Vovk has asserted his place as an elite chess player by beating several grandmasters throughout his career including Rustam Kasimdzhanov, Pavel Eljanov, and Zahar Efimenko. Alongside his twin brother Andrey Vovk, also a world-class chess player, they played for the national team in the 2007, 2009 and 2013 World Team Chess Championships.
In 2015, Vovk was disqualified from the World Rapid Championship in Berlin for refusing to comply with a request for a drug test, based on his claim that it violated his human rights. Vovk claimed compensation for the 15th place, which he held at the time of his disqualification.