Lev Osipovich Alburt is a chess Grandmaster

International Grandmaster

The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....

 and a well-respected chess writer. He was three-time Ukrainian Champion

Ukrainian Chess Championship

This is a list of all the winners of the Ukrainian Chess Championship, including those held when Ukraine was a Soviet republic and those held after Ukraine became independent. Players' names listed in parentheses indicate that the player won the tournament but did not receive the title since he...

, and after defecting to the United States in 1979, became three-time U.S. Champion

U.S. Chess Championship

The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...

.

Career

Lev Alburt won the Ukrainian Chess Championship

Ukrainian Chess Championship

This is a list of all the winners of the Ukrainian Chess Championship, including those held when Ukraine was a Soviet republic and those held after Ukraine became independent. Players' names listed in parentheses indicate that the player won the tournament but did not receive the title since he...

 three times, from 1972 to 1974. He earned the International Master title in 1976, and became a Grandmaster

International Grandmaster

The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....

 in 1977.

Alburt defected to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in 1979, staying for several months with his former coach and fellow Ukrainian chess player and chess journalist Michael Faynberg. In 1980, Alburt led the U.S. Chess Olympiad

Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...

 team at Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

.

Alburt won the U.S. Chess Championship

U.S. Chess Championship

The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...

 in 1984, 1985, and 1990. In 1986 he drew an eight-game match with British Chess Champion

British Chess Championship

The British Chess Championship is organised by the English Chess Federation. There are separate championships for men and women. Since 1923 there have been sections for juniors, and since 1982 there has been an over-sixty championship. The championship venue usually changes every year and has been...

 Jonathan Speelman.

Other chess-related

Alburt is the author of a series of highly praised and best-selling chess books. In 2004, he was awarded the title of FIDE Senior Trainer.

A variation of Alekhine's Defence

Alekhine's Defence

Alekhine's Defence is a hypermodern chess opening that begins with the moves:Black tempts White's pawns forward to form a broad pawn centre, with plans to undermine and attack the White structure later in the spirit of hypermodern defence. White's imposing mass of pawns in the centre often includes...

 is named after him: the Alburt Variation (1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6).

Alburt served three years, 1985–88, on the Board of Directors

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

 of the United States Chess Federation

United States Chess Federation

The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...

. At the conclusion of his term, he stated that not once did he ever hear any discussion by the board of how to promote chess or bring new players into the game.

Sample game

In the 1990 U.S. Championship, Alburt defeated four-time U.S. champion Yasser Seirawan with the black pieces en route to winning the championship a third time:

1. d4

Queen's Pawn Game

In the most general sense the term Queen's Pawn Game can refer to any chess opening which starts with the move:It is the second most popular opening move. The name is now usually used to describe openings beginning with the moves 1.d4 d5 where White does not follow through with an early pawn...

 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. c3 d5 4. Bf4 e6 5. e3 Bd6 6. Bb5+ Nc6 7. Qa4 Bxf4 8. exf4 Qb6 9. Nbd2 O-O 10. dxc5 Qxc5 11. O-O Bd7 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Qd4 Qe7 14. b4 c5 15. bxc5 Rfc8 16. Nb3 a5 17. Rfc1 a4 18. Nbd2 Qxc5 19. c4 Rab8 20. Qxc5 Rxc5 21. Ne5 Rcc8 22. Rab1 Kf8 23. a3 Ke7 24. g3 Rxb1 25. Rxb1 Rc7 26. Kf1 Be8 27. Ke1 h5 28. f3 Nd7 29. Nxd7 Bxd7 30. Rb4 Kd6 31. Kf2 Kc5 32. Ke3 Bc6 33. h4 Rd7 34. g4 Rd8 35. g5 Rd7 36. Ke2 Rb7 37. Rxb7 Bxb7 38. cxd5 exd5 39. Ke3 Bc8 40. Kd3 Bf5+ 41. Ke3 g6 42. Nf1 Kc4 43. Ng3 d4+ 44. Kd2 Kb3 45. Ne2 Kxa3 46. Nxd4 Kb2 47. Nb5 a3 48. Nxa3 Kxa3 49. Kc3 Ka2 0–1

External links