Ukrainian chess legend receives major honor

Renowned Ukrainian grandmaster Vasyl Ivanchuk has been inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame.

The Chess Federation of Ukraine announced this in a statement, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

The official induction ceremony for the new honorees took place in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States. Ivanchuk was among five new inductees.

Vasyl Ivanchuk was the runner-up at the 2002 World Chess Championship, won the World Blitz Championship in 2007 and the World Rapid Championship in 2016, became European champion in 2004, and is a four-time Chess Olympiad gold medalist.

Along with Ivanchuk, this year’s inductees were Boris Gelfand of Israel, Ulf Andersson of Sweden, Nana Ioseliani of Georgia, and Alexandra Kosteniuk, who currently represents Switzerland.

It was previously reported that Ivanchuk had received an invitation to the prestigious international tournament London Chess Classic 2026.

Photo: European Chess Union