Sergey Karyakin is an Instagram chess player. About the chess player Sergey Karyakin. House on Rublyovka and nerves of steel. Blitz game Svidler - Karjakin
Sergey Aleksandrovich Karyakin is a Russian and Ukrainian chess player, whose name is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess sports. He reached this title when he was not even 13 years old. In addition, the chess player has the title of Honored Master of Sports of Russia and Ukraine and is the world champion in rapid chess, Olympic champion and winner of the 2015 World Cup.
Hometown in the biography of Sergey Karyakin marked Simferopol, where he was born on January 12, 1990. For the first time in chessboard the boy sat down at the age of five, after hearing the slogan "Even a pawn can become a queen" on TV. The rules of the game were explained to him by his parents, and later Sergey showed incredible perseverance and played with himself for many hours.
The first successes were not long in coming: back in primary school Sergey becomes the winner of Ukraine and Europe among children. The boy is invited to one of the strongest chess clubs country, in Kramatorsk. Karjakin has been studying there for two years and, under the guidance of experienced masters, achieves a record result.
Sergei trained daily, doing 6 to 8 hours a day. Such perseverance results in a phenomenal achievement: already at the age of 12, chess player Sergey Karyakin received the title of grandmaster, for which his name is included in the Guinness Book of Records as the youngest holder of this title in history. By the way, Sergey soon adds the title of the youngest coach to this, as he began to teach other people. But such an achievement was no longer recorded as a record.
At the age of 19, Karjakin decides that in the Crimea he has no opportunity for further growth as a professional. He is applying for citizenship Russian Federation and by decree of the President of Russia becomes a Russian. In 2013, a young man receives a graduate diploma from the Department of Social Pedagogy of the Russian State Social University.
Chess
Since childhood, the chess player Sergey Karjakin has been accompanied by enchanting success. While still young, he became a champion in Ukrainian and European competitions, and at the age of 14, as part of the Ukrainian team, he earned the title of champion of the Chess Olympiad. Since 2009, Sergey Karyakin has been playing games as a member of the Russian team, where he was included immediately after receiving the citizenship of the Russian Federation. He was the silver medalist of the Chess Olympiad, as part of the Tomsk-400 and Malachite teams he won the national club championship and the European championship.
In 2015, Karjakin beat the Russian Petr Svidler in a dramatic final at the World Cup in Baku, and since then the main dream of the grandmaster has been the title of world champion. On the way to this peak, on March 28, 2016, Sergey became the winner among the contenders to challenge the reigning world champion. The Norwegian and Sergey Karjakin met in November of the same year and in 12 games decided who was the strongest chess player on the planet in 2016. As a result, after a long and equal struggle, Carlsen managed to retain the title of world champion.
The Young Stars Match was a landmark event in the resurgence of international interest in chess. After losing to the computer in 1997, there was a trend towards a decrease in interest in this sport. But the Internet broadcast of the Carlsen-Karjakin tournament broke records in terms of the number of views. The competition attracted the attention of fans with the heat of the game and the lowest total age of opponents in the history of chess championships.
In 2016, Sergey Karyakin received an invitation to become a member of the symbolic club of Mikhail Chigorin. The organization was created with the aim of preserving the names of all chess players who defeated the reigning champion in at least one game. Sergey Karyakin is 104 on this list, which dates back to 1889. In total, 108 chess players from all countries are registered in the club.
In the same year, at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship, Sergey Karyakin managed to outplay his opponent in the second category and become the winner. Magnus Carlsen again became his opponent in the tournament.
Interesting fact recorded by eyewitnesses of the simultaneous game session, which was held by the Russian in London. Sergei played simultaneously against 72 opponents for six hours and during this period he managed to walk over 10 kilometers around the hall.
The popularity of the chess player, his successes in the international arena attract the interest of international corporations and politicians to the grandmaster. So in 2016, Kaspersky Lab became a partner of Sergey Karyakin at his matches. And a year later, the chess player entered the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation of the VI convocation on the proposal.
