Michal Krasenkow
Encyclopedia
Michał Krasenkow is one of Poland's strongest chess
player after World War II, a chess trainer and writer. He has coached national teams, young prodigies, and top players such as Bangladeshi Grandmasters Ziaur Rahman
, Reefat Bin-Sattar
and Abdullah al-Rakib. He plays with an aggressive and spectacular style and has won many "best game" awards.
Krasenkow has written several books on chess theory:
The Open Spanish. London, Cadogan Books, 1995
The Sveshnikov Sicilian. London, Cadogan Books, 1996
His first notable successes date back to the 80s: he became a national master of the USSR in 1982, an International Master in 1988 and an International Grandmaster
in 1989. He became Champion of Georgia
in 1987 and team champion of the USSR (with "Tigran Petrosian
Chess Club", Moscow) in 1990.
In 1992 Krasenkow emigrated to Poland. Since 1996 he represents that country at international competitions. Two-times champion of Poland
(2000, 2002). Krasenkow holds an unofficial record of winning Polish team championships, which he has done 14 times: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998 with "Stilon" Gorzów Wielkopolski
, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 with "Polonia" Warsaw
. European Cup winner (1997, with the Russian team "Ladia" Azov
) and silver medalist (2001, 2003, 2005 with "Polonia Plus GSM
" Warsaw
, 2008 with OSC Baden-Baden
). Representant of Poland at European team championships and Chess Olympiad
s since 1996 (European team championships: Pula
1997 - 3rd place on Board 1, Batumi
1999 - 2nd place on Board 1). Also German team champion (2006, 2007) and German Cup winner (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) with Ooser Schachclub Baden-Baden
, French team champion (2010) with L'Echiquier Chalonnais.
since 1997. Best results: Groningen/Lausanne
(1997/98) - 5th round qualifier (last 9); Las Vegas
(1999) - 3rd round qualifier (last 32); Tripoli
(2004) – 4th round qualifier (last 16).
Major tournament victories: Moscow 1992 (Mikhail Tal
Memorial) - I-III places (tied), New York
1997 - I-II, Vilnius
1997 (Vladas Mikėnas
Memorial) - I, Shanghai
2001 (Tan Chin Nam Cup - category 16) - I-III, Ostrava
2007 (category 16) - I.
Important tournament victories: Budapest
1989 - I-II places (tied), Vienna
1990 - I-VI, Gausdal
1991 - I-II, Katowice
1992 - I-II, Metz
1993 - I-III, Pardubice
1993 - I-V, Las Palmas 1993 - I-II, Pardubice
1994 - I-II, Stockholm
1994/95 - I, Stockholm
1995/96 - I, Asti
1996 - I, Reggio Emilia
1996/97 - I, Buenos Aires
1998 - I-V, Cutro
1999 - I, Shanghai
2000 - I-II, Barlinek
2001 - I-III, Kavala
2001 - I-II, Bad Wiessee
2001 - I-IV, Wijk aan Zee
2002, tournament "B" – I, Budapest
2004 - I, Vlissingen 2006 - I, Wijk aan Zee 2007, tournament "C" – I, Elsinore
2007 - I-V, Mumbai
2008 - I-VI, Hilversum
2009 - I-IV, Vlissingen 2009 - I.
Runner-up in major tournaments in Hastings
1993/94 (behind John Nunn
), Polanica Zdroj
1995 (behind Veselin Topalov
), Pamplona
1998/99 (behind Alexander Morozevich
), Lviv
2000, (FIDE Category 17) behind Vassily Ivanchuk. Polanica Zdroj
1998 (Category 17) - III-VI places.
In 2000 Krasenkow crossed the extra-class threshold of 2700 rating
points, obtaining 2702 in July and October rating lists. He was ranked number ten in the world at that time.
