Igor Zaitsev
| Igor Zaitsev | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Igor Arkadyevich Zaitsev |
| Country |
Soviet Union Russia |
| Born |
27 May 1938 Ramenskoye, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| Peak rating | 2520 (July 1971) |
Igor Arkadyevich Zaitsev (Russian: Игорь Аркадьевич Зайцев; born 27 May 1938) is a Russian grandmaster of chess.
Zaitsev was born in Ramenskoye, a town outside Moscow. His Armenian father, Arkady Gevorgovich Aghaian, was a deputy commander of a warship; his mother, Anna Fyodorovna Zaitseva, was a worker at the Red Banner Textile Factory.
In 1969, Zaitsev attained the title of Moscow Champion by defeating Yakov Estrin using the Giuoco Piano opening. The next year, Zaitsev was given the title of International Master and in 1976 he became a Grandmaster.
Zaitsev played in six USSR Chess Championships (1962, 1967, 1968–69, 1969, 1970, 1991), his best finishes being 15th–16th in Riga 1970.
His results in international tournaments include 2nd at Polanica-Zdrój 1970; 2nd at Dubna 1976; 1st at Quito 1976.
Zaitsev is best known for his contribution to opening theory. His variation of the Ruy Lopez opening (known as the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, being jointly named for Grandmaster Salo Flohr) follows one of the main lines of the Ruy Lopez and remains in wide use today. In the Flohr–Zaitsev Variation, Black plays 9...Bb7 after the following moves have been played: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0 9.h3. The move is popular because it fianchettoes the light-squared bishop, putting pressure on White's pawn on e4.
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