Vladimir Sergeevich Belov (born 6 August 1984 in Kirzhach, Vladimir Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) is a Russian chess grandmaster, coach, and author. He currently resides in Novi Sad, Serbia.
Chess career
Belov began studying chess under coach Yuri Golub and later trained with grandmaster Sergey Shipov. He became an
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 2000 and was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2003.
In 2004–2005, he achieved strong results at international tournaments in Kavala, Thessaloniki, and
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
. In 2005, he won the North Sea Cup in Esbjerg. In 2007, Belov became the Moscow Chess Champion. He won the Master Open at the
Biel Chess Festival
The Biel International Chess Festival is an annual chess tournament that takes place in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. It consists of two events, the Grandmaster Tournament, held with the round-robin system, and the Master Open Tournament (MTO), held w ...
in 2008 and also claimed first place at the
Chigorin Memorial
The Chigorin Memorial is a chess tournament played in honour of Mikhail Chigorin (1850–1908), founder of the Soviet Chess School and one of the leading players of his day. The first and most important edition was the one played in 1909 in St. ...
in Saint Petersburg the same year.
He represented the Cheboksary-based team Elara, which won the bronze medal at the 2007 Russian Team Championship. He worked as a second for
Dmitry Jakovenko
Dmitry Olegovich Jakovenko (; born 29 June 1983) is a Russian chess player. He was awarded the title Grandmaster by FIDE in 2001. Jakovenko was European champion in 2012. He was a member of the gold medal-winning Russian team at the 2009 World ...
at the Nanjing Super GM tournament in 2009 and for
Ruslan Ponomariov
Ruslan Olehovych Ponomariov (; born 11 October 1983) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was FIDE World Chess Champion from 2002 to 2004 and is the youngest holder of the title at the age of 18 years and 104 days, though the title was split ...
at a tournament in Saratov in 2011. In 2006, he served as an official commentator for the World Chess Championship match between
Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (; born 25 June 1975) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster. He was the World Chess Champion#Split title (1993–2006), Classical World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2006, and the 14th undisputed World Ch ...
and
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov (pronounced ; ; born 15 March 1975) is a Bulgarian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster and former FIDE World Chess Championship, World Chess Champion.
Topalov became FIDE World Chess Champion by winning the FIDE ...
in Elista.
Coaching career
Belov graduated in 2005 from the Russian State University of Physical Education, Sports, and Tourism with a degree in chess coaching. In 2006, he began working professionally as a coach and joined the training staff of the Russian women's national team.
He has coached numerous accomplished players, including:
*
Aleksandra Goryachkina
Aleksandra Yuryevna Goryachkina (; born 28 September 1998) is a Russian chess player who holds the title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster (GM). She is the No. 4 ranked woman in the world by FIDE rating and is also the fourth-highest rated wo ...
: Multiple-time Russian women's champion and two-time challenger for the Women's World Championship (2020, 2023), as well as medalist at Chess Olympiads and European Team Championships.
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Alexey Sarana
Alexey Vasilyevich Sarana (born 26 January 2000) is a Russian chess grandmaster playing for Serbia. He won the European Individual Chess Championship in 2023.
His father is Ukrainian and lives near Kyiv. Sarana left Russia in March 2022, stat ...
: Became a grandmaster in 2016, won the 2019 Russian Higher League, and became
European Champion
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers to a ...
in 2023. That year, he played top board for the Serbian national team.
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Nazi Paikidze
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequen ...
: Winner of the Moscow Women's Championship and Russian Higher League, and medalist at the Russian Superfinal and World Junior Championship. Later, she became a two-time U.S. Women's Champion.
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David Paravyan
David Arturovich Paravyan (; born 8 March 1998) is a Russian chess player of Armenian descent, who was awarded the title of grandmaster by FIDE in 2017.
Chess career
Born in Moscow, Paravyan received the international master title in 2013 and ...
, Anton Smirnov, Maxim Lugovskoy: Grandmasters with significant international achievements.
He has also worked with
Polina Shuvalova
Polina Sergeevna Shuvalova (; born 12 March 2001) is a Russian chess player. She holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM, 2020) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM, 2019). She is the 2019 World Girls U-20 Champion as well as the World Girl's ...
,
Bibisara Assaubayeva
Bibisara Assaubayeva ( Kazakh: Бибісара Асаубаева, Bibısara Asaubaeva; born 26 February 2004) is a Kazakhstani chess player. Assaubayeva holds the titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. She is a two-time Women's ...
Olga Girya
Olga Alexandrovna Girya (; born 4 June 1991) is a Russian chess player. She holds the title of Grandmaster (GM), which FIDE awarded her in 2021. She was a member of the gold medal-winning Russian team in the 2014 Women's Chess Olympiad and in ...
,
Anastasia Bodnaruk
Anastasia Mikhailovna Bodnaruk (; born 30 March 1992) is a Russian chess player who holds the FIDE titles of International Master (IM) and Woman Grandmaster (WGM). She won the World Rapid Chess Championship 2023.
Career
Bodnaruk won the under 12 ...
, as well as youth players such as Ilya Makoveev and Ivan Yeletsky.
Online presence
Since 2020, Belov has run th "Study Chess" YouTube channel, where he publishes instructional videos, game analysis, and commentary for players of all levels. The channel is popular among Russian-speaking chess audiences.
He also maintains his official websit study-chess.ru which offers courses, articles, and training materials.