Personal life
The first wife of Sergey Karyakin was the Ukrainian chess player Ekaterina Dolzhikova, who also achieved considerable results and is an international master. But for various reasons, in the future, the marriage of young people broke up.
Already in Russia, the chess player met Galiya Kamalova. They met for the first time when the young man just got into the Russian State Social University. The girl, as a representative of the university, helped the chess player resolve issues with the move, but then this acquaintance did not continue.
A stormy romance that changed the personal life of Sergey Karyakin began when the guy returned with a silver medal at the Olympic chess tournament. By the way, Galia Kamalova herself is not an amateur in her husband's favorite game. The girl studied at the department of chess and knows the features of this art.
In 2014, Galiya became Sergei's wife and since then she has always traveled with him to all competitions, being a kind of talisman for her husband. And at the end of 2015, the wife for the first time made Karyakin a father, giving her husband a son, who was named Alexei.
July 27, 2017 Sergey Karyakin. The second son Mikhail was born to the chess player. Sergey regularly posts photos of children and his wife in in social networks.
It is noteworthy that although Sergey Karjakin loves chess passionately, he considers it a sport, and every athlete must be physically strong and have the proper shape. The young man pays close attention to physical training: he spends a lot of time in the pool, rides a bicycle. Among the favorite games of the grandmaster are tennis, football, basketball, bowling. In addition, Karjakin has a special physiotherapist, and his daily workout includes jogging and walking on his hands. By the way, sometimes a chess player trains with his full namesake, world champion in pentathlon Sergey Karyakin, as well as with athlete Maria Savinova.
Sergey Karyakin now
The year 2017 was marked in the professional career of Sergey Karjakin with a rapid chess match. His opponent was Garry Kasparov, for whom this game was the first after his return. The competition was held in St. Louis, USA. Grandmasters tied.
According to 2018 data, Sergey Karjakin occupies the 7th position in the top ten players in the FIDE rating. The grandmaster is ahead of only one Russian - Vladimir Kramnik, who occupies 4th place.
The original competition was offered to Sergey Karyakin by the creators of the program about geeks “Best of all!”. The opponent of an adult chess player was the young genius Misha Osipov, who lost the game in 2016 due to his inability to use mechanical watch, because at that time the boy was only four years old. A year later, Misha came to the program more prepared.
Sergey Karyakin had to fight with a talented kid. The result of the competition was a draw, and the grandmaster, giving a comment, noted that until that moment he had not met such a gifted child, although he regularly participates in game sessions with young chess players. Karyakin noted that Misha needs to improve his playing skills and pay attention without forcing events. integrated development.
One of the latest social projects supported by the grandmaster is the opening of a chess school in Khvalynsk, the artist's homeland. The solemn event took place on the eve of Victory Day in the local art gallery, where the grandmaster held a session of simultaneous playing with war veterans. Sergey Karyakin was struck by the love of the provincials for the intellectual game. In the comments to the post in Instagram» Sergei noted that there were about a thousand people at the opening of the school.
Now Sergey Karyakin, on behalf of the Russian Chess Federation, is preparing to open a children's chess school in Artek for the summer holidays.
Awards
- 2009 - winner of 71 international tournaments
- 2010, 2012, 2014 - winner of the Russian Team Championship
- 2013, 2014 - winner of the International Tournament in Stavanger
- 2013 - winner of the World Team Championship
- 2015 - winner of the World Chess Cup
- 2016 - Candidates Tournament Winner
Russian chess player Grandmaster. The youngest grandmaster in history and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. FIDE World Cup Winner 2015. World Rapid Chess Champion. Doha World Blitz Champion 2016. Honored Master of Sports.
Member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation of the VI composition.
