Igor Arkadyevich Zaitsev (; born 27 May 1938) is a Russian grandmaster of

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 ...

Early life and family

Zaitsev was born in Ramenskoye, a town outside

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

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

father, Arkady Gevorgovich Aghaian, was a deputy commander of a

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

; his mother, Anna Fyodorovna Zaitseva, was a worker at the Red Banner Textile Factory.

Chess career

In 1969, Zaitsev attained the title of Moscow Champion by defeating Yakov Estrin using the

Giuoco Piano The (; )Hooper & Whyld (1996), p. 153. ''Giuoco Piano''. "The name means 'quiet game' and until the 19th century was often applied to any opening that was not a gambit." is a chess opening beginning with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. ...

opening Opening may refer to: Types of openings * Hole * A title sequence or opening credits * Grand opening of a business or other institution * Inauguration * Keynote * Opening sentence * Opening sequence * Opening statement, a beginning statemen ...

. The next year, Zaitsev was given 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 ...

and in 1976 he became a Grandmaster. Zaitsev played in six USSR Chess Championships (1962, 1967, 1968–69, 1969, 1970, 1991), his best finish being joint 1st (coming 2nd after a play-off) in 1968–69. His results in international tournaments include 2nd at Polanica-Zdrój 1970; 2nd at

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of '' naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and o ...

1976; 1st at

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

1976.

Contribution to theory

Zaitsev is best known for his contribution to opening theory. His variation of the

Ruy Lopez The Ruy Lopez (; ), also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez remains one of the most popular chess openings, featuring many variations. In ...

opening (known as the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, jointly named for Grandmaster

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 ...

) follows one of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez and remains in wide use today. In the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, Black plays 9...Bb7 after the moves: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3. The move

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or spelling pronunciation ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of man ...

es the light-squared

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, putting pressure on White's

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous chess piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn or The Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pa ...

on e4.

Coach

Zaitsev became one of the trainers of World Champion

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 ...

in the late 1970s, following the death of Karpov's coach Semyon Furman in March, 1978. Zaitsev was one of Karpov's seconds in a number of his

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

matches, including the matches against

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

in 1984 to 1990. Karpov popularized Zaitsev's line at the top level, playing it with success for many years. Zaitsev is Honoured Coach of USSR and Russia. In 2006 he was awarded the title of

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 ...

Senior Trainer.

Books

*Зайцев, Игорь (2004). ''Атака в сильном пункте.'' Советский спорт.

Notable games

Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev vs Anatoli Karpov, Leningrad 1966, Russian Game, Center Variation (C43), ½–½Yakov Estrin vs Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev, Moscow 1969, Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Traxler Counterattack (C57), 0–1Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev vs Oleg Dementiev, USSR Championship 1970, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (B90), 1–0Apartsev vs Igor Arkadievich Zaitsev, Moscow 1963, Italian Game: Two Knights Defense. Traxler Counterattack (C57), 0–1

References

External links

Igor A Zaitsev
chess games at 365Chess.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaitsev, Igor 1938 births Living people People from Ramensky District Russian sportspeople of Armenian descent Chess Grandmasters Chess theoreticians Chess coaches Russian chess players Soviet chess players Russian chess writers