Krasenkow achieved notable successes in rapid chess: USSR Cup (Tallinn
1988) - I-II places (tied), European Championships (Gijon
1988) - IV-VII, GMA tournament (Murcia
, 1990, with more than 100 Grandmasters
participating) - V-VI, USSR Cup (Lviv
, 1990) - I, CIS
Cup (Moscow, 1991) - I, Russian Open Cup (Moscow, 1997) - I, León
2010 - I-II.
Blitz
: champion of Poland (1999, 2001).
, most notably in the Classical King's Indian Defense. His consistent use of the relative sideline 6.h3 in that opening helped to establish it as a viable manner of combating the King's Indian. Other members of the elite now use the system from time to time, including on occasion Magnus Carlsen
. It is typically called the Makogonov
system, though some authors now refer to it as the Krasenkow System; he himself calls it the Bagirov
system. Krasenkow's other important contribution is the so-called Groningen Attack in the English Opening
(discovered simultaneously with Vadim Zviagintsev): 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g4!?
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
player after World War II, a chess trainer and writer. He has coached national teams, young prodigies, and top players such as Bangladeshi Grandmasters Ziaur Rahman
Ziaur Rahman (chess player)
Ziaur Rahman is a chess player from Bangladesh and the second Grandmaster of the country after Niaz Morshed.He passed his SSC from Government Laboratory High School & gratuated from University of Dhaka....
, Reefat Bin-Sattar
Reefat Bin-Sattar
Reefat Bin-Sattar is a chess player from Bangladesh and the third grandmaster to emerge from the country.An International Master since 1993, Bin-Sattar finally achieved the International Grandmaster title in 2006, when his FIDE rating reached the 2500 level required. All three of his qualifying...
and Abdullah al-Rakib. He plays with an aggressive and spectacular style and has won many "best game" awards.
Krasenkow has written several books on chess theory:
The Open Spanish. London, Cadogan Books, 1995
The Sveshnikov Sicilian. London, Cadogan Books, 1996
Life and career
He was born in Moscow (formerly Mikhail Krasenkov - Михаил Красенков). Master of applied mathematics (1985).His first notable successes date back to the 80s: he became a national master of the USSR in 1982, an International Master in 1988 and an International Grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
in 1989. He became Champion of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
in 1987 and team champion of the USSR (with "Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
Chess Club", Moscow) in 1990.
In 1992 Krasenkow emigrated to Poland. Since 1996 he represents that country at international competitions. Two-times champion of Poland
Polish Chess Championship
Individual Polish Chess Championship is the most important Polish chess tournament, aiming at selecting the best chess players in Poland. Based on the results of the tournament , the Polish Chess Federation selects the national and subsequently the olympiad team.The first men's championship took...
(2000, 2002). Krasenkow holds an unofficial record of winning Polish team championships, which he has done 14 times: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 1998 with "Stilon" Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski
Gorzów Wielkopolski is a city in western Poland, on the Warta river. It is the biggest city in the Lubusz Voivodeship with 125,149 inhabitants...
, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 with "Polonia" Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
. European Cup winner (1997, with the Russian team "Ladia" Azov
Azov
-External links:** *...
) and silver medalist (2001, 2003, 2005 with "Polonia Plus GSM
Plus GSM
Plus is the brand name of Poland's mobile phone network operator, Polkomtel. The company is owned by Spartan Capital Holdings sp. z o.o. 100%...
" Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, 2008 with OSC Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
). Representant of Poland at European team championships and Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s since 1996 (European team championships: Pula
Pula
Pula is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, situated at the southern tip of the Istria peninsula, with a population of 62,080 .Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, smooth sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing,...
1997 - 3rd place on Board 1, Batumi
Batumi
Batumi is a seaside city on the Black Sea coast and capital of Adjara, an autonomous republic in southwest Georgia. Sometimes considered Georgia's second capital, with a population of 121,806 , Batumi serves as an important port and a commercial center. It is situated in a subtropical zone, rich in...
1999 - 2nd place on Board 1). Also German team champion (2006, 2007) and German Cup winner (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) with Ooser Schachclub Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden is a spa town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest, on the banks of the Oos River, in the region of Karlsruhe...