Sergey Karyakin was born on January 12, 1990 in the city of Simferopol, Republic of Crimea. The boy learned to play chess at the age of five. Then he entered the Alexander Momot chess club in the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, which was famous even then for its pupils. Sergey Karyakin was no exception and added to the list of key figures in the world of chess. Trained with international master Alexander Aleksikov.
Sergey is a repeated winner of the children's and youth championships of the world and Europe. Winner and prize-winner of a number of major tournaments: champion of the XXXVI World Chess Olympiad as part of the Ukrainian team in 2004.
On July 25, 2009, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, he was granted Russian citizenship. From the same year he became a member of the Russian chess team. Karyakin explains his move to change citizenship by the lack of prospects for development in Crimea and by the fact that he has always considered himself Russian.
Also, Karjakin is the silver medalist of the Olympics as part of the Russian team in 2010. On his board, he showed the best result of 8 out of 10 and received the first individual prize.
In 2012, he signed a contract with the Alpari company for the provision of sponsorship under the motto "We will return chess crown in Russia". In 2015, due to the difficult economic situation in Russia, the contract was terminated, but further sponsorship from Alpari was resumed.
Karyakin graduated from the Russian State Social University with a degree in Social Pedagogy. In March 2017, by Decree of the President of Russia Vladimir Putin, he became a member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.
In 2016, he won the Candidates Tournament and competed against reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen in the 2016 World Chess Championship Match. As a result, after a long and equal struggle, Carlsen managed to retain the title of world champion.
In the same year, at the World Rapid and Blitz Championship, Sergey managed to outplay his opponent in the second category and become the winner. Magnus Carlsen again became his opponent in the tournament.
In Karjakin's professional career, 2017 was marked by a rapid chess match. His opponent was Garry Kasparov, for whom this game was the first after his return. The competition was held in St. Louis, USA. Grandmasters tied.
Sports Achievements of Sergey Karyakin
2009 - winner of 71 international tournaments
2010, 2012, 2014 - winner of the Russian Team Championship
2013, 2014 - winner of the International Tournament in Stavanger
2013 - World Team Championship winner
2015 - World Chess Cup winner
2016 - Candidates Tournament Winner
28-year-old Sergey Karjakin is among the top ten strongest chess players in the world. Having become interested in chess at the age of five and a half, he entered the Guinness Book of Records, becoming the youngest grandmaster in history at the age of 12, and at 14 he won the World Chess Olympiad. Two years ago, his famous match with the reigning world champion Magnus Carlsen took place - then the Norwegian won, but Sergey Karjakin does not intend to give up and is full of ambitions to fight for the champion title again.
— I'll start with a question that has occupied me for a long time: why is chess a sport? I think they are somewhere between science and art.
— Of course, chess is partly a science and an art, because we explore the chessboard, create new combinations, but in modern realities it is primarily a sport, professional chess is now quite tough. If you look at the top ten or even the top twenty, you will not see a single person who is in poor physical shape. Our games last 5-6 hours, and sometimes even longer. For example, I just got back from a tournament on the Isle of Man, where I had six and a half hour games two days in a row. Add to this a few hours of mandatory preparation for each. To withstand such loads, you need to be in good shape, engage in physical sports. Physical endurance is one of the most important components of the final result at the board.
— In one of your interviews, you mentioned that in preparation for the match with world champion Magnus Carlsen, you hired specialists to draw up his psychological profile. At the same time, you also said that during the match you are not playing with a person - with a board. So how important is it to understand the psychology of an opponent during a game?
— The style of a chess player is always a manifestation of his character and temperament. If a person is emotional and impulsive, then in chess he acts emotionally, which is not very good for the game. Of course, chess requires balance and the ability to soberly assess and analyze the situation. The more versatile the opponent, the more difficult it is to surprise and surprise him.
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— Are there impulsive chess players in general? Or is this quality incompatible with the world of professional chess?
— Many beginners, coming into professional chess, expect results and victories after a few months. But illusions quickly disappear: serious results require systematic, hard work, years of training. Those who understand this move forward through mistakes, failures that they analyze and overcome. Those who do not work on the mistakes remain at their level.
