Igors Rausis is a Chess International Master from Latvia who had received the Grandmaster title from FIDE in 1992. However, after getting caught cheating in a chess tournament after which he admitted to breaking the rules of chess along with announcing his retirement from chess, FIDE stripped him of his Grandmaster title in addition to a 6-year ban from the organization.
Full name: Igors Rausis
Title: International Master – Received in 2019 after being stripped of the GM title.
Grandmaster – Received in 1992
Place of birth: Novosibirsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Born: April 7, 1961
Federation: FIDE
Ratings
All elo ratings have been removed since being revoked of the Grandmaster title.
World ranking: N/A
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: N/A
Classical: N/A
Profiles
Most Frequently Played openings
With The White Pieces
- Ruy Lopez Exchange
- Ruy Lopez
- Queen’s Pawn Game
With The Black Pieces
- Sicilian Defense
- Queen’s Pawn Game
- Queen’s Gambit Accepted
Biography
Igors Rausis is a retired Czech Republican chess, International Master. Rausis was born in Komunarsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, on April 7, 1961. Rausis was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1992 and International Master in 2019. Rausis has two sons with the Latvian woman grandmaster Olita Rause, with whom he was married. There have been claims that Rausis gave his wife “irregular assistance” in correspondence chess matches back in 2003.
The Beginning
Rausis competed for Latvia in the first reserve board of the 1993 World Team Chess Championship in Lucerne. The Latvian women’s team in the 1994 Olympics, the Bangladeshi team at 2000, 2002, 2008, and 2018 Olympiads, the Algerian team at the 2010 Olympiads, and the Jersey team at the 2012 and 2014 Olympiads were all under Rausis’ direction as a coach. He received the FIDE honor in 2018.
Rausis represented the Czech Chess Federation. His rating rose by more than 200 points in his forties, placing him within the best 100 players worldwide and raising it to about 2700. He was charged for using a phone while playing a game in the restroom in July 2019. After entering a guilty plea, FIDE suspended him from the competitive tournament for six years, from July 2025, and withdrew his Grandmaster title in December 2019.
Notable tournaments Rausis played include; The Isle of Man Open (1997), Reykjavik Open (1998), Enghien-Les-Bains 3rd (1999), San Fernando Open (1991), The Isle of Man Open (1998), Lee Cup 3rd (1996), Andorra Open (2001), Bundesliga 1998/99 (1999), Yerevan Olympiad (1996), Cappelle-la-Grande Open (2003), Elista Olympiad (1998), European Union Championship (2008), and Riga Technical University Open (2014)
Notable Achievements
In 1995, Rausis won the Latvian Chess Championship.
Rausis participated in three Chess Olympiads for Latvia; In Yerevan, Armenia, in 1996, at the 2nd board of the 32nd Chess Olympiad.
At Elista’s 33rd Chess Olympiad’s 3rd board in 1998.
At the 35th Chess Olympiad in Bled in 2002, on the 2nd board.
Notable Games
Igors Rausis vs Anthony Miles – Las Palmas op, Round 7 – Las Palmas, Spain – January 01, 1996
John Nunn vs Igors Rausis – Hastings, Round 1 – Hastings, England – December 29, 1997
Mateusz Bartel vs Igors Rausis – TCh-CZE -11, Round 3 – Czech Rep, CZech – December 04, 2010
Did you enjoy reading about Igors Rausis? If you did, you might also be interested in reading about other players such as Hikaru Nakamura, Emanuel Lasker, and Paul Morphy.
Sources