GMDenis Khismatullin

Denis Khismatullin was born in Neftekamsk in 1984 and studied at Ufa Oil University. He won silver in the 2000 World Under-16 Championship and became a grandmaster in 2004. He also worked as Dmitry Jakovenko's second. His tournament victories included the 2013 Ugra Governor's Cup and the 2014 Vladimir Dvorkovich Memorial.

Khismatullin finished third in the 2014 Russian championship Superfinal. In 2015 he shared second place in the European Individual Championship, won the Nezhmetdinov Memorial and won the Russian Rapid Grand Prix. His European result qualified him for the 2015 World Cup. His public support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine later attracted controversy, including Jan-Krzysztof Duda's refusal to shake his hand at the 2023 World Rapid Championship.