Nepomniachtchi Yan Aleksandrovich
Biography
Force of thought
Yan Nepomniachtchi showed an unmatched talent and love for chess from early childhood. He was a runner-up at the World Classic and Rapid FIDE Chess Championships in 2021 and achieved a brilliant victory at the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Madrid in 2022. In 2023, the Russian grandmaster is going to contest the world championship.
Youth and early career
Nepomniachtchi was born on July 14, 1990 in Bryansk, Russia. He learned how to play chess before he celebrated his fifth birthday. At first he played at home with his uncle Igor and grandfather Boris. Then he attended the local chess school. His coach, Valentin Evdokimenko, soon realized that the pupil had an immense potential.
Nepomniachtchi won the Bryansk regional championship and earned the 1st category in 1997. He made a name for himself as one of the strongest Russian young players by 1999. He became a Candidate Master next year.
Nepomniachtchi claimed his FIDE Master title at the age of 11.
Nepomniachtchi won the European Youth Chess Championship three times in a row from 2000 to 2002. In 2022 he achieved a double by winning both the World and the European championships for boys under 12. He also defeated the future world champion Magnus Carlsen.
In 2006, Nepomniachtchi finished school with honors and qualified for the Russian Championship Superfinal, joining the top Russian grandmasters at the age of 17
Yan Nepomniachtchi at the age of 11
Present Day
In 2019, Nepomniachtchi took first place at the Moscow and Jerusalem FIDE Grand Prix tournaments and qualified for the FIDE Candidates Tournament. This watershed tournament started in Yekaterinburg in March 2020. Due to the ongoing pandemic, it was interrupted at the halfway point. The pause between the two portions lasted for more than a year. In the meantime, Nepomniachtchi played with success in several online tournaments. He took gold with the Russian team at the first FIDE Online Chess Olympiad and won the Russian Championship Superfinal for the second time in his career.
In 2022, Yan Nepomniachtchi won the FIDE Candidates Tournament in Madrid with one round to spare. At the end of August, he won the 2022 Rapid Chess Championship on Chess.com. Now the global chess community is looking forward to his participation in the new world chess championship match!
Yan Nepomniachtchi at the FIBA World Championship - Game 8
Best results
Interesting facts
