Ivan Sokolov (chess player)

Ivan Sokolov
Ivan Sokolov at the 2004 Essent Tournament in Hoogeveen
Country
Born (1968-06-13) June 13, 1968 (age 56)
Jajce, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yugoslavia
TitleGrandmaster (1987)
FIDE rating2590 (November 2024)
Peak rating2706 (January 2004)
Peak rankingNo. 13 (July 1996)

Ivan Sokolov (Cyrillic: Иван Соколов; born 13 June 1968) is a Dutch-Bosnian chess player and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM) by FIDE in 1987.[1] Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship and in 1995 and 1998 the Dutch Championship.

Before earning the GM title, he became a FIDE Master in 1985 and an International Master in 1986.[1] In 1987 and 1993, he won the Vidmar Memorial.[2]

In 2000, he won the 1st European Rapid Chess Championship in Neum edging out on tiebreak Alexey Dreev and Zurab Azmaiparashvili.[3]

Following his playing career, Sokolov has become a successful chess trainer. From 2013 - 2016, he worked as a coach and second for Salem Saleh and served as the trainer of the United Arab Emirates national team. In 2016, he left his job in the UAE to coach Iran's national team, a position that included extensive work with Alireza Firouzja. Sokolov became the coach of the Uzbek national team in May 2022, leading them to victory in the Chennai Olympiad later that year.[4]

  1. ^ a b Gaige, Jeremy (1987). Chess Personalia, A Biobibliography. McFarland. p. 398. ISBN 0-7864-2353-6.
  2. ^ "Dr. Milan Vidmar Memorial Tournaments". sah-zveza.si. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  3. ^ Crowther, Mark (2000-10-09). "TWIC 309: 1st European Rapid Championships". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  4. ^ Doggers (PeterDoggers), Peter (15 August 2022). "Interview: Captain Ivan Sokolov On Coaching Gold-Winning Uzbek Chess Squad". Chess.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.