Ferenc Berkes – The Hungarian Chess Sensation

Ferenc Berkes was born on the 8th of August, 1985 in Hungary. A child genius, he got introduced to the game of chess when he was just six years old. He became a grandmaster at a mere age of sixteen, recreating new international norms and adding a proud feather to his cap. He won the 18 year olds age group world chess championship at Crete in the year 2002. Unfazed by his success, he topped with a victory in the Moscow Aeroflot Open competition against some of the strongest players in 2004. Things only got better in 2005 as he bagged a silver medal in the Junior World Championships.

2005 also saw him win the prestigious Zalaegerszegi Talent and Courage competition .He continued to shine as a member of the Hungarian squad that finished fifth in the 2006 Olympiads. Success kept piling up as he won the silver and bronze in the European championships and tasted victory with the Hungarian team once more in 2007. He currently holds a FIDE rating of 2670 and an outstanding Hungarian national rank where he is placed just fourth.

He maintains an equal balance between attack and defense in the game, mostly opening with the Nizmo Indian in white and deploying the Sicilian defense while playing with black. In 2009, he bagged silver in the Hungarian championship and continues to keep a dominating influence over the game in 2010. Often considered the superstar of tomorrow, Ferenc Berkes is already a Hungarian hero and on his way to conquering the world of chess.