LEVON ARONIAN

He constantly says he hardly trains, but nobody believes him as he is a great chess and both things are incompatible. He is only 26 years old but has already won the World Cup and the Linares and Wijk aan Zee (twice) tournaments. That naturalness, his universal style and belonging to a country where chess is the national passion, as well as a balanced nervous system configure the Armenian Levon Aronian as a very solid value.

“I’m not prepared to compete with the big ones. The only advantage I have over those beasts is my total ignorance and fresh thinking”, Aronian said at Christmas 2005, a few days after having won the World Cup in Siberia and some days just before his debut in the Wijk aan Zee Corus Tournament (Holland), where he shared the 7th place of 14 participants. Just a month later he triumphed in Linares, the chess Wimbledon, so surprisingly as convincingly.

This wasn’t really an objective surprise and had a lot to do with Aronian’s natural modesty. Whoever had followed his career ever since his childhood would have already noticed his enormous talent, demonstrated when he won the 1994 World Under 12 Championship in Szeged (Hungary), ahead of future luminaries such as Bacrot (France), Ponomáriov (Ukraine), Grischuk (Russia) y Vallejo (Spain) and confirmed in 1996 with the silver medal in the World Under 14 Championship in Cala Galdana (Menorca) sharing podium with also Armenian Sarguissián and Spanish Vallejo.

Aronian, second son of a couple of scientists, learnt to play chess at the age of 5 with his sister; his mother worked as an engineer specialised in explosions and demolitions; his father, a Byelorussian physicist, worked as a researcher specialised in laser technology. Both of them sacrificed their professional prestige to emigrate to Berlin with only one objective that Levon, who was 18 years old at the time, could develop all his talent for chess, joining a team in the Bundesleague and being closer to the important European tournaments.

They soon saw their decision had been right. World Chess Junior Champion in 2002, Aronian continued making progress –not attracting much attention though – as a chess player and as a person. He speaks Armenian, Russian, English and a bit of German and he likes having a try with Spanish, making jokes with the rude words. Prone to the high risk in his games, both organisers and followers are fond of Aronian and will enjoy of his presence again during the Bilbao Masters Final.

LEVON ARONIAN’S RECORD

* World Chess Champion U-12 and U-20.
* Winner of the World Cup 2005 in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia.
* Winner of Linares Tournament 2006.
* Olympic Champion with Armenia team in Turin (Italy) 2006.
* Olympic Champion with Armenia team in Dresde (Germany) 2008
* Winner of Corus Wijk aan Zee Tournament in 2007 and 2008.
* Second Place in Nanjing Tournament (China) in 2009.

Teimour Radjabov

Teimour Radjabov, also spelled Teymur Rajabov, (born 12 March 1987 in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR), is a leading Azerbaijani chess player. On the April 2009 FIDE list, Radjabov has an Elo rating of 2756, ranking fifth in the world and first, by 37 points, in his native Azerbaijan. Radjabov earned the title of Grandmaster in March 2001 at the age of 14, making him the second-youngest grandmaster in history at the time. Radjabov's playing style has been described as attacking and tactically influenced.

Radjabov is the youngest player ever to make the FIDE Top 100 Players list. His rating of 2599 in January 2002 ranked 93rd in the world while he was still 14 years old.

In 2003, Radjabov defeated Viswanathan Anand and Ruslan Ponomariov with the black pieces. He is probably the first player ever to beat three former and reigning FIDE World Chess Champions with the black pieces in one year.

Radjabov reached the semi-finals (earning a bronze medal) at the FIDE World Chess Championship 2004.

On 22 February 2006, Teimour defeated FIDE World Champion Veselin Topalov (rated 2801) with the black pieces and subsequently won the second prize at the Super GM Tournament held in Morelia, Mexico and Linares, Spain.

Radjabov represented his native Azerbaijan at the 37th Chess Olympiad in May and June 2006, playing board one for the Azeri team.

In an interview given on October 2006, Radjabov said that he will challenge the winner of Topalov-Kramnik unification match to a World Championship match under the rules of FIDE.

In November 2006, Radjabov won strong Cap d'Agde tournament, advancing from second place of round robin to the elimination phase. He then went on to win the final against Sergey Karjakin

On 3 December 2006, during the Creativity Festival in Florence (Tuscany, Italy), Radjabov played against Deep Junior, the chess engine that won the Turin World Computer Chess Championship. The match was won by Deep Junior.

