Novikov won the Ukrainian Chess Championship in 1989. The same year, he debuted in the national team, participating in the World Team Chess Championship and the USSR-Rest of the World match. He played for Ukraine in three Chess Olympiads, aiding them in winning the gold medal in the 2004 Chess Olympiad.
Though Novikov has relatively few famous tournament victories, he is notably a consistent player. He has beaten numerous world-class players, including World Champions Anatoly Karpov, Gary Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.