Iivo Nei

Iivo Nei is an Estonian chess grandmaster.

Tournament career

In 1947, at the beginning of his career, Nei took 3rd in Leningrad at the sixth USSR juniors championships won by Viktor Korchnoi. In 1948, he tied for first with Korchnoi in Tallinn. Nei won the Estonian Championship eight times. In 1955, he tied for third through sixth place in Pärnu, an event won by Paul Keres. In 1960, he tied for 14–15th at the 27th USSR championships in Leningrad won by Korchnoi. Nei won the Baltic Republics championships in 1961 in Palanga, in 1962 in Tartu, in 1963 in Estonia, and in 1964 in Pärnu. In 1964, he also tied for first with Keres in Corus [chess tournament|Beverwijk (Corus chess tournament)]. In 1965, he took second, behind Vladas Mikėnas, in Palanga.

Nei was awarded the International Master title in 1964. He was one of Boris Spassky's for the. He has also served as Nona Gaprindashvili's second for the Gaprindashvili-Kushnir World Championship. He went on to become a trainer, teaching grandmaster Lembit Oll. In February 2024, he was awarded by FIDE the title of Honorary Grandmaster. After the death of Andreas Dückstein on 28 August 2024, Nei became the oldest living grandmaster.