Joel Lautier is a Chess Grandmaster from France with Elo ratings exceeding 2600 from FIDE, making him one of the best French chess players of all time.
Full Name: Joel Lautier
Title: Grandmaster – Achieved in 1990
International Master – Achieved in 1988
Place of birth: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Born: April 12, 1973
Federation: France
Ratings
World ranking: 103
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: N/A
Classical: 2658
Peak rating: 2687 – Achieved in January 2002
Profiles
Most Frequently Played Openings
With The White Pieces
- Sicilian Defense
- Nimzo Indian
- Semi-Slav
With The Black Pieces
- Sicilian Defense
- Queen’s Pawn Game
- Queen’s Indian
Biography
Joel Lautier is a French chess Grandmaster born on April 12, 1973, in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Lautier was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1990. As of October 2022, his FIDE rating was 2658, while his Peak rating was 2687 as of January 2002. Lautier’s mother was Japanese, and his father was French. Later, the family relocated to France. He is one of the founding members of the Affiliations of Chess Professionals and served as its leader from 2004 to 2005. In 1997, he wed Almira Skripchenko. Almira Skripchenko is a Woman Grandmaster who was a top female chess player in the late 1990s and 2000s. They split up in 2002. He wedded his 2nd wife, Alissa in 2007, and they have a daughter named Naomi.
The Beginning
Lautier began playing chess at the age of three and a half. Chess was incorporated into him by his father. Lautier’s father was a respectable player – rated around 2200 – who frequently provided him with intriguing puzzles and quizzes to keep him involved in the game. As a result, Lautier advanced speedily. Lautier began defeating his father on a routine schedule when he was 11. Lautier declined to go to school when he was 16 to concentrate on chess matches.
Lautier won the Paris Championship for under-10s, followed by the French national title for under-10s. Lautier competed in the Under-14 World Championship in Puerto Rico, Argentina, in 1986. Surprisingly, his biggest opponents in that championship were Sofia and Judit Polgar. Lautier defeated Sofia and drew with Judit. Lautier ultimately won the competition by a comfortable gap of 1.5 points over both Polgar sisters. Lautier trained with his father until he won his 1st world title in 1986 when he switched to an international Master named Didier Sellos.
Lautier won the World Junior Chess Tournament in Adelaide, Australia, when he was 15 years old. Joel was up against Boris Gelfand, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Vladimir Akopian, Gregory Serper, and Susan Polgarwas up against Boris Gelfand, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Vladimir Akopian, Gregory Serper, and Susan Polgarin this tournament.
Lautier tied Gelfand, Ivanchuk, and Serper for the first spot, but the deciding set resulted in the highest number of victories. As a result, Lautier became the youngest World Junior Victor, a career-high that stands today. Lautier was named an International Master the same year.
Notable Achievements
Lautier won over 30 global championships and national club tournaments in France, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.
Lautier is the only grandmaster to have beaten every world champion of his generation, including Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Alexander Khalifman, Vishwanathan Anand, Ruslan Ponomarev, Rustam Kasimdzhanov, and Veselin Topalov.
Lautier is one of the few players with a satisfactory outcome of +21=7 against Garry Kasparov. Lautier was Vladimir Kramnik’s second during the Classical World Chess Tournament 2000 against Garry Kasparov.
Notable Games
Joel Lautier vs Jan Timman – Donner Memorial-A, Round 2 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – August 20, 1994
Joel Lautier vs Garry Kasparov – Tilburg Fontys, Round 11 – Tilburg, Netherlands – October 09, 1997
Garry Kasparov vs Joel Lautier – Linares, Round 13 – Linares, Spain – March 14, 1994
Did you enjoy reading about Joel Lautier? If you did, you might be interesting in reading other player profiles such as Hans Niemann and Emory Tate .
Sources
- https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=13867
- https://en.chessbase.com/post/a-school-drop-out-a-world-class-gm-and-a-ceo-1-2
- https://en.chessbase.com/post/a-school-drop-out-a-world-class-gm-and-a-ceo-2-2
- https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220423-war-in-ukraine-jo%C3%ABl-lautier-the-french-chess-star-on-the-us-sanctions-list
- https://ratings.fide.com/profile/600016
