FIDE
A towering talent
When he was a chess playing child, Andrey Esipenko attracted attention in most tournaments he played. He was much younger than the majority of his opponents. Still, young Andrey went from victory to victory.
Andrey Esipenko quickly emerged as a towering talent, one of the world’s best in his generation. In March 2022 he reached his peak rating (so far) of 2723, but lately his Elo has fallen below the 2700 mark – a temporary slump most likely. Knowledgeable observers know that he can play even at the 2800 level.
Pick up where he left off in 2021
Esipenko has shown that often enough. In early 2021 at the Tata Steel Chess in Wijk an Zee, he defeated Magnus Carlsen, to date Carlsen’s only loss as world champion to a teenager in a classical game. That win and Esipenko's third-place finish in the prestigious tournament lifted Esipenko above the 2700 mark for the first time.
Later in the year, the two met again in the fifth round of the World Cup. The match went to tiebreaks until blitz games, in which Carlsen finally prevailed. Every observer saw how close it was. Esipenko will be absent from the Tata Steel Chess 2023. Now the 20-year-old has the opportunity at the WR Masters 2023 to pick up where he left off in 2021.
