Alexander Zaitsev (chess player)

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Alexander Zaitsev in 1957

Alexander Nikolayevich Zaitsev (June 15, 1935 – October 31, 1971) was a leading Soviet chess grandmaster. He was born in Vladivostok, Russia.

Perhaps his finest achievement was a share of first place at the 1968 USSR Chess Championship in Alma Ata. He eventually took the silver medal after losing the play-off to co-winner Lev Polugaevsky. The Chessmetrics website, which provides estimated ratings and rankings for players, places him as 21st in the world in 1969.

Zaitsev had been born with a clubfoot. In 1971, he had an operation to correct the problem. Details are hard to come by, but Zaitsev died of complications from the surgery.

Legacy[edit]

His name is attached to the Zaitsev Gambit of the Grünfeld Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.h4).[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Saba, Marco. "Scacchi: Enciclopedia pratica dei Gambetti". Studimonetari.org. Archived from the original on 6 December 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-28.

External links[edit]