Zurab Azmaiparashvili

Zurab Asmaiparaschwili (Georgian ზურაბ აზმაიფარაშვილი; born March 16, 1960 in Tbilisi ) is a Georgian chess master. He is vice - president of the world chess organization FIDE.

Life

He learned chess as a four year old and found early promoter and trainer. As a 13 - year-old he won the Georgia Junior Championship U18, a year later he has already participated in adult championship of Georgia. 1978 USSR Youth U18 championship was in 1979 and allowed the Soviet Union represented at the European Youth Championships in Groningen.

In 1983 he qualified for the USSR Championship in Moscow and won a spectacular victory over the then reigning world chess champion Anatoly Karpov. He won in Pavlodar in 1982, Moscow 1986, Albena 1986, Tbilisi, 1986, but the travel conditions of the Soviet Union did not allow Asmaiparaschwili to come early to championship titles. It was only during the late Perestroika period in 1988, he was awarded by the FIDE Grand Master title.

In 1987 he was Sekundant of Garry Kasparov at his world title fight in Seville against Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov also assisted Asmaiparaschwili 1990. 1989, he won in London Lloyds Bank Open. 2003 Asmaiparaschwili became European Champion in Istanbul. It came in the match against the eventual runner-up Vladimir Malakhov, however, an unusual incident when Asmaiparaschwili accidentally executed a rough Fehlzug and his foul allowed his opponent to take back the train. 2004 Asmaiparaschwili received the title of FIDE Senior Trainer.

Asmaiparaschwili was also active as a chess official. He is now President of the Georgian Chess Federation and Vice - President of the World Chess organization FIDE. At the closing ceremony for the 2004 Chess Olympiad in Calvia, he got into a fight with the Spanish police officer and was temporarily taken into custody. After protests by the FIDE and the Spanish Chess Federation, he was released. In the competition for the World Chess Championship 2006 between Vladimir Kramnik and Veselin Topalov Asmaiparaschwili was first a member of the tribunal. After protests against a decision of this body in favor Topalows which meant that Kramnik did not compete for the fifth game of the match, Asmaiparaschwili resigned from this function.

His current Elo rating is 2637 (as of November 2009). Last among the top twenty of the FIDE world ranking list, he was in December 2003.