In January 2007, Radjabov finished in joint first place at the Category 19 Corus Chess Tournament along with Veselin Topalov and Levon Aronian.

ALEXANDER GRISCHUK

Well-balanced, with strong character, elegant and 190 cm height, Alexander Grischuk studied Physical Education, but, at the age of 25, he has succeeded in two hard disciplines: winner of Linares 2009, the chess Wimbledon, even though he is also a poker professional. This duality seemed impossible in the 21st century, since computer innovations force players to a strict training in order to be up to date. Perhaps to make up for that chess deprivation he has married to the Ukrainian Grandmaster Natalia Zhúkova.

He is only child, his parents and grandfathers were prestigious physicists in their country. One of his grandfathers directed the Physics Scientific Institute of the former URSS. He was five years old, when his father taught him to play chess. His mother decided he should have a particular coach. When Alexander was 11, his family hired the Russian Grandmaster Anatoly Bikhovsky, they had the advantage of living in the same street.

Bikhovsky was soon impressed:”I will not venture to talk about his future, but during the 25 years that I have been chess junior team trainer I see that the energy that he puts in the board in each game he plays is extraordinary. Apart from give himself up, he tries to find all in each move he makes. And he always fights to win. He doesn’t resign himself to draw, as the other players do.”

Alexander was Russian Chess Champion in almost all age categories, he won medals in European and World Championships – such as the Spanish player Paco Vallejo, -one of his strongest rivals-, although Grischuk didn’t become World Champion U-18. His results for the last seven years have been good but not brilliant (with the exception of being the winner of the World Blitz Championship (five minutes) 2006.

In 2009, he is invited to play in Linares Tournament, he had not much time to preparing it due to his moonlighting, alone (without second or companion), he never went to the hotel restaurant at lunch time, smoking in the backstage area and with time problems almost each day, the young Russian player made a splendid first half with victories over Wang Yue, Radjabov y Aronian (this was a brilliant one) and draws with the rest of the players. After this winning, there is no doubt he might also be the winner of the Masters Final.

He only lost to Carlsen (beauty prize) in the second half. He is the most surprising winner in the history of this tournament.

ALEXANDER GRISCHUK’S RECORDS

* Russian Champion U-10, U-12, U-14 and U-16.
* Reached the 2000 FIDE World Championship Semifinal.
* World Blitz Champion, Israel 2006.
* Winner of Linares 2009.

Dmitry Jakovenko

Dmitry Jakovenko (born 1983) is a Russian chess grandmaster. On the July 2009 FIDE Elo rating list, Jakovenko has a rating of 2760, making him the fifth highest ranked player in the world.

He learned chess from his father at age 3, and was later coached by former Kasparov trainer Alexander Nikitin. In 2001 he won he U18 World Championship and the Saint-Vincent Open, in 2004 he decided to become a professional chess player (he was a student with outstanding marks in math and science). Recently has achieved a lot of successes, like shared first in the Russian Championship 2006 (he lost the playoff against Evgeny Alekseev), second place at Pamplona 2006/2007, Corus B Group 2007, Aeroflot Open and first place at Poikovsky.

In the July 2009 FIDE ratings, Jakovenko has overtaken Vladimir Kramnik as the number one Russian chess player.

Peter Leko

Peter Leko (born September 8, 1979 in Subotica, Yugoslavia) is a Hungarian chess player. He became a grandmaster in 1994 at the age of 14 (a world record at the time). In the January 2009 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2751, making him number nine in the world, and Hungary's number one. His best rating was number four, first achieved in April 2003.

Early life

Leko was a chess prodigy and became a Grandmaster at age 14, then the youngest ever.

He is the son-in-law of Armenian grandmaster Arshak Petrosian.

World Championship results

In 2002 Leko won the Candidates Tournament to qualify as the challenger to Vladimir Kramnik for the Classical World Chess Championship 2004. (The World Chess Championship was split at the time, but most of the strongest players participated, the most notable exceptions being the world's top two, Garry Kasparov and Viswanathan Anand). After several delays, the match was held from September 25 – October 18, 2004, in Brissago, Switzerland. Leko led by a point with just one game left to play. Kramnik managed to win the last game, tying the match 7–7, which entitled him to remain the reigning "classical" world champion.

