Person of day   -  5 MARCH 2024

VLADISLAV ARTEMIEV

VLADISLAV ARTEMIEV

Vladislav Artemiev was born on 5th March 1998 in Omsk. He was taught to play chess by his father when he was six.

 “I was introduced to chess by my father. To be honest, the first time it seems so boring that I just moved the board aside. Father did not insist, but in a few weeks he suggested we play again…during childhood, I was interested in football and I attended training sessions, but later on I fell ill and could not play, so I switched to chess. I started to play at the level of state champion immediately and so it went. My first trainer was Vladimir Alexandrovich Indykov- a strong candidate for master, who was one of Omsk’s leading chess players in his time.” (V. Artemiev)

Artemiev quickly became one of the leading juniors of his age and he began to win prizes at Russian and European championships. In 2012, he won the junior Olympiad with the Russian team. Vladimir began to be trained by Ivan Smykovsky- a celebrated theoretician and one of the foremost chess players in Siberia. In 2010, a session was given in Omsk by the native-born Soviet champion Vitaly Tseshkovsky, who only lost to the rising star and who foretold a glorious future for his opponent.

For the young chess player, 2012 was the critical year. Vladislav qualified for the premier league of the Russian championship and performed successfully there, winning the international “Young Stars of the World” tournament. He sensationally qualified for the final of the Rapid Grand-Prix, knocking out celebrated grandmasters such as Alexander Galkin, Dmitry Andreikin and Sanan Sjugirov en route. At the Mendeleev Memorial in Tyumen and in Pavlodar, Artemiev got the norms for grandmaster. 

Vladislav Artemiev is the winner of the Russian U21 championship, but he did not attend the world championship: at that time, unrest brewed in Turkey and Artemiev gave up his invitation to Andrey Stukopin. In 2014, the young Siberian leader became a grandmaster, won the Agzamov Memorial in Tashkent, the Margaryan Memorial in Yerevan and qualified for the World Cup from the European championship. At that time, he began to work with grandmaster Pavel Maletin and he attended sessions of the Siberian grandmasters’ centre of RCF.

In 2015, Vladislav split 1st-3rd places of the Russian championship’s premier league with Alexander Motylev and Ivan Bukavshin, overtaking his opponents on additional criteria. At the super-final, the debutant performed respectably, positioning himself behind the prize-winners. Artemiev used his last opportunity to play at the World U20 Championship in 2016 and he finished second to Jeffrey Xiong.

“In light of previous experience, I can say that I have the worst impressions about a tournament in India. The food was very specific- everything was not only very spicy, but very unclear as well. You didn’t know what you were eating. The sanitation was frightening; spiders were running around even the most prestigious of hotels. The tournament stifled us with its 40 degree heat. It was difficult in every way. India also shocked me with its difference of living standards. It seemed that even in a modern city, there were huts right beside the road. It was disheartening to think how people might live there.” (V. Artemiev)

At team championships in Russia, Artemiev usually plays for the Ladya club, with which he has qualified for the European Cup. The Kazan chess federation has created comfortable settings for the sportsman, and Tatarstan’s capital has become his second homeland.

 “The choice was between two teams. One from the neighbouring region of Nizhny Tagil, which represents the Sverdlovsk region, and one from Kazan. The choice was between Ural and Tatarstan and I chose the latter. My father wrote a letter to Rook’s captain Ildar Ibragimov and I play for Kazan thenceforth. 

I think that life in Kazan, where I plan to move in two to three years, would be more helpful for my chess development. Good players live there and I can progress by working with them. I hope that they will organise collective session, with the participation of Gata Kamsky. And I admit, I like Kazan and its university, with its condition of remote learning and the opportunities it affords students.” (V. Artemiev)

Vladislav Artemiev performs well in active disciplines from a young age and he occupies high places in the world table for blitz and rapid chess. At the 2016 Russian championship, Artemiev won the individual blitz, won a prize in the individual rapid and distinguished himself with Kazan’s team. At the 2017 Moscow Open festival, the grandmaster split 1st place, but came second due to additional criteria. At the 2017 World Cup, Vladislav qualified for the third round, knocking out Teimour Radjabov.

In January 2019, Vladislav Artemiev won a very strong open tournament in Gibraltar with a fascinating result - 8.5 points our of 10 and then he got an invitation to play for the Russian national team in the World Team Championship in Astana. 

The grandmaster studies in the Volga region’s sports academy in Kazan. He is married to Olga Belova, who is also a chess player.

In 2023, Vladislav Artemiev convincingly won the Russian Championship Superfinal and them, at the end of the year, he became a bronze medallist of the World Blitz Championship in Samarkand.