— How do you do this work on the bugs yourself? So your match is over, then you lose the game again?
— Yes, definitely. We analyze the game with the coach and the computer. Moreover, analysis is necessary even in case of victory. It is important to understand what mistakes you made in the course of the game: this time you were lucky, but the next time you may not be so lucky. This work never ends. Always striving for perfection. And perfection in chess is a computer game, which is very difficult.
— By the way, about luck. Chess is an intellectual game where everything is calculated. Where is the luck here?
— For example, before the tournament you came up with some very interesting trap for your opponent, and then during the game you found yourself in a position in which your opponent has a choice: if he goes along one path, he will fall into the nets you have set up, and on the other - nothing , the game ends in a draw. Or another example. Many people know that I played a World Championship match with Magnus Carlsen, but not everyone knows how hard it was to get there. To do this, you need to win the Candidates Tournament, which I did not qualify for. I had one last attempt left - through the World Cup. And there are 128 chess players participating, it's a tough tournament. I remember I played against the American grandmaster Alexander Onischuk, who came from Ukraine. I lost the first game, I had to come back at all costs in the second. And there was a strict system, it was impossible to be late for a game, let alone a minute or a second. I prepared to the last, repeated all the options, and now on the way to the gym I understand: I barely have time. If the elevator, say, were delayed or something else unforeseen happened, I would be late. Ran literally at the last minute.
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— To what extent, in your opinion, is the situation described in Nabokov's novel "Luzhin's Defense" possible in life: a chess genius who loses touch with reality becomes obsessed with the game? Can chess become a painful addiction?
— I think it all depends on the person. Let's say Bobby Fischer, the eleventh world champion, was fanatically devoted to chess, which was the main thing for him in life. It seems to me that he left chess at his peak, because he could not allow the thought that he could lose to someone. There are such people, but they are rare. current champion of the world Magnus Carlsen is a rather sociable person. He skillfully and beautifully gives interviews, does a lot to popularize chess, plays with Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, meets many famous people.
— You have been in chess since childhood. Who makes up your circle of friends?
— First of all, these are people from the world of chess, of course. But there are others that have nothing to do with it. As a rule, I meet new people at events - at some point in the conversation you suddenly realize that there are points of contact, that it is pleasant and interesting to communicate with this or that person. And I'm not only interested in chess.
— Then tell us what you're into.
— As I said, sport is obligatory for a chess player - I run, go to gym. My namesake, ex-world champion in modern pentathlon Sergey Karyakin, helps me train. He is also an interesting conversationalist, you can talk with him for hours. I play Russian billiards and snooker. By the way, my match with the legendary Steve Davis, a multiple world snooker champion, will take place in the near future, which, of course, is a great honor for me. I love riding quad bikes. You will laugh, but I am friends with another Sergey Karyakin, an ATV driver, the winner of the 2017 Dakar rally. We communicate less with him - he lives in Yekaterinburg, but we stay in touch, I hope he will someday give me a master class on driving an ATV. (Laughs.) In general, I like to drive almost all types of transport.
— Would you like to learn how to fly an airplane?
— Well, a plane is too cool, but a helicopter is. I once gave a helicopter flying lesson to my friends for their birthday. They told me recently that it was great. So now I'm thinking - maybe I should also learn.
Many beginners, coming into professional chess, expect results and victories after a few months.
— What do you read, listen to, watch?
— To be honest, I'm omnivorous. I read about what interests me at the moment. Lately I've gone through a bunch of books on healthy eating. At the same time, I consulted with doctors, together with whom we created an optimal diet for me. She helped me not only to get rid of extra pounds, but also to tighten my physical shape - at one time I started myself a little, now I feel much better. In addition, it was important to create a diet that would support efficient brain function.
— This is interesting - what foods are good for the brain?
