Lviv Chess School

Successful interwar period

In 1922, after World War I Lviv chess club resumed its activity
In 1926 Lviv chess players create Ukrainian chess players society, Chess Club “Hetman” and a number of other clubs that took part in the popular in the city team championships
The strongest Ukrainian chess player was Stepan Popiel from Lviv, later three-time champion of Paris, winner of several tournaments in the US
Best Lviv chess players competed
Top Lviv chess players in the national team of Poland successfully performed at World Chess Olympiad: Henrich Friedman won a bronze medal in 1935, Xavier Sulik – silver in 1939
After the Soviet troops took Halychyna, all sport clubs and in particular chess clubs were eliminated
During the German occupation sport activity came alive slightly. There were held series of tournaments that gathered the strongest players of the Western Ukraine

The birth of GMs

After World War II the Soviets took a course on mass development of chess
In the 50th there were several masters and candidates for master of sports in Lviv, and in 1962 Leonid Stein became the 1st grandmaster in Lviv, later three-time champion of the USSR.
In 1974 Lviv Institute of Physical Culture opened 1st in Ukraine chess faculty
Lviv couches Viktor Kart and Viktor Zhelyandinov developed an entire galaxy of talent masters: Adrian Mykhalchyshyn (USSR Youth champion 1971; he was a couch of world’s champion Anatoliy Karpov in the match against Garry Kasparov in 1984, Vice President of Ukrainian Chess Federation 1998-2001, FIDE Senior Trainer from 2002, FIDE Trainers Commision Chairman from 2009), Martha Litynska (USSR champion in 1972), Alekxander Beliavski (USSR champion in 1974, 1980, 1987, 1990), Oleh Romanyshyn (Europe Youth champion in 1973), Josef Dorfman (USSR champion in 1977)

Lviv chess players’ achievements in the independent Ukraine

The champions of independent Ukraine are Orest Hrytsak (1993), Andriy Volokitin (2004, 2015), Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2013), and among women – Martha Litynska (1995), Anna Muzychuk (2003, 2014) and Mariya Muzychuk (2014)
Mykhailo Oleksienko, Yuriy Vovk and his brother Andriy are the winners of internation tournaments
Vasyl Ivanchuk is one of the world strongest chess players during last twenty years. He is the leader of Ukraine’s national chess team, champion of Europe and lots of international tournaments
Oleksandr Sulypa from Lviv is a main couch of Ukraine’s national men chess team
Volodymyr Hrabinskyi is outstanding coach who has trained 11 international grandmasters
Today coaches of the Debut Sport School and Vassily Ivanchuk’ chess school successfully are working with children