Sergei Nikolayevich Azarov (; , ''Siarhiej Mikalajevič Azaraŭ''; born 19 May 1983) is a

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian

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, International Grandmaster a title awarded 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 2003. He has been a two-time Belarusian Chess Champion and has competed in multiple Chess Olympiads and FIDE World Cups.

Chess career

He won the Belarusian championship in 2001 and 2002, both times in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, his native city. In 2002, he shared first place in the Challengers tournament at the Hastings Chess Congress. At the 2003

World Junior Chess Championship The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition) organized by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The idea was the brainchild of William Rits ...

in Nakhchivan, he finished in second place, behind

Shakhriyar Mamedyarov Shahriyar Hamid oglu Mammadyarov (; born 12 April 1985), known internationally as Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, is an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. he is Azerbaijan's highest rated chess player. His personal best rating of 2820 makes him the sixth-h ...

. In 2006 he won the fifth

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Chess Festival. In 2009, he won the

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a town in northern France, Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department. Geography Béthune is located in the Provinces of Fran ...

Open. In the 2011 FIDE World Cup he won against Artyom Timofeev in the first round, then in the second round he lost to

Vugar Gashimov Vugar Gasim oghlu Hashimov (; 24 July 1986 – 11 January 2014), known internationally as Vugar Gashimov, was an Azerbaijani chess grandmaster. He was a noted player of blitz chess. At his peak ranking, he was No. 6 in the world, achieved in ...

. In 2012, Azarov tied for second place and finished tenth on tiebreak at the European Individual Championship with a score of 8/11 points. Thanks to this result he qualified to play in the FIDE World Cup 2013. Also in 2012, Azarov won the 3rd Annual Continental Class Championships in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, US edging out Sergey Erenburg on tiebreaks. The following year, he participated in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

; he was eliminated in the first round after losing to

Alexey Dreev Alexey Sergeyevich Dreev (, also transliterated as Aleksey or Alexei; born 30 January 1969) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster by FIDE in 1989. Career While being a promising young chess talent, ...

in the tiebreaks. In March 2014, Azarov tied for first place with Axel Bachmann in the Cappelle-la-Grande Open, finishing second on tiebreak. Later that year, in October, he tied for 1st–5th with Timur Gareev,

Dávid Bérczes Dávid Bérczes (born 14 January 1990) is a Hungarian people, Hungarian chess Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster. FIDE awarded him the International Master title in 2005 and the Grandmaster title in 2008. Chess career He tied for 3rd–6th with Ev ...

Daniel Naroditsky Daniel Naroditsky (born November 9, 1995), often referred to as Danya, is an American chess grandmaster, author, and commentator. Chess career Born in San Mateo, California, Naroditsky learned chess at age six from his father. He was soon taki ...

and

Sam Shankland Samuel L. Shankland (born October 1, 1991) is an American chess grandmaster. He won the U.S. Chess Championship in 2018. Shankland was California State Champion in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2012, and Champion of State Champions in 2009. He won bron ...

in the inaugural Millionaire Chess Open in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. With the Belarusian national team, he took part in the

European Team Chess Championship The European Team Championship (often abbreviated in texts and games databases as ''ETC'') is an international team chess event, eligible for the participation of European nations whose chess federations are located in zones 1.1 to 1.9. This more ...

in 2001 and 2003 and in five

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...

s between

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. At the club level, he played in the European Club Cup in 2001 and in 2003–2007 for Vesnianka Minsk. Since 2009 he has played for the Ukrainian club A DAN DZO & PGMB Luhansk. In

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, he plays for Sah Club Hidrocon Bacău, in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

for BŠŠ Frýdek-Místek, and in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

for ŠK Caissa Čadca. In 2019, Azarov tied for first place at the U.S. Masters Chess Championship.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Azarov, Sergei 1983 births Living people Chess Grandmasters Chess players from Minsk Belarusian chess players