In 1997, at the FIDE World Championship, which took place in Groningen, he single-handedly knocked out most of the U.S. contingent. In consecutive rounds, he defeated Joel Benjamin, Gregory Kaidanov and Yasser Seirawan, before losing to fellow Russian GM Alexey Dreev in round 4. In the same year Zvjanginsev won the Vidmar Memorial in Portorož.