7 Top players in French Defense
The French Defense has a rich history. The French Defence is named after a match played by correspondence between the cities of London and Paris in 1834[1] (although earlier examples of games with the opening do exist). It was Chamouilley, one of the players of the Paris team, who persuaded the others to adopt this defense. There are 3 main variations against the French Defense i.e. Tarrash, Advance, and Exchange Variation. We will see a detailed analysis of these variations in an upcoming blog. Here are the top players in french defense to follow.
Top Players who play French Defense
Viktor Korchnoi
Victor Korchnoi was a world-renowned chess grandmaster and one of the strongest players of the second half of the 20th century. He was a three-time USSR Chess Champion and a five-time World Championship Candidate. He defected from the Soviet Union in 1976 and became a Swiss citizen in 1978.
Korchnoi was born in Leningrad in 1931. He learned to play chess at the age of five and soon became a strong player. He became a grandmaster in 1956 and won the USSR Chess Championship in 1962, 1966, and 1970. He also won many other international tournaments, including the 1967 Havana Chess Olympiad and the 1974 Amsterdam Interzonal.
In 1974, Korchnoi narrowly lost a match against Anatoly Karpov for the World Chess Championship. He then challenged Karpov again in 1978 but lost the match. Korchnoi continued to be one of the world’s strongest players into the 21st century. He died in Switzerland in 2016.
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was born on July 18, 1977, in Moscow. Morozevich first made headlines in 1992, when, as a 14-year-old, he defeated Garry Kasparov in a simultaneous exhibition.
Morozevich is known for his aggressive and unorthodox style of play. He is also known for his great tactical ability and for being a very creative player.
Morozevich has been one of the top chess players in the world for many years. He has won numerous tournaments and has been a member of the Russian national team.
In 2008, Morozevich had a rating of 2812, which made him the second highest-rated chess player in the world, behind only Magnus Carlsen.
Morozevich has continued to be one of the top chess players in the world and is currently ranked number 12 in the world.
Pentala Harikrishna
Pentala Harikrishna is a grandmaster from India. He was born on May 10, 1986, in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Harikrishna started playing chess at the age of six. He became a grandmaster in 2001, at the age of 15. He is the youngest grandmaster from India.
Harikrishna has represented India in five Chess Olympiads, four World Team Chess Championships, and three Asian Team Chess Championships. He won the Asian Chess Championship in 2009. He has also won two gold medals and one silver medal in the Asian Games.
Harikrishna has won many prestigious chess tournaments, including the ASEAN Chess Championship, the Capablanca Memorial, the Tata Steel Chess tournament, and the Dubai Open Chess tournament. He is currently ranked number 12 in the world.
Nikita Vitiugov
Nikita Vitiugov (born April 25, 1987) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the Russian Chess Champion in 2009.
Vitiugov was born in Daugavpils, Latvia, and began playing chess at the age of six. He was educated at the Botvinnik Chess School in Moscow. He became a grandmaster in 2004.
Vitiugov’s best results include winning the Russian Chess Championship in 2009, and coming second in the Aeroflot Open in 2010. He has also won the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting three times (2009, 2011, 2012).
Vitiugov is known for his aggressive and tactical style of play. He has been described as a “fighting chess player” who is “not afraid of taking risks”.
Emmanuel Berg
Emmanuel Berg is a Swedish grandmaster. As a youngster, he made solid progress and was consequently selected to represent his country in the various age categories of the European Youth and World Youth Championships. He won various games in french defense against top players. Following is his best game
- Nadezhda Kosintseva vs Emanuel Berg, Corus Group C 2007, French Defense: Normal Variation (C10), 0–1
Vaganian Rafael
Vaganian is an Armenian veteran chess grandmaster and also a very strong chess player. In his life, he played French Defense almost every time.
Vaganian has made several notable contributions to chess literature. He wrote a well-received book on the Grunfeld Defense, published in English in 1991. He has also authored a number of articles for ChessBase.com.
Vaganian has been awarded the title of Grandmaster by both FIDE and the World Chess Federation. He currently resides in Moscow, Russia.
He is currently 68 years old and he is still an active player and played with almost all top players such as Mikhail Tal to Vishy Anand
Surya Shekhar Ganguly
Surya Shekhar Ganguly (born 15 October 1983) is an Indian chess Grandmaster and former National Champion. He is currently ranked No. 6 in India and No. 301 in the world.
Ganguly was born in Kolkata and began playing chess at the age of four. He was the West Bengal state champion in 1995 and 1996. He won the National Under-12 Championship in 1997 and the National Under-14 Championship in 1999. He earned his International Master title in 2002 and his Grandmaster title in 2003.
In 2004, Ganguly won the Asian Continental Chess Championship, becoming the first Indian player to do so. He has represented India in five Chess Olympiads and five Asian Team Chess Championships.
Best Games In French Defense
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