Zurab Azmaiparashvili
Encyclopedia
Zurab Azmaiparashvili (born 16 March 1960) is a chess
Grandmaster
from Georgia
. In the September 2010 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2637, making him 114th in the world and Georgia's number two.
1982, Moscow 1986, Albena
1986, Tbilisi
1986, London (Lloyds Bank Open) 1989, and in the 2003 European Individual Chess Championship in Istanbul
. In 2010 he tied for 1st-2nd with IM Oliver Barbosa in the 1st ASEAN Chess Championship in Singapore
, and won the event on tie-break.
Azmaiparashvili is also FIDE Senior Trainer (2004), who has worked with now retired world champion Garry Kasparov
, against whom he also lost a match of rapid and blitz games 0.5-5.5 (2003).
Azmaiparashvili is active in chess politics, being President of the Georgian chess federation, a board member of the European Chess Union
and a vice-president of international chess federation FIDE.
In August 2009, he appointed as captain of Azerbaijani chess team and won European Team Chess Championship in Novi Sad.
Azmaiparashvili made chess news in 2004 when, at the closing ceremony of the 36th Chess Olympiad
in Calvià
, he was arrested by local police and subsequently held in custody for several days. The attitude of the event's organizers towards Azmaiparashvili had apparently been soured when, upon his arrival in Spain, he had attempted to secure himself two hotel rooms, claiming he was entitled to one in his capacity as a FIDE vice-president, and another as a player at the event. This sour mood seems to have brought him extra attention at the closing ceremony when he approached the stage, apparently in an attempt to inform FIDE officials that the organizers had neglected to award a prize named in honour of Georgian former Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili
. He came into conflict with security officials, and a scuffle broke out resulting in injuries both to Azmaiparashvili and a security agent. There are conflicting claims about the exact nature of said scuffle: a press release from the Olympiad organizers placed the blame squarely on Azmaiparashvili's shoulders, saying that after he had tried to gain admittance to the stage on several occasions he "without any previous provocation, assaulted the agent with a head butt to his mouth". FIDE, on the other hand, blamed over-zealous policing, saying in their press release that "Despite his clear VIP identification, he was severely beaten up by several security guards". Azmaiparashvili was due to appear in court on 22 July 2005, but all charges were dropped shortly beforehand.
Azmaiparashvili had been criticized earlier in 2004 over arrangements for the 2004 Women's World Chess Championship
when female Georgian players Lela Javakhishvili and Ana Matnadze accused him of behaving "in a hostile and intimidating manner, using inappropriate and vulgar language and bringing to tears our mothers".
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
from Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. In the September 2010 FIDE list, he has an Elo rating of 2637, making him 114th in the world and Georgia's number two.
Career
He became a Grandmaster in 1988. Among his great achievements are a 2810 performance rating at the 1998 Chess Olympiad and first place finishes at PavlodarPavlodar
Pavlodar is a city in northeastern Kazakhstan and the capital of Pavlodar Province. It is located 350 km northeast of the national capital Astana, and 400 km southeast of the Russian city of Omsk along the Irtysh River. , the city has a population of 331710...
1982, Moscow 1986, Albena
Albena
Albena is a major Black Sea resort in northeastern Bulgaria, situated 12 km from Balchik and 30 km from Varna. Albena is served by the international airport of Varna....
1986, Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
1986, London (Lloyds Bank Open) 1989, and in the 2003 European Individual Chess Championship in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. In 2010 he tied for 1st-2nd with IM Oliver Barbosa in the 1st ASEAN Chess Championship in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, and won the event on tie-break.
Azmaiparashvili is also FIDE Senior Trainer (2004), who has worked with now retired world champion Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
, against whom he also lost a match of rapid and blitz games 0.5-5.5 (2003).
Azmaiparashvili is active in chess politics, being President of the Georgian chess federation, a board member of the European Chess Union
European Chess Union
The European Chess Union is an independent association for the interests of European chess. It is based in Lausanne Switzerland.-Member Federations:* Albania - Federates Shgiptare te Shahul* Andorra - Federació d'Escacs Valls d'Andorra...
and a vice-president of international chess federation FIDE.
In August 2009, he appointed as captain of Azerbaijani chess team and won European Team Chess Championship in Novi Sad.
Controversies
In winning the 2003 European Championship in Istanbul, Azmaiparashvili admitted cheating, retracting a move against Vladimir Malakhov (who subsequently finished second). By retracting his blunder and playing a sensible move, Azmaiparashvili won the game and the tournament. Malakhov could have enforced the rules but said that he was too shocked to react.Azmaiparashvili made chess news in 2004 when, at the closing ceremony of the 36th Chess Olympiad
36th Chess Olympiad
The 36th Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 14 and October 31, 2004, in Calvià on the Spanish island of Majorca.-Chess...
in Calvià
Calvià
Calvià is a municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is located in the southwestern part of the island of Majorca, between the Serra de Tramuntana and the Serra de Na Burguesa. The municipal seat is the town of Vila Calvia.Calvià...
, he was arrested by local police and subsequently held in custody for several days. The attitude of the event's organizers towards Azmaiparashvili had apparently been soured when, upon his arrival in Spain, he had attempted to secure himself two hotel rooms, claiming he was entitled to one in his capacity as a FIDE vice-president, and another as a player at the event. This sour mood seems to have brought him extra attention at the closing ceremony when he approached the stage, apparently in an attempt to inform FIDE officials that the organizers had neglected to award a prize named in honour of Georgian former Women's World Champion Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili
Nona Gaprindashvili is a Georgian chess player, the sixth women's world chess champion , and first female Grandmaster. Born in Zugdidi, Georgia , she was the strongest female player of her generation....
. He came into conflict with security officials, and a scuffle broke out resulting in injuries both to Azmaiparashvili and a security agent. There are conflicting claims about the exact nature of said scuffle: a press release from the Olympiad organizers placed the blame squarely on Azmaiparashvili's shoulders, saying that after he had tried to gain admittance to the stage on several occasions he "without any previous provocation, assaulted the agent with a head butt to his mouth". FIDE, on the other hand, blamed over-zealous policing, saying in their press release that "Despite his clear VIP identification, he was severely beaten up by several security guards". Azmaiparashvili was due to appear in court on 22 July 2005, but all charges were dropped shortly beforehand.
Azmaiparashvili had been criticized earlier in 2004 over arrangements for the 2004 Women's World Chess Championship
Women's World Chess Championship
The Women's World Chess Championship is played to determine the women's world champion in chess. Like the World Chess Championship, it is administered by FIDE....
when female Georgian players Lela Javakhishvili and Ana Matnadze accused him of behaving "in a hostile and intimidating manner, using inappropriate and vulgar language and bringing to tears our mothers".
External links
- Report on Azmaiparashvili's 2004 arrest from Chessbase
- Chessbase report on controversy over the 2004 Women's World Championship
- Interview with Azmaiparashvili by Geoffrey Borg
- Statistics at ChessWorld.net
- Zurab Azmaiparashvili at 365Chess.com
- Rating data
- ChessBase.com - Chess News - Festivities in Tbilisi for Zurab's fiftieth