Soviet Vasily Nikolayevich Panov was born on 1 November 1906. His peak World Ranking was 21st (in 2 different months in January and February 1948). According to Chessmetrics his highest rating is 2649. He did not win World Champion title, and did not play World Championship matches either.

He represented the Soviet Union in two Chess Olympiads. In 1948 he won both individual and team gold medal. In 1953 he won team bronze medal.

Interesting facts:

He wrote ‘Comprehensive Chess Openings’, a three-volume book with Yakov Estrin.

He died on 13 January 1973 at the age of 66.