On January 24, as we have already reported, 18-year-old Russian grandmaster Andrey Esipenko defeated world champion Norwegian Magnus Carlsen with white pieces in the eighth round of the Tata Steel Masters chess super tournament in Wijk aan Zee (Netherlands). Andrey Esipenko called this day one of the best in his life.
Let us remind you that Andrey Esipenko, who has been playing chess since preschool age, showed his abilities in I Can show on Channel One in 2017. In one minute, he memorized the positions of the chess pieces on five boards and recalled their arrangement. His skills were already noted by sixth FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.
Now Andrey Esipenko continues to reap the fruits of his successful performance at the Wijk aan Zee tournament and his victory over Magnus Carlsen. On February 8, the 18-year-old grandmaster was honoured at the Rostov State Economic University, of which he is a student. Now the Rostov region waits for the match between Esipenko and Carlsen for the chess crown.
Rector of the university Elena Makarenko, deputy governor of the Rostov region Artem Khokhlov, and minister of sports of the region Samvel Arakelyan extended their congratulations to the triumphant. The head of the regional chess federation Harutyun Surmalyan handed Yesipenko the keys to an apartment in the new residential complex "Sokol".
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov congratulates Andrey on his victory and new home!
