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Alexander Beliavsky
A Beliavsky 
 

Number of games in database: 3,017
Years covered: 1967 to 2025
Last FIDE rating: 2453 (2557 rapid, 2478 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2710
Overall record: +1093 -539 =1262 (59.6%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 123 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (171) 
    B93 B97 B90 B46 B81
 King's Indian (136) 
    E97 E94 E81 E80 E71
 Nimzo Indian (121) 
    E32 E55 E34 E42 E20
 Slav (99) 
    D15 D17 D18 D11 D16
 Queen's Indian (91) 
    E15 E17 E12 E19 E16
 Grunfeld (88) 
    D85 D97 D86 D99 D91
With the Black pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (292) 
    C92 C78 C95 C84 C77
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (186) 
    C92 C95 C84 C91 C89
 Queen's Gambit Declined (128) 
    D37 D35 D31 D30 D39
 Sicilian (109) 
    B89 B83 B51 B93 B36
 Orthodox Defense (91) 
    D58 D55 D50 D59 D53
 Nimzo Indian (81) 
    E32 E55 E34 E46 E42
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   A Beliavsky vs Larsen, 1981 1-0
   Smirin vs A Beliavsky, 1989 0-1
   A Afifi vs A Beliavsky, 1985 0-1
   A Beliavsky vs L Christiansen, 1987 1/2-1/2
   A Beliavsky vs Gelfand, 1992 1-0
   Seirawan vs A Beliavsky, 1988 0-1
   A Beliavsky vs Kupreichik, 1973 1-0
   A Beliavsky vs Bacrot, 1999 1-0
   Short vs A Beliavsky, 1992 0-1
   Gheorghiu vs A Beliavsky, 1982 0-1

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (1999)
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (2000)
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (2004)

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Alicante (1978)
   Kiev (1978)
   Sarajevo (1982)
   Bucharest (1980)
   Hoogovens (1984)
   Yerevan Olympiad (1996)
   Moscow Interzonal (1982)
   Baden (1980)
   Tunis Interzonal (1985)
   Politiken Cup (2002)
   Linares (1991)
   Capablanca Memorial (1976)
   Szirak Interzonal (1987)
   Politiken Cup (2003)
   Thessaloniki Olympiad (1984)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   0ZeR0's collected games volume 51 by 0ZeR0
   Uncompromising Chess by Alexander Beliavsky by skisuitof12
   Uncompromising Chess by Alexander Beliavsky by nmorbust
   Uncompromising Chess by Alexander Beliavsky by Resignation Trap
   Uncompromising Chess by Alexander Beliavsky by doug27
   Uncompromising Chess by Alexander Beliavsky by webbing1947
   Legend Beliavsky by Gottschalk
   0ZeR0's collected games volume 52 by 0ZeR0
   USSR Championship 1987 by suenteus po 147
   C94-95 (Romanishin, Byhovskij) by Chessdreamer

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 HIT Open-A
   B Skuhala vs A Beliavsky (Jan-31-25) 1-0
   A Beliavsky vs M Sebenik (Jan-30-25) 0-1
   N Perossa vs A Beliavsky (Jan-29-25) 0-1
   A Beliavsky vs I Sundac (Jan-28-25) 1-0
   S Djuric vs A Beliavsky (Jan-27-25) 1-0

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Alexander Beliavsky
Search Google for Alexander Beliavsky
FIDE player card for Alexander Beliavsky

ALEXANDER BELIAVSKY
(born Dec-17-1953, 71 years old) Ukraine (federation/nationality Slovenia)
PRONUNCIATION:
[what is this?]

International Master (1973); Grandmaster (1975); FIDE Senior Trainer (2004).

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky was born in Lviv, in what is now Ukraine. He now lives in Slovenia and plays for its Olympiad team. He is noted for his uncompromising style of play and for his classical opening repertoire, including openings such as the Queen's Gambit, Ruy Lopez and French Defence. He shares with Paul Keres and Viktor Korchnoi the record for defeating the most undisputed world champions (nine), having beaten every world champion from Vasily Smyslov (7th) through Magnus Carlsen (16th) except for Robert James Fischer.

Beliavsky won the World Junior Championship in 1973, thereby automatically earning the title of International Master. Just a year later, he won the USSR Championship (1974) with Mikhail Tal (1). He won the USSR Championship thrice more, winning the 48th USSR Championship (1980) (2), USSR Championship (1987) (winning the USSR Championship playoff (1987) against Valery Salov), and winning the USSR Championship (1990) on tiebreak over Leonid Yudasin, Evgeny Bareev and Alexey Vyzmanavin (3).

