# Igor Glek
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{{short description|Russian-Belgian chess grandmaster (born 1961)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Vladimirovich|Glek|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox chess player
| name = Igor Glek
| image = Igor Glek.JPG
| caption = Glek in 2008
| birth_name = Igor Vladimirovich Glek
| country = [Soviet Union](/source/Soviet_Union) → [Russia](/source/Russia)
[Germany](/source/Germany) (2000–2019)
[Belgium](/source/Belgium) (since 2022)
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|11|7|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Moscow](/source/Moscow), Soviet Union
| death_date =
| death_place =
| title = [Grandmaster](/source/Grandmaster_(chess)) (1990)
| peakrating = 2670 (July 1996)
| peakranking = No. 12 (July 1996)
| FideID = 4100484
}}
'''Igor Vladimirovich Glek''' ({{langx|ru|Игорь Владимирович Глек}}; born 7 November 1961) is a Russian [chess](/source/chess) player, trainer, writer and theorist. He was awarded the title of [Grandmaster](/source/Grandmaster_(chess)) by [FIDE](/source/FIDE) in 1990.
==Biography==
Glek was born in [Moscow](/source/Moscow). Completing his [University of Moscow](/source/University_of_Moscow) engineering/economics qualification in 1983, he worked as an economist until 1986 and followed this with two years of military service in the [Soviet Army](/source/Soviet_Army). From 1989, he was able to concentrate on chess, becoming first a professional player, then a grandmaster in 1990. In 1994 he moved to [Essen](/source/Essen), Germany.
Over the years, he has coached many talented young players and has been a regular writer on chess. He is perhaps most commonly known for his contributions to the ''[New In Chess](/source/New_In_Chess) (NIC)'' series of opening surveys and also the ''Secrets Of Opening Surprises'' series of books (also published by NIC), which fall under the general editorship of Jeroen Bosch. Famed for his extensive and very creative [opening](/source/chess_opening) repertoire, many enthusiasts find Glek's games and advice on offbeat opening lines invaluable. As a player, he mostly opens with e4 as white and prefers the [King's Indian](/source/King's_Indian), [French Defence](/source/French_Defence) and [Dutch Defence](/source/Dutch_Defence) as Black. A variation of the Classical King's Indian Defence, characterized by the move 7 ... Na6, is [named](/source/List_of_chess_openings_named_after_people) after him, as is a variation of the [Four Knights Game](/source/Four_Knights_Game) (4.g3).
In tournaments, he has been a winner of over 100 international events, including the 1990 [World Open](/source/World_Open_chess_tournament) at [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia), the 1998 [Vienna](/source/Vienna) Open, the 1999 [Utrecht](/source/Utrecht_(city)) Open and the 2002 [Zwolle](/source/Zwolle) Open (jointly with [Mikhail Gurevich](/source/Mikhail_Gurevich_(chess_player)) and others). Notable too, were his second place at [Cappelle-la-Grande](/source/Cappelle-la-Grande_Open) 1998 and joint second at the 9th [Ordix Open](/source/Chess_Classic) (behind [Viktor Bologan](/source/Viktor_Bologan)), a rapid chess event held in 2002. At the peak of his playing strength (1996) he was [ranked](/source/FIDE_world_rankings) world number 12 with an [Elo rating](/source/Elo_rating) of 2670.
He has also had many years of success in team chess tournaments, primarily for his long-time club side ''Norilsky Nikel'' of [Norilsk](/source/Norilsk), as well as being a member of the silver medal-winning Russian team at the 1997 [European Team Chess Championship](/source/European_Team_Chess_Championship).
Nowadays, he spends most of his time organising chess. He is a co-founder of the ACP ([Association of Chess Professionals](/source/Association_of_Chess_Professionals)) and was voted a board member in 2004. During 2005 and 2006, he was technical director of the Moscow Open International Chess Festival, became a member of the FIDE Committee for youth and junior events and was elected President of the WLCT (World League of Chess Tournaments).
In 2010, he was awarded the titles of [FIDE Senior Trainer](/source/FIDE_Senior_Trainer) and [International Organizer](/source/International_Organizer) by FIDE.
== Controversies ==
In December 2024, Glek's account on [Chess.com](/source/Chess.com) was banned for violating the platform's Fair Play Policy.[{{Cite web |title=GM Glek_Igor - Chess Profile |url=https://www.chess.com/member/glek_igor |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}][{{Cite web |title=Igor Glek {{!}} Top Chess Players |url=https://www.chess.com/players/igor-glek |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070214130153/http://en.chess-events.org/Members/IgorGLEK Glek profile at WLCT site]
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{FIDE}}
* {{365Chess.com player|Igor_Glek}}
* {{Chessgames player|15140}}
* [http://www.olimpbase.org/playerse/0sgc88ya.html Igor Glek] team chess record at Olimpbase.org
* [http://www.gmsquare.com/interviews/glek.html Interview with Igor Glek]
{{Belgian GMs}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Glek, Igor}}
Category:1961 births
Category:Living people
Category:Chess Grandmasters
Category:20th-century Russian chess players
Category:German chess players
Category:Belgian chess players
Category:Soviet chess players
Category:Russian chess writers
Category:German chess writers
Category:Chess theoreticians
Category:Chess coaches
Category:Russian emigrants to Germany
Category:Chess players from Moscow
Category:German male non-fiction writers
Category:Moscow State University alumni
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Igor Glek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Glek) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Glek?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.