Poland’s leading player is the top seed in an especially strong C group in 2007. Michal had won the B group in 2002, earning him the right to play in the top group in 2003, where he finished in the penultimate place. He was born in Moscow, Russia and made his first marks in his twenties, receiving his IM and Grandmaster title in 1988 and 1989 respectively. In 1992 he moved to Poland, and established himself as a very strong Grandmaster. Four years later he became a most valuable member of his Olympic national team – representing them on board 1 in many world events.

A Mathematician by education, Krasenkow is a very active and experienced player, who has under his belt a huge list of open and closed event wins from all over the world. A glance at his rating progress graph reveals seismographic changes, borne out of erratic results. He reached a peak in 2000 when his rating crossed the 2700 mark, placing him at the number 10 slot in the world. In 2006 Michal played in 3 European leagues with mixed results and took part in several tournaments – most successfully winning clear first in both the strong Vlissingenopen (8/9!) and the Torre memorial knockout event (6/8).