GMAlexander Grischuk

Alexander Grischuk was born in Moscow in 1983. He won silver at the World Under-Ten Championship in 1992. FIDE awarded him the international-master title in 1998 and the grandmaster title in 2000. At seventeen he reached the semifinals of the 2000 FIDE World Championship. His run ended against Alexei Shirov. That same year he helped Russia win the Istanbul Olympiad. He won another team gold in 2002.

Grischuk's first World Blitz Championship came in 2006. He won it again in 2012 and 2015. Classical chess brought equally substantial achievements. In 2009 he won both the Linares tournament and the Russian Championship. He reached the final of the 2011 Candidates matches. Five appearances in Candidates competitions kept him involved in the world-title race over many years. His national-team career also brought three World Team Championship gold medals. He has been married to fellow grandmaster Kateryna Lagno since 2014.