Person of day   -  10 OCTOBER 2023

YURI RAZUVAEV

YURI RAZUVAEV

A historian by profession who graduated from Moscow State University’s history faculty, he has proven himself to be a solid chess player, a thoughtful trainer and a talented journalist. Razuvaev performed successfully in many competitions. He played in several Soviet national championships in the 1970s and 1980s, won the RSFSR Spartakiad, triumphed at the European Club Cup with Burevestnik and came first at the world team championships when playing for the Soviet Union. In 1984, he played in the USSR- Rest of the World match and drew 2:2 with Hubner on the eighth board.  

Furthermore, Razuvaev has won international tournament in Dubna and Polanica-Zdroj (1979), Zalaegerszeg (1981), London (1983), Dortmund (1985) and Jurmala (1987). He has also won prizes in many more. 

In 1976, he became a recognised trainer of the RSFSR. He worked with Karpov during the latter’s journey to the world championship and trained the Soviet national team at European championships and the 1980 Olympiad and the Russian team after that. In the 1990s, he trained the Italian national team. Among his students are world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk and European champion Evgeny Tomashevsky. For many years, Razuvaev headed FIDE’s Trainers’ Commission and was rightly considered one of the most respected coaches in the world. 

Yuri was a talented promoter of chess who authored several books, including one of the most popular in the Greatest Players in the Worldseries, devoted to Akiba Rubinstein, as well as many articles concerning chess education.

He was on the board of trustees of the Russian Chess Federation. In the last few years of his life, he paid particular attention to chess in schools and he ran a project titled “Chess Talents in Russia”. 

Yuri Razuvaev died on 21st March 2012 after a prolonged illness. A book is devoted in his memory titled The Academician of Chess, Yuri Razuvaev which was published by the Russian Chess Federation for what would have been his 70th birthday.