Beliavsky placed second to Garry Kasparov at the 1982 Moscow Interzonal, but lost their Candidates Match (1983) in the first round of the cycle by 3-6 (+1 -4 =4). He finished second to Artur Yusupov at the Tunis Interzonal (1985), but placed seventh in the Montpellier Candidates (1985) (a point behind the tournament winners, and outside the top four needed to qualify for the Candidates Matches). (4)

Beliavsky placed =1st (4th on tiebreak) in the European Championship (2013) to qualify for the World Cup (2013), where he lost to Chinese GM Yangyi Yu in the tiebreaker of the first round match.

Beliavsky achieved a perfect score (13-0), virtually unheard of in modern high-level chess, at Alicante 1978, defeating among others four GMs and two IMs. He finished first at Frunze (1979), equal first (with Boris Spassky) at Baden (1980), first at Interpolis 5th (1981), equal first (with Viktor Korchnoi) at Hoogovens (1984), first at the 9th Lloyds Bank Masters Open (1985), first at Munich (1990), and first at Amsterdam OHRA (1990). Beliavsky won the Vidmar Memorial tournament four times: in 1999, 2001, 2003 (with Emil Sutovsky) and 2005. He finished third at Linares (1991), behind Vasyl Ivanchuk and Garry Kasparov.

At the second USSR vs. Rest of the World (1984) match, he was the top scorer for the Soviet team, defeating Yasser Seirawan 2–0 and Bent Larsen 1½–½. His dominant performance enabled the Soviets to win the match 21-19.

Wikipedia article: Alexander Beliavsky

(1) [rusbase-1]; (2) [rusbase-2]; (3) [rusbase-3]; (4) http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/wcc...

Last updated: 2023-12-17 07:25:27

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 121; games 1-25 of 3,017  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. B Vladimirov vs A Beliavsky  0-1531967Leningrad CC-chD15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
2. A Beliavsky vs Vaganian  0-1621968USSR Junior ChampionshipB02 Alekhine's Defense
3. Dvinianinov vs A Beliavsky  0-1301968USSR Junior ChampionshipC45 Scotch Game
4. G Fedorov vs A Beliavsky 1-03119686th Soviet Team CupB89 Sicilian
5. A Beliavsky vs V Akimov 1-04819686th Soviet Team CupD02 Queen's Pawn Game
6. L Zolotonos vs A Beliavsky  0-14019686th Soviet Team CupB09 Pirc, Austrian Attack
7. A Beliavsky vs G Barenboim  1-04319686th Soviet Team CupD59 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower
8. V Lipman vs A Beliavsky  0-14319686th Soviet Team CupC44 King's Pawn Game
9. V Vorobiev vs A Beliavsky  0-15319686th Soviet Team CupC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation
10. A Beliavsky vs Koolmeister  1-04119686th Soviet Team CupE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
11. Kupreichik vs A Beliavsky  1-04319686th Soviet Team CupC77 Ruy Lopez
12. A Beliavsky vs V Gusev  ½-½4219686th Soviet Team CupA57 Benko Gambit
13. K Peebo vs A Beliavsky 1-08019686th Soviet Team CupB06 Robatsch
14. A Beliavsky vs D Kudischewitsch  1-09019686th Soviet Team CupD14 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation
15. A Beliavsky vs B Gendler  1-0241969URS U18-chA07 King's Indian Attack
16. Z Gofshtein vs A Beliavsky  0-1381969URS-chT U18A14 English
17. A Verner vs A Beliavsky 1-0461969URS-chTB95 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6...e6
18. A Beliavsky vs A Panchenko  0-1331969URS-chTA50 Queen's Pawn Game
19. Romanishin vs A Beliavsky  0-1391969BeltsyB99 Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line
20. B Dikarev vs A Beliavsky  0-1401969Avangard ChampionshipC90 Ruy Lopez, Closed
21. A Beliavsky vs I Kurass  ½-½371969Avangard ChampionshipD30 Queen's Gambit Declined
22. B M Kogan vs A Beliavsky  1-0451969Avangard ChampionshipE51 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3
23. A Beliavsky vs V Lainburg  ½-½171969Avangard ChampionshipD78 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.O-O c6
24. E Lazarev vs A Beliavsky  ½-½451969Avangard ChampionshipA46 Queen's Pawn Game
25. A Beliavsky vs R Pelts  1-0401969Avangard ChampionshipD94 Grunfeld
 page 1 of 121; games 1-25 of 3,017  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Beliavsky wins | Beliavsky loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 5 OF 6 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Feb-06-15  redwhitechess: Beliavky won HIT Open Chess 2015 in Slovenia. Brief write up, interesting diagram dan photos:

http://red-white-chess.blogspot.com...

