Igor Glek

Igor Vladimirovich Glek (Russian: Игорь Владимирович Глек; born 7 November 1961) is a Russian chess player, trainer, writer and theorist. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990. Glek was born in Moscow. Completing his University of Moscow engineering/economics qualification in 1983, he worked as an economist until 1986 and followed this with two years of military service in the Soviet Army. From 1989, he was able to concentrate on chess, becoming first a professional player, then a grandmaster in 1990. In 1994 he moved to Essen, Germany. Over the years, he has coached many talented young players and has been a regular writer on chess. He is perhaps most commonly known for his contributions to the New In Chess (NIC) series of opening surveys and also the Secrets Of Opening Surprises series of books (also published by NIC), which fall under the general editorship of Jeroen Bosch. Known for his extensive and very creative opening repertoire, many enthusiasts find Glek's games and advice on offbeat opening lines invaluable. As a player, he mostly opens with e4 as white and prefers the King's Indian, French Defence and Dutch Defence as Black.