.jpg) Nepomniachtchi at theTata Steel Chess Tournament 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi |
| Born | (1990-07-14)14 July 1990 (age 35) Bryansk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Chess career | |
| Country | Russia |
| Title | Grandmaster (2007) |
| FIDE rating | 2732 (October 2025) |
| Peak rating | 2795 (March 2023) |
| Ranking | No. 19 (October 2025) |
| Peak ranking | No. 2 (February 2023) |
Ian Alexandrovich Nepomniachtchi (Russian:Ян Алекса́ндрович Непо́мнящий,romanized:Yan Aleksandrovich Nepomnyashchiy,IPA:[ˈjanɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕnʲɪˈpomnʲɪɕːɪj]ⓘ; born 14 July 1990) is a Russianchess grandmaster. Nepomniachtchi is the reigning (shared withMagnus Carlsen)World Blitz Chess Champion. He is also a two time Russian Chess Champion. He is one of the very few players to have won two consecutiveCandidates Tournaments. He is currently Russia's highest ranked active chess player.
Nepomniachtchi won the 2010 and 2020Russian Superfinal and the 2010European Individual titles. He also won the 2016Tal Memorial and the 2008, 2015 and the 2025Aeroflot Open events. He won theWorld Team Chess Championship as a member of the Russian team inAntalya[1] (2013) andAstana (2019). Nepomniachtchi won the 2015European Team Chess Championship inReykjavík with the Russian team. In October 2016, Nepomniachtchi was ranked fourth in the world in bothrapid chess andblitz chess. He has won five individual medals (three silver, two bronze) at theWorld Rapid Championships and a silver medal at the 2014World Blitz Championship, before winning the2024 World Blitz Championship joint withMagnus Carlsen when the score in the final was tied at 3.5 points after 7 games. In October 2022, he won a silver medal inFIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2022.
In December 2019, he qualified for theCandidates Tournament 2020–2021 by finishing second in theFIDE Grand Prix 2019. He won the2021 FIDE Candidates tournament with a round to spare, which qualified him as the challenger in theWorld Chess Championship 2021 for the world championship title but lost his challenge to defending champion Magnus Carlsen. In July 2022, he won the2022 FIDE Candidates tournament with a round to spare, thereby winning two Candidates tournaments in a row and again qualifying him to play in theWorld Chess Championship 2023; additionally, he garnered the highest score in anyCandidates tournament since the modern format was introduced in 2013.[2] However, he once again lost his challenge for the World Chess Championship title after losing toDing Liren in2023 during the 4th game of tiebreaks.
Nepomniachtchi learned to play chess at age four. His grandfather Boris Iosifovich Nepomniashchy (1929–1998) was a famous teacher and lyricist inBryansk. Nepomniachtchi's first coaches were his uncle Igor Nepomniashchy, Valentin Evdokimenko, international master Valery Zilberstein, and grandmaster Sergei Yanovsky. At age five, Nepomniachtchi moved toBryansk with his first coach, Valentin Evdokimenko, and trained until Nepomniachtchi was 13. Under the guidance of his coach, he took part in the World and European Championships.[3] Nepomniachtchi won theEuropean Youth Chess Championship three times. In 2000, he won the under-10 category, and in 2001 and 2002, he came first in the U12 championship.[4] In 2002, Nepomniachtchi also won theWorld Youth Chess Championship in the U12 category, edging outMagnus Carlsen on tiebreak score.[5]
In 2007, he finished second in the C group of theCorus Chess Tournament inWijk aan Zee[6] earning his first grandmaster (GM)norm. Later that year, Nepomniachtchi gained his second GM norm at theEuropean Individual Chess Championship inDresden. The third and final norm required for the GM title was won at the5th Vanya Somov Memorial – World's Youth Stars tournament inKirishi.[7] Nepomniachtchi won the latter event, edging outRauf Mamedov,Parimarjan Negi andZaven Andriasian on tiebreak score.[8]
By winning theAeroflot Open inMoscow in February 2008, he qualified for the 2008Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. In this tournament, he shared second place after an undefeated run. In the same year, he also won the Ordix Open, arapid chess tournament inMainz.[9][10]
He won the gold medal in chess at the2009 Maccabiah Games.[11]
In 2010, inRijeka, Nepomniachtchi won theEuropean Individual Championship with a score of 9/11.[12] Later the same year, in Moscow, he won theRussian Chess Championship, after defeatingSergey Karjakin in a playoff.[13]
At theChess World Cup 2011, Nepomniachtchi defeatedIsan Reynaldo Ortiz Suárez in the first round[14] andAlexander Riazantsev in the second round in tiebreaks,[15] but he lost toGata Kamsky in the third round in tiebreaks.[16]
In November 2011, Nepomniachtchi tied for 3rd–5th withVasily Ivanchuk andSergey Karjakin in the category 22Tal Memorial in Moscow.[17]
Nepomniachtchi's coach in 2011 wasVladimir Potkin.[18]
In May 2013, Nepomniachtchi tied for 1st–8th withAlexander Moiseenko,Evgeny Romanov,Alexander Beliavsky,Constantin Lupulescu,Francisco Vallejo Pons,Sergei Movsesian,Hrant Melkumyan,Alexey Dreev, andEvgeny Alekseev in the European Individual Championship.[19] The following month, Nepomniachtchi finished second toShakhriyar Mamedyarov in theWorld Rapid Chess Championship, held inKhanty-Mansiysk.[20]
In August 2013, Nepomniachtchi participated in theChess World Cup 2013. He was defeated byWei Yi in the first round.[21]
In October 2013, he tied for first withPeter Svidler in the Russian Championship Superfinal, finishing second on tiebreak.[22]
Over the course of 2013, Nepomniachtchi's blitz rating surged from 2689 in January to 2830 in December.
