Mikhail Kobalia – Russian Chess Grandmaster

Mikhail Kobalia is a Chess Grandmaster from Russia with Elo ratings exceeding 2500 from FIDE, making him one of the best Russian chess players of all time.

Full Name: Mikhail Kobalia

Title: Grandmaster (1996)

International Master (1995)

Place of birth: Moscow, Russia

Born: May 3, 1978

Federation: Russia

Ratings

World ranking: 285

Rapid: 2507

Blitz: 2667

Classical: 2578

Peak rating: 2679 (July 2011)

Profiles

• FIDE
• Chessgames.com

Biography

Mikhail Kobalia is a Russian chess Grandmaster, born on May 3rd, 1978 in Moscow, Russia. Kobalia was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 1996, the title of International Master in 1995, and became recognized as a FIDE trainer in 2012. As of August 2022, Kobalia’s FIDE rating was 2578 while his Peak rating was 2679 as of July 2011.

The Beginning

Mikhail’s chess career thrived remarkably in 1994 when he earned victory at the European Youth Chess Tournament in Guarapuava. Moreover, the chess grandmaster placed first at the Chigorin Memorial in St. Petersburg in 2001. Four years later, Mikhail achieved the top spot in the Masters Open Championship held in Biel. Furthermore, he shared first to sixth place in the 16th edition of the Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International Championship in 2005 with Vitali Golod, Mateusz Bartel, Yuri Yakovich, Michael Roiz, and Zahar Efimenko. Mikhail shared ninth to eleventh place with Boris Grachev and Tomi Nyback in the 2009 European Individual Chess Championship hosted in Budva.

Furthermore, in the 2010 Artic Chess Challenge, Mikhail shared first to second place with Manuel León Hoyos. In 2011, Mikhail competed in the Chess World Cup, nonetheless, he was knocked out in the 1st set by Igor Lysyj. Moreover, he shared third to tenth place in the Aeroflot Open in 2016, with Vladimir Fedoseev, Gata Kamsky, Daniil Dubov, Mateusz Bartel, Sanan Sjugirov, Maxim Matlakov, and Vadim Zvaginsev.

Achievements

Mikhail made notable achievements including;

• Winning the Under-16 European Youth Chess Tournament in Guarapuava in 1994.
• Came first in the 2001 Chigorin Memorial held in St. Petersburg together with five others.

Did you enjoy reading about Mikhail Kobalia? If you did, you might be interesting in reading other player profiles such as Hans Niemann, Bobby Fischer, and Rey Enigma.

Sources

1. https://www.chess.com/news/view/stop-the-war-44-top-russian-players-publish-open-letter-to-putin
2. http://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=20634
3. http://ratings.fide.com/tournament_report.phtml?event16=50598
4. https://web.archive.org/web/20111020150713/http://www.chess.co.uk/twic/chessnews/events/fide-world-cup-khanty-mansiysk-2011