Alexey Kim

Alexey Eduardovich Kim (born April 5, 1986) is a Soviet-born South Korean chess player. He is the only South Korean to hold the FIDE title of Grandmaster.

Biography A third-generation ethnic Korean, Kim was born on April 5, 1986, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in the Soviet Union. In 2006, he paid the required fee to FIDE (chess's international governing body) to switch his national federation to South Korea, in keeping with his grandfather's wishes. In 2013, he shared first place with Stanislav Novikov, Batuhan Daştan, Hagen Poetsch, Ralf Åkesson, Jonathan Hawkins and Kacper Drozdowski in the 18th Vienna Chess Open.