Fedoseev was born on February 16, 1995, in Saint Petersburg, the chess capital of Russia. During his early years, he changed coaches multiple times, and by the age of 16, when he became a grandmaster, he began training with former FIDE world champion Alexander Khalifman. By then, his achievements already included 2nd place in the strong Chigorin Memorial, a Russian U18 championship title, and a runner-up finish at the World U18 Championship. Under the guidance of his new mentor, Vladimir's progress accelerated rapidly: in 2013, he won the European U18 Championship in all formats—classical, rapid, and blitz. The following year, he participated in the European Championship for adults and immediately claimed a bronze medal. He brought home another bronze from the World U20 Championship.
Fedoseev dove into the global chess arena. In 2015, he shared 1st place in the Dubai Open, winning the accompanying blitz tournament. In 2016, he again shared 1st place, this time at the formidable Grenke Open. The young grandmaster impressed everyone with his aggressive, bold, and sometimes risky playing style, which earned him numerous victories. Fedoseev had a unique ability to dominate his opponents' will, forcing them to retreat in fear from his unexpected moves and cunning strikes. Against those who stood their ground and challenged him, he would coolly out calculate them, often securing wins in seemingly calm positions. However, this approach had its limits—while it led to a string of victories, it could also result in sudden series of losses, turning a brilliant start into a disappointing finish. Yet, when in top form, Fedoseev was unstoppable, with successes following in rapid succession.
The peak year of Fedoseev's career was 2017, during which he achieved a series of outstanding results. He won the Aeroflot Open (7/9), shared 1st-3rd place in the European Championship (8.5/11), took silver at the World Team Championship with the Russian national team, finished 2nd with a victory over Kramnik in Dortmund (4/7), and reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup (defeating Inarkiev, Nakamura, and Rodshtein before losing to So). He also secured bronze in the Russian Championship, which he started with four straight wins and remained the main contender for gold until the very end. Finally, he claimed silver in the World Rapid Championship after a tiebreak against Anand. Fedoseev began the year with a rating of 2658, barely within the top 100, but peaked at 2733, nearing the top 20.
Instability held him back, as periods of success were often followed by frustrating failures. Fedoseev consistently placed high in Russian championships but only made the podium once, was part of the national team but never played in an Olympiad, and competed in strong round-robin tournaments but did not win any of them. Just as it seemed he might be remembered as a brilliant player who never reached his full potential, the 2021 World Cup happened. He advanced to the semifinals, where Karjakin ended his bid for the Candidates Tournament with a score of 0.5-1.5 (and then lost 0-2 to Carlsen in the third-place match, a player with whom, like Nakamura, he has played countless online blitz and bullet games).
Over the next three years, Fedoseev made only occasional headlines (while maintaining a rating close to the "2700 club"), until 2023 when he replicated his result at the World Rapid Championship, again finishing second, this time behind Carlsen. In 2024, he made waves at the Budapest Olympiad, leading the Slovenian team (having moved there following the onset of the war in Ukraine). In the 9th round, he defeated Magnus, securing an important victory for his new home country, which nearly propelled the team to a sensational podium finish.
