Yuri Lvovich Averbakh, Soviet and Russian chess player was born on 8 February 1922 in Kaluga. His peak World Ranking was 8th in February 1957. According to Chessmetrics his peak rating is 2715.

He did not win World Championship title. He qualified for the 1953 Candidates Tournament and finished tenth out of fifteen participants. He also qualified for the Interzonal in Portorož in 1958, as he finished fourth at the 1958 USSR championship. He finished seventh in Portorož, missing the Candidates Tournament by half a point.

He represented the Soviet Union in the 1957 and 1965 Chess Olympiads. In 1957 he did not win an individual title, but his team won gold medal. In the 1965 Olympiad both Averbakh and his team won gold medal.

Interesting facts:

He was chairman of the USSR Chess Federation from 1972 to 1977. His daughter, Jane, married Taimanov.