Vasyl Ivanchuk was at the centre of a heart-rending scene during the tenth round of the World Blitz Championship in New York in December. The former world no. 2 could certainly have won his dramatic game against Daniel Naroditsky, but he lost on time after his nerves let him down at the critical moment. Overcome by emotion, Ivanchuk broke down and sobbed at the board.
The Ukrainian grandmaster is a true chess obsessive, loved by fans for his disarming eccentricity as well as his brilliant play. At 56, he had recently dropped out of the world’s top 100 players, but his passion for chess and creative spark appear undiminished. Recently, he has played almost non-stop and enjoyed a splendid run in European open events, including outright first place in Menorca (boosting him back into the top 100). I saw him in action last month at the Reykjavik Open, where he finished in a tie for second place behind Parham Maghsoodloo from Iran.
I particularly admired the following endgame, against a strong young Serbian grandmaster. A draw seems the most likely outcome from the diagram position after, for example, 43…Be6 44 Ne4 Bf8 45 b7 Bd5 46 Ra8 Bxb7 47 Rxf8 Bxe4 48 fxe4 Rxe4. But Ivanchuk finds a remarkable winning attempt, ignoring the attack on his bishop.
Velimir Ivic – Vasyl Ivanchuk
Reykjavik Open, April 2025
43…Rb1+ 44 Kh2 e4! 45 Ra4 The obvious capture runs into problems: 45 fxg4 Rb3 46 Bf2 e3 47 Be1 e2 threatens Rb3xg3, and then 48 Ra1 Rd3 adds a new threat of Rd3-d1. With a cool head, the draw can be held, e.g. 49 Kh3 Rd1 50 Ra2 Rxe1 51 Rxe2 Rb1 and so on. But it’s easy to see why Ivic preferred the move in the game. 45…Bf5! 46 fxe4 Be6 Ivanchuk has lost his pawn, apparently for nothing, but a closer look reveals that Ivic remains in difficulty.
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