RIP Viktor Kupreichik (1949-2017)

A famous Belarusian grandmaster has passed away at the age of 67.

A legendary Belarusian chess player Viktor Kupreichik (03.07.1949 - 22.05.2017) died at the age of 67 on May 22, 2017, in Minsk. 

Visitation will be on May 23, at the 3rd floor of the Republican Olympic Training Chess & Checkers Centre in Minsk (Karl Marx Street, 10).  

The Russian Chess Federation expresses sincere condolences to relatives and friends of Viktor Kupreichik.  

Viktor Kupreichik’s Biography:

Since his very childhood, Viktor Kupreichik has been dreaming to become a football-player, but later on he turned to black and white squares. Kupreichik became a chess player, a bright chess forward, who was able to attack sharply and fearlessly, invent and realize combinations. Mikhail Tal, who once called Kupreichik «d'Artagnan of Chess», was his idol. Indeed, Kupreichik’s chess character reminded a famous Gascon who was always ready to draw the sword. 

At the age of 19, Viktor was included in the student national team of the USSR and won the World Student Team Chess Championships three times (in 1968, 1969, and 1974). At the time, Kupreichik was considered to be one of the most promising chess players of the Soviet Union. In 1970 and 1974, he won the All-Union Young Masters Tournaments. At the beginning of 1970s, Kupreichik started to cooperate with Viktor Kortchnoi in the capacity of one of his seconds. A creative intercourse with one of the leading grandmasters of the world helped Viktor Kupreichik a lot, allowed him to harmonize his own style without changing its basis. 

Kupreichik took part in the USSR Championships seven times; his play was always interesting and fearless. His best result in the USSR Championshipsthe was a tie for 5-7 places in 1979. He also succeeded at the international tournaments: Kupreichik took first places at Wijk aan Zee (Masters) 1977, Kirovakan 1978 (jointly), Reykjavík 1980, Plovdiv 1980, Medina del Campo 1980, and Hastings International Chess Congress in 1981/82. 

Viktor Kupreichik won the Belarusian Championships more than once, was the leader of the Belarusian national team at various team competitions. According to Alexey Suetin, who once played under the flag of Belorussia as well, «Kupreichik was a chess player of a bright combinational style. He was notable for his rich imagination, lack of any stereotypes, and was always ready to risk». 

Speaking about his chess life, Viktor Kupreichik summarized: «It was a good game!»