Person of day   -  14 NOVEMBER 2023

MICHAL KRASENKOW

MICHAL KRASENKOW

Michal Kransenkow was born and raised in Moscow, where his first chess mentors were Viktor Lublinskiy and Eduard Shehtman, trainers of the Pioneers Palace on the Lenin Hills. Later, as one of the most promising young players in the capital, Kransenkow was invited to the school of V.V. Smyslov, where, aside from the master, lessons were given by grandmasters Yuri Razuvaev and Boris Gulko.

In the 1980s, the Muscovite achieved his first major successes in Soviet tournaments: he became a master in 1982 and won the Georgian Championship in 1987. At this time, Krasenkow served in the Soviet Army and represented this Republic for two years, even playing for its team in the Spartakiad of Peoples of the USSR in 1986. In 1988, he demonstrated a wonderful result in the USSR tournament for rapid chess, where he split first place, defeating Lev Psakhis, Rafael Vaganian, Adrian Mikhalchishin, Vladimir Tukmakov and Leonid Yudasin. In the next few years, this competition became Krasenkow’s “fiefdom”: in 1990 and 1991 he was the sole winner of first place.

As a member of the T. Petrosian Club Team, Michal Krasenkow became the USSR champion in 1990; in the rounds for the European Champions Cup his team made it to the semi-finals. The next attempt of the Club in the European Cup of 1991 would not be so successful, but after six years Michal did win the prestigious trophy with his new team- “Rook” from the Azov.

In 1992 Krasenkow moved to Poland and became the best player of his new homeland for years to come. Victory followed victory: division of first place in the Tal Memorial of 1992 and Las-Palmas in 1993, accompanied by triumphs in Reggio Emilia in 1996/97, New York in 1997 and Vilnus in the same year. In the first FIDE knockout World Championship in Groningen in 1997, Michal made it to the quarter-finals and in 2004 in Tripoli to the 1/8 finals. Michal Krasenkow is the prize-winner of tens of large international tournaments; let us note the exceptional victories in Ostrava in 2007 and Shanghai in 2001 (split of 1st-3rd places)

Krasenkow repeatedly and successfully performed at the first board of the Polish national team in European team championships and Olympiads. In 1997 he won the bronze medal and in 1999 the silver medal at the first board. At the turn of the century, he was one of the 10 strongest players in the world with a rating higher than 2700.

Michal Krasenkow is the author of theoretical books and multiple articles about chess in different languages. The emergence of a new, formidable generation of Polish chess players is directly related to his fruitful work as trainer.

Michal is married and has one grown-up daughter.