Ukrainian Chess Grandmaster Vladimir Borisovich Tukmakov, born March 5, 1946, made significant contributions to the sport as both a player and a coach. The chess world officially recognized his Grandmaster status in 1972.
Tukmakov is known for his accomplishments in several chess competitions throughout his career. He was twice the champion of the Ukrainian SSR, in 1970 and 1972, and won clear first prize in multitude of international chess tournaments like Moscow 1970, Leningrad 1973, Cienfuegos 1975 among others.
Beyond individual achievements, Tukmakov also contributed to successful team expeditions in the Chess Olympiads and the European Team Chess Championships as a member of the Soviet national team. At the sophomore event of European Team Chess Championships, Moscow 1977, he managed to take two individual gold medals and team gold.
Tukmakov's contributions to chess do not end with his playing career. He transitioned into coaching and helped guide several preeminent chess players in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Notably, he coached Grandmaster Genna Sosonko in his Candidates Match in 1983, then he worked with the Turkish National team and from 2004 to 2009, Tukmakov functioned as the trainer for the Dutch team, including Loek Van Wely and Sergey Tiviakov.
Later, Tukmakov achieved significant success with team Azerbaijan, which won the European Team Chess Championship in 2009, 2013, and the World Chess Olympiad in 2016 under his leadership.
Tukmakov has also made contributions to chess literature. He authored two books: "Profession: Chess Coach" and "Risk & Bluff in Chess," both were positively received.
Aside from his career in chess, Tukmakov studied applied mathematics, and graduated from the Odessa University.