Rafael Vaganian

Rafael Vaganian in the 2006/07 Bundesliga
Association	Armenia
Born	October 15, 1951 Yerevan
title	Grand Master (1971)
Current  Elo rating	2516 (July 2020)
Best Elo rating	2670 (January 2005)
Tab at the FIDE (English)

Rafael Vaganian ( Armenian Ռաֆայել Վահանյան , transcription Rafael Wahanjan * 15. October 1951 in Yerevan ) is a living in Germany Armenian grandmaster in chess .

Surname

Rafael Vaganian is known internationally under the name Waganjan (in English transcription Vaganian) , since he took up the position as a representative of the Soviet Union under the Russified name form Рафаэль Артёмович Ваганян ( Rafael Artjomowitsch Waganjan ).

successes

In 1969, Vaganian won the European Youth Championship in Groningen together with Zoltán Ribli and Karl-Heinz Maeder , after which he was second. After his victory in Vrnjacka Banja 1971, he was awarded FIDE the Grandmaster title . At the USSR championship in 1974 he was tied third and fourth, in 1975 he tied second to fourth. At the Soviet zone tournament in 1978 in Lviv Vaganian was second and qualified for the 1979 interzonal tournament in Rio de Janeiro , where he finished 12th.

After winning tournaments in São Paulo in 1977, Las Palmas 1979, Manila 1981, Moscow 1982, Hastings 1982/1983, Tallinn 1983 and Lviv 1984, but without success in his attempts to qualify for the World Cup, he succeeded in his 1985 interzonal tournament in Biel Greatest success to date: He won the tournament by one point and qualified for the Candidates ' Tournament in Montpellier in 1985. At the Candidates' tournament he continued his winning streak and shared first place with Artur Jussupow and Andreï Sokolov , which meant qualifying for the next Stage, which meant the semi-final competition in the Candidates Tournament. Vaganian got Andrei Sokolov drawn, to whom he lost 2: 6 (+0 = 4 −4) in Minsk 1986 and was eliminated.

Vaganian continued his victories in international tournaments, he won in Leningrad in 1987 and Marseille in 1987, before he intervened again in the candidate fights: in 1988 he was defeated in Saint John by the Hungarian Lajos Portisch with 2.5: 3.5 (+0 = 5 −1) in the first round. In the same place he became vice world champion in blitz chess a few days later , at the championship officially organized for the first time. The winner was Michail Tal , to whom Vaganian lost 4-0 in the final. In 1989 Vaganian won the USSR Championship in Odessa , and in 1990 he won in Toronto .

In 1994 he won the World Open in Philadelphia . In 2004 he was tied with the winner Sergei Rublevsky in the Aeroflot Open in Moscow. In November 2019 Vaganian won the Senior World Championship in the 65+ age group in Bucharest .

World champions Garri Kasparow and Rafael Vaganian, discussing at the 1986 Chess Olympiad in Dubai

National team

Vaganian took part in nine Chess Olympiads in 1978 , 1984 and 1986 with the Soviet Union and in 1992 , 1994 , 1996 , 1998 , 2000 and 2004 with Armenia. He won with the team in 1984 and 1986, came second in 1978 and third in 1992 and 2004. In the individual ranking he won on the third board in 1984 and 2004, and in 1984 he also achieved the second best rating of all participants.

In the team world championship he took part in 1985 and 1989 with the USSR and in 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005 with Armenia. He won with the team in 1985 and 1989 and came third in 1997, 2001 and 2005. In the individual ranking he won on the third board in 1985 and on the fourth board in 1989, and in 2001 came second on the second board.

At the European team championships Vaganian took part in 1980, 1983 and 1989 with the Soviet Union and 1992, 1997 and 2005 with Armenia. With the team he won in 1980, 1983 and 1989 and reached third place in 1997. In the individual ranking he won on the second board in 1997 and achieved the second best result on the eighth board in 1980 and on the fourth board in 1983.

In 1984 he was placed in the USSR against the rest of the world on the fifth board of the USSR selection and was defeated by Zoltán Ribli with 1.5: 2.5.

societies

Rafael Vaganian,
1998 in Porz.

