Leonid Yurtaev

Leonid Yurtaev
Full name Leonid Nikolayevich Yurtaev
Country Kyrgyzstan
Born 3 April 1959
Frunze, Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic
Died 2 June 2011 (aged 52)
Title Grandmaster (1996)
Peak rating 2552 (January 2002)

Leonid Nikolayevich Yurtaev (born 3 April 1959, Frunze, Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic, died 2 June 2011)[1] was a Kyrgyz chess player. He was awarded the International Master title in 1986, and in 1996 he became the first Kyrgyz player to receive the Grandmaster title. He was noted as a tactician, and in particular as a specialist in the King's Indian Defence.[1]

He defeated a number of strong grandmasters during his career, including Mikhail Tal, Vassily Ivanchuk and Garry Kasparov,[1] but he was not particularly successful in tournaments. According to the Chessmetrics web site, his best tournament performance was at the 1987 Armed Forces championship in Sverdlovsk, which he won with Vladimir Tukmakov with a score of 7/8.[2] He qualified for the final USSR Chess Championship in 1991, finishing in shared 23rd place.[1]

He represented Kyrgyzstan at seven Olympiads in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2006 and 2008.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Leonid Yurtaev (1959-2011)", British Chess Magazine, 11 June 2011, retrieved 7 March 2013
  2. ↑ Jeff Sonas (2005), "Sverdlovsk (Armed Forces Championship)", chessmetrics.com, retrieved 7 March 2013

External links