Source:
Lubbock Online
Grandmaster Alexander Onischuk (USA)
Grandmaster Onischuk is one of the top Grandmasters in the United States. Born in 1975 in Sevastopol, Ukraine, he earned his Grandmaster title in 1994. In 1995, he tied for first at the World Youth Championship. In 2000, he won the Ukrainian Championship. He won the 2001, 2002, and 2003 World Open; and in 2001 and 2002 he was the National Open Co-Champion. In 2006, he captured the prestigious U.S. Champion title. He was formally the top-rated player in this country.
Grandmaster Harikrishna Pentala (India)
Born in the village Vinjanam Padu in India in 1986, Grandmaster Pentala started playing chess at the age of 41/2. He is one of the top three players in India, which is a well-recognized powerhouse. In 2000, he broke legendary Indian Grandmaster Anand's record of being the youngest International Master and again in 2001 for being the youngest Grandmaster from India. He has won many impressive titles in his career already.
On Monday, Pentala, sponsored by the Sun Group, will conduct a 20-board simultaneous exhibition at the Texas Tech Student Union Building after his fourth-round game. It is expected to start at approximately 7:30 p.m. Half of the proceeds raised from this event will be used to help victims of the recent Hurricane Ike in Texas.
Grandmaster Gregory Kaidanov (USA)
Born in 1959 in Berdichev, Ukraine, Grandmaster Kaidanov immigrated to the United States in 1991, with his three children and wife to Lexington, Ky. He has been one of the leading players in this country for the past two decades and has held the nation's top ranking several times. He helped the U.S. team capture the Gold medal at the 2003 World Team Championship.
His biggest title to date came in 2002 when he won the Aeroflot Open in Moscow, which was one of the strongest open tournaments in history.
Grandmaster Hannes Stefansson (Iceland)
He was born in Reykjavik, Iceland, in 1972, the year Bobby Fischer defeated Boris Spassky in the match of the century in his hometown. He learned to play chess at age 5. He is currently the top player in Iceland. He has won every national championship he has ever entered.
Grandmaster Julio Becerra (USA)
Growing up in communist Cuba, he learned to play chess at the very late age of 13. He earned the title of Grandmaster in 1997. He won the Cuban Championship in 1995 and 1998. In 1999, he represented Cuba at the World Championship in Las Vegas. After the tournament, he defected. "I felt that it was my last opportunity and that if I didn't take it, it would be in my mind my whole life," he said. Grandmaster Becerra had very few opportunities to compete between 1999 and 2005 because he did not have an American passport. After having a chance to play, he has blossomed into one of the leading Grandmasters in the United States.
Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian (USA)
Born in Yerevan, Armenia, Grandmaster Akobian learned to play chess at age 5. He is one of the leading Grandmasters in the United States today. He has won a number of prestigious titles in his career. His biggest tournament win has been the 2007 Continental Championship, where he qualified for the World Cup. He captured a Chicago Open title earlier this year.
Grandmaster Leonid Kritz (Germany)
Born in 1984 in Moscow, Russia, he learned chess from his father at the age of 4. Grandmaster Leonid Kritz is currently one of the top Grandmasters in Germany.
He has a number of strong wins under his belt so far in his young career. Grandmaster Kritz is planning to attend Texas Tech in fall 2009.
Grandmaster Kamil Miton (Poland)
Born in Niepoomice, Poland, Grandmaster Miton is one of the strongest players in his country today. He is a three-time Polish Junior Champion. In 1996, he won the World Under 12 Championship. In 1997, he finished second in the World Under 14, and he also finished second at the World Under 20 in 2000. He was a two-time winner of the prestigious World Open. He became a Grandmaster in 2002. He tied for second at one of the strongest Canadian Open tournaments ever in 2007, and tied for third at the 2007 SPICE Cup. He has been rated the top player from his country twice.
Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn (USA)
Born in Zhitomir, Ukraine, in 1980, Eugene and his family moved to the United States in 1994. He graduated from the University of Maryland in Baltimore County in 2002 with a degree in computer science, and he was the captain of the UMBC chess team. Eugene is also a former recipient of the prestigious Samford Fellowship. He represented the U.S. in the World Junior Championship five times. He also led UMBC to five national championship titles.
Grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski (Israel)
Born in Gomel, Belarus, in 1972, he started to learn chess at the age of 5. Today, Grandmaster Mikhalevski is one the most active players in the professional chess circuit. He lives in Israel, and some of his biggest titles include winning the Israeli Under 20 Championship in 1991 and 1992, the 2005 Lake George Open, the 2005 Montreal International, the 2006 Seattle Slugfest Invitational and the 2007 Calvia Open by scoring an incredible seven of seven in the first seven rounds against five Grandmasters with an average rating of 2522. He first broke the elite 2600 rating mark in January 2008.
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