Igor Ivanov

Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov (January 8, 1947 – November 17, 2005) was a Russian-born chess grandmaster who defected from the Soviet Union to Canada in 1980. A four-time winner of the Canadian chess championship, he represented Canada at an interzonal tournament for the world chess championship and was a Canadian team member at two Chess Olympiads. He also was a nine-time US Grand Prix chess champion.

Early life Born in 1947 in Leningrad, Ivanov learned chess at age five. He studied music intensively as a youth, specializing in piano and cello, and was very talented. He was orphaned at age 14 when his mother died; she had wanted him to become a concert performer. He essentially gave up this path (although he remained an accomplished pianist) to concentrate on chess. Ivanov studied mathematics at Leningrad State University, but left before completing his degree. For several years in the early to mid-1970s, he was part of the exceptionally deep class of Soviet masters which was just below the international standard. Ivanov did qualify for the 1975 Soviet Championship First League; this event, with several grandmasters in the field, was still one stage below the top level at that time.

Ivanov took an opportunity to represent Uzbekistan, a central Asian Soviet republic, and to be a professional player there. Several victories in strong Soviet events soon followed, such as Vladivostok 1978, Yaroslavl 1979, and Ashkhabad 1979. ), Kasparov, on tiebreak, was the sole qualifier for the elite Soviet Championship Premier League. Ivanov had to settle again for the First League. Thus, despite being a very strong master, Ivanov never had the opportunity before 1980 to participate in tournaments where he could earn international master or grandmaster norms.

Ivanov first became known internationally later in 1979, when he upset World Champion Anatoly Karpov in a superb game at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR team tournament. The win caught the attention of Soviet authorities, earning him the coveted privilege of travel outside the Soviet Union to play in a tournament in Cuba. However, Ivanov, who by this point was listening to Western radio broadcasts such as Radio Liberty, was instead determined to defect. Ivanov also apparently left behind two women who had had children by him, as well as a wife and child in Leningrad. Spraggett later said that Ivanov was playing some of the best tournament chess in the world during this period. Later that year, he represented Canada on top board at the Lucerne Chess Olympiad, where he defeated Jan Timman and Tony Miles. He also played for Canada in the 1988 Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki. He won nine first prizes, worth $10,000 each, for most Grand Prix points in a year, and was one of the most active players in the country.

Ivanov tied for first place in the 1985 U.S. Masters Chess Championship.

In 1991, he moved to Utah, where he resided with his American wife Elizabeth, a retired teacher who was at one time a distinguished chess player herself.

Igor Ivanov died on November 17, 2005.

Notable chess games Igor Ivanov vs Vladimir Bagirov, USSR Championship Qualifying tournament, Cheliabinsk 1975, Queen's Gambit Declined (D30), 1–0 In a sharp tactical battle, Ivanov shows his talent by defeating an experienced grandmaster. Igor Ivanov vs Anatoly Karpov, USSR Spartakiade 1979, Sicilian Defense, Kan Variation (B43), 1–0 Ivanov captured the attention of the chess world in this sharp game where the World Champion is defeated by near-perfect play. Kevin Spraggett vs Igor Ivanov, Quebec Open, Montreal 1980, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Rubinstein Variation (E41), 0–1 After defecting, Ivanov is the new guy in Montreal, and makes his presence felt immediately with a win over one of Canada's top players. Igor Ivanov vs Eugenio Torre, Toluca Interzonal 1982, Queen's Gambit Declined, Slav Defence (D14), 1–0 Far from being overawed in such lofty company, Ivanov makes a very strong bid to advance as a world championship candidate, defeating one of the players who would, in fact, play in that candidates' cycle. Igor Ivanov vs Jan Timman, Lucerne Olympiad 1982, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A35), 1–0 Ivanov takes down one of the West's top players in a positional squeeze. Igor Ivanov vs Anthony Miles, Lucerne Olympiad 1982, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A30), 1–0 England's top player has to concede defeat after being outmaneuvered, as Ivanov invests in a very deep pawn sacrifice to break Black's coordination, then follows up by sacrificing a bishop for a glorious conclusion. Maxim Dlugy vs Igor Ivanov, Las Vegas 1994, Modern Defence, Averbakh Variation (A42), 0–1 Ivanov makes fairly quick work of another Soviet emigre GM. Pavel Blatny vs Igor Ivanov, U.S. Open, Reno 1999, Reti Opening (A05), 0–1 A quiet struggle gradually intensifies into a tactical battle where Ivanov sees further.