2 Roubles M. I. Chigorin

Mikhail Chigorin was the dominant Russian chess player of the late 19th century and twice challenged Wilhelm Steinitz for the world championship — losing both matches, in 1889 and 1892, the second by a single game. This coin was issued as part of the Bank of Russia's long-running commemorative series honoring outstanding figures in Russian culture and science. Chigorin is credited with founding the Russian chess school, a positional and combinative tradition that would later produce Botvinnik, Tal, and Karpov.