At the Soviet club championship Vaganian took part six times with Spartak between 1968 and 1984 .

In the Armenian team championship he played for Bank King Yerevan from 2006 to 2008 , with whom he became champions in 2006 and 2007. He took part in the European Club Cup three times and won the individual ranking on the third board in 2007.

In 2014 he played for Politechnik Yerevan . In 1996 and 1997 he took part in the European Club Cup with Yerevan .

In the German 1st Chess League he played for SG Porz from 1990 to 2007 , with which he became German team champion in 1994 , 1996 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 and 2004 . In the 1996/97 season , Vaganian achieved 14.5 points from 15 games, the best individual result ever achieved in a Bundesliga season. With Porz he took part in the European Club Cup 1992.

In the Dutch Meester class , Vaganian played for De Variant Breda from 1996 to 2001 and was Dutch team champion in 1997 , 1998 , 1999 , 2000 and 2001 . He also took part in the European Club Cup three times with Breda and won it in 1998.

In the Russian team championship he played from 2003 to 2005 for Max Wen Yekaterinburg's team , with whom he also took part in the 2004 European Club Cup. At the European Club Cup 2005 he represented Chelyabinsk South Urals .

Vaganian has also played in Belgium for KSK Rochade Eupen-Kelmis and in France for Echiquier Nanceien .

Game example

Vaganian – Beliavsky

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

End position after 41st Qa3

Vaganian won the following game at the 1983 USSR Championship in Moscow with the white pieces against Alexander Beliavsky .

Vaganian – Beliavsky 1-0

Moscow, April 16, 1983

King's Indian Attack , A07

1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. 0–0 Bf5 5. d3 e6 6. Nbd2 h6 7. De1 Bh7 8. e4 Be7 9. e5 Nfd7 10. De2 c5 11. Re1 Nc6 12. Nf1 g5 13. h3 Qc7 14. a3 0–0–0 15. b4 cxb4 16. axb4 Bxb4 17. Bd2 Bc5 18. c3 Bb6 19. d4 Kb8 20. h4 g4 21. S3h2 h5 22. Bg5 Rc8 23. Tec1 Sa5 24. Nd2 Nc4 25.Nhf1 Nb2 26.Nb1 Nc4 27.Ne3 Ka8 28.Nd2 Nb2 29.Ne4 Bxe4 30. Bxe4 Nc4 31.Nxc4 Qxc4 32.Bd3 Qc7 33. Qb2 Rhf8 34.Be7 f6 35.Bd6 Qd8 36.Rcb1 Rc6 37.Bxf8 Qxf8 38.Bb5 fxe5 39.Bxc6 bxc6 40.Qa2 Qb8 41.Qa3 1: 0

Private

Vaganian is married to the chess player Irina Vaganian (née Jeruslanowa), who holds the title of International Women's Champion. (Elo rating 2269, as of June 2018). In 1981 she won the Soviet Women's Youth Championship in Kutaisi . She designed the official internet presence of the German Chess League and her SG Porz club.

Web links

Commons : Rafael Vaganian  - Collection of Images

• Replayable chess games by Rafael Vaganian on chessgames.com (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Willy Iclicki: FIDE Golden book 1924-2002 . Euroadria, Slovenia, 2002, p. 76.
2. ↑ Rafael Vaganian's results at the Chess Olympiads on olimpbase.org (English)
3. ↑ Rafael Vaganian's results at the World Team Championships on olimpbase.org (English)
4. ↑ Rafael Vaganian's results at European Team Championships on olimpbase.org (English)
5. ^ German Bundesliga 1998/99, October 17, 1998 to April 18, 1999, rounds 1 and 2 on TeleSchach
6. ↑ Rafael Vaganian's results at the Soviet club championships on olimpbase.org (English)
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Rafael Vaganian's results at European Club Cups on olimpbase.org (English)
8. ↑ Rafael Vaganian's results at the Armenian team championships on olimpbase.org (English)
9. ↑ Rafael Vaganian's results at Russian team championships on olimpbase.org (English)
10. ↑ FIDE Chess Profile - Vaganian, Irina (Armenia) on fide.com (English)