In October 2005, Leko played for the FIDE World Chess Championship title in San Luis, Argentina, and was ranked fifth with 6.5 points. For more information, see FIDE World Chess Championship 2005.

In May-June 2007 Leko played in the Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship 2007. He won his matches against Mikhail Gurevich and Evgeny Bareev, to qualify for the eight-player championship tournament. In the championship he finished fourth out of eight.

Chess960

In 2001, Leko narrowly defeated Grandmaster Michael Adams in an eight game Fischer Random Chess (Chess960) match played as part of the Mainz Chess Classic. As a result, Leko was hailed by many as the first Fischer Random Chess world champion. This claim is not universally accepted, since there were no open qualifying matches. Many do accept the claim, however, since this was also true of the first orthodox world chess champion titleholders, and both players were in the top five in the January 2001 world rankings for orthodox chess.

Miskolc rapid chess matches

Every year since 2005, Peter Leko played a rapid chess match in the Hungarian city of Miskolc. Each year, he faced a different world-class opponent.

In 2005, he drew Michael Adams 4–4
In 2006, he beat Anatoly Karpov 4.5–3.5
In 2007, he lost to Vladimir Kramnik 3.5–4.5
In 2008, he lost to Magnus Carlsen 3–5
In 2009, he lost to Viswanathan Anand 3–5

Playing style

Leko is an extremely solid player and is considered to be one of the most difficult players in the world to defeat. He has been criticized in the past for a perceived lack of killer instinct and a propensity to draw a large percentage of his games. As White, Leko almost always plays 1. e4, and as Black he often plays the Sveshnikov Sicilian or Grünfeld Defence. More recently he relies on the Marshall Attack, the Nimzo Indian and Queen's Indian with black. In addition, he is renowned for his endgame skill.

Notable accomplishments

2008: 1st prize board one at the chess olympiad in Dresden
2008: 1st Dortmund (Cat. 18)
2007: 1st ACP Rapid World Cup
2006: 1st Tal Memorial (Cat 20)
2005: 1st Corus chess tournament
2004: Drew Classical World Chess Championship 2004 (+2 ?2 =10) versus Vladimir Kramnik
2004: 2nd Linares chess tournament (Cat 20)
2004: 2nd Wijk aan Zee (Cat 19)
2003: 2nd Monaco
2003: 1st Linares (Cat 20)
2002: 1st Candidates Tournament at Dortmund chess tournament
Won the right to challenge Vladimir Kramnik for the World Chess Championship
2002: 2nd place at Essen (Cat.17)
2002: 3rd place at Monaco
2002: 1st Rapid Grand Prix at Dubai
2001: 1st Rapid Master Event in Nordhorn (Germany)
2001: 3rd Dortmund (Cat. 21)
2001: Defeated Michael Adams in a Fischer Random Chess match, Mainz, Germany
2000: Defeated Alexander Khalifman in match play, Budapest
1999: 1st Dortmund (Cat. 19)
1999: 1st the Rapid Grand Prix in Bordeaux (France)
1998: 2nd place at Tilburg (Cat. 18)
1996: 1st World Junior Chess Championship U16
1995: 3rd Dortmund (Cat. 17)

At the age of 15
1994: Awarded International Grandmaster title

At then-record age of 14 years old
1992: Awarded International Master title

SERGEI KARJAKIN

Still today, at 19, he holds the record for the youngest grandmaster in history, achieving the title at the age of twelve years and seven months. He won this year the Corus chess tournament in Wijk aan Zee and he has hired Yuri Dokhojan as coach (former Kasparov’s second). On July 25th 2009, Karjakin adopted Russian citizenship and will henceforth be playing for Russia.

At five years of age, Sergey already knew how to play chess; his father, a businessman had taught him at his child’s request after being impressed by report that he had seen on Ukrainian television. But he didn’t know how to write, so he couldn’t note down the moves. For this reason the participants in the Simferopol (Crimnea peninsula) tournament in 1995 had to get together to vote to see whether they would permit the child prodigy Karjakin to play. It was allowed and he celebrated his first victory leaving the room doing somersaults, another of his child hobbies, along with football, table tennis, Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes novels and the strategy games on the computer.