Nepomniachtchi won the silver medal at theWorld Blitz Chess Championship of 2014 held inDubai.[23] In August, at the 5th International Chess Festival "Yaroslav the Wise" inYaroslavl, he won the Tournament of Champions, a rapid chess event held with the doubleround-robin format featuring the six European champions of 2009–2014.[24][25] At theSportAccord World Mind Games, held in December 2014 inBeijing, he won the gold medal in the men'sBasque chess tournament.[26]
In April 2015, he won the Aeroflot Open for the second time in his career, edging outDaniil Dubov on tiebreak, having played more games with the black pieces, and earned a spot in the 2015 Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting. Right after the end of the tournament he also won the Aeroflot blitz tournament.[27] Later that year, in September, he won the Moscow Blitz Championship[28] and one month later, he took the silver medal at theWorld Rapid Chess Championship inBerlin.[29]
At theChess World Cup 2015, Nepomniachtchi defeatedZhao Jun andLaurent Fressinet in the first and second rounds, but lost toHikaru Nakamura in the third round in tiebreaks.[30]
Nepomniachtchi won the 7thHainanDanzhou tournament in July[31][32] and theTal Memorial in October.[33]
At the42nd Chess Olympiad, held in 2016, he won the team bronze medal and an individual silver playing board 4 for Russia.
At theChess World Cup 2017, Nepomniachtchi defeatedMladen Palac andBaskaran Adhiban in the first and second rounds, but lost toBaadur Jobava in tiebreaks.[34]
On 10 December 2017, Ian won a chess game against world champion Magnus Carlsen at the super tournament in London. In the tournament, Nepomniachtchi, the leader after eight rounds (+3−0=5), lost in a tie-break toFabiano Caruana, who managed to catch up with the leader in the ninth round, and took 2nd place. On 27 December 2017, he took third in the World Rapid Chess Championship, which ended inRiyadh.
In July 2018, he won the46th Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, scoring 5/7 (+3–0=4) to finish a point ahead of his nearest competitors.[35]
In January 2019, Nepomniachtchi competed in the81st Tata Steel Masters, placing third with 7½/13 (+4–2=7).[36]
In March 2019, Nepomniachtchi contributed toRussia'sWorld Team Chess Championship.[37]
At theChess World Cup 2019, Nepomniachtchi advanced past the third round for the first time. He was defeated byYu Yangyi in the fourth round.[38]
Over the course of 2019, he participated in theFIDE Grand Prix series, which was part of the qualification cycle for the2020 World Chess Championship. In the series, Nepomniachtchi won two out of three tournaments in which he played. He finished second in the overall standings of the series, qualifying him for the2020 Candidates Tournament.
In December 2020, he won the Russian championship with 7½ points out of 11 matches, edging out GMSergey Karjakin by half a point.[39]
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In April 2021, Nepomniachtchi won the2020/2021 Candidates tournament with 8½/14 points (+5-2=7) half a point above second placeMaxime Vachier-Lagrave.[40] The Candidates win qualified Nepomniachtchi to challengeMagnus Carlsen in a match for theWorld Chess Championship in November–December 2021. Carlsen retained his title, winning 7½–3½.
| Rating | Rank | Match games | Points | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||||
 Magnus Carlsen (NOR) | 2856 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | Not required | 7½ | ||
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (CFR) | 2782 | 5 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 3½ | |||
In August 2021 Nepomniachtchi was Russia's highest-ranked chess player, with a rating of 2792. This placed him fourth in the world and second in Europe (afterMagnus Carlsen).[41]
From 26 to 28 December 2021, Nepomniachtchi participated in the 2021 FIDE World Rapid Championship, where he ended as one of the joint leaders with 9½/13 points, and scored second place after tiebreaks. As a result, he qualified for a playoff againstNodirbek Abdusattorov, who also had 9½/13 points and scored first place after tiebreaks. Nepomniachtchi held Abdusattorov to a draw in their first playoff game, but lost in the second. As a result, he ended in second place.[42]
In December 2021, Nepomniachtchi played a friendly game withNornickel presidentVladimir Potanin, which ended with victory for the grandmaster in the 38th move.[43]
Nepomniachtchi qualified for the2022 Candidates tournament as the World Championship runner-up, and took an early lead in the tournament.[44][45] He competed under theFIDE flag, following FIDE's suspension of the Russian and Belarusian teams from international competition.[46][47] In round 13, Nepomniachtchi clinched a victory in the Candidates after securing a draw againstRichárd Rapport, going into the 14th and final round with a lead of 1½ points. This guaranteed him qualification for theWorld Chess Championship 2023.[48] He is the first player to win the Candidates tournament undefeated since Viswanathan Anand in 2014; additionally, he got the highest score of 9½/14 in any Candidates tournament since the modern format was introduced in 2013.[2] Nepomniachtchi participated in theWorld Rapid Chess Championship 2022 andWorld Blitz Chess Championship 2022 but did not finish in the top three spots of these Championships.
