевич Холмов) (13 May 1925 in Shenkursk – 18 February 2006 in Moscow) was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his ...

. He was Moscow Champion for the sixth time in 1978, and won at

Dnepropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

1980. He tied for first at Moscow 'B' 1986 (still a very strong field) on 7½/11, along with

Edvīns Ķeņģis Edvīns Ķeņģis (born 12 April 1959, in Cēsis) is a Latvian chess Grandmaster. Ķeņģis is an eight-time Latvian Champion, winning the national contest in 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2004 and 2005. He won the Baltic Chess Champio ...

and Zurab Azmaiparashvili. Vasiukov won at Athens 1987 ( Acropolis International) and at

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

1989 with 10/13, ahead of Gennady Timoshchenko. He took second at

Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...

1990 ( Miron Sher was first) at 9/14. He took the title at Graested 1990 with 6/9, ahead of Nigel Davies and

. He tied for first in a Veterans' event at Moscow 1991 with 5½/9, along with Geller.

International team play

While never making the Soviet side for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship, Vasiukov did get several chances to represent the Soviet Union in team matches. He played five times in the traditional match against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, at

Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

1962,

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

1963,

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

1966,

1969, and

1973. He played against Hungary at Moscow 1971. He also competed in the first two Telechess Olympiads: 'I' from 1977–78, and 'II' from 1981-82. In his latest years he was on the Russian team at the European and World Senior Team Championships.

Notable games

Evgeniy Vasiukov vs Mark Taimanov, USSR Team Championship, Riga 1954, Ruy Lopez, Classical Variation (C64), 1–0
Impressive win over a player who had tied for the Soviet title two years earlier.
Evgeniy Vasiukov vs Lev Polugaevsky, USSR Team Championship semi-final, Voroshilovgrad 1955, Sicilian Defence, Alapin Variation (B22), 1–0
Vasiukov takes Polu out of book with a sharp, original opening, then brings home the point.
Tigran Petrosian vs Evgeni Vasiukov, Moscow Championship 1956, English Opening (A16), 0–1
White plays a bit passively in the opening, and Black builds an aggressive formation and scores with a strong Kingside attack.
Evgeniy Vasiukov vs David Bronstein, USSR Championship, Baku 1961, Caro-Kann Defence (B10), 1–0
Very unusual opening brings success.
Paul Keres vs Evgeniy Vasiukov, USSR Championship, Baku 1961, Sicilian Defence, Kan Variation (B42), 0–1
Vasiukov arrives at the elite level when he can beat world-class players such as Keres with Black.
Evgeniy Vasiukov vs Vasily Smyslov, USSR Championship, Tbilisi 1966, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C92), 1–0
A patient strategical win over a former World Champion.
Efim Geller vs Evgeniy Vasiukov, Kislovodsk 1968, Pirc Defence, Classical Variation (B08), 0–1
Unusual to see Vasiukov playing an offbeat line as Black, but it works wonderfully here.
Mikhail Tal vs Evgeniy Vasiukov, USR Championship, Alma-Ata 1968, Ruy Lopez, Closed Variation (C98), 0–1
Former World Champion Tal over-reaches in his attack.

Books

* * . (283 ; 16 pages of ; ; ; )

Notes and references

Notes

References

* * *

External links

Evgeni Vasiukov
chess games at 365Chess.com *

team chess record at Olimpbase.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Vasiukov, Evgeniy 1933 births 2018 deaths Chess Grandmasters Russian chess players Russian chess writers Soviet chess players World Senior Chess Champions Chess players from Moscow