Gata Kamsky is a Chess Grandmaster from America with Elo ratings exceeding 2600 from FIDE, making him one of the best American chess players of all time.
Full Name: Gata Kamsky
Title: Grandmaster (1990)
Place of birth: Novokuznetsk, Russian SFSR, the Soviet Union
Born: June 2, 1974
Federation: United States of America
Ratings
World ranking: 80
Rapid: 2634
Blitz: 2666
Classical: 2666
Peak rating: 2763 (July 2013)
Peak ranking No: 4 (July 1995)
Profiles
Biography
Gata Kamsky is a United States of America chess Grandmaster, born on June 2nd, 1974 in Novokuznetsk, Russian SFSR, the Soviet Union in a Tatar family Gata’s surname, Kamsky, is acquired from his grandfather, Gataullah “Kamsky” Sabirov, the pioneer of Kazan’s Tatar Drama Theater. Kamsky overcame seasoned GM Mark Taimanov in a competitive encounter when he was 12 years old. That same year, Kamsky received his National Master title. In 1987 and 1988, he bagged the Soviet U20 tournament. Kamsky relocated to the United States in 1989 with his father, (Röstäm, also spelled Rustam), a veteran boxer who controlled Gata, encouraged him to learn chess completely, and served as his trainer and director. The Kamskys received financial assistance from entrepreneur James Cayne. Kamsky was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1990. As of August 2022, Kamsky’s FIDE rating was 2666 while his Peak rating was 2763 as of July 2013.
The Beginning
Kamsky began his chess career in 1989 after he attained 12 years; his first competitive match took place in New York where he earned a victory that propelled him to a contest with Garry Kasparov in a match that was to be played twice. Nonetheless, he was trounced by a score of 2 points to nil. Whereas still without a title at the time of 16 years old, Kamsky competed in the 64-player Interzonal championship comprising 64 competitors in Manila in 1990, the prime stage for the World Chess Tournament Kamsky achieved a score of 5.5 points out of 13 games.
Kamsky earned the Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1990. He triumphed at the US Tournament in 1991. Kamsky has performed exemplarily in other notable chess competitions, including a victory in the 1994 Las Palmas Championship.
The competing organizations FIDE and PCA both hosted Interzonal events in 1993. Kamsky competed in the two events and advanced to the corresponding Candidates Championship. Kamsky and Viswanathan Anand swept the Candidates events. Kamsky defeated Paul van der Sterren in the opening play of the 1994/95 FIDE Candidates games.
Kamsky’s quarter-final encounter versus Anand at Sanghi Nagar, India, in July and August 1994, was more spectacular. Following two ties, Anand did win the following two matches to establish a commanding 3-1 edge. Round five was scheduled. Kamsky subsequently triumphed in the two quick chess elimination matches to end the tournament as the winner, scoring 2.5-0.5 in the final 3 matches to draw the contest 4-4. Kamsky defeated Valery Salov 5.5-1.5 in the playoffs at Sanghi Nagar in February 1995.
Achievements
Kamsky defeated Vladimir Kramnik in the quarter-finals of the 1994/1995 PCA Candidates tournaments in New York City in (June) 1994. Kamsky defeated Nigel Short in the quarterfinals of the Linares Open in (September) 1994. The FIDE outcome was overturned in Kamsky’s (March) 1995 finale over Anand in Las Palmas. During the (September) 1994 game against Short, Rustam Kamsky (Kamsky’s father), and Short had a high-profile altercation. Kamsky lost a 20-game competition over Anatoly Karpov for the 1996 FIDE World Chess Tournament title at Elista in Kalmykia with a score of 7.5–10.5 points.
Kamsky retired from competitive chess following a defeat by Karpov. In 1999, he earned a B.A. from Brooklyn College. He afterward studied and managed to graduate from Touro Law Center in New York. After being defeated by Karpov, Kamsky resumed competing in the 1999 FIDE Knockout World Tournament match in Las Vegas, in which he faced ultimate championship finalist Alexander Khalifman in round one, a 2-game encounter. Kamsky earned a victory in the first match, however, defeated in the 2nd match and the quick semi-final matches.
Other than a two-match encounter in 1999, Kamsky was out of the global chess competition for 8 years. Afterward, the time Kamsky was seen was in (March) 2004 when ChessBase claimed Sam Sloan made a conversation with him. Kamsky didn’t compete in any other official tournament until June 15th, 2004, when he competed in the 106th edition of the New York Masters, where he played four matches in a single day under a clock limit of 30 minutes that comprised all his shifts.
The two victories and two ties he achieved were sufficient to level him for top place with four additional competitors. Kamsky went on to participate in several further categories of the seven-day tournament, with varying degrees of victory, until resuming professional chess in the 2005 United States Tournament, contested in November-December 2004, when he attained an acknowledgeable score but unremarkable 5.5-3.5 points.
On the April 2005 FIDE Elo rating list, Kamsky was ranked 19th in the globe, at 2700. On the July 2005 list, he preserved this rating however climbed up to 18th place after a strong unblemished performance in the 2005 HB Global Challenge event in Minneapolis in May. Kamsky has subsequently resumed global chess, coming 2nd against Veselin Topalov in the M-Tel Masters. Not long after, Kamsky guided the United States squad to bronze in the Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006.
On July 4th that year, Kamsky shared 1st position with nine fellow competitors at the 2006 Philadelphia World Open, subsequently winning the semi-final, earning around $7,000. A string of victories in 2007 heralded his comeback to the contesting field. Kamsky represented the U.S. on the first board in the 2008 Chess Olympiad, which was hosted in November, in Dresden, Germany. The United States squad won bronze medals. Kamsky competed in the 2009 Chess World Cup, however, he was defeated in the 3rd set by Wesley So. Kamsky captured the 52nd Reggio Emilia chess Championship in January 2010; he tied for 1st with Zoltán Almási, beating his opponent in the final set, but had a stronger Buchholz deciding set. In the President’s Cup in Baku in May 2010, Kamsky shared first to third place with Vladimir Kramnik and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov.
Other Notable Achievements
- Won in the 52nd Reggio Emilia Chess Tournament sharing first place with Zoltan Almasi in 2010.
- Shared first to third place with Vladimir Kramnik and Shakhriyar Mamedyarov at the President’s Cup in Baku.
- Became the United States victor on May 25th, 2010 after triumphing at the rapid playoff match with the runner-up Yury Shulman Took part in the 2011 United States Tournament and emerged victorious for the third time.
- Came second in the United States Tournament behind reigning victor Hikaru Nakamura in May 2012.
- In 2016, Kamsky placed 3rd place in the Chigorin Memorial Championship in Saint Petersburg.
Did you enjoy reading about Gata Kamsky? If you did, you might be interesting in reading other player profiles such as Hans Niemann, Bobby Fischer, and Rey Enigma.
Sources
- https://web.archive.org/web/20090220134158/http://www.wccc2009.com/
- http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/224913
- http://al20102007.narod.ru/ch_urs/1988/ch_jun88.html
- http://groups.google.com.au/group/rec.games.chess/browse_thread/thread/894867ff4aec6414/500aee5e0ceffba2
- https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/crosswords/chess/27kamsky.html
- http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=1539
- http://www.newyorkmasters.com/xtables/xtable106.html
- http://chess-results.com/tnr243136.aspx?lan=11&art=1&rd=9&fed=RUS&wi=821
- http://www.philadelphiaopen.net/
- http://www.chessbase.com/newnewsid=sdetail.asp?6