Evgeni Vasiukov

Evgeni Andreyevich Vasiukov (Евгений Андреевич Васюко́в, March 5, 1933 – May 10, 2018) was a Russian chess player, one of the strongest in the world during his peak.

Vasiukov was born on March 5, 1933, in Moscow.

His family was evacuated to Tula during World War II, and his father died in the Battle of Kursk.

He learned to play chess at the age of 15, a very late age even for that time.

In 1954, he was awarded the title Master of Sports of the USSR in Chess (ru).

That same year, Vasiukov represented Moscow in the Soviet Team Championship finals in Riga.

During his career, he won the Moscow Championship on six occasions (1955, 1958, 1960, 1962, 1972, and 1978) 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.

He scored his first important chess success in 1955 by winning the Moscow City Championship with a score of 10½/15 points, ahead of Salo Flohr, who was second.

He played in the Soviet Championship semi-final at Yerevan 1955 and finished in the middle of a powerful field.

Vasiukov represented the Soviet Union twice in Student Olympiads.

In 1955 at Lyon, he was first reserve, and scored 5½/6 (+5 =1 −0).

Then at Uppsala 1956, he made exactly the same score as first reserve, this time winning a board gold medal.

Both times, the Soviet Union won team gold medals.

Although scoring respectably in his first two attempts at qualifying for the Soviet Final (10/18 at Kharkov 1956 and 10½/19 at Kiev 1957), he failed to advance, but was gathering experience and strength at high levels.

Vasiukov got his first international chance at Gotha 1957, where he placed third with 10/15; the winner was David Bronstein.

This earned him the title of International Master in 1958; he won the Moscow Championship again later that same year.

At the Moscow International of 1959 (Alexander Alekhine memorial), Vasiukov tied for 4th-6th places with 6/11, behind only winners Vasily Smyslov, Boris Spassky, and Bronstein.

He made the field for his first Soviet final at Tbilisi 1959 (URS-26ch), where he finished tied 16th-17th with 7/19; Tigran Petrosian won.

However, he regrouped with his third Moscow Championship title in 1960.

During his peak years, from the early 1960s to the mid-1970s, Vasiukov scored wins in individual games over many top Soviet players, such as Smyslov, Bronstein, Tigran Petrosian, Mikhail Tal, Paul Keres, Mark Taimanov, Efim Geller, and Lev Polugaevsky.

He was unable to defeat top-ranking Soviet stars such as Viktor Korchnoi, Anatoly Karpov, Boris Spassky, or Stein.

The Soviet Championships were usually the strongest tournaments in the world during Vasiukov's main competitive period, surpassing the strength of Interzonals, with very few if any weaker opponents, since the arduous qualifying process eliminated the outsiders.

He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1961.

Vasiukov scored his best result when he won the 1961 Belgrade Open, ahead of Svetozar Gligorić.

Then, in the Moscow International of 1961, he tied for first place with Smyslov at 7½/11.

These two fine finishes earned him the title of Grandmaster later that year.

In the 1961 Moscow Championship, he tied for 3rd–5th places with 11/17, behind winners Bronstein and Leonid Shamkovich.

Qualifying again for the Soviet final at Baku 1961 (URS-29ch), he showed improvement to tie for 4th–5th places, with 12/20, as Spassky won.

This would prove to be his best performance at that level.

Other than his superb showing in 1961, Vasiukov usually played below his expectations in these finals.

He qualified for the finals a total of eleven times.

At the 1962 Moscow International, Vasiukov ended up second with 9½/15, behind winner Yuri Averbakh.

Vasiukov proved his grandmastership at East Berlin 1962 with a powerful victory, at 11½/15, ahead of Leonid Stein.

Vasiukov also tied for first in the 1962 Moscow Championship, his fourth title there.

At Kiev 1964-5 (URS-ch32), he scored 8/19 to tie 13-14th place; the winner was Korchnoi.

At Tallinn 1965 (URS-ch33), he again made only 8/19 for a tied 14-17th place; the winner was Stein.

At Tbilisi 1966 (URS-ch34), also a Zonal, he scored below 50% once more with 9/20, for a tied 14-16th place, as Stein won again.

The next year at Kharkov (URS-ch35), the format was a Swiss system, and Vasiukov was just above the middle of the pack, as Tal and Polugaevsky won.

Vasiukov won the World Senior Chess Championship in 1995.