| Illia Nyzhnyk | |
|---|---|
 Illia Nyzhnyk, Wijk aan Zee 2012 | |
| Full name | Illia Ihorovych Nyzhnyk |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Born | (1996-09-27) September 27, 1996 (age 28) Vinnytsia, Ukraine |
| Title | Grandmaster (2011) |
| FIDE rating | 2564 (December 2024) |
| Peak rating | 2692 (May 2022) |
| Peak ranking | No. 43 (June 2022) |
Illia Ihorovych Nyzhnyk (Ukrainian: Ілля Ігорович Нижник; born September 27, 1996) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster (2011).
Chess career
He was born in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and gained worldwide attention when he won Group B of the 2007 Moscow Open at the age of 10. He attained a nearly flawless score of 8½/9 and his performance rating was 2633, that of a Grandmaster. In January 2009, his FIDE rating was 2504, the highest rating in the world in the under-12 age group. In 2007 he won the European Youth Chess Championship for under-12. In the 2007 World Youth Chess Championship he tied for first in the under-12 age group, placing second on tie-breaks.
In April 2008, Nyzhnyk won the Nabokov Memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine, with 8½/11, and scored his first GM norm. In September 2008 he won, at the age of 12, the European Youth Chess Championship for under 16. Soon after, in December 2008, he placed 12th in the Ukrainian championship, with a performance rating of 2594, barely under the 2600 performance required for another GM norm. In December 2009, he won the Schaakfestival Groningen tournament in the Netherlands with a performance rating of 2741.
In December 2010, he was equal first (GM Dejan Bojkov won on Buchholz tie-break) at the Schaakfestival Groningen tournament, securing his final GM norm and making him, at 14 years and three months, the youngest Grandmaster in the world.
In January 2011, Nyzhnyk played in the Grandmaster Group C of the prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, finishing in second place with 8½/13. In 2011, he tied for 1st-6th with Ivan Sokolov, Vladimir Baklan, Kamil Miton, Jon Ludvig Hammer and Yuriy Kuzubov in the MP Reykjavík Open.
In August 2019, Nyzhnyk won the U.S. Open Championship in Orlando, Florida, scoring 8/9 to finish in clear first. This triumph was capped by his last round victory over the previous year's champion, Timur Gareyev.
In 2019, Nyzhnyk won the US Thanksgiving Open tied with Peter Prohaszka and Cemil Can Ali Marandi.
In May and June 2022, Nyzhnyk was the highest-rated Ukrainian chess player.
References
- "Dril Chess - personal website of Illia Nyzhnyk". Archived from the original on 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- Illia Nyzhnyk player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- "Illya Nyzhnyk wins Group B in Moscow Open". ChessBase. 2007-02-07.
- "Miroshnichenko wins Ukrainian Championship 2008". ChessBase. 2008-12-14.
- Crowther, Mark (2009-12-30). "The Week in Chess: Groningen Chess Festival 2009". Chess.co.uk. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
- "Chessbase News: GM title for Illia Nyzhnyk in Groningen". January 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
- "Chessbase News". 30 January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
- In the last decisive game with Daniele Vocaturo he had a winning position, but did not see a variation that permitted a perpetual check, which allowed Vocaturo to maintain his half point lead, thereby winning the tournament.
- "Reykjavík Open – six players win with 7.0-9 points". ChessBase. 2011-03-17. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- "Nyzhnyk Wins U.S. Open; Moradiabadi Qualifies for U.S. Championship". 11 August 2019.
- "2019 Thanksgiving Open January 2020 United States of America FIDE Chess Tournament report". ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
- "Top 100 Players May 2022 - Archive". FIDE.
- "Top 100 Players June 2022 - Archive". FIDE.
External links
- Illia Nyzhnyk rating card at FIDE
- Illia Nyzhnyk player profile at Chess.com
- Interview with Illia Nyzhnyk
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