Francisco Vallejo Pons

rdf:langString Francisco Vallejo Pons

rdf:langString Francisco Vallejo Pons

rdf:langString Francisco Vallejo Pons

rdf:langString Vallejo in 2013

rdf:langString Spain

rdf:langString Francisco Vallejo, son of Ángel R. Vallejo Jiménez, military academy graduate in Law, and Felicidad Pons Gomila. He was born in Mahón, where the main hospital on the island of Menorca was located, but he has never lived there, but rather in Es Castell (until 1989 called "Villacarlos"). In the family everyone played chess: his father with his grandfather and his brothers among them, so at the age of 5 he already knew how to play: he had learned by watching them. 2 A family friend, named Nissio, noticed his abilities and without knowing the rules perfectly, he was sent to the Villacarlos Chess School, where first Guillermo Simó, and later Jaume Villalonga and Pep Suárez were his teachers. His first international triumph was in 1991 when he won the title of world under-10 runner-up in Milwaukee. At the age of 11, his life radically changes: he goes to live without his family in Galicia, at the Marcote School in Mondariz-Balneario. There he combined his studies with his chess career and had coaches such as Daniel Pizá, Pablo Glavina, Andrei Kharlov and Zenón Franco Ocampos. In 1996 he obtained the title of International Master and two years later he became runner-up in Spain behind Miguel Illescas in Linares. Vallejo became a Grand Master in 1999, that is, at the age of 16, which made him the youngest person to receive this title in the history of Spanish chess. At 17 he finished secondary education (University Orientation Course), did the Selectivity and entered the National Institute of Physical Education of Catalonia, attached to the University of Barcelona. Almost immediately after moving to the Residencia Muñoz Grandes to begin his studies, he participated in the 2000 Under-18 World Championship in Oropesa del Mar, which he won. At the age of 20, he decides to abandon his studies because it was impossible for him to combine them with professional elite chess. Since then he officially resides in Palma de Mallorca. Vallejo was coach of Veselin Topalov in his strategic preparation for the 2006 World Chess Championship, obtaining good victories thanks to it, although they were not enough to retain the title.He has a wide and highly changing opening repertoire. In July 2011 he had 2724 Elo points, which placed him at number 20 of the active players in the FIDE world ranking, and in the first place in Spain, ahead of the Spanish nationalized Latvian Alexei Shirov.3 At the end of March 2018, he withdraws after the fifth round of the European Championship in Batumi, Georgia, overwhelmed by his problems with the Treasury. Despite having losses playing online poker during 2011, the Treasury demands a large sum of money from him; the player can't stand the pressure and decides to tell everything publicly on social networks and national and international press, receiving great media support.

rdf:langString No. 18

rdf:langString No. 30

rdf:langString Grandmaster(1999)