Martyn Kravtsiv

Overview

Martyn Romanovich Kravtsiv (born November 26, 1990) is an active Ukrainian chess Grandmaster (GM) representing the Ukraine (UKR) federation. He was awarded the International Master (IM) title in 2007 and the Grandmaster title in 2009. Kravtsiv achieved a career-high classical FIDE rating of 2685 in March 2018, ranking No. 59 in the world. He is primarily known as an elite tournament player, national contender, prolific opening theorist, chess author, and highly successful trainer, having coached the Ukrainian national team to major podium finishes on the international stage.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Born in Lviv, Kravtsiv was taught chess by his father on his sixth birthday and went on to train at the Lviv Chess Club under the guidance of IM Volodymyr Grabinsky. During his junior career, he became a triple champion of Ukraine in the under-10 (2000), under-14 (2004), and under-20 (2008) categories. At the 2006 World Youth U16 Olympiad, he captained the Ukrainian team to a gold medal, and in 2007, he won the silver medal at the European Under-16 Championship.

Kravtsiv completed his IM title norms in October 2005 at Chervonohrad and in October 2006 at Lviv. He secured his GM title norms at the Saratov GM tournament (August 2007), the 24th Cappelle-la-Grande Open (February 2008), and the Kaissa-2009 tournament in Kharkiv (March 2009).

In 2008, Kravtsiv achieved major international recognition by winning the individual blitz gold medal at the World Mind Sports Games in Beijing. His major open and round-robin tournament victories include sharing first at the Orissa Open (2010), winning the Chennai Open (2011), and tying for first at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open in 2011 and 2012. In 2015, he finished as the runner-up in the Ukrainian Championship on tiebreaks after sharing first place with Andrei Volokitin and Zahar Efimenko. He won the Riga Technical University Open in 2016, shared first place at the 2017 Sharjah Masters, and won the Gujarat Open GM tournament in 2018. More recently, in 2024, he won the Ukrainian Blitz Championship with a score of 10/11.

Elite Team & Event Performance

• 2006 World Youth U16 Olympiad: Captained Ukraine to team gold.
• 2013 FIDE World Cup: Competed as an individual qualifier.
• 2016 Baku Chess Olympiad: Served as a coach for the Ukrainian national team, assisting them to a silver medal.
• 2017 World Team Chess Championship: Represented Ukraine as a player.
• 2021 European Team Chess Championship: Served as a coach for the Ukrainian national team, helping secure the gold medal.
• Club leagues: Represented Hamburger SK in the German Bundesliga (2013–2015), BKS Prokonex Brzeg in Poland (2009–2010), and DVTK in the Hungarian Team Championship (2016/17).

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Kravtsiv plays in an active positional style characterized by a blend of deep tactical sharpness and technical strategic endgame conversion. His play reflects a highly modern, computer-literate approach where he relies on concrete calculation rather than emotional risk-taking. Kravtsiv values king safety and compact pawn structures, often aiming to create strategic imbalances through minor-piece coordination. His deep understanding of tactical and positional themes is illustrated in his published works, including 600 Modern Chess Puzzles (2020) and 400 Chess Strategy Puzzles (2024) for Gambit Publications.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

As a renowned theorist, author of Practical Chess Openings (2025) and The Italian Renaissance (2020), and Chessable course creator, Kravtsiv maintains a deeply researched and versatile opening repertoire.

1. As White

Kravtsiv primarily opens with 1.e4, occasionally using 1.Nf3 or hypermodern flank openings like 1.b3.

• The Italian Game: A cornerstone of his 1.e4 repertoire, where he favors closed, maneuvering structures:

• Petroff Defence: Against the solid 2...Nf6, he regularly employs the 5.Nc3 variation:

• Scotch Game: An alternative open weapon he uses to find early dynamic play:

• Exchange French: Against the French, Kravtsiv uses the Exchange variation as a serious modern weapon (the subject of his Freeze the French work) to neutralize counterplay:

• Anti-Sicilian Systems: He frequently employs the Canal-Sokolsky/Rossolimo Attack and the Closed Sicilian to sidestep heavy open theoretical lines:

2. As Black

Kravtsiv employs solid, theoretically robust defenses designed to fight for the initiative.

• Open Games & Ruy Lopez: Against 1.e4, he often defends with standard lines in the Ruy Lopez, including the Marshall Attack and closed Spanish setups:

• Nimzo-Indian Defense: His main defensive pillar against 1.d4, providing rich positional structures:

• Queen's Gambit Declined (Ragozin Defense): Regularly used in conjunction with his Nimzo-Indian:

• Catalan Opening (Open Catalan):

• Nimzowitsch Sicilian: An occasional tactical weapon against 1.e4:

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/14113147
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyn_Kravtsiv