Jun-11-15  Appaz: Some interesting words from Beliavsky on old and new players.

https://chess24.com/en/read/news/be...

Jun-11-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <Appaz> Nice read on Big Al the Dinosaur.
Oct-15-15  The Kings Domain: Appaz: Thanks for sharing that nice interview. It's nice to see Beliavsky still going strong. I remember fondly playing and studying his games back when he was one of the top Chess masters and it brings back good memories. It's nice to know he kicked the asses of younger players. Personality has a lot to do with Chess as much as skill.
Dec-17-15  diagonal: Happy birthday, Alexander Beliavsky!

At age of 62, he is still a regular and uncompromising competitor in various chess events and (as of December 2015) only 23 ELO points close to the Top-100 of the World!

The biography, missing his notables international invitation tournament wins, deserves a refresher. I made an attempt:

http://www.chessdiagonals.ch/402840...

Dec-17-15
Premium Chessgames Member
  eternaloptimist: Happy birthday to Big Al! It's good to see that he is still playing in chess tournaments & still performing at a very high level!
Dec-17-15  Eduardo Bermudez: Only people like Keres, Korchnoi and Beliavsky have won nine world champions !
Dec-17-15  Howard: Please clarify the above comment.
Dec-17-15  TheFocus: Happy birthday, Big Al!
Dec-17-15  Eduardo Bermudez: KERES won against: Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, Tal, Spassky and Fischer. KORCHNOI: Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, Tal, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov and Carlsen. BELIAVSKY: Smyslov, Petrosian, Tal, Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Anand, Kramnik and Carlsen.
Dec-17-15  cunctatorg: Grandmaster Alexander Beliavsky was the King, the dominating figure, at the Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki 1984; his performance there was not only outstanding but dominating; playing as the top board of the (back then) USSR Olympic Chess Team, he crushed all opposition in formidable and striking ways!!...

His performance defines for me the meaning of the "title": Super Grandmaster...

Mar-08-16  waustad: His draw in the first round of the Reykjavik Open 2016 against Bardur Orn Birkisson ight have been be the biggest upset of the round if it weren't for Nils Grandelius losing to Einar Valdimarsson. Swiss gambits have been known to work before, so perhaps these players will be in the mix at the end.
Jun-29-16  diagonal: A sit down with Alexander Beliavsky (chess.com series): An interview with the chess legend at the Univé Chess tournament (Open) in 2014. Beliavsky speaks about winning the Soviet Championship four times, his many successes in The Netherlands, his coaching work with MVL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICJ...

At the moment, the mighty dinosaur, his own word, compare the link from <Appaz>, is playing in the international invitation Vidmar Memorial, XX jubilee edition; Beliavsky is record five-time winner.

Jun-29-16  diagonal: Notable international tournament wins: Beliavsky won twice at Tilburg, in 1981 (clear first ahead of Petrosian, Timman, Portisch, Ljubojevic, Spassky, Kasparov with 50%, Andersson, Larsen, Sosonko, Hübner, Miles), and enjoyed again a triumph at Tilburg, in 1986 (clear first ahead of Ljubojevic, Karpov, Miles, Timman, Portisch, Hübner, Korchnoi). Alexander Beliavsky was sole winner at the two strong and last OHRA Amsterdam tournaments in 1989 and 1990, and was joint winner with Viktor Korchnoi at the traditional Wijk aan Zee in 1984.

