The son of a well known IM and coach in the Ukraine, Eljanov is one of the leading players of his country and a member of his Olympic team. His father also founded a printing house, specifically so that his son and others could enjoy Russian versions of chess books (Dvoretzky’s mainly).

A product of the Kharkov chess school, he became known in the chess circuits after some high placing and wins in strong opens all over the world. In 2006 he convincingly won the strong category 15 GM event in Montreal, had a good showing at the Aeroflot open where he finished ½ a point from the winners (only a loss in the last round prevented him from winning it), and a lukewarm 5.5/9 score in the Turin Olympiad. Pavel was a well sought after Grandmaster for league play, and took part in team competitions in Germany, France, Bosnia, Israel, and Russia.

Eljanov is an aggressive positional player who consistently opens with 1. d4, and often employs the Sveshnikov Sicilian as black. Perhaps Corus B ‘07 will be the jump he needs to make to the next level.