Radek Wojtaszek, born in 1987, GM since 1987, is a consistent presence on the international chess circuit as a longtime world elite player, who also acted as an assistant in no less than six World Championship title matches, five times for Vishy Anand, and more recently in 2024 for Gukesh, the new crowned World Champion. Wojtaszek is married with WGM and IM Alina Kashlinskaya. Their son Antos was born in September 2023. The family is living in Warsaw.
Radoslaw Wojtaszek after winning the Freestyle event | Photo: Peter A. Steffen, organiser
Wojtaszek biggest wins so far are Dortmund 2017, the Biel GMT Triathlon 2020, and the super strong Isle of Man Masters 2018, an Open which included no less than six players from the then Elo top ten! Furthermore, he won or co-won the traditional Rilton Cup in Stockholm three times, and several other prestigious individual and team events.
His first well known international tournament triumph happened at the György Marx Memorial 2011 held in Paks in Hungary. Winner of the women’s section at Paks in 2011 was a certain Alina Kashlinskaya, they met each other there and fall in love. Subsequently they travelled and played several Open events together, in Switzerland for instance the Zurich Weihnachtsopen 2013 and the Basel Neujahrsopen 2014, Radek captured both back-to-back, and became then a regular top twenty player with a peak rating of 2750 Elo.
Radek and Alina got married in Moscow on July 9, 2015. Vishy Anand and his wife Aruna were among the guests of the ceremony. Wojtaszek has been working many years as a second for Vishy Anand, they became friends.
Victories over Carlsen, Caruana, and many others from Nakamura to Nepomniachtchi, from Adams to Vachier-Lagrave, in earlier times from Shirov or Svidler to Ivanchuk and Topalov, alongside his longevity at the elite level, underscore Radek’s talent and strength.
A six-time assistant in World Chess Championship matches
His career gained specific international attention when he became a key second for Anand, assisting the Indian World Chess Champion in his successful title matches against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, Veselin Topalov in 2010, Boris Gelfand in 2012 (all won by Anand), as well as in 2013 and in 2014 against Magnus Carlsen.
Wojtaszek again contributed as a second to Gukesh D. in his preparation team and during the 2024 successful World Championship match against incumbent title holder Ding Liren.
The seconds who ‘polish’ed 2024 Gukesh’s game: Radek Wojtaszek, his compatriot and good friend Grzegorz Gajewski (the chief second of Gukesh), in the middle Pentala Harikrishna from India, German Vincent Keymer, and Gukesh D. | Photo: Gukesh’s Instagram
Wojtaszek’s own style is known for its theoretical depth and versatility, a very strong positional sense with overall strategic and creative concepts, honed by his work with Anand and his own rigorous preparation. In his journey to become a growing player in Poland, Radek mentioned especially Grzegorz Gajewski, Mateusz Bartel, and Bartosz Socko (who is working as a second for Saleh Salem during the Biel GMT Triathlon 2025) as important inspirators for him.
Famous games
In January 2015 at Tata Steel in Wijk aan Zee, Wojtaszek defeated reigning World Champion Magnus Carlsen, the world’s no. 1 ranked player, in style, and during the same tournament, also the world’s second highest player, Fabiano Caruana. Finally, Carlsen claimed the Tata Steel tournament nevertheless, Magnus won an incredible eight times at Wijk aan Zee.
More recently, Wojt beat the GOAT again in May 2023 in a rapid game in Warsaw, during a Superbet event of the annual Grand Chess Tour (GCT) series. The public in his domicile spontaneously applauded Wojtaszek, although other games were still in progress.
Emotionally, a game against Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu, had maybe the biggest impact on him, Radek pointed out. He won that last round game (as he needed to) in order to take a clear first place at Dortmund 2017.
Winner at Dortmund 2017 and Biel GMT Triathlon 2020
Dortmund 2017 was Radek’s first supertournament triumph, winning unbeaten and outright ahead of joint Fedoseev (who plays this year in the Biel Triathlon Masters group, too) and Vachier-Lagrave, followed by Kramnik as clear fourth, eight players.
Wojtaszek was sole second at Biel GMT 2014 half a point behind the winner Vachier-Lagrave, ahead of Giri, Harikrishna, and Hou Yifan, and once more sole second at Biel GMT 2015 a year later, again just half a point behind the winner, successful tournament title defender Vachier-Lagrave, this time ahead of Adams, Navara, Eljanov, and Rapport.
