Forever Chess GamesForever Chess Games Logo
CreateGiftsProductsGamesPlayersOpeningsTop 100FAQ

Explore

  • Players
  • Openings
  • Famous Games
  • Top 100 Games
  • World Championships

Create

  • Create Visualisation
  • How It Works
  • Gift Ideas

Eras

  • 1880s – Classical
  • 1960s – Fischer Era
  • 1990s – Kasparov Era
  • 2020s – Modern

Info

  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Use

© 2026 Forever Chess Games. All Rights Reserved

  1. Home
  2. /Players
  3. /Polugaevsky, Lev

Polugaevsky, Lev

classical era

Lev Polugaevsky (1934-1995) was a Soviet grandmaster and world-class opening theoretician who remained among the elite from the early 1960s through the late 1980s. He is best known for developing the ultra-sharp Polugaevsky Variation of the Najdorf Sicilian, which he analyzed with tireless devotion for decades and detailed in his classic book "Grandmaster Preparation."

Total Games

1892

Wins

678

Draws

956

Losses

255

35.8% wins50.5% draws13.5% losses

Most Played Openings

E15 - Queen's Indian Defense: Buerger Variation63E12 - Queen's Indian Defense61E11 - Bogo-Indian Defense40B96 - Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation39B85 - Sicilian Defense: Scheveningen Variation, Classical Main Line36A30 - English Opening: Wing Gambit36A17 - English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense36A07 - King's Indian Attack32E18 - Queen's Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Tiviakov Defense27A34 - English Opening: Symmetrical Variation27

Most Faced Opponents

Kortschnoj, Viktor65 gamesGeller, Efim P34 gamesTal, Mihail31 gamesKarpov, Anatoly29 gamesTimman, Jan H25 gamesLjubojevic, Ljubomir24 gamesPortisch, Lajos24 gamesTaimanov, Mark E22 gamesSmyslov, Vassily22 gamesSpassky, Boris V21 games

Featured Games

FCGFCG
1-0

Polugaevsky, Lev vs Beliavsky, Alexander G

Reggio Emilia9192

1992

View Print
FCGFCG
0-1

Polugaevsky, Lev vs Ljubojevic, Ljubomir

Tilburg

1985

View Print
FCGFCG
1-0

Karpov, Anatoly vs Polugaevsky, Lev

Biel

1990

View Print
FCGFCG
1-0

Karpov, Anatoly vs Polugaevsky, Lev

Tilburg

1983

View Print
FCGFCG
1-0

Polugaevsky, Lev vs Short, Nigel D

Amber-rapid 2nd

1993

View Print
FCGFCG
0-1

Timman, Jan H vs Polugaevsky, Lev

Tilburg

1983

View Print
FCGFCG
0-1

Feuerstein, Arthur William vs Polugaevsky, Lev

WchT U26

1957

View Print
FCGFCG
0-1

Polugaevsky, Lev vs Ljubojevic, Ljubomir

Amber-blind 2nd

1993

View Print
FCGFCG
1-0

Polugaevsky, Lev vs Andersen, Borge

WchT U26

1957

View Print
FCGFCG
0-1

Franzoni, Giancarlo vs Polugaevsky, Lev

WchT

1985

View Print

Games (1892)

Search & Filter All Games →
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Hjartarson, Johann
0-1
Akureyri 1988 D58
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Gausel, Einar
1/2-1/2
Reykjavik op 1988 D25
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Olafsson, Helgi
1/2-1/2
Reykjavik op 1988 D58
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Miles, Anthony J
1-0
GMA-Open 1988 A21
Arnason, Jon L vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Sochi 1988 B93
Damljanovic, Branko vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Sochi 1988 B23
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Makarov, Marat
1-0
GMA-Open 1988 E16
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Arnason, Jon L
1/2-1/2
Akureyri 1988 E11
Drasko, Milan vs Polugaevsky, Lev
0-1
Sochi 1988 E16
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Kristjansson, Olafur
1-0
Akureyri 1988 E05
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Arnason, Jon L
1/2-1/2
Reykjavik 1987 E12
Hjartarson, Johann vs Polugaevsky, Lev
0-1
Reykjavik 1987 B80
Quinteros, Miguel A vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1-0
Rio Hondo 1987 A04
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Dizdarevic, Emir
1-0
Sarajevo 1987 E12
Petursson, Margeir vs Polugaevsky, Lev
0-1
Reykjavik 1987 E15
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Martin Gonzalez, Angel
1-0
Sevilla op 1987 A79
Kortschnoj, Viktor vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1-0
Reykjavik 1987 E12
Panno, Oscar vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 A36
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Dolmatov, Sergey
1/2-1/2
Moscow TV 1987 B45
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Cifuentes Parada, Roberto
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 D53
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Bareev, Evgeny
1/2-1/2
Moscow TV 1987 A87
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Cvitan, Ognjen
0-1
Sarajevo 1987 E92
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Drasko, Milan
1-0
Sarajevo 1987 D18
Szmetan, Jorge vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 A30
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Sokolov, Ivan
1/2-1/2
Sarajevo 1987 D87
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Garcia Palermo, Carlos
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 D27
Olafsson, Helgi vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Reykjavik 1987 E15
Granda Zuniga, Julio E vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 E31
Popovic, Petar vs Polugaevsky, Lev
0-1
Sarajevo 1987 B91
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Dizdar, Goran
1/2-1/2
Sarajevo 1987 E08
Vaganian, Rafael A vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Sarajevo 1987 E15
Kurajica, Bojan vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Sarajevo 1987 E00
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Ricardi, Pablo
1-0
Rio Hondo 1987 D87
Nikolic, Predrag vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Sarajevo 1987 E15
Miles, Anthony J vs Polugaevsky, Lev
0-1
Sarajevo 1987 E12
Agdestein, Simen vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Reykjavik 1987 E12
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Gomez Baillo, Jorge H
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 A07
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Seirawan, Yasser
1/2-1/2
Sarajevo 1987 D02
Dolmatov, Sergey vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Moscow TV 1987 B87
Rubinetti, Jorge A vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Rio Hondo 1987 A08
Plaskett, Jim vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1-0
London 1986 E16
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Flear, Glenn C
1-0
London 1986 D44
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Vaganian, Rafael A
1/2-1/2
London 1986 D55
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Ribli, Zoltan
1/2-1/2
London 1986 D19
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Chandler, Murray G
1/2-1/2
London 1986 E12
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Dlugy, Maxim
1-0
London 1986 A09
Mestel, A Jonathan vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
London 1986 B82
Nunn, John DM vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
London 1986 B80
Polugaevsky, Lev vs Speelman, Jonathan S
1/2-1/2
London 1986 E12
Ivkov, Borislav vs Polugaevsky, Lev
1/2-1/2
Moscow 1985 A14
PreviousPage 16 of 38Next

Explore More

All PlayersAll OpeningsFamous Games