Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov

Grandmaster Alexander Ivanov was born in Omsk in the former USSR on May 1, 1956 but is now an inhabitant of Newton, Massachusetts where he resides with his chess-playing wife Esther Epstein. As is so often true of children, Alexander learned the rules of the game from his father when he was about 6 years old. He became USSR champion for young masters in 1980.

After he arrived in the U.S. in 1988, Alexander made an immediate strong impression by sharing first place in both the 1989 National and World Open events. The GM title was awarded to him in 1991. Alexander's best results include tying for first with Anatoly Karpov and Boris Gulko in an 1982 Moscow tournament that featured 51 grandmasters, winning the U.S. Championship with Patrick Wolff and De Firmian, becoming the Pan American Champion in 1998 and sharing first place in the 2000 World Open event.

View his rating and tournament history.