Alexander Beliavsky won also among others the invitational tournaments at Kiev International in 1978, Alicante in 1978 (making it clean 100%, a rare perfect score of 13/13, full five points above shared second Mark Diesen and Evgenij Ermenkov), Bogota in 1979 (two points ahead of James Tarjan), Bucharest in 1980, at Baden (by Vienna) in 1980 (with Spassky), at Bosna, Sarajevo in 1982 (scoring stunning 12.5 out of 15 points in a pretty strong field), the Chigorin Memorial in Sochi in 1986 (equal with Svetozar Gligorić and Rafael Vaganian, edging out Tal, Smyslov, Geller, Razuvaev, a.o.), Akker Brygge (Norway) in 1989 (Mini tournament, clear first ahead of Tal, Smylsov, and Simen Agdestein), Munich (Mephisto-SKA) 1990, Belgrade (Investbanka) 1993 (featuring Kramnik, Khalifman and Bareev; Beliavsky is clear first, full 1.5 points ahead of top-seeded Kramnik), León 1994, Cacak 1996, the Rubinstein Memorial in Polanica-Zdrój in 1996, a record five times the Vidmar Memorial: in 1999, 2001, 2003 (joint with Emil Sutovsky) and 2005 held at Portorož, as well as in 2011 at Ljubljana (national Slovenian Championship), and the Gotth' Art Cup at Szentgotthard (Hungary) in 2010, ahead of 2nd/3rd Portisch & Rapport. Beliavsky’s first victory abroad was the 5th Parcetic Memorial at Sombor (Yugoslavia, now Serbia) in 1972 (as clear first ahead of Csom, Timman, Matulovic, Velimirovic, Adorjan, Knaak, Jansa and others).

Alexander Beliavsky was co-winner with Korchnoi (first on tie-break scoring) in the IBM-Vienna Invitational Open in 1986, including four top-ten players, ahead of luminaries as Karpov, Spassky, Nunn, and young Zsuzsa Polgar. He won several other forceful Open Festivals (swiss system), eg. as clear first the famous Lloyds Bank Open, London in 1985, as clear first the 17th Bled Open in 1996, or the traditional Politiken-Cup at Chess Festival Copenhagen in 2002, together with Sergej Tiviakov (first on tie-break scoring) and Ruben Felgaer.

Beliavsky was also awarded the winner’s trophy on better tie-break over (the first Uruguayan grandmaster) Andres Rodriguez Vila at the 1st Torneo Libertador Simón Bolívar (Venezuala) in 2012 with 651 participants, and most recently he took clear first place at the 20th HIT Open Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in 2015.

Runner-up: Beliavsky was clear second to Garry Kasparov at Reykjavik (GMA World Cup Series) in 1988, clear second to Jan Timman at Linares in 1988, clear second to Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the Marx György Memorial at Paks (Hungary) in 2008, shared second at Las Palmas in 1974, shared second at Tilburg in 1984, shared second at Wijk aan Zee in 1985 (surprisingly Beliavsky could participate at this traditional tournament just twice), shared second at Reggio Emilia in 1987/88, among other events.

His cg. bio box still did not mention these triumphs until now, that's why a survey in this shape, cp. my earlier posting.

Jun-29-16  diagonal: Third and last part of the Trilogy:
Perfect score in 1978 at the (5th) Torneo Internacional Ciudad de Alicante, Memorial Gimeno Brotons. Alexander Beliavsky at a clean 13/13, finishing five points !!!!! ahead of joint Diesen and Ermenkov: http://www.ajedrecito3.galeon.com/i..., with an original little pic of the young winner.
Sep-08-16  mrandersson: This will one day be a world senior champion. Hes still playing very strong chess
Sep-25-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: What was this 62 year old's final score in the Baku Olympiad?
Sep-27-17  Arconax: I wonder if anyone knows the answer to <offramp>'s intriguing question.
Sep-27-17  ughaibu: Someone does. Happy?
Sep-27-17  Arconax: <ughaibu> Yes, now I feel much better :=
Sep-28-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: I think I have figured out why I asked such a strange question. Beljavsky played in 6 of the first 7 rounds and scored 4½/6, against an average opposition rating of 2564. That's a great performance from a 62 year old.

He scored only ½/4 at the end, though. So I think that left him on level points: 5/10.

Olympics can be very tough on the first board players of some of the nearly-there teams. They don't want to take a break because it might ruin their sides' fragile chances.

Dec-20-18  Count Wedgemore: <offramp: Olympics can be very tough on the first board players of some of the nearly-there teams. They don't want to take a break because it might ruin their sides' fragile chances.>

Yes, often these teams have no chance if their best player sits out.

May-02-20  wordfunph: "There is no such thing as 'The Soviet Chess School'."

- GM Alexander Beliavsky

Dec-17-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  ketchuplover: mega congratz on beating 9 world champions which is 18 more than I havw
Dec-17-23
Premium Chessgames Member
  ketchuplover: have!!
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