| Vladimir Epishin | |
|---|---|
 Vladimir Epishin, 2007 | |
| Full name | Владимир Викторович Епишин |
| Country | Russia |
| Born | 11 July 1965 Leningrad, Soviet Union (then Saint Petersburg, Russia) |
| Title | Grandmaster (1990) |
| FIDE rating | 2435 (August 2024) |
| Peak rating | 2675 (January 1994) |
| Peak ranking | No. 10 (January 1994) |
Vladimir Epishin (born 11 July 1965 in Leningrad) is a Russian chess grandmaster.
He finished third in the 58th USSR Chess Championship in 1991. [1] He won the 1987 St. Petersburg Championship. Other tournament successes include 3rd-4th with Vladimir Akopian at the New York Open Championship in 1998, [2] first at the Monarch Assurance PLC 11th International Chess Tournament in Isle of Man 2002, [3] and 1st–3rd with Vladimir Burmakin and Marijan Petrov at the 21st Le Touquet Open in 2006. [4]
Most recently, Epishin has been participating in chess tournaments in his native St.Petersburg (formerly Leningrad).
He was one of the seconds (assistants) to Anatoly Karpov during the late stages of Karpov's career (from 1987 to 1996). A variation of the Benko Gambit is named the Epishin Variation after him (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 g6 6.Nc3 Bxa6 7.Nf3 d6 8.g3 Bg7 9.Bg2 Nbd7 10.Rb1). [5]
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.
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The Benko Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the move 3...b5 in the Benoni Defence arising after:
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Nikolai Vladimirovich Krogius was a Russian chess Grandmaster, International Arbiter (1985), psychologist, chess coach, chess administrator, and author. He won several tournament titles at Sochi and in Eastern European events, and appeared in seven Soviet finals from 1958–71. His peak was in 1967 when he ranked 18th in the world for a time. He earned his doctorate in psychology, and specialized in sports psychology. He coached World Champion Boris Spassky for several years, also served as chairman of the USSR Chess Federation, and co-authored five chess books. He was the co-winner of the 1993 World Senior Chess Championship.
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Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov 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.
The King's Fianchetto Opening or Benko's Opening is a chess opening characterized by the move:
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Semyon Abramovich Furman was a Soviet chess player and trainer of Belarusian Jewish origin. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1966. Furman is best known for developing Anatoly Karpov into a World Chess Champion, but was a formidable player himself, as well as a successful coach for several other world-class players. His name is sometimes written as Semen or Semion Furman.
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