Oleg Pervakov Turns 60!

Our congratulations to the four-time world champion in chess composition.

Oleg Pervakov was born on 8th April in Kirov. He began to study chess at the local Pioneer’s Palace, where he was taught by a master Mikhail Shahov. He played for the team from Kirov in the Soviet championship of Pioneer’s Palaces. After school, Oleg enrolled in the Bauman Institute in Moscow. That same year, in 1977, he made his debut as a composer of chess problems and studies. 

Oleg Pervakov is a respected chess journalist and executive editor of the 64-Chess Review magazine. Oleg has worked with Russia’s foremost chess magazine for longer than 20 years! Originally, he was assigned to a laboratory that used to be headed by Sakharov at the Kurchatov Institute for Atomic Energy. In 1995, Alexander Roshal invited the celebrated chess composer to join his editorial team. From that moment on, multiple renowned grandmasters who come to the office of 64 head to Oleg Pervakov first of all in the hope of seeing new studies. 

There are several works devoted to Pervakov, such as Oleg Pervakov's Industrial Strength Endgame Studies: A World Champion's Favorite Composers by A. Tkachenko and Oleg Pervakov’s Magical Studies, written in Dutch, and a chapter of Tibor Károlyi’s Genius in the Background. He wrote Studies for Practical Players with a recognised trainer of the USSR Mark Dvoretsky. He is the editor and composer of the collection of chess studies of Vasily Smyslov, the 7th world champion, as well as the editor of dozens of chess books. He has organised and refereed multiple chess competitions around the world and he is the chief editor of the studies section of Chess Problems magazine.

Chess Federation of Russia congratulates Oleg Pervakov on his birthday, wishes him happiness, robust health and new achievements!