In his third entry, Radoslaw Wojtaszek won the Biel Chess Festival GMT 2020, organised now as a Triathlon (classical, rapid, and blitz combined), ahead of Harikrishna as runner-up, Adams as third, followed by young Keymer as fourth, eight players, 28 games (14 blitz, 7 rapid, 7 classical).
Surpassing six Top Ten players at the superstrong Isle of Man Masters (Open) 2018
The top players of the chess.com Isle of Man (IoM) Masters in October 2018 were Aronian, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave, Kramnik, So, and Anand, that means six players from the Elo Top Ten rating, followed by Grischuk, Nakamura, Karjakin, Radek Wojtaszek, Rapport, Wang Hao, Naiditsch, Le Quang Liem, Adams, Gelfand, Shirov, Leko, and the 2016 winner Pavel Eljanov.
In total 165 players, including many promising youngsters as Gukesh D., Pragg, Nihal Sarin, or Vincent Keymer, as well as veterans like Gregory Kaidanov, James Tarjan, or Nigel Short, and strong ladies such as Pia Cramling, Elisabeth Pähtz, Alexandra Kosteniuk, Nino Batsiashvili, Tania Sachdev, Ketevan Arakhamia-Grant, and Alina Kashlinskaya, amongst other notable players.
Wojtaszek beat Arkadij Naiditsch in a final Armageddon tie-break game to win the event. They’d earlier drawn their final round 9 game and shared wins in two blitz tie-break games.
What an incredible line-up! The ten highest entries at the IoM 2018. In fact, six players from the Top Ten FIDE Elo rating list of October 2018, namely Aronian, Giri, MVL, Kramnik, So, and Anand, followed by Grischuk, Nakamura, then no. 13 of the world, Karjakin, winner Wojtaszek, seeded as no. 10. | Photo Collage: Alina L’Ami
A kiss for the winner, the iconic photo from Alina L’Ami, taken just seconds after Radek had beaten Arkadij Naiditsch in their final Armageddon game
Multiple National Champion and important team member
Wojtaszek has been a long-time pillar for Poland, he played his first European Team Chess Championship in Gothenburg in 2005, and debuted at the Chess Olympiad in Turin in 2006.
He is also a longtime and successful member of the Czech chess team Novy Bor. Wojtaszek was member of the winning crew at the European Chess Club Cup (ECCC) in 2013 and in 2022. Novy Bor also won in 2024, that year, Radek did not play due to new family responsibilities.
Team captain of Novy Bor and driving force is Petr Boleslav, who is also the organiser of the famous Prague Chess Festival, held since 2019. Mainstay player of Novy Bor (a historic town in the Liberec region of the Czech Republic) is David Navara, a truly humble person, his legendary sportsmanship has made him one of the most beloved players on the circuit. The Biel Festival is delighted to see him back for his fifth entry, top seeded in the Challengers group.
Wojtaszek won the National Championship six times so far, in 2005, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, and in 2024. This title in the 2024 edition of the Polish Championship was a special gift for him and his wife: A double victory in the open and the women’s section respectively for the married couple! Note: Bartosz and Monika Socko achieved this feat too, even twice, in 2008 and 2013.
One of the strongest chess couples in the world
The chess couple at the FIDE World Cup 2021 | Photo: Eric Rosen via FIDE Instagram
Alina Kashlinskaya, born 1993 in Moscow, changing Federation to Poland in May 2022, won her first Polish Women’s Championship in 2024, making the mentioned double title perfect. In August 2024, motherhood has gone spectacularly well on the chessboard, when she scored one of the best results of her career so far to win the FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in Tbilisi, Georgia, thereby she gained her second GM norm.
Earlier, in October 2018, Kashlinskaya won the top women’s prize at the Isle of Man Masters, meanwhile her husband Wojtaszek won the main prize (see above) in that same open event, which included six players from the top ten! Alina Kashlinskaya faced two of them, Giri and Kramnik, and drew both. She won her two last round games against Rinat Jumabayev (winner of the Biel MTO 2024 and player in the Challengers 2025), and Samuel Sevian, earning her first GM norm. Her peak rating has already surpassed 2500 Elo.
Happy parents with their son Anthony in 2024 | Photo: 2024 by Michał Walusza via FIDE
Good health and happiness, many future invitations, and inspiring new games. With the best wishes for the Wojtaszek-Kashlinskaya family from Biel to Warsaw.
Link:
GM Radoslaw WOJTASZEK – Biel International Chess Festival (detailed biography including earlier achievements in youth competitions)