— It's funny, one of the most useful products for brain activity is black caviar. When I played a match in New York in 2016, Andrey Filatov, President of the Russian Chess Federation, delivered me a jar of caviar every day, which I ate before the game. Really felt like it helped me.
— What hinders the brain?
— I sometimes observe that some people bring milk chocolate with them to the party, I would caution against this. Milk chocolate gives a short-term effect that lasts for about ten minutes, and then, on the contrary, reduces brain activity. It is better to eat a piece of dark chocolate.
— I read an article in which you agree with the author that chess players are mostly egoists. Why is that? What is this selfishness?
— The fact is that chess is an individual sport. There are team competitions: the World Team Championship and the Chess Olympiad, but they take place once a year. In all other cases, you play for yourself. You train yourself, you choose, you hire and fire coaches. For example, in football, the task of an athlete is to train, the club takes care of everything else. The chess player is solely responsible for final result. So you have to prioritize - in communication, in organizing life. Sometimes others are offended that I do not pay enough attention to them. But if you play well, it's inevitable.
— How much does a coach cost? What other costs are associated with professional chess?
— The spread is very wide. In Moscow, a children's coach takes from 1,000 to 3,000 rubles. per hour of private lessons. Coaches of the strongest chess players cost about 500 euros per day, but the price tag varies depending on the complexity of the competition. Add to this trips to tournaments, which at first no one will pay for a novice chess player. You also need a powerful computer and special programs. The costs in professional chess are lower than in tennis or football, but if parents expect results, you need to be ready to invest money.
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— Are the top-level coaches former champions?
— A coach doesn't have to be a champion himself. As a rule, chess players who were in the top hundred, but who lacked something to get into the top twenty or ten, go to coaches. They have great experience and deep understanding of chess. Not everyone is destined to be a champion, someone is given to be a good coach. He not only sees your mistakes, understands what form you are in now, but also sets you up in the right way, finds the right words of support. One or two trainers are definitely needed on a permanent basis.
— What character traits have chess shaped in you?
— Chess helped me a lot in my development. I remember that at school, peers often could not focus on what the teacher was telling them. I was always able to easily collect myself, concentrate on a task or information. What other qualities? Probably responsibility. Often we make decisions or do things without thinking. And in chess he made a move - and it can't be returned. Accordingly, in life you also always weigh, think about the possible consequences, and then act. Therefore, for example, a scandal like the one that happened with Kokorin and Mamaev is almost impossible in the chess environment.
— What did you do best in school?
— I was happy that chess was taught at our school - already at the age of seven I was beating a school teacher. Loved math. I made good progress in physical education - in addition to chess, I was semi-professional in acrobatics and even thought about switching to a professional level, but chess won.
— What is the life of a chess player in general? I got the impression that you do not belong to yourself. How often are you at home?
— Free time is a problem, it's true. For example, in the next month I will spend five days at home - and my wife Galiya and I joke that this is even a lot. When I participated in the World Championship in 2016, I was at home a couple of days a month, and all of them were scheduled by the minute. There was absolutely no time for family. Now the rhythm is a little less intense, but there are still a lot of trips. Just today I returned from a two-week tournament on the Isle of Man, and tomorrow I'm flying to the Republic of Mari El to open my chess school. Then I return to Moscow for a few days and go to the tournament in Calcutta. However, then until next year I will have a big break.
— Are there drug tests in chess?
— We are not part of the Olympic sports, but the International Chess Federation maintains relations with the IOC, so we are periodically tested at major competitions. We have the same prohibited substances as in other sports, although in reality they should be different. It is illogical to ban drugs that stimulate an increase in muscle mass; here we need to talk about substances that affect brain activity. In chess, another scourge is computer hints. Not all tournament organizers invest in anti-cheating control, and lately, unfortunately, they are constantly catching chess players who try to play dishonestly. If there are no checks, you can come to the game with your phone and, while your opponent is thinking, go to the toilet, connect via the Internet to your computer, which will give you hints. This needs to be seriously fought.
