Vasilios Kotronias
Vasilios Kotronias (Greek: Βασίλειος Κοτρωνιάς; first name sometimes spelled Vassilios; born 25 August 1964) is a Greek chess player and writer. He is a ten-time Greek champion (1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 2006, 2010, 2014). Kotronias was awarded the titles of International Master in 1986 and Grandmaster in 1990 by FIDE.
| Vasilios Kotronias | |
|---|---|
![]() Kotronias in 2014 | |
| Country | Greece Cyprus (1998–2004) |
| Born | 25 August 1964 Athens, Greece |
| Title | Grandmaster (1990) |
| FIDE rating | 2482 (April 2022) |
| Peak rating | 2628 (January 2008) |
Between 1998 and 2004, he represented Cyprus, but has since switched federations to become a Greek national player once again.
Politics and beliefs
He was a candidate for the European Parliament with The River, in the elections of 25 May 2014.[1] After leaving the River, Kotronias joined Syriza and was a candidate in the 2019 general elections. He failed to get elected, as he finished last amongst the 18 candidates of his party.[2]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kotronias has repeatedly shared popular conspiracy theories on his social medial accounts, arguing that number of deaths is inflated and that the disease is not as dangerous as presented.[3][4][5][6]
International tournament record
- 1st 1988 Athens (Acropolis International)
- 1st 1993 Komotini
- 1st 1993 Corfu
- 1st 1994 Gausdal
- 1st 1995 Gausdal
- 1st 1996 Rishon le Zion
- 1st 1998 Panormo[7]
- 1st 2003 Gibraltar Chess Festival (jointly with Nigel Short)[8]
- equal 1st 2003/04 Hastings International Chess Congress
- equal first at 2008 Cappelle-la-Grande Open
- 1st 2020 Ikaros Chess Festival[9]
Most played openings
| With the White pieces[10] | With the Black pieces |
|---|---|
| Sicilian (212) | Sicilian Defense (188) |
| Ruy Lopez (117) | King's Indian (140) |
| French Defense (71) | Sicilian Richter-Rauser (55) |
| Ruy Lopez, Closed (62) | English (27) |
| French Tarrasch (57) | Queen's Pawn Game (25) |
| Caro-Kann (49) | Queen's Gambit Declined (18) |
Team events
In team chess, he has participated in many Chess Olympiads since 1984, including eight on top board, with an overall score of +63 −29 = 62 (61%). In seven appearances at the European Team Chess Championships, all played at board one, he made a score of +19 −13 = 26. At León, in 2001, he earned an individual silver medal for his score of 5½/8. He also earned a bronze medal for his performance on the second board at the Dresden Olympiad 2008 and a gold medal for his performance on the reserve board at the European Team Championship 2013 in Warsaw.
Notable games
- Vasilios Kotronias vs Evgeny Tomashevsky, European Individual Championships (2013), Spanish Game: Morphy Defense. Steinitz Deferred (C79), 1-0
- Vasilios Kotronias vs Hikaru NakamuraGibtelecom (2009), Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation. Main lines (B18), 1-0
- Peter Heine Nielsen vs Vasilios Kotronias, Hastings 2004, King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation, Classical System Neo-Classical Line (E98), 0-1
- Vasilios Kotronias vs Nikolaos Skalkotas, 34th Greek Teams Championship 2005, Spanish Game: Closed Variations, Chigorin Defense (C99), 1-0
- Laurent Fressinet vs Vasilios Kotronias, 12th European Individual Championship (2011), King's Indian Defense: Orthodox Variation. Gligoric-Taimanov System (E92), 0-1
Publications
- Kotronias, Vassilios (1994). Beating the Caro-Kann. Batsford Chess Library. ISBN 978-0805032840.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (1996). Beating the Flank Openings. Batsford Chess Library. ISBN 978-0805047318.
- Kotronias, Vassilios; Tzermiadianos, Andreas (2004). Beating the Petroff. Batsford. ISBN 978-0713489194.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (2011). The Grandmaster Battle Manual. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1906552527.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (2013). Kotronias on the King's Indian. Fianchetto Systems. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1906552503.
- Kotronias, Vassilios; Logothetis, Sotiris (2014). Carlsen's Assault on the Throne. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1906552220.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (2014). The Sicilian Sveshnikov. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1907982927.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (2015). Kotronias on the King's Indian. Mar del Plata I. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1907982552.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (2015). Kotronias on the King's Indian. Mar del Plata II. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1907982569.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (9 December 2015). Beating the Anti-Sicilians. Quality Chess. ISBN 978-1-907982-63-7.
- Kotronias, Vassilios (2016). The Safest Scandinavian. Chess Stars. ISBN 978-619-7188-06-6.
References
- "Greece – European Parliament election candidates". Europe Decides. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- "Εκλογική Περιφέρεια Α' Αθηνών | Εθνικές εκλογές – Ιούλιος 2019".
- "Η ΠΑΝΔΗΜΙΑ ΩΣ ΕΦΑΛΤΗΡΙΟ ΓΙΑ ΕΞΑΛΕΙΨΗ ΚΑΚΩΝ ΚΑΙ ΓΙΑ ΔΗΜΙΟΥΡΓΙΑ / Η επόμενη ημέρα στο σκάκι". 6 April 2020.
- "Kotronias1".
- "Kotronias2".
- "Kotronias3".
- Crowther, Mark (1998-11-09). "The Week in Chess 209: Zonal 1.5 Panormo, Crete". The Week in Chess. London Chess Center. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- Crowther, Mark (2003-12-10). "The Week in Chess 431: Gibraltar Chess Congress". The Week in Chess. London Chess Center. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
- "DNA-Binding Protein Ikaros", Definitions, Qeios, 2020-02-08, doi:10.32388/g9wwhs, S2CID 241118292, retrieved 2020-08-09
- "The chess games of Vasilios Kotronias".
External links
- Vasilios Kotronias chess games at 365Chess.com
- Vasilios Kotronias player profile and games at Chessgames.com
- Vasilios Kotronias Chess Olympiad record at OlimpBase.org
