CzechiaPeter Michalik learned chess at the age of five. Both his father and his grandfather were big chess aficionados who successfully shared their passion to the next generation.
Currently rated as Czech number five (effectively four, considering that the well-known cheater Igors Rausis is still number two), Peter showed potential from the game from his youngest days. Rated 2200 at the age of 12, he got his IM norm at the age of 18 and his GM norm at the age of 21.
Unfortunately, since it is very difficult to make a proper living out of chess, Peter stopped playing chess professionally some 3-4 years ago. Today, he is a professional photographer and a parent. According to his chesscom profile, he plays chess mainly for fun these days.
Despite (or more precisely – because) of his ‘casual’ attitude, he is not only consistently rated >2900 on chess.com, he also achieved the peak rating of his career of 2592 in November 2019. Professional or not, one thing is clear – his decision to join Croatia Bulldogs in December 2019 is definitely a huge benefit for team.
