The Underrated U.S. Chess Grandmaster Gata Kamsky

Born at the city of Novokuznetsk in Russia, chess grandmaster Gata Kamsky made his way into the U.S. to become one of its top chess players. This wily international chess competitor once became the third best player in the whole wide world. Despite his inactivity at the World Chess Federation (FIDE) from 1997 and 2004, he has already accumulated a 2726 rating. By the first month of 2008, Kamsky is already considered the best player in the U.S. and 15th best worldwide.

The early parts of Kamsky's career are highlighted with pretty impressive victories in some well respected international chess tournaments. He took the under-20 category of the Soviet championship chess tournament by storm, winning it a couple times in classic fashion. Furthermore, a win over the Russian chess grandmaster Mark Taimanov when he was still 12 years old offered a glimpse of great things to come in the future.

In a quest to obtain his first ever international chess title, Kamsky signed up for the Interzonal tournament of the World Chess Federation (FIDE). This event is a crucial stage needed by the players who want to obtain the rights to compete in the world chess championship. After gaining a grandmaster status in 1990, he triumphed at the U.S. Championship tournament in the following year. In 1994, the Las Palmas tournament was added to his pretty impressive track record in professional chess.

The period between 1993 and 1996 was a very important part in the career of Kamsky. During that time span, he dominated the various Interzonal events of FIDE and the Professional Chess Association. It was also in this time frame where he accomplished some of his greatest achievements. Together with Indian chess grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, Kamsky dominated the two largest chess organizations in the world.

The FIDE Candidates tournament in the 1994 season was very colorful for Kamsky. In the first round, he easily defeated Paul van der Sterren. At the quarterfinal round, Kamsky has a tougher competition at hand facing Anand. Their match saw a couple of lead changes before he dominated the last few games for an emphatic victory.

Before taking a long inactivity from the various FIDE events from 1996 to 2004, he had an excellent title shot for the 1996 World chess championship. Held at the Republic of Kalmykia in Russia, Kamsky fought Russian grandmaster Anatoly Karpov for 20 grueling matches. Despite being competitive enough to match up with his more experienced opponents, Kamsky lost the title match.

In 2004, Kamsky made a comeback in a bid to restore his once glorious career. The 106th New York Masters, the 2007 FIDE World Chess Championship, and the 2007 Chess World Cup are among his most recent important participations in the international chess scene. He won the Chess World Cup by eliminating Spanish chess grandmaster Alexei Shirov at the final round.