Vladimir Bagirov
Encyclopedia
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. He died of a heart attack while playing a tournament game.
n father and a Ukrainian
mother in Baku. He showed chess talent as a youth, and came under the wing of the Master and trainer Vladimir Makogonov
. He made his debut in the semi-finals of the Soviet Championship in 1957, but did not advance to the final. Bagirov qualified for the final for the first time in 1960, and made an excellent 4th place at URS-ch27 in Leningrad
; the winner was Viktor Korchnoi
.
He was selected to the Soviet team for the European Team Championship at Oberhausen
1961, and played for the Soviet Student Olympiad team in 1961. Bagirov was awarded his International Master title in 1963, but had to wait until 1978 to be formally recognized as a Grandmaster, although his 1960 Soviet Championship result showed he was clearly at that level.
Bagirov moved into training work in the 1970s, and for a short time in 1975, as Azerbaijan
national coach, was the sole trainer of future World Champion Garry Kasparov
. Following a dispute with chess officials, Bagirov moved to Latvia
in the late 1970s, and coached former World Champion Mikhail Tal
, and future Grandmasters Alexei Shirov
and Alexander Shabalov
.
Bagirov was a well-regarded openings
theoretician
, with one of his favourites the unusual Alekhine's Defence
. He published two books and a CD-Rom from 1994 to 2000.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union
in 1991, Bagirov played more tournament chess than he ever had before, taking part in many Open tournaments in Europe. He maintained a good standard, and won the 1998 World Senior Championship at Grieskirchen
, Austria
, with 8.5/11. Bagirov died while playing a tournament in Finland in 2000. He had started the Heart of Finland Open event with three straight wins to take the lead, and, following a time scramble, was in a winning position in round four against Teemu Laasanan, but suffered a heart attack, and died the next day, on July 21, 2000.
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...
, chess author, and trainer. He played in ten USSR Championships
USSR Chess Championship
This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. It was the strongest national chess championship ever held, with eight world chess champions and four world championship finalists among its winners...
, with his best result being fourth place in his debut in 1960. Bagirov was World Senior Champion
World Senior Chess Championship
The World Senior Chess Championship is an annual chess tournament established in 1991 by FIDE, the World Chess Federation.Participants must have reached 60 years old on 1 January of the year of the event...
in 1998. He died of a heart attack while playing a tournament game.
Biography
Vladimir Konstantinovich Bagirov was born to an ArmeniaArmenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n father and a Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
mother in Baku. He showed chess talent as a youth, and came under the wing of the Master and trainer Vladimir 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...
. He made his debut in the semi-finals of the Soviet Championship in 1957, but did not advance to the final. Bagirov qualified for the final for the first time in 1960, and made an excellent 4th place at URS-ch27 in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
; the winner was Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
.
He was selected to the Soviet team for the European Team Championship at Oberhausen
Oberhausen
Oberhausen is a city on the river Emscher in the Ruhr Area, Germany, located between Duisburg and Essen . The city hosts the International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and its Gasometer Oberhausen is an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. It is also well known for the...
1961, and played for the Soviet Student Olympiad team in 1961. Bagirov was awarded his International Master title in 1963, but had to wait until 1978 to be formally recognized as a Grandmaster, although his 1960 Soviet Championship result showed he was clearly at that level.
Bagirov moved into training work in the 1970s, and for a short time in 1975, as Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
national coach, was the sole trainer of future World Champion Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
. Following a dispute with chess officials, Bagirov moved to Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
in the late 1970s, and coached former World Champion 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....
, and future Grandmasters Alexei Shirov
Alexei Shirov
Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov is a Soviet-born Latvian chess grandmaster. He has consistently ranked among the world's top players since the early 1990s, and reached a ranking as high as number four in 1998...
and Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov
Alexander Shabalov is an American chess grandmaster, the multiple winner of the U.S. Chess Championships; he was the 2007 US Champion. He was born in Latvia, and like his fellow Latvians Alexei Shirov and Mikhail Tal he is known for courting complications even at the cost of objective soundness...
.
Bagirov was a well-regarded openings
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
theoretician
Chess 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...
, with one of his favourites the unusual Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence
Alekhine's Defence is a hypermodern chess opening that begins with the moves:Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad pawn centre, with plans to undermine and attack the White structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre often includes...
. He published two books and a CD-Rom from 1994 to 2000.
Following the breakup of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
in 1991, Bagirov played more tournament chess than he ever had before, taking part in many Open tournaments in Europe. He maintained a good standard, and won the 1998 World Senior Championship at Grieskirchen
Grieskirchen
Grieskirchen is a town in Austria. It is capital of the Grieskirchen district of Upper Austria, in the Trattnachtal valley. As of 2001, it has 4.807 inhabitants.-References:...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, with 8.5/11. Bagirov died while playing a tournament in Finland in 2000. He had started the Heart of Finland Open event with three straight wins to take the lead, and, following a time scramble, was in a winning position in round four against Teemu Laasanan, but suffered a heart attack, and died the next day, on July 21, 2000.
Publications
- English OpeningEnglish OpeningIn 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...
: Classical and Indian, by Vladimir Bagirov, translated from the Russian by Ken Neat, London, Cadogan Chess, 1994, ISBN 1857-440331. - English Opening: Symmetrical, by Vladimir Bagirov, translated from the Russian by Ken Neat, London, Cadogan Chess, 1995, ISBN 1857-440323.
- Queen's Gambit DeclinedQueen's Gambit DeclinedThe Queen's Gambit Declined is a chess opening in which Black declines a pawn offered by White in the Queen's Gambit:This is known as the Orthodox Line of the Queen's Gambit Declined...
, Exchange Variation, CD-Rom by Vladimir Bagirov, Amsterdam, New In ChessNew In ChessNew In Chess is a chess magazine that appears eight times a year with chief editors International Grandmaster Jan Timman and Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam. It contains notes by top players and chess prodigies on their own games...
, 2000.
Notable games
- Leonid Stein vs Vladimir Bagirov, Leningrad 1963, French Defense: Tarrasch, Closed Variation (C05), 0-1
- Vladimir Bagirov vs Karen Ashotovich Grigorian, URS 1976, Nimzo-Larsen Attack: Indian Variation (A01), 1-0
- Vladimir Bagirov vs Mark Taimanov, URS 1977, Queen's Gambit Declined: Barmen Variation (D37), 1-0