On January 24, 18-year-old Russian grandmaster Andrei Esipenko defeated world champion Norwegian Magnus Carlsen with white pieces in the round 8 of the Tata Steel chess super tournament in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). Andriy Esipenko called this day one of the best in his life.
In round 9, Esipenko will play against Alireza Firudzha, who is the leader in the standings with 5.5 points. The Russian is on the third place with an asset of five points.
Sixth FIDE President sends his congratulations to Andrei, whose unique talent he appreciated back in the Sochi. Here is a memorable photo: Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with the world champion to-be Andrei Esipenko at the ceremony of awarding the winners of the tournament in Rostov-on-Don. Nearby is the President of the Chess Federation of the Southern Federal District Sergey Nesterov.
In 2017, Andrei Esipenko, who has been playing chess since preschool age, showed his talent in the "I Can" show on Channel One. In one minute, he memorized the positions of chess pieces on five boards and called their places. At that time, his skills were noted by sixth President of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
The editor’s note: Andrei Esipenko was born on March 22, 2002 in Novocherkassk. His father taught him to play chess at the age of five. The young chess player made his first chess steps at the Rostov-on-Don Sports School.
Andrei Esipenko has repeatedly won the championships of Russia. He became the prize-winner of the championships of Europe, the world and the Under 16 World chess Olympiad.
At the 2017 World Rapid Championship, Andrei Esipenko won a game against Sergei Karjakin, which was included in all tactics textbooks.
As part of the junior world team, Andrei beat the US national team. He is one of the winners of the historic victory of the Princes over the Kings in the Nutcracker tournament.
In 2019, Andrei Esipenko played excellently in another match Russia vs China and the Nutcracker tournament. He shared the victory in Gibraltar (2020), but lost in a tiebreak to David Paravyan. Esipenko's rating is approaching 2700.
On January 24, Andrei Esipenko defeated the world champion Magnus Carlsen at the Wijk aan Zee tournament and joined the prestige club of Mikhail Chigorin.