Robert Fontaine is a Chess Grandmaster from France, now resides in Switzerland with Elo ratings exceeding 2500 from FIDE, making him one of the best Swiss chess players of all time.
Full Name: Robert Fontaine
Title: Grandmaster – Achieved in 2002
International Master – Achieved in 1997
Place of birth: Luxembourg
Born: July 18, 1977
Federation: Russia
Ratings
World ranking: 400
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: N/A
Classical: 2550
Peak rating: 2631 – Achieved in May 2010
Profiles
Most Frequently Played Openings
With The White Pieces
- Sicilian Defense
- Ruy Lopez
- French Defense
With The Black Pieces
- Queen’s Pawn Game
- Caro-Kann
- Sicilian
Biography
Robert Fontaine is a French and Swiss chess Grandmaster born November 18, 1980, in Suresnes, France. Fontaine was awarded the title of Grandmaster in 2002 and the International Master title in 1997.
As of November 2022, his FIDE rating was 2550, while his Peak rating was 2572 as of January 2008. Fontaine is a regular contributor to the French chess magazine Europe Echess.
Fontaine married Ukrainian Grandmaster Kateryna Lagno in 2009, and the couple has one son. The couple has divorced since then.
The Beginning
In 1997, Fontaine was named an International Master; in 2002, he was named a Grandmaster. Fontaine won the Rilton Cup in 2007 with a score of 7.5/9. From 2002 to 2005, Fontaine was a professional chess player before becoming a professional chess coach and the director of the Cannes Chess Club.
Fontaine competed for France in the 36th Chess Olympiad in 2004. Fontaine was also a presenter for Europe Echecs. Fontaine was announced in a press release in 2012 to have joined Agon Limited, the rights holder to the World Chess Championship cycle, as chief of staff to founder and CEO Andrew Paulson.
In 2016, Fontaine moved his national federation to Monaco, and in 2018, he moved it to Switzerland. However, Robert Fontaine did not compete in the 2019 European Team Chess Championship in Batumi.
On first board, the Swiss team members consisted of Sebastian Bogner, a former B-player from Germany, Yannick Pelletier, Nico Georgiadis, born in 1996, and International Master Olivier Kurmann.
On the reserve board, Senior Joe Gallagher, born in 1964, is a renowned writer, British and numerous Swiss National Title winners and has played for his adopted country Switzerland frequently at the Chess Olympiad and the European Team Chess Championship since the mid-1990s). Fontaine is still active as of November 2021.
Among the notable tournaments Fontaine competed in include; the Rilton Cup (2007), French Championship (2006), French Championship (2005), French Championship (2007), National Open (2006), XXXV Rilton Cup (2006), Bundesliga 2001/02 (2001), Cannes Martinez Open (1996), Groningen Open (1994), Czech Open (1998), Calvia Olympiad (2004), Aeroflot Open (2005), European Championship (2003), European Club Cup (2007), and the Bundesliga 2011/12 (2011).
Notable Achievements
Fontaine was France’s under-20 youth champion six times. Fontaine has won several international tournaments, including Las Vegas in 2006, Stockholm in 2007, and Paleohora in 2009.
Fontaine introduced chess to French electricity and gas company employees by collaborating with CCAS, the energy industry social fund, to help facilitate a strategy that has taught chess to 45,000 people since 2007.
Notable Games
Hugo Tirard vs Robert Fontaine – Hyeres, Round 7 – Hyeres, France – July 11, 2001
Hugo Tirard vs Robert Fontaine – Hyeres, Round 8 – Hyeres, France – July 11, 2001
Robert Fontaine vs Marie Sebag – Open, Round 8 – Ikaros, Greece – July 19, 2003
[Event “Open”]
[Site “Ikaros GRE”]
[Date “2003.07.19”]
[EventDate “2003.07.12”]
[Round “8”]
[Result “1-0”]
[White “Robert Fontaine”]
[Black “Marie Sebag”]
[ECO “C78”]
[WhiteElo “2541”]
[BlackElo “2432”]
[PlyCount “73”]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O b5 6.Bb3 Bc5 7.a4
Bb7 8.d3 O-O 9.Nc3 b4 10.Nd5 h6 11.Be3 d6 12.Nxf6+ Qxf6
13.Bxc5 dxc5 14.Bd5 Rab8 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16.Nd2 Bd7 17.Qh5 Rfe8
18.Nb3 Qd6 19.f4 Be6 20.fxe5 Qd7 21.Na5 Qd4+ 22.Rf2 Qxb2
23.Raf1 Rf8 24.Nc6 Rbe8 25.h3 b3 26.cxb3 Qxb3 27.Rf3 Qxa4
28.Rg3 Kh7 29.Na7 Ra8 30.Kh2 Rxa7 31.Rf6 Rh8 32.Rxe6 Qd7
33.Qf5+ Kg8 34. Rxg7+ Kf8 35.Rxf7+ Qxf7 36.Rf6 c6 37.e6 1-0
[/pgn]
Did you enjoy reading about Robert Fontaine? If you did, you might be interesting in reading other player profiles such as Hans Niemann, Bobby Fischer, and Rey Enigma.
Sources