02.07.2005 - "I play Chess960 because it allows me to express myself. I always enjoyed complex play which requires imagination, and Chess960 is perfect for that. Playing in the Chess Classics and defending my title is something I look forward to all year." (Foto by Carla Amse)

GM Peter Svidler is the winner at the Russion Chess Championships 2003

Peter Svidler, current Chess960 world champion, defends his title a consecutive second time against Zoltan Almasi. The Hungarian Almasi earned the right to challange Svidler by winning last year's FiNet Open, the largest and most competitive Chess960 Rapid Chess Open tournament which is annually staged during the Chess Classic Mainz event.

The 29 year old Zoltan Almasi currently is ranked number 4 in Hungary, which is the fourth strongest nation in the chess world, with players such as Peter Leko or Judit Polgar in the line-up. Both Polgar and Leko have played regularly at the Chess Classic Mainz tournaments.

Peter Svidler who recently celebrated his 29th birthday on June 17, is currently ranked #7 in FIDE's TOP 10 in the world. His playing strength at 2738 Elo points is just a shade away from his all-time peak at 2747 in January 2004. Peter Svidler plays for the German Bundesliga team OSC Baden-Baden.

Peter Svidler (Пётр Свидлер) was born on June 17, 1976 in St. Petersburg (Russia). He learned to play chess when he was six years old. He became Grandmaster in 1994 and is four-time Russian champion. In 2001 he reached the semi-finals of the FIDE World Championship.

One of the first Chess960 or Fischer Random Chess tournaments was held in Yugoslavia in the spring of 1996, and was won by Grandmaster Peter Leko. In 2001, Leko became the first Chess960 world champion, defeating GM Michael Adams in an eight game match played as part of the Mainz Chess Classic. Both players were in the top five in the January 2001 world rankings for orthodox chess. Leko was chosen because of the many novelties he has introduced to known chess theories, as well as his previous tourney win; in addition, Leko has played Chess960 or Fischer Random Chess games with Ex-World-Champion Bobby Fischer himself. Adams was chosen because he was the world number one in blitz (rapid) chess and is regarded as an extremely strong player in unfamiliar positions. The match was won by a narrow margin, 4.5 to 3.5.

In 2002 at Mainz, an open Chess960 tournament was held which attracted 131 players. Peter Svidler won the event. At the 2003 Mainz Chess Classic, Svidler beat Leko in an eight game match for the World Championship title by a score of 4.5 - 3.5. The Chess960 open tournament attracted 179 players, including 50 GMs. It was won by Levon Aronian, the 2002 World Junior Champion. Aronian challenged Svidler at the 2004 Mainz Chess Classic, Peter Svidler defended his title. Svidlers Career highlights include

• FIDE World Chess Championship: Semifinalist 2001
• Russian Champion: 1994, 95, 97 & 2003
• Olympic Champion: 1994, 96, 98, 2000 & 2002
• Silver medal: 36th Chess Olympiad (2004)
• Co-winner of Tilburg ´97 & Dortmund ´98

In an interview with Hartmut Metz Svidler said when questioned whether he could benefit from Chess960 in a normal chess game: "So far I haven’t played enough Chess960 to draw any definite conclusions, but it can certainly help develop intuition and tactical alertness, since you can’t rely on knowledge any more and have to improvise in every game.