Alexander Morozevich

Alexander Morozevich (born Moscow, 18 July 1977) is a Russian chess Grandmaster. He was ranked second, in the July 2008 FIDE rating list, but is now ranked ninth.

Alexander Morozevich
Full name	Alexander Sergeyevich Morozevich
Country	Russia
Born	(1977-07-18) July 18, 1977 Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Title	grandmaster
FIDE rating	2758 (#12 in the January 2013 FIDE rating list)
Peak rating	2788 (July 2008)

Morozevich has been one of the best chess players in the world for nearly a decade. He is famous for employing unusual openings, for example the Chigorin Defense (1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nc6), and more recently the Albin Countergambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5); both systems are hardly ever seen at the top level. He is also well known for preferring complicated rather than clear positions. Perhaps because of his style, which produces relatively few draws, Morozevich is popular among chess fans.

Among his most notable results are 7.5/10 at the 2000 Chess Olympiad (winning Bronze Medal for board 2) and 7/11 at the 2002 Chess Olympiad. He took first place in the overall standings at the Amber tournament in 2002, 2004 (shared with Kramnik) and 2006 (shared with Anand); first place in Biel tournament three times: 2003, 2004 and 2006; and twice winning the Russian championship (1998 and 2007).