His mother, Tatiana, a specialized sports teacher, doesn’t know if her child is extremely gifted because they have never done an intelligence test. “Yes I can see that mentally he is very mature for his age, above all because of the seriousness when he is in front of the chess board. Away from the chessboard he is a very happy child, although shy, and he is like a more normal boy. I think that chess has developed an innate intelligence that was already high,” she explains. “By the way, I have noticed that Sergey already feels familiarized with Spain, as if it was his second home. He has a very pleasant memory of his previous performance in Bilbao, in 2005 and 2007”, she adds.

Karjakin’s talent is immense, which almost guarantees him a marvellous future, not only for his great command of tactics but also for his gift for strategy, a rare thing in children. It is for this reason that the pools for future World Champion always include Karjakin, above all, after winning Wijk ann Zee 2009, where he issued some interesting statements during the opening ceremony:” Along 2008 I suffered a crisis of game that I deeply analyzed. After finding out the causes, which I will not reveal because it is a professional secret, I drew up a plan to correct them. And now I am here, full of ambition. I think I can win the tournament”. And he did it.

In a winter night, he swam in the cold North Sea, an Ukrainian tradition. According to this belief, the person who is capable of doing that will have a good year. Perhaps this will be an useful information for those who will bet on Karjakin as winner of the Final Chess Masters Bilbao 2009.

SERGEY KARJAKIN’S RECORDS

* Youngest grandmaster in history, achieving the title at the age of twelve years and seven months. .
* Olympic Champion with Ukraine team in Calvia 2004.
* At age fourteen he defeated the reigning world champion, Kramnik, Dortmund 2004.
* Winner of Euro Blitz Tournament, Dresde 2007.
* Winner of Corus Tournament 2009 (Wijk ann Zee).

ALEXEY SHIROV

To prove that high-level chess is an art, there is nothing better to see Shirov’s games, the “Leonardo da Vinci” of chess, for this genius the beauty on the chessboard is almost as important as the victory. He was born on 4 July 1972 in Riga, the capital of Latvia, in 1996 became Spanish citizen. Shirov achieved second place in the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship -2000-, and in the Chess World Cup 2007. His aggressive and imaginative style has made him one of the crowd favourites. His win this year in Sofia, at the age of 36, indicates that he is at the ideal age, with a balance between energy and experience.

Shy, hypersensitive, slouchy walk. His turbulent love life is a reflection of his unceasing exalted mind, which probably helps to understand his irregular performance.

Unpredictable, brilliant, romantic and a little absent-minded, Alexey is to chess what Leonardo is to painting, the unachievable. He learnt to play chess at the age of 4 with his older brother. But he lost all interest and he abandoned it, forgetting what he had learnt. When he was 7, his brother tried teaching him again, and this time he succeeded. Shirov progressed slowly, but at the age of 11 he produced a masterpiece worthy of a great master. This game attracted the attention of former world champion Mikhail Tal, which is why he was introduced to the great player under whom he studied in his youth.

This was the beginning of his career. In 1998 he defeated Vladimir Kramnik in Cazorla, Spain, in a match that was intended to select a challenger for World Champion Garry Kasparov. Unfortunately, the plans for the Kasparov match were squelched when sufficient financial backing could not be found. When Kasparov instead played Kramnik for the world title in 2000, Shirov maintained that the match was invalid and he was the rightful challenger. In 2000, Shirov reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Championship, losing to Anand.

Since then, his career has had ups and downs, but he has been always among the world’s top players, delighting chess fans with his original and amazing ideas on the board. The thing that has not changed is the fans’ admiration for him throughout the world, most of all, because he is a big fighter and he rarely compromises with draws. It would not be strange that he could play the most brilliant game in Bilbao.

ALEXEY SHIROV’S RECORDS

* World Champion U-16 in Timisoara (Romania), 1988.
* Candidate for the Classical World Championship title after defeating Kramnik in Cazorla (Spain) in 1998.
* Second Place of the FIDE World Championship in 2000. Teherán (Irán).
* Spanish Champion 2002, Ayamonte (Huelva).
* Second Place of the Chess World Cup in Elista (Kalmikia) 2007.
* Winner of the MTel Masters Sofia Tournament 2009.