Dmitry Andreikin is the Russian grandmaster who has spent more than a decade as one of the world’s most dangerous fighters — a player who reached the final of the 2013 Chess World Cup, qualified for the 2014 Candidates Tournament, and is widely feared as one of the best rapid and blitz players on the planet. His classical rating peaked at 2743 in 2016, putting him firmly among the world’s top 20, and he’s twice been Champion of Russia.
Quick facts
- Full name: Dmitry Vladimirovich Andreikin · Born: 5 February 1990, Ryazan, Russia
- Title: Grandmaster (earned in 2007)
- Peak rating: 2743 (2016) — a world top-20 mark
- Biggest results: World Junior Champion (2010), 2013 World Cup finalist, 2× Russian Champion (2012, 2018)
- Style: practical, intuitive, fearless — and lethal at speed chess
Who is Dmitry Andreikin?
Born in Ryazan in 1990, Andreikin was a serious talent from childhood — he won the Under-10 World Youth Championship back in 1999, then kept climbing through the junior ranks. He earned the grandmaster title in 2007 and, in 2010, capped his junior career by winning the World Junior Chess Championship in Chotowa, Poland, with a commanding score.
From there he grew into a fixture of the world elite. He won the Russian Championship — one of the toughest national titles in all of chess — in 2012, and again in 2018. But the result that put his name in lights came in 2013.
At the 2013 Chess World Cup, a brutal 128-player single-elimination gauntlet, Andreikin knocked out one strong opponent after another and stormed all the way to the final — where he met former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik. He lost the four-game final 1½–2½, but reaching it was a massive achievement: it earned him a coveted spot in the 2014 Candidates Tournament, the eight-player event that decides who challenges for the World Championship. He held his own there, finishing on an even score.
What is Andreikin’s playing style?
Andreikin is a practical, intuitive fighter. He isn’t the type to memorize twenty moves of sharp theory and blast you off the board with preparation; instead he trusts his feel for a position, chooses solid but slightly offbeat setups, and out-plays opponents in the middlegame and endgame. He’s famously fearless — happy to accept messy, unbalanced positions and rely on his nerve and calculation to come out ahead.
Where he’s truly special is speed chess. Andreikin’s intuition makes him one of the deadliest rapid and blitz players alive — the kind of opponent nobody wants to face when the clock is ticking down. We break all of this down in Andreikin’s playing style.
What openings does Dmitry Andreikin play?
True to his practical nature, Andreikin favors reliable, understandable openings over the sharpest theoretical battlegrounds. As White he’s a 1.d4 player who’s very comfortable in classical Queen’s Gambit Declined structures, and he’ll happily mix in offbeat, low-theory weapons like the Trompowsky Attack to sidestep an opponent’s preparation. As Black he leans on the flexible Sicilian Defense (especially Taimanov setups) and the rock-solid Berlin Defense against 1.e4.
See his full repertoire in Andreikin’s openings.
Career highlights
- 1999: wins the Under-10 World Youth Championship.
- 2007: earns the grandmaster title.
- 2010: becomes World Junior Champion in Chotowa, Poland.
- 2012: wins his first Russian Championship.
- 2013: reaches the final of the Chess World Cup, losing to Vladimir Kramnik — and qualifies for the Candidates.
- 2013: goes undefeated at the elite Tal Memorial, beating Kramnik along the way.
- 2014: plays the Candidates Tournament, then wins the Tashkent FIDE Grand Prix with a huge 2852 performance.
- 2016: reaches his peak rating of 2743 and wins the European Blitz Championship.
- 2018: wins his second Russian Championship.
The best games
Andreikin’s best work is full of fearless decisions and resourceful defense — including a famous classical win over Vladimir Kramnik and a World Cup run that stunned the chess world. We’ve collected the highlights in Dmitry Andreikin’s best games.
Fun facts
- He’s a genuine speed-chess assassin — at the 2019 World Blitz Championship he was the only player to beat Magnus Carlsen, who went on to win the event.
- He won the European Blitz Championship in 2016, underlining that his intuition is at its most dangerous with the clock flying.
- As a junior he was a World Youth (Under-10) Champion way back in 1999 — the same generation of Russian talent that produced several of today’s elite.
- He beat a former World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik, in a classical game at the 2013 Tal Memorial while finishing the event undefeated as the lowest-rated player in the field.
FAQ
Who is Dmitry Andreikin? A Russian grandmaster, born in 1990, who reached the final of the 2013 Chess World Cup, played the 2014 Candidates Tournament, and is regarded as one of the best rapid and blitz players in the world.
What is Dmitry Andreikin’s highest rating? His classical FIDE rating peaked at 2743 in 2016, which placed him among the world’s top 20 players.
Has Andreikin won the World Championship? No. His biggest classical result was reaching the final of the 2013 World Cup and qualifying for the 2014 Candidates, the event that decides the World Championship challenger.
Is Andreikin better at blitz or classical chess? He’s elite at both, but he has a special reputation as a speed-chess specialist — his intuitive style shines in rapid and blitz, where he’s beaten just about everyone.
What openings does Andreikin play? Classical, practical stuff: the Queen’s Gambit Declined and 1.d4 structures as White (plus offbeat tries like the Trompowsky), and the Sicilian and Berlin Defense as Black.
Keep exploring
Go deeper on the fearless Russian: his best games · his playing style · his opening repertoire · his rating history · fun facts & records · or browse all chess players.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team · Facts verified against Wikipedia, his FIDE profile, and Chess.com, as of July 2026 · Current status stamped “as of July 2026” · Last verified 2026-07-10 · How we verify content.