Mark Dvoretsky
Mark Izrailevich Dvoretsky (; December 9, 1947 – September 26, 2016) was a Russian chess trainer, writer, and International Master. Biography Dvoretsky was born in Moscow in 1947. He learnt chess when he was around 5 or 6 years old. However, he started to study chess seriously and participate in tournaments only when he was in the fifth grade. Before that he had a different interest – mathematics. One day his math teacher was changed, and he found the new teacher boring. He subsequently lost his interest in math and moved towards chess. He was 11–12 years old when he enrolled in a chess club in Moscow. He was awarded the International Master title in 1975, and for a time he was widely regarded as the strongest IM in the world. This was due to a number of excellent results: he was Moscow Champion in 1973, finished equal fifth in a strong Soviet Championship in 1974, and won the Wijk aan Zee B group tournament of 1975 by a clear point and a half. Along with another creditable finish at the USSR Championship of 1975, the results were an indication that he was already of grandmaster strength. However, for personal