#20 Wijk aan Zee Storytellers (4) - GM Ivan Sokolov
In this fourth episode of the "Wijk aan Zee Storytellers" series, Eric talks to GM Ivan Sokolov, who played twelve times in the highest group of the tournament in Wijk aan Zee, in which he played 134 games. He played his most famous game in 1999 in Wijk aan Zee against GM Garry Kasparov, who was in the lead with 7,5/8 and had just played one of the most spectacular games ever against Veselin Topalov. However, Sokolov crushed Kasparov in round 9 and shocked Kasparov and the chess world. He talks a bit about that game, but there are other, sometimes hilarious stories to tell. Sokolov also talks about the 2021 edition of the event and tells us why he is not surprised that the youngsters play such a great tournament this year. Ivan Sokolov (1968) is a Bosnian-born Dutch chess player, coach and writer. He was awarded the title of Grandmaster (GM) by FIDE in 1987. Sokolov won the 1988 Yugoslav Championship and in 1995 and 1998 the Dutch Championship. The former world top player defeated no less than 6 world champions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------