| Rating | Classical games | Points | Rapid games | Total | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | ||||
 Ian Nepomniachtchi (FIDE) | 2795 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 7 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 8½ |
 Ding Liren (CHN) | 2788 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 7 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 9½ |
Nepomniachtchi reached his peak rating of 2795,ranked 17th highest peak rating attained ever, in March 2023. During theWorld Chess Championship 2023, Nepomniachtchi had a tied score of 7–7 withDing Liren in the classical portion of the match. He ended up losing to Ding 9½–8½ in the 4th tiebreaker playoff as white in the rapid portion of the 18-game championship.[49]
In May 2023, Nepomniachtchi participated in the Superbet Chess Classic 2023, finishing in 9th place, after losing to Fabiano Caruana, Alireza Firouzja, and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.[50]
At theChess World Cup 2023, Nepomniachtchi advanced to the fifth round, where he was defeated byVidit Gujrathi in tiebreaks.[51]
He won the 2nd Levitov Chess Week, in September with a score of 12.5 points.[52]
During round 11 of theWorld Blitz Chess Championship 2023, controversy arose after Nepomniachtchi faced off against fellow compatriotDaniil Dubov, with both players agreeing to a 13-move draw after playing a series of knight moves. After an investigation by FIDE, the chief arbiter penalized both Nepomniachtchi and Dubov on the basis that they had prearranged the draw, ruling the game with a0–0 result.[53] Both players appealed the verdict, but it was rejected by FIDE. Nepomniachtchi later apologized for the incident in a video uploaded to hisYouTube channel.[54][55] Nepomniachtchi also participated in theWorld Rapid Chess Championship 2023, but did not finish in one of the top 3 spots in the tournament.
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In January, he played in the 86th edition ofTata Steel Chess Tournament. He placed 8th out of 14 players, with a score of 6.5 points.[56]
As the losing finalist of the World Chess Championship 2023, Nepomniachtchi was awarded direct entry into the2024 Candidates Tournament. He led or tied for the lead for most of the tournament, but was overtaken by eventual winnerGukesh D in round 13. Nepomniachtchi was the only player not to lose a game in the tournament.[57]
Nepomniachtchi participated in the Superbet Romania Chess Classic 2024 in June, finishing on a score of 50%.[58]
In August, he played in the annualSinquefield Cup 2024. He played poorly, finishing in 9th position.[59]
In September, Nepomniachtchi won the 10th edition of the Gashimov Memorial.[60]
In December, he played in theChampions Chess tour, finishing in second place after losing in the finals toMagnus Carlsen.[61][62]
In December he won a bronze medal at theWorld Rapid Championship held in New York. Later that month, Nepomniachtchi was crowned the joint winner of theWorld Blitz Championship alongsideMagnus Carlsen when the pair controversially agreed to share the title after three tiebreak matches in the final ended in draws.[63][64]
In addition to his strength inclassical time controls, Nepomniachtchi is very skilled atrapid andblitz chess. As of September 2023,[update] Nepomniachtchi ranked fourth on the FIDE rapid list[65] and sixth on the blitz list.[66]
Nepomniachtchi isJewish.[67][68] He is often referred to by the nickname "Nepo".[69] He graduated from theRussian State Social University.[70]
On 4 October 2021, Nepomniachtchi appeared on the TV intellectual showWhat? Where? When?[71]
In 2006, he was introduced to the video gameDefense of the Ancients (Dota), later becoming a semi-professionalDota 2 player.[72][73] He was a member of the team that won theASUS Cup [ru] Winter 2011Dota tournament, and also served as a commentator at the ESL One Hamburg 2018Dota 2 tournament, using the nicknameFrostNova.[74] He also playsHearthstone and introduced fellow Russian chess grandmasterPeter Svidler to the game. The two later provided feedback to theHearthstone game developers.[75]
Together with 43 other Russian elite chess players, Nepomniachtchi signed an open letter to Russian presidentVladimir Putin in March 2022, protesting against theRussian invasion of Ukraine and expressing solidarity with theUkrainian people.[76][77]
| Preceded by | Russian Chess Champion 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Chess Champion 2010 | Succeeded by |
