Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi spoke about his main hobby in an interview at the FERZ chess club. Ian discusses his experience with Dota 2 and notes his love for competitive games.

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Russia's No. 1

“Besides chess… I’m still a big fan of computer games. It all started with me spending a fair amount of time playing games in my spare time about 15 years ago.

I’m pretty good and have probably spent thousands of hours playing Dota 2. I still follow esports events, though not very much.

Since one of my main motivations in chess — is winning, and if in a given game I can beat someone — I like that game!”

Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2723) is Russia’s No. 1. Ian has played Dota 2 at a semi-professional level for over 15 years. In 2011, under the nickname FrostNova, he won the ASUS Open Winter 2011 as part of the team The Retry. In 2024 and 2025, he participated in the Streamers Battle tournaments organized by the sportsbook BetBoom.