GM Ruslan Ponomariov

Birthplace: Gorlovka, Ukraine. 1983. Elo: 2684 (#22 in the world.) Ponomariov's progress has been as steady as his play since he became the youngest GM in history in 1998. (A record now held by Bu Xiangzhi of China.) He shows every sign of becoming the young Karpov he resembles in his play and appearance. 2001 has seen him break through into the elite with tremendous results in the European Championship and two top-level team events.
At the Board: Solid, precise, tenacious. Ponomariov was recognized as a player beyond his years not only in achievement but in style. He prefers positional chess and squeezing into a winning endgame. Like most such players he is a tough defender and an excellent endgame player.
Despite this reputation as a quiet player he plays 1.e4 exclusively and scores very well in sharp Sicilians. He also plays the positionally risky Pirc and its cousins against 1.e4 (1...d6 2.d4 Nf6). Against the d-pawn he plays classically with 1...d5.
Career Highlights: He became the youngest Grandmaster in history at 14 years old. Several strong results in Ukrainian tournaments continued he constant rating growth. He finished ahead of 19 GMs in a 1998 zonal tournament at the age of 15. He is currently enjoying a better 2001 than anyone this side of Kasparov. He tied for first in the European Championships, losing the tiebreak to Sutovsky. He finished 1.5 points clear of the field in the strong Krematorsk tournament. He had fantastic scores in the European Club Cup and the World Team Championship, defeating many top GMs and leading the Ukrainian team to victory. Ponomariov is currently looking like the likely contender to face Anand in the FIDE 2001 world championship final in Moscow.
Did you Know? The difficulties of his childhood are discussed in Russian circles but he rarely talks of such things himself. He became a Grandmaster at 14 years and 17 days of age. This year he drew an eight-game match with Viktor Korchnoi. There was a 52-year age difference between him and the 70-year-old legend!