Alisher Anarkulov

[Alasdair MacLeod]

It was very sad to hear of the recent death of Alisher Anarkulov after the closing ceremony of the FIDE Chess Olympiad where he played on board 4 for the ICCD (International Chess Committee of the Deaf) team.

I only met Alisher on two occasions as we seemed to miss each other at different ICCD (formerly known as ICSC, International Committee of Silent Chess) events. This was because he often played in the World Individual tournaments while I played more in the team events.

My first encounter with him was in 2004 at the ICSC World Individual Championship in Germany but when we met there wasn’t a chessboard in sight. We played for opposite teams in the football match that was held on the rest day (I was only there for the weekend as an official). I made an admittedly bad tackle on Alisher and he had every right to feel aggrieved but before I had a chance to apologise, he got up quickly and smiled, showing an abundance of gold teeth. Behind that tough exterior, he revealed his calm and gentle nature. We shook hands and had a brief chat about how he was doing in the chess where I said he could get a medal. At the end of the tournament, he came close to doing so, finishing 6th and only half a point behind 3rd place.

I didn’t see him again until 2010 at the ICSC Chess Olympiad - World Deaf Team Championship where he played on board 1 for Uzbekistan. His win against Christopher Kreuzer helped his team beat England in the final round. Again, he showed his class in this tournament where his calm and relaxed posture as well as excellent temperament proved why he was one of the best deaf chess players in the world.

It was also sad to read that he was only 45 when he passed away. He will be known as the strongest deaf chess player in Asia and one of the best deaf chess players in the world, twice coming 2nd in the World Deaf Individual Championships and so came close to becoming World Deaf Chess Champion.

As for those reports which said, “....There was a second player who died at the Chess Olympiad, his name is not yet known”, I hope we will now see more reports that say, “...There was a second player who died at the 2014 Chess Olympiad. His name was Alisher Anarkulov”.


Chess achievements;

ICSC Asian Deaf Chess Champion 2002

6th, ICSC World Individual Deaf Chess Championship 2004

2nd, ICSC World Individual Deaf Chess Championship 2008

Board 1 for Uzbekistan at ICSC Chess Olympiad, World Deaf Team Championship 2010

3rd, 1st ICSC World Individual Blitz Chess Championship, 2010

2nd, ICSC World Individual Deaf Chess Championship 2012

Board 4, ICCD team in the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2014

The 2012 result was his greatest achievement as amongst others, he finished ahead of GM Klaric, GM Gruenfeld, IM Georgiev and IM Orsag. Indeed, it was clear that he was very proud of this as he had a photo of himself on the podium as his profile picture on Facebook.


Pictures;

On the podium of the World Individual Deaf Chess Championship, 2012
http://web.tiscalinet.it/foto012/2012A/x169.html

At the chessboard
http://web.tiscalinet.it/foto011/Foto%2 ... kistan.jpg

During the Tromso Olympiad
http://tromso2014.jalbum.net/Chess%20Ol ... kistan.jpg

Games;

Alisher Anarkulov v. IM Veselin Georgiev , ICSC World Individual Chess Championship, 2004;
http://www.365chess.com/view_game.php?g=2982806
This was the only loss suffered by the ICSC World Champion in this tournament.

In the 2012 ICSC World Individual Deaf Chess Championship, he not only beat IM Georgiev again but also inflicted the only loss of the eventual ICSC World Champion, IM Vladimir Klasan in this tournament. These games can be found in here;
http://www.webalice.it/michess/Mychess/Almaty_M.htm


Rest in peace, Alisher.

Born: 23rd September 1968
Died: 14th August 2014

[Jon Mahony]

I belive the other player to die was Kurt Meier. RIP.

[Christopher Kreuzer]

Some additional links relating to Alisher (I've not been able to find an obituary for Kurt Meier online, but echo Jon's thoughts):

http://www.uznews.net/en/society/27238- ... -in-norway
http://uzchess.uz/378-vyrazhaem-soboleznovaniya.html

The second link is in Cyrillic script, not sure what language. Google Translates suggests it is Russian, and the closing statement is translated as:

"The memory of Alisher and his sports and creative achievements will remain forever in the history of chess in Uzbekistan and in our hearts."