He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1999. His highest
FIDE rating has been 2623, achieved in October 2007. His national ranking is fourth and he has played for his country at several
Olympiads. In 2001 he tied for 1st with
Yannick Pelletier,
Mark Hebden and
Vladimir Tukmakov in the 9th
Neuchâtel Open and in 2006 won the
Acropolis International tournament in
Athens. In 2008 he tied for 2nd with
Giorgi Bagaturov in the
Gyumri International tournament and tied for 1st with
Nigel Short,
Vadim Milov,
Aleksej Aleksandrov,
Baadur Jobava,
Alexander Lastin,
Gadir Guseinov and
Farid Abbasov in the President's Cup in
Baku. In 2011 he won the 5th Annual Philadelphia Open. He is noted for playing some unusual
opening variations, such as 2.b3 in response to the
Sicilian,
French and
Caro–Kann Defences. == References ==