Alexander Volzhin Explained

Alexander Volzhin
Country:	Russia
Birth Date:	2 February 1971
Grandmaster (1997)
Peakrating:	2560 (July 2002)
Fideid:	4115031

Alexander Volzhin (born 2 February 1971; Russian: Александр Волжин) is a Russian chess grandmaster.

Chess career

Alexander Volzhin was born on 2 February 1971 in the southern Russian city of Makhachkala. He started playing chess when he was 5 years old. Volzhin was awarded the title of chess grandmaster in 1997.Notable tournament results include:

• Capablanca Memorial, Varadero (Cuba), 2000 - 1st place^[1]
• Bergen (Norway), 2000 - 1st place^[2]
• Dhaka (Bangladesh), 2001 - tied for 1st place (with Jaan Ehlvest)^[3]
• Ljubljana (Slovenia), 1999 - tied for 1st place^[4]
• Lausanne (Switzerland), 2000 - tied for 2nd place^[5]

In addition to playing, Volzhin has been a coach of a number of outstanding players, including Evgeny Bareev, Almira Skripchenko, Ekaterina Kovalevskaya, and Iweta Rajlich. Also, Volzhin has been a coach of the Russian national women's team during Chess Olympiads in Elista in 1998 (under the head coach Naum Rashkovsky, silver medal) and in Istanbul in 2000 (under the head coach Yuri Yakovich, bronze medal).

Notable Games

• Volzhin - Miles, Cappelle-La-Grande, 1999
• Volzhin - Oral, Capablanca Memorial, 2000
• Ulybin - Volzhin, Dubai, 2002
• Volzhin - Vaganian, Russian Team Championship, 2005
• Rahman - Volzhin, Dhaka 2001

Anti-Cheating Activism

Alexander Volzhin has been an outspoken fighter for integrity of professional chess. His article in the 64 Chess Magazine was one of the first on the issue of computer cheating when a player gets illegal help from computer engines.^[6] He also exposed a number of players involved in game fixing and pumping up their ratings.^[7]

Business career

After retirement from international chess in early 2000s, Volzhin pursued career in business. Since 2007, he has worked for Barclays in London rising through the ranks to the position of a vice-president at Barclays Capital, the securities division of Barclays plc.

External links

• • Alexander Volzhin chess games at 365Chess.com

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Week in Chess 290: Capablanca Memorial 2000. Crowther. Mark. 2000-05-29. London Chess Center. 2013-01-21.
2. Web site: The Week in Chess 299: Bergen Norway. Crowther. Mark. 2000-07-31. London Chess Center. 2013-01-21.
3. Web site: The Week in Chess 330: 5th United Insurance GM Chess Tournament. Crowther. Mark. 2001-03-05. London Chess Center. 2013-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20150323093933/http://www.theweekinchess.com/html/twic330.html#5. 2015-03-23. dead.
4. Web site: The Week in Chess 243: Ljubljana Open 1999. Crowther. Mark. 1999-07-05. London Chess Center. 2013-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20141211063841/http://www.theweekinchess.com/html/twic243.html#7. 2014-12-11. dead.
5. Web site: The Week in Chess 291: Lausanne Young Masters. Crowther. Mark. 2000-06-05. London Chess Center. 2013-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20140311230654/http://www.theweekinchess.com/html/twic291.html#3. 2014-03-11. dead.
6. Web site: Computer Tempest (in Russian) . 2002-09-30 . 64 Chess Magazine . 2013-01-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061212195843/http://www.64.ru/old/2001/9/sep14.html . 2006-12-12 .
7. Web site: How Do They Grow Their Ratings (in Russian) . 2002-10-31 . 64 Chess Magazine . 2013-01-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080411151309/http://www.64.ru/old/2002/10/oct16.html . 2008-04-11 .