Oleg Skvortsov, Zurich Chess Challenge founder, dies at 57

Oleg Skvortsov, the chess patron and tournament organizer best known for founding the Zurich Chess Challenge, has died at 57.

Skvortsov founded and financed the Zurich series from 2012 to 2017. It began with a match between Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik before developing into elite tournaments; the 2014 edition had an average rating of 2801.

He also backed young players through matches including Shirov–Dubov and the annual Nutcracker generation events, which brought leading juniors together with established grandmasters.

Skvortsov introduced the 45-minute time control with a 10-second increment, a format that became informally known by his name.

Photo: Vladimir Barsky / FIDE.