Rafael Vaganian
| Rafael Vaganian | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Full name | Rrafayel Artyomi Vahanyan |
| Country |
Armenia Soviet Union |
| Born |
15 October 1951 Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union |
| Title | Grandmaster |
| FIDE rating | 2560 (March 2017) |
| Peak rating | 2670 (January 2005) |
Rafael Vaganian (Armenian: Ռաֆայել Արտյոմի Վահանյան, Rrafayel Artyomi Vahanyan, Russian: Рафаэль Артёмович Ваганян, Rafael Artemovich Vaganyan) is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play. Vaganian was born on 15 October 1951 in Yerevan.
He achieved International Grandmaster status in 1971, at the unusually young age of 19, following an excellent result at the Vrnjacka Banja tournament the same year, where he took first place ahead of Leonid Stein and Ljubomir Ljubojević. This was also the year that he finished fourth at the World Junior Chess Championship, the winner being the Swiss player, Werner Hug. In the wake of this disappointing outcome, he was so upset with himself that he challenged Hug to a blitz match in an attempt to salvage some pride. The players blitzed for only a few minutes and Vaganian emerged as the winner by a 10–0 scoreline.
A cheerful and popular character on the grandmaster circuit, his tournament record is outstanding and includes further victories at Kragujevac 1974, São Paulo 1977, Kirovakan 1978, Las Palmas 1979, Manila 1981, Hastings 1982/83, Biel 1985 (the Interzonal), Leningrad 1987, Toronto 1990 and Ter Apel 1992. At Moscow 1982 and Tallinn 1983, he shared first place with Mikhail Tal and at Næstved 1985 with Walter Browne and Bent Larsen. He won twice the Reggio Emilia chess tournament, the 35th edition 1992/93 and the 37th edition 1994/95.
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