- Daniel Fridman
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For other people of the same name, see Daniel Friedman.
Daniel Fridman 
GM Fridman in 2008Full name Daniels Fridmans Country 
GermanyBorn February 15, 1976
Riga , LatviaTitle Grandmaster FIDE rating 2652 (September 2011) Peak rating 2665 (July 2009) Daniel Fridman (born February 15, 1976 in Riga) is a German chess master who originates from Latvia. He was Latvian champion in 1996 and German champion in 2008.
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Early chess career
As with many chess champions, Fridman learned the rules of the game at an early age, around four years. He soon became a regular player of youth tournaments, competing on a national, regional and international stage. His biggest junior success occurred at Duisberg in 1992, when he took home a bronze medal in the Under-16 category of the World Youth Chess Championship.
By the mid-1990s, Fridman was recognised as a serious force in Latvian chess and he went on to win the national championship in 1996, having gained the International Master title in 1994. Leaving his junior status behind, there were some early international tournament successes such as at the Wichern Open in Hamburg in 1997 (joint second place, behind Sergei Movsesian) and Senden in 1998 (joint winner with Frank Holzke).
In 1999 he relocated to Germany and qualified as a Grandmaster in 2001.
Further success
Most of Fridman's major tournament victories have occurred after the year 2000. These include outright or shared first places at Essen ('B' Group) 2001, Recklinghausen Summer Open 2002, Zurich Christmas Open 2002, Southampton, Bermuda 2003 ('B' Group), Stratton Mountain 2004, Marseille Open 2006, Nuremberg 2006, Lausanne 2006, Venaco (Corsica) 2006 and the Liverpool International Open of 2007.
He won the German Championship at Bad Wörishofen in 2008.
He is a renowned master of speed chess and among other victories, took first places at the Essen rapid contest of 2000 and Dutch Open rapid tourney of 2008. Playing internet competitions, he has enjoyed success at the Dos Hermanas tournaments of 2004 and 2005.
Team events
He first represented the Latvian men's team on board 4 at the Yerevan Oympiad of 1996 and at the Pula 1997 European Team Championship. He returned to the Olympiad team as first board in 2004 (Calvia) and in 2006 (Turin). Having become a German citizen, he has since switched chess federations and as incumbent national champion in 2008, was an automatic choice for the German team at the Dresden Olympiad.
Playing league chess in the Bundesliga, he has been a member of the Mulheim Nord club since 2004.
Personal life
Fridman is married to American IM and WGM Anna Zatonskih. Having been based mainly in the U.S. since 2006, the couple now plan to cut the need for frequent travelling by spending some time in Germany. They have a daughter, Sofia, born 2007. Daniel's younger brother Rafael (born 1979) is also a chess player and has the rank of an international master (IM).
References
- Polish Wikipedia entry
- Personal life - Anna Zatonskih interview
- 2008 Dutch Open Rapid result
- 2008 German Championship result
- 2007 Liverpool International
- Olimpbase - Olympiad and other Team event information
External links
- Daniel Fridman player profile at ChessGames.com
- FIDE rating card for Daniel Fridman
Categories:- Latvian Jews
- Chess grandmasters
- Latvian chess players
- German chess players
- Jewish chess players
- People from Riga
- German people of Latvian descent
- 1976 births
- Living people
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