Overview

It has been 60 years since I took up chess as a serious pursuit. Considering that sufficient time has passed I think that now I should look back and discuss the results of this effort! In the course of writing, I sought to make the book biographical but that did not always work out and some of the events from my chess life were not included in this work. Perhaps there will be a future book in which these events, as well as events yet to happen, can be told. For the past 10 years my name has had a special mark on the final standings - Veteran. At first this was somewhat confusing, but I soon realized that in all the spheres of human activity the word ""veteran"" has a noble meaning. My friends often ask me, ""Vladimir, are you not tired of playing chess""? I always answer emphatically, ""No, I am not tired. Where else can I find such a huge space for self-expression?""? Steinitz once said, "" Chess is not for the faint of heart."" I agree 100%! Chess players do not need pumped up muscles, they need a sound mind with which to resist the constant pressure exerted on every nerve that is experienced during combat. I do not always like this constant struggle and the stress that comes with it. It is even worse when one makes a mistake in a winning position. In this past decade another ""problem"" has been added - incredibly powerful computer engines that younger opponents skillfully use in preparation for the game. But when you win a beautiful game or use a theoretical novelty invented at home (albeit with the help of a computer), or defend a difficult hopeless position, how great it is! And at such moments you do not think about chess being a science or artistic effort or even sport. At times like these, they are just part of your life. Now it is time to let you turn the page and see just how incredibly interesting it is to be an active chess player, even as a veteran!

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Vladimir Okhotnik was born on February 28, 1950 in Kiev. He learned to play chess at the age of 6 and began his serious study of the game at the age of 11.He first attended the classes of the Kiev master Naum Levin held at the Kiev House of Pioneers. In 1962 he studied under the Dnepropetrovsk master Eduard Bakmatov. In 1965 & 66 his father's work was in East Germany where he trained under International Master Viktor Zhelyandinov. Returning to the USSR in 1967 he entered the university. During his studies, he played a number of team tournaments as well as becoming the Ukrainian student champion. After graduating from Dnepropetrovsk University with a degree as a mechanical engineer with a specialty in rocket engines, Vladimir chose the career of a professional chess player! From that time till 1983 he worked at the Dnepropetrovsk University as a professor of sports where a chess specialization was experimentally opened. In 1976 he became a national master. In 1979 he won the Ukrainian Championship but in 1980 only finishing in third place. In 1981, as a member of the Ukrainian National Team, he played in Moscow at the USSR Team Championship. Having moved to Transcarpathia in 1983, Vladimir, having taken part in an international tournament for the first time, won the Hungarian Open Championship in Eger in 1984 (in 2000 in Zalakaros he repeated this success ), and in 1987 he became an International Master. In 1988, for the first time playing in the West, in France, Vladimir won the famous open tournament Cappelle la Grand (during his career, Vladimir either won or placed as a prize winner in more than 100 international events held in Europe) and two years later he received an invitation to play in the French team championship. In 2006, Vladimir moved to the French Chess Federation. At the FIDE congress (Torino, Italy), the French Chess Federation submits documents for conferring the title of Grandmaster to Vladimir, but due to a referee's error, the title was not awarded . Already playing under the French flag Vladimir was 2nd at the European Senior Championship held in Courmayer, Italy in 2011. In addition to this victory he won the World Senior Championship in 2011 held in Opatija, Croatia, thereby earning the title of International Grandmaster.     In 2015 he repeated as World Senior Champion (Acque- Terme, Italy), but this time in the 65+ age category. Parallel with participation in tournaments Vladimir Okhotnik has devoted a lot of time to coaching. In 1981 he was the coach of World Champion Maya Chiburdanidze in her match against Nana Alexandria. In this match Chiburdanidze defended her title. In the 80s he was the coach of the Ukraine's youth and student national teams. In the mid-90s he coached the Slovak national team at the World Championship for juniors under 20 (1995, Halle, Germany) where Eva Repkova won a silver medal. Also in the 90s he consulted with a young Peter Leko, helped Etienne Bacrot in 1996 (Balatonberen , Hungary) when he first played in a closes grandmaster tournament. Dozens of his students from Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary and France and other nations have earned the FM, IM and GM titles. For these efforts and his many years of work to popularize chess, Vladimir was awarded the FIDE Veteran Prize in 2019. He has co-authored two prior books on opening theory: Carpathian Warrior Vol.1, 2004 and Carpathian Warrior Vol.2, 2008.   

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