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Grandmaster Igor Ivanov (1947-2005)
"Frank J. Marshall Ambassador for Chess"

Igor passed away on November 17th in St. George, Utah. A funeral will be held for Igor in St. George on November 28 and there will be a tribute to him at the St. George Chess Club the evening of December 16. A tournament will be held in his honor the following day. Contact Alan Crooks at [email protected] for more information.

Some of the highlights of chess for Igor were:

  • 1st in the Zaitsev Memorial in Vladivostock in 1978
  • 1st at Yaroslavl 1979
  • 1st at the Tashli Tailiev Memorial in Ashkhabad, late 1979
  • 1981-1987 won four times the Canadian Closed Championship
  • 1st place tie in both the Canadian Open and Canadian Closed Championship in 1985
  • Represented Canada in the 1984 and 1988 Olympiads
  • Represented Canada again in the 1982 Interzonal in Toluca, Mexico
  • Won 9 times the U.S. Chess Federation Grand Prix series
  • Was a second for Viktor Kortchnoi in the 1981 World Championship
  • Awarded the title of "Frank J. Marshall Ambassador for Chess"
  • In 2005 received his title of, "Grandmaster" after not know he earned it 25 years prior!
  • 543 crosstables of Igor's play in USCF rated events since 1991

In Chess Life we will be offering a lengthy article on GM Ivanov which will include tributes, games and more.