Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, and politician. He was the 12th World Chess Champion from 1975 to 1985, a three-time FIDE World Champion, twice World Chess champion as a member of the USSR team, and a six-time winner of Chess Olympiads as a member of the USSR team. The International Association of Chess Press awarded him nine Chess Oscars.
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 governing body of international chess competition. FIDE was founded in Paris, France, on July 20, 1924. Its motto is Gens una sumus, Latin for 'We are one Family'. In 1999, FIDE was recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As of December 21, 2023, there are 201 member federations of FIDE.
Nigel David Short is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, coach and commentator who has been the FIDE Director for Chess Development since September 2022. Short earned the title of grandmaster at the age of 19 and was ranked third in the world by FIDE from July 1988 to July 1989. In 1993, he became the first English player to play a World Chess Championship match, when he qualified to play Garry Kasparov in the PCA world championship in London, where Kasparov won 12½ to 7½.
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Russian oligarch, administrator and politician. He was President of the Republic of Kalmykia in the Russian Federation from 1993 to 2010, and was president of FIDE, the chess international governing body, from 1995 to 2018. He has also been in the forefront of promoting chess in schools in Russia and overseas. He is the founder of Novy Vzglyad publishing house.
Henrique Costa Mecking, also known as Mequinho, is a Brazilian chess grandmaster who reached his zenith in the 1970s and is still one of the strongest players in Brazil. He was a chess prodigy, drawing comparisons to Bobby Fischer, although he did not achieve the International Grandmaster title until 1972. He won the Interzonals of Petropolis 1973 and Manila 1976. His highest FIDE rating is 2635, achieved in 1977, when he was ranked number four in the world. He became the third-best player in the world in 1977, behind only World Champion Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi.
Rafael Artemovich Vaganian is an Armenian chess player holding the title of grandmaster (GM). He was Soviet champion in 1989.
Predrag Nikolić is a Bosnian Serb chess grandmaster.
Vlatko Kovačević is a Croatian chess grandmaster.
Irina Solomonovna Levitina is a former Soviet and current American chess and bridge player. In chess, she has been a World Championship Candidate in 1984 and gained the title Woman Grandmaster. In contract bridge she has won six world championship events, four women and two mixed, including play on two world-champion USA women teams.
Peter Biyiasas is a Canadian chess grandmaster. He was Canadian champion in 1972 and 1975, represented Canada with success on four Olympiad teams, and played in two Interzonals. He moved to the United States in 1979, settling in California. He retired from competitive play in the mid-1980s to work as a computer programmer. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a frequent training partner of Bobby Fischer, who stayed at his home in San Francisco for extended periods.
Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1961. During his career, he won the Moscow Championship on six occasions and scored numerous victories in international tournaments, such as Belgrade Open 1961, Moscow International 1961, East Berlin 1962, Reykjavik 1968, and Manila 1974. He was rarely at his best in Soviet Championship Finals, which were among the very toughest events in the world, and never made the Soviet team for an Olympiad or a European Team Championship. Vasiukov won the World Senior Chess Championship in 1995.
Liu Shilan is a Chinese chess player who holds the title Woman Grandmaster, which she received in 1982 from FIDE. She has been the national women's champion of China seven times.
Bachar Kouatly is a French chess grandmaster, journalist and activist. He is deputy president of FIDE.
Anna-Maria Botsari is a Greek chess player holding the title of Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
Daniela Nuțu-Gajić is a Romanian Australian chess Woman Grandmaster (WGM) and chess trainer. She represented Romania in seven Chess Olympiads, winning five medals, including two individual gold medals. She won the Romanian Women's Chess Championship three times in 1978, 1979 and 1980, the Yugoslav Women's Chess Championship in 1989, and the Australian Women's Chess Championship in 1995.
The 43rd Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs (FIDE) and comprising open and women's tournaments, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, was an international team chess event held in Batumi, Georgia, from 23 September to 6 October 2018. This was the first Chess Olympiad to take place in Georgia with the Georgian Chess Federation also hosting the Chess World Cup 2017 in Tbilisi.
Nieves García Vicente is a Spanish chess player who holds the title of Woman International Master. She is an eleven time Spanish Women's Chess Champion.
Ludmila Georgievna Zaitseva is a Russian chess player who holds the title Woman Grandmaster. She is a two-time winner the Russian Women's Chess Championship.
Lars Karlsson is a Swedish chess grandmaster (1982), Swedish Chess Championship winner (1992).
