Yuri Markavich Shulman (born April 29, 1975) is a

Belarusian American Belarusian Americans, also known as White Russian Americans and White Ruthenian Americans, are Americans who are of total or partial Belarusians, Belarusian ancestry. History There is an assumption that the first Belarusian settlers in the ...

chess player who holds the

FIDE title FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

of Grandmaster (GM).

Chess career

Shulman was born in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

and started formal chess lessons with coach

Tamara Golovey Tamara Asherawna Golovey is a Chess master, Chess Master, International Arbiter, Chess International Arbiter and the Merited Coach of the Republic of Belarus. Her United States Chess Federation rating (USCF) is 2322. Biography Tamara was born ...

when he was six years old. He went on to study under International Master

Albert Kapengut Albert Zinovievich Kapengut (born 4 July 1944, in Kazan, Tatarstan) is a Soviet chess master (since 1962). A holder of the International Master title, he is best known as a respected teacher, theoretician, writer, and member of the successful stud ...

at age 12, and subsequently under the guidance of GM

Boris Gelfand Boris Abramovich Gelfand (; born 24 June 1968) is a Belarusian-Israeli chess player. A six-time World Championship candidate (1991, 1994–95, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2013), he won the Chess World Cup 2009 and the 2011 Candidates Tournament, mak ...

. He achieved his grandmaster title in 1995. Shulman moved to the United States in 1999 to attend

University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost institution of the University of Texas System. It was initially founded in 1961 as a private res ...

, a three-time national championship college team. Shulman completed undergraduate studies from the State Academy of Sports, Belarus, and has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and an

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

specializing in Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas. Shulman has remained among the top U.S. chess players since moving to the country. He tied for first in the 2001 World Open, was runner up in the 2006 U.S. Chess Championship, and winner of the 2006 U.S. Open Chess Championship. Shulman tied for third place in the 2007 US Chess Championship and qualified for the 2007 FIDE world championship. On May 21, 2008, Shulman won the 2008 US Chess Championship. On May 25, 2010, he tied for first in the U.S. Chess Championship in St. Louis, losing in a rapid tie-break with GM Gata Kamsky, who became the US champion. He formerly played in the now defunct

U.S. Chess League The United States Chess League (USCL) was the only nationwide chess league in the United States for eleven years. In 2016 the League announced it would be opened to cities from around the world, moved to the website chess.com, and renamed the Pro ...

, for the strong St. Louis Archbishops, whose roster included

Hikaru Nakamura Christopher Hikaru NakamuraUniversity of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a public research university in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost institution of the University of Texas System. It was initially founded in 1961 as a private res ...

GM Invitational Tournament * 2007 - Tied for 3rd place in the US Chess Championship and qualified for the 2007 FIDE world championship (Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA) * 2007 - Tied for 1st place in the 2007 Chicago Open (Chicago, Illinois, USA). ''Vadim Milov won the blitz playoff game and the official title.'' * 2008 - Won US Chess Championship * 2010 - 1st Place tie in U.S. Chess Championship, taking 2nd in a tiebreaker game against Gata Kamsky. * 2011 - 1st Place tie in U.S. Chess Championship, taking 2nd in a tiebreaker game against Gata Kamsky.

Yury Shulman International Chess School

Shulman is the co-founder of the Yury Shulman International Chess School. Shulman and his co-founder Rishi Sethi use chess as a medium for philanthropic causes. In 2006 and 2007, this included community service visits to, and book drives for, Chicago public schools, and contributions of a portion of the proceeds from camps and tournaments to non-profit entities the world over. He now teaches chess in Barrington,IL at all of the schools and at his house.

'Chess Without Borders' volunteer organization

In May 2007, Shulman formally cofounded

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization Chess Without Borders with Rishi Sethi through which to continue his volunteer efforts. He now lives in Barrington, Illinois teaching chess to the kids who go to school in district 220 and at his house.

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