Ian Nepomniachtchi – "The Challenger"

Ian Nepomniachtchi (born 1990) is a Russian chess giant. He is best known for winning the grueling Candidates Tournament twice back-to-back, earning him the right to play for the World Championship in 2021 and 2023.

He plays "Intuitive Chess." Unlike players who calculate every single line, Nepo trusts his feeling. This allows him to play incredibly quickly, often having more time on his clock at the end of the game than he started with.

With Black, he is a lifelong devotee of the Grunfeld Defense and the Najdorf Sicilian. With White, he is dangerous in the Ruy Lopez and English Opening.

He was a high-level player in the game Dota 2, winning the ASUS Cup Winter 2011. This background in fast-paced gaming likely contributes to his speed on the chessboard.

He achieved the rare feat of winning the Candidates Tournament twice consecutively (2020/21 and 2022), proving he was the undisputed challenger of his era.

His 2022 Candidates victory was historic: he scored 9.5/14 without losing a single game, the most dominant Candidates performance in modern history.

In the 2002 World Youth Championship (U12), Nepomniachtchi finished ahead of Magnus Carlsen on tiebreaks to take the Gold Medal.

His match against Ding Liren was a thriller. It went to tiebreaks after a dramatic 7-7 score, featuring decisive results rarely seen in modern title matches.

He won the Russian Superfinal in 2010 (defeating Karjakin) and again in 2020, conquering one of the toughest national fields on Earth.

He has won Silver Medals at the World Rapid Championship multiple times, showing his natural aptitude for faster time controls.

He won the prestigious Aeroflot Open twice (2008, 2015), securing entry into the elite Dortmund tournament.

He reached a peak rating of 2792 in 2023, placing him as the clear World #2 behind Carlsen.

His background as a semi-pro gamer (stats commentator for The International Dota 2 tournament) makes him unique among chess elites.

He won the 2016 Tal Memorial, finishing ahead of Kramnik, Aronian, and Anand.

He is one of the world's leading experts on the Grunfeld Defense, using it to create sharp, unbalanced positions with Black.

For many years, he was the only top player with a plus score against Magnus Carlsen in classical chess (+4 -1 prior to their 2021 match).

He led Russia to Gold at the World Team Chess Championships in 2013 and 2019.

He won the Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting, confirming his status as a super-tournament winner.

Surprisingly for an attacker, he adopted the solid Petrov Defense in his World Championship matches, proving he can play "unbreakable" chess.

His victory in the 2019 Jerusalem Grand Prix was the clutch performance that qualified him for his first Candidates tournament.

When not playing, he is an insightful commentator, offering rapid-fire variations that often confuse even fellow Grandmasters.

His game against Wang Hao (Candidates 2020) is a modern classic, where he navigated a complex attack with almost no time usage.

He has popularized a style of playing "good enough" moves instantly rather than "perfect" moves slowly, putting immense pressure on opponents.

After losing the 2021 match to Carlsen in crushing fashion, he bounced back immediately to win the very next Candidates tournament undefeated.