We have to prioritize - in communication, in organizing life. Sometimes others are offended that I do not pay enough attention to them.
— Do you think the appointment of Arkady Dvorkovich as FIDE President will affect the situation with chess in Russia?
— First of all, this matters for the international situation, but it is also good for Russia. Obviously, most of Arkady Dvorkovich's connections are in Russia. This means that more Russian companies will come to chess as sponsors. I think there will be more major tournaments at the level of the European Championship or the World Championship. I think it's great that such a professional and wise leader has come to FIDE. Not everyone knows that he has a lot of experience as the head of the Russian Chess Federation. In 2009, when I changed my citizenship to Russian (Sergey Karyakin was born and spent his childhood in Simferopol, he had Ukrainian citizenship. — RBC Style), he did a lot for my move, for which I am grateful to him. We have a long-term friendship with him, I have always fully supported him.
— What feature films about chess players, in your opinion, reliably show chess world?
— A few years ago, the film “Sacrificing a Pawn” was released about the legendary 1972 match for the world title, in which Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer played. It was interesting to immerse yourself in that atmosphere. True, Spassky said that he did not like the film, but I watched it with pleasure. I think chess lovers should see it.
— Do you see your life outside of chess?
— A chess career lasts longer than other sports. We can fully play up to 40 years, and in some cases even longer. I think then I will go into coaching, I will raise new champions, open schools, give simultaneous games, give lectures. Perhaps, in my case, it is impossible to give up chess completely, and it is not necessary. And to shift the accents - completely.
Year of birth
1990
Current rating
2752
Country Russia
The future super grandmaster was born on January 12, 1990 in Simferopol, the capital of Crimea. He became interested in chess at the age of six and a year later he completed the norm of the first category. His chess development was very fast: at the age of 12 years and 211 days he became the youngest grandmaster in chess history. In this capacity, Karyakin is included in the Guinness Book of Records.
Sergey is not only the youngest grandmaster, but also the youngest coach - at the age of 12 he was already a member of Ponomarev's team of assistants when Ruslan won the FIDE world title. The child prodigy acted as a "tactics coach", although he was always distinguished by a universal style of play. Since childhood, Karjakin has been playing “correct chess” and equally strong in playing positions of various types – from technical to irrational.
In 2010, a young and promising grandmaster changed the Ukrainian federation to the Russian one and moved to Moscow. Soon Karyakin began to study with Yuri Dokhoyan and Alexander Motylev. In recent years, he has moved into the ranks of the world's leading grandmasters. He has victories in competitions of the highest level, such as super tournaments in Wijk aan Zee (2009), Moscow (Tal Memorial, 2010), Bazna (2011), Tashkent (FIDE Grand Prix stage, 2012) and others. In the summer of 2012 in Astana, he won the title of world champion in rapid chess. Sergey Karyakin confidently enters the top ten and can be considered as a favorite in any competition.
Sergey is a sociable, friendly and open person and at the same time an exceptionally experienced and strong team player. As part of the Ukrainian team, he was already the Olympic champion (2004), and together with the Russian team he won silver at the 2010 and 2012 Olympics. In 2012, Sergei became the champion of Russia as part of the Tomsk-400 club, showing the best individual result on the first board. In 2013, Karjakin won the super tournament in Stavanger, ahead of the "master of the field" Magnus Carlsen. At the very end of 2013, Sergey became the world champion as part of the Russian national team and performed brilliantly at Mind games in Pekin.
Thanks to a consistently high rating, Sergey won a ticket to the 2014 Candidates Tournament. The debutant started the qualifying competition unsuccessfully, but in the second round he played out - he scored three wins with four draws and took a clear second place. Then Karjakin became the champion of Russia as part of his new club Malachite, where he played on the first board. Then the second victory was won at the super tournament in Norway: Sergey Karjakin scored 6 points out of 9 and took clear first place, ahead of world champion Magnus Carlsen, Alexander Grischuk, Levon Aronian and other extra-class grandmasters. Sergey dedicated this victory to his wife Galiya: the young people got married shortly before the start of the tournament, in May 2014.
