Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov

Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov (Russian Игорь Васильевич Иванов; own notation: Igor Ivanov, born January 8, 1947 in Leningrad, † November 17, 2005 in St. George, Utah) was a Canadian chess player of Russian origin.

Ivanov learned chess at the age of 5 years. At age 14 he was playing tournaments in the boarding school, which he attended.

Later, he studied mathematics at the University of St. Petersburg (then Leningrad ), but soon broke off his studies with the intention to become a professional chess player. At times he worked as a trainer in the chess club of the army. In the Soviet team championship in 1979, he defeated former world champion Anatoly Karpov.

On a trip abroad in 1980, he sat down at the Gander airport to Canada from, got Canadian citizenship and won in the following years numerous tournaments, including four times the national championship. At the world championship match in 1981 he was Sekundant of Viktor Korchnoi. In Interzonal 1982 Ivanov came in shared fourth place. He also played for Canada at the Chess Olympiads in 1982 and 1988.

From 1990, he lived with his wife Elizabeth in Utah and worked as a chess trainer. Only shortly before his death from cancer him the Grandmaster title in 2005 was delayed by bureaucratic hurdles awarded.

His best Historical Elo rating of 2648, he reached in September 1978.