Andrei Yurievich Sokolov is a Soviet-French chess Grandmaster, who was a highly accomplished and emerging contender in the international chess scene, especially during the mid-1980s. He achieved the title of International Master in 1982, and then became an International Grandmaster in 1984.
Sokolov's significant achievements began with winning the 1982 USSR Chess Championship, followed by his noteworthy performance in the 1984 Candidates Tournament where he narrowly lost against Garry Kasparov. In 1986, he had another remarkable performance in the Candidates Tournament, resulting in him becoming runner-up.
However, he was unable to maintain his momentum in the late 1980s and gradually dropped out of the top-tier competitive chess play. However, he did participate in some open tournaments throughout the 1990s and had occasional notable performances, such as shared first place at the Cappelle-la-Grande Open.
Though born in Russia, Sokolov has lived in France since 2000 and has represented the country in international competitions since then.
In addition to his own competitive play, Sokolov also authored the book "Winning Chess Middlegames" in 2008 to share his knowledge and strategies of the game. He also became a successful chess trainer, guiding a team from Panama in the 2000 Olympiad and coaching French juniors, where he produced some fine talents such as Maxime Vachier-Lagrave.