“The more moves you can make without thinking, the better.” – Sergei Zhigalko
Sergei Zhigalko is a Belarusian Chess Grandmaster from Belarus. Zhigalko finished second in the World Junior Championship in 2009, earning the Silver medal after a close match against one of the best French Chess players, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.
Last Updated: June 27, 2022
Full name: Sergei Zhigalko
Title: Grandmaster (2007)
Born: March 28, 1989
Place of birth: Minsk, Belarus (Soviet Union)
Ratings
World Ranking: 382
Rapid: 2660
Blitz: 2662
Classical: 2572
Profiles
Biography
Sergei Zhigalko was born on 28TH March 1989 in Minsk, Belarus. Sergei played under the Belarusian Chess Federation and attained the FIDE’s Grandmaster title in 2007. By June 2022, Sergei had a FIDE rating of 2572. Sergei Zhigalko left active chess in 2019 after playing his last game at the World Blitz Championship. He played a series of matches at the tournament held on December 30, 2019. Sergei won against J Christiansen and R Rodriguez by 1-0; he also had a tie against Svidie.
Sergei Zhigalko’s last moments at chess were marked by losses to Yu Yangyi and K Sychev by 1-0. Sergei is the younger brother of the legendary chess player Grandmaster Andrey Zhigaiko. Zhigalko is married to Tatiana Revo. Sergei climbed to become among the FIDE’s top 100 in September 2009. In 2011, Sergei ranked at position 50, hitting his highest FIDE standard rating of 2696.
The Beginning
Sergei Zhigalko stepped into the chess arena at the tender age of 11; his first match at the World Under 12 championships against G Kjartansson ended in a tie. Sergei also drew in the next game at the tournament against Romanov. Zhigalko played at the Bank Pocztowy Open-A at just the age of 12, having an incredible run of performances. Sergei, at the age of 12 and 13 years, participated in various junior tournaments such as the Bank Pocztowy Open-A, Rubinstein Open, European Youth Chess Championships B12, and World Youth B14, among others.
In 2003 Zhigalko became a European champion for the first time in the under 14 categories at the age of 14. Sergei won the World Youth Chess Championship under 14 categories the same year. Zhigalko could become the European Champion Under 18 at 17 in 2006.
Sergei Zhigalko 2007, at 18 years, participated for the 1st time at the FIDE’s World cup registering poor results and bowing out of the tournament at the first round in a heavily contested match against K Sasikiran. Sergei had been among five selected by FIDE to compete in the game as a promising and notable chess player. In 2009, Sergei could narrowly lose at the World Junior Chess Championship and finished at position two. Sergei did not give up as he could go ahead to win various awards at the senior level.
Achievements
Sergei Zhigalko was awarded FIDE’s Grandmaster title in 2007 at age 18 and attained FIDE’s International Master’s in 2004, aged 15 years. Sergei ranks at 2 in the Belarusian Chess Federation and 253 in Europe. Sergei Zhigalko has won the Chess Championship of Belarus on three occasions. Sergei became victorious in 2009, 2012, and 2013. In 2011, Sergei tied for 5th place at the European Individual Chess Championship.
It enabled him to qualify for the 2011 World Cup. Sergei performed poorly after bowing out in the first round after a defeat to Filippov. His poor run at the World Cup, Sergei continued at the 2015 World Cup. Though he performed pretty well, he was eliminated by Veselin Topalov in the 2nd round. The poor performances at the World Arena gave him a reason to fight as he emerged victorious on two occasions in 2011 and 2012 at Baku Open.
Sergei has been a notable figure representing the Belarusian team in different tournaments in Europe and on the world stage. He also played for ADAN DZO of Ukraine and PGMB of Chernigv. Sergei won bronze for the Ukrainian chess outfit in 2010. He also won a gold medal, representing PGMB Rostov in 2013.
Did you enjoy reading about Sergei Zhigalko? If you did, you might be interesting in reading other player profiles such as Alexey Dreev, Ferenc Berkes, and Anton Korobov.
Sources
- GM title application (JPG). FIDE.
- “Interview with the World Junior Champion 2009”. Chess Base. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- “The Week in Chess 898”. The Week in Chess. Mark Crowther. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- “Championship BLR men 2013”. FIDE. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- “Sergei Zhigalko takes another trophy in Baku”. Chessdom. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- “Maksim Vavulin and Sergei Zhigalko winners of European Rapid & Blitz Chess Championships”. Chessdom. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- Crowther, Mark (23 October 2010). “European Club Cup 2010”. The Week in Chess. Retrieved 27 December 2017.