, French team champion (2010) with L'Echiquier Chalonnais.
Notable performances
He participated in all FIDE k.o. World ChampionshipsWorld Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
since 1997. Best results: Groningen/Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
(1997/98) - 5th round qualifier (last 9); Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
(1999) - 3rd round qualifier (last 32); Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
(2004) – 4th round qualifier (last 16).
Major tournament victories: Moscow 1992 (Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal
Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
Memorial) - I-III places (tied), New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
1997 - I-II, Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
1997 (Vladas Mikėnas
Vladas Mikenas
Vladas Mikėnas was a Lithuanian International Master of chess, an Honorary Grandmaster, and a journalist.- Early life :Vladas Mikėnas played for Lithuania at first board in five official and one unofficial Chess Olympiads....
Memorial) - I, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
2001 (Tan Chin Nam Cup - category 16) - I-III, Ostrava
Ostrava
Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...
2007 (category 16) - I.
Important tournament victories: Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
1989 - I-II places (tied), Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
1990 - I-VI, Gausdal
Gausdal
Gausdal is a municipality in Oppland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Segalstad bru...
1991 - I-II, Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
1992 - I-II, Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
1993 - I-III, Pardubice
Pardubice
Pardubice is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the river Elbe, 65 miles east of Prague. Pardubice has an antique centre square and old town, with many restaurants that stay open until late in the evening. There is an old Tower and a recently renovated Castle...
1993 - I-V, Las Palmas 1993 - I-II, Pardubice
Pardubice
Pardubice is the capital city of the Pardubice Region and lies on the river Elbe, 65 miles east of Prague. Pardubice has an antique centre square and old town, with many restaurants that stay open until late in the evening. There is an old Tower and a recently renovated Castle...
1994 - I-II, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
1994/95 - I, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
1995/96 - I, Asti
Asti
Asti is a city and comune of about 75,000 inhabitants located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about 55 kilometres east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River...
1996 - I, Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia chess tournament
The Reggio Emilia chess tournament is a chess tournament played in Reggio Emilia, Italy. In Italian the tournament is called Torneo di Capodanno , as it starts just after Christmas and ends on the day of Epiphany...
1996/97 - I, Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
1998 - I-V, Cutro
Cutro
Cutro is a town and comune in the province of Crotone, Calabria region, Italy. It is the place of birth of Vincenzo Iaquinta, World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus.-History:...
1999 - I, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
2000 - I-II, Barlinek
Barlinek
Barlinek is a town in Poland, in West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in Myślibórz County. It has 14,162 inhabitants .The first written mention about the town is from 1278 . In the first half of the 15th century, the town, situated in the Neumark region, was under control of the Teutonic Knights...
2001 - I-III, Kavala
Kavala
Kavala , is the second largest city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala peripheral unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos...
2001 - I-II, Bad Wiessee
Bad Wiessee
Bad Wiessee is a spa town on Lake Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany. The name "Bad" means for "spa" or "baths", while "Wiessee" derives from "West See", meaning "western part of the lake"....
2001 - I-IV, Wijk aan Zee
Corus chess tournament
The Tata Steel Chess Tournament formerly called the Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijk in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands...
2002, tournament "B" – I, Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
2004 - I, Vlissingen 2006 - I, Wijk aan Zee 2007, tournament "C" – I, Elsinore
Elsinore
Helsingør is a city and the municipal seat of Helsingør municipality on the northeast coast of the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Helsingør has a population of 46,279 including the southern suburbs of Snekkersten and Espergærde...
2007 - I-V, Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
2008 - I-VI, Hilversum
Hilversum
is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...
2009 - I-IV, Vlissingen 2009 - I.
Runner-up in major tournaments in Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
1993/94 (behind John Nunn
John Nunn
John Denis Martin Nunn is one of England's strongest chess players and once belonged to the world's top ten. He is also a three times world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician....
