GMJoel Lautier

Joël Lautier was born in Ontario in 1973 to a French father and Japanese mother. His father taught him chess at three and a half, and the family later moved to France. He won the world under-14 championship in 1986 and the World Junior Championship in 1988, aged fifteen. He became a grandmaster in 1990.

Lautier qualified for the Candidates matches through the 1993 Interzonal. He defeated several world champions during his career and assisted Vladimir Kramnik in preparing for the 2000 world championship victory over Garry Kasparov. He won the French championship in 2004 and 2005. He also helped establish the Association of Chess Professionals and became its first president.

Lautier turned from professional chess to investment banking in 2006. He founded the corporate-finance advisory firm RGG Capital and earned an MBA at the Skolkovo School of Management in 2014. His first marriage was to international master Almira Skripchenko; he later married Alissa, with whom he has two children.