Anton Kovalyov

Anton Kovalyov (born 4 March 1992) is a Ukrainian-born Canadian (formerly representing Argentina) chess grandmaster.

Anton Kovalyov
Kovalyov at the Figueira da Foz tournament in 2009
CountryArgentina (until 2013)
Canada (since 2013)
Born (1992-03-04) 4 March 1992
Kharkiv, Ukraine
TitleGrandmaster (2008)
FIDE rating2631 (February 2021)
Peak rating2664 (November 2017)

Chess career

In 2004, he finished equal first at the Pan American Under-12 Championship[1] and thanks to this result he was awarded the title of FIDE Master.

In 2008 Kovalyov played for the Argentine team at the 38th Chess Olympiad.[2] At the FIDE congress held during the competition he was awarded the grandmaster title.[3]

In 2009 he won the Quebec Invitational Championship in Quebec, Canada.[4] He won the Quebec Junior Championship in 2010, 2011 and 2012.[5]

He switched to the Canadian Chess Federation in 2013.[6] In August 2014, he played for Canada on the top board at the 41st Chess Olympiad.[7] He scored 7/11 (+4–1=6) for a performance rating of 2670.[8]

At the 2015 American Continental Chess Championship he scored 8 points out of 11 finishing in a tie for third with other five players, with whom he played a rapid playoff and managed to earn a spot in the Chess World Cup 2015.[9] In the latter he knocked out Rustam Kasimdzhanov and Sandro Mareco in round one and two respectively, then he was eliminated by Fabiano Caruana in the third round.

In May 2016, he came in tied for second in the American Continental Chess Championship, qualifying for a place in the Chess World Cup 2017.

In September 2016, he competed for Canada on board 2 at the 42nd Chess Olympiad. He scored 8/10 (+6–0=4) for a performance rating of 2852.[10] This was the second best board 2 performance, behind only Vladimir Kramnik's 2903 performance for Russia.[11]

In the Chess World Cup 2017, he defeated Varuzhan Akobian in the first round and former World Champion Viswanathan Anand in the second, and was due to face Maxim Rodshtein in the third.[12] Shortly before the game with Rodshtein was due to start, Zurab Azmaiparashvili, dressed in blue jeans, told Kovalyov to change from shorts to long pants. The two exchanged words, and Kovalyov ended up leaving the venue forfeiting the game.[13] Kovalyov had been wearing shorts to FIDE events for years, but no one had said anything to him before about it. Kovalyov said part of his anger came from Azmaiparashvili shouting that he was dressed like a 'gypsy,' a word that struck Kovalyov as a racial slur.[14]

Personal life

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine,[15] Kovalyov moved to Argentina in 2000, where he learned how to play chess under the guidance of Pablo Ricardi and Oscar Panno. In 2007 he moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with his family.[16] As of 2017, he is pursuing a master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas.[17]

References
  1. 17° Campeonato Panamericano u12 (boys) BrasilBase. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  2. 38th Olympiad Dresden 2008 Open: Argentina Chess-Results. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  3. "Titles approved at the 79th FIDE Congress". FIDE. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  4. "Anton Kovalyov Wins Quebec Invitational Chess Championship". Chessdom. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  5. "Co GMs". Fédération québécoise des échecs. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  6. Player transfers in 2013 FIDE. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  7. 41st Olympiad Tromso 2014 Open: Canada Chess-Results. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  8. 41st Chess Olympiad: Tromsø 2014 Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  9. "GM Sandro Mareco is 2015 American Continental champion". Chessdom. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  10. 42nd Chess Olympiad: Baku 2016 Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  11. Board-prizes (Final Ranking after 11 Rounds) - Open Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  12. "Results". FIDE World Chess Cup 2017 Tbilisi Georgia. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  13. Shah, Sagar (9 September 2017). "The shorts episode at the FIDE World Cup 2017". chessbase.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  14. Ashifa Kassam (13 September 2017). "Canada chess officials protest after player condemned for wearing shorts". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  15. GM title application. FIDE. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  16. "Un profeta que busca tierra" [A prophet looking for land]. La Nación (in Spanish). 20 January 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  17. Peter Doggers (7 September 2017). "Favorites Falter: Adams, Anand, Karjakin Knocked Out". Chess.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
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