), Polanica Zdroj
Polanica Zdrój
Polanica-Zdrój is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.It lies approximately south-west of Kłodzko, and south-west of the regional capital Wrocław...
1995 (behind Veselin Topalov
Veselin Topalov
Veselin Aleksandrov Topalov is a Bulgarian chess grandmaster. He currently has the sixth highest rating in the world, and was the challenger facing world champion Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010, losing the match 6½–5½....
), Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
1998/99 (behind Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich
Alexander Morozevich is a Russian chess Grandmaster. In the November 2011 FIDE list, he had an Elo rating of 2762, making him the 9th-highest rated player in the world, although he has previously ranked as high as second, in the July 2008 list....
), Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
2000, (FIDE Category 17) behind Vassily Ivanchuk. Polanica Zdroj
Polanica Zdrój
Polanica-Zdrój is a town in Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland.It lies approximately south-west of Kłodzko, and south-west of the regional capital Wrocław...
1998 (Category 17) - III-VI places.
In 2000 Krasenkow crossed the extra-class threshold of 2700 rating
Elo rating system
The Elo rating system is a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in two-player games such as chess. It is named after its creator Arpad Elo, a Hungarian-born American physics professor....
points, obtaining 2702 in July and October rating lists. He was ranked number ten in the world at that time.
Krasenkow achieved notable successes in rapid chess: USSR Cup (Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
1988) - I-II places (tied), European Championships (Gijon
Gijón
Gijón , officially Gijón / Xixón, is a coastal industrial city and a municipality in the autonomous community of Asturias in Spain. Early mediaeval texts mention it as "Gigia". It was an important regional Roman city, although the area has been settled since earliest history...
1988) - IV-VII, GMA tournament (Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, 1990, with more than 100 Grandmasters
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
participating) - V-VI, USSR Cup (Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, 1990) - I, CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....
Cup (Moscow, 1991) - I, Russian Open Cup (Moscow, 1997) - I, León
León, Spain
León is the capital of the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León, situated in the northwest of Spain. Its city population of 136,985 makes it the largest municipality in the province, accounting for more than one quarter of the province's population...
2010 - I-II.
Blitz
Blitz chess
Fast chess, also known as blitz chess, lightning chess, sudden death, speed chess, bullet chess and rapid chess, is a type of chess game in which each side is given less time to make their moves than under the normal tournament time controls of 60 to 180 minutes per player.-Overview:The different...
: champion of Poland (1999, 2001).
Theoretical contributions
Krasenkow has made major contributions to several areas of opening theoryChess theory
The game of chess is commonly divided into three phases: the opening, middlegame, and endgame. As to each of these phases, especially the opening and endgame, there is a large body of theory as how the game should be played...
, most notably in the Classical King's Indian Defense. His consistent use of the relative sideline 6.h3 in that opening helped to establish it as a viable manner of combating the King's Indian. Other members of the elite now use the system from time to time, including on occasion Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen
Sven Magnus Øen Carlsen is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster and chess prodigy who is currently the number-one ranked player in the world. In January 2010 he became the seventh player ranked number one in the world on the official FIDE rating list...
. It is typically called the Makogonov
Vladimir Makogonov
Vladimir Andreevich Makogonov was a chess player from Azerbaijan. He was born in Nakhchivan but lived in Baku for most of his life. He became an International Master in 1950 and was awarded an honorary Grandmaster title in 1987. Makogonov never became well known outside the Soviet Union, but was...
system, though some authors now refer to it as the Krasenkow System; he himself calls it the Bagirov
Vladimir Bagirov
Vladimir Bagirov was a Soviet-Latvian grandmaster of chess, chess author, and trainer. He played in ten USSR Championships, with his best result being fourth place in his debut in 1960. Bagirov was World Senior Champion in 1998...
system. Krasenkow's other important contribution is the so-called Groningen Attack in the English Opening
English Opening
In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...
(discovered simultaneously with Vadim Zviagintsev): 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.g4!?