In 2015, Sergey Karyakin won the silver medal of the Russian Championship, and then became the owner of the World Cup, defeating his compatriot Pyotr Svidler in a dramatic final. Both Russian grandmasters won tickets to the Candidates Tournament, which will be held in March 2016 in Moscow. At the end of 2015, Sergei and Galiya had a son.
The Candidates Tournament in the capital of Russia ended with the triumph of Sergey Karjakin, who, with a final victory over Fabiano Caruana, won the right to a championship duel with Magnus Carlsen. In the summer of 2016, as part of the Russian national team, Sergey won the bronze medal at the Olympics in Baku.
Tournaments in which he took part
Sergey Karyakin is the youngest grandmaster in the world history of chess, whose name is included in the Guinness Book of Records. He is an Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine and Russia, world champion, Olympic champion and winner of the 2015 Chess World Cup.Childhood and youth
The future brilliant chess player was born in the capital of the Crimea - the city of Simferopol. Serezha's mother was a programmer, and her father was engaged in entrepreneurship. The whole family enthusiastically played chess, the love for which was passed down from grandmother Tamara Vladimirovna, a school mathematics teacher, who at one time taught Serezha's father to play. 
At the age of five, Karjakin Jr. also fell ill with chess, having heard on TV the incomprehensible and therefore attractive phrase “A pawn becomes a queen.” The inquisitive boy was interested in the meaning of these words, and his father explained to him the rules of chess. Soon this occupation completely absorbed little Seryozha, every evening he asked his father to play with him. And when he found out that there was a chess studio in the local Palace of Pioneers, he categorically stated that he would not live another day without chess.
That year junior group they didn’t recruit, so Serezha was offered to demonstrate his abilities in a trial game with older guys. After the very first game, the coach realized that he had an incredibly gifted child in front of him and, without hesitation, signed Serezha into the group. From that moment on, chess took the main place in the boy's life, relegating English, computers, swimming and tennis to the background.
Sergey Karjakin and chess
At the age of seven, the child prodigy fulfilled the norm of the first category in chess, a little short of the candidate master. In elementary school, he became a multiple winner of Ukrainian and European children's chess tournaments. 
In the fourth grade, Sergei was transferred to home schooling, as he devoted 6-8 hours a day to chess lessons.
Sergey Karyakin in "Evening Urgant"
Soon he was invited to Kramatorsk, one of the strongest chess clubs in the country, where at the age of 12, under the guidance of experienced coaches, he became the youngest grandmaster in the history of chess. Under this title in 2003 he was included in the Guinness book. At the same time, Sergei for some time became a coach and second of the famous Ukrainian chess player Ruslan Ponomarev.
After the death of the director of the Kramatorsk club, Mikhail Nikitich Ponomarev, Sergei and his parents returned to the Crimea, but the young chess player was already cramped within the borders of Ukraine. In 2009, he asked Dmitry Medvedev to grant him Russian citizenship. The request was granted, after which Sergey became a member of the Russian chess team and took second place in it. chess olympiad 2010.
In 2013, the young man graduated from the Russian State Social University with a degree in Social Pedagogy.
Personal life of Sergey Karyakin
Despite his passion for chess bordering on fanaticism, Sergei found time for romantic relationships with girls. Moreover, the grandmaster is married for the second time.He met his first wife, chess player Ekaterina Dolzhikova, in 2007, during a tournament in Dresden. The lovers got married in July 2009, but after moving to Moscow, the marriage cracked. The reason was Galiya Kamalova, secretary of the Moscow Chess Federation, who was instructed to take patronage over Sergei. The girl was three years older than her lover.
In May 2014, Karyakin and Kamalova got married, and a year and a half later their son Alexei was born. In an interview, Galiya said that Sergey is a cheerful and caring father and loves to mess around with the baby.
