Aleksandr Lenderman

Alex Lenderman, Toluca 2011
Full name	Александр Лендерман
Country	United States
Born	23 September 1989 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster
Peak rating	2636 (May 2015)

Aleksandr "Alex" Lenderman (born 23 September 1989) is an American chess grandmaster. He won the 2005 World Under-16 Championship in Belfort with a score of 9/10 (+8 −0 =2), becoming the first American to win a gold medal at the World Youth Chess Championship since Tal Shaked won the World Junior Championship in 1997.

Born in Leningrad, he arrived with his family in Brooklyn when he was four.

Chess career

Lenderman attended Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn where, from 2004-2007, he was part of the "dream team" winning four straight national high school titles for the school, along with now International Master Salvijus Bercys. He played an important role in the book The Kings of New York, by Gotham Press, 2007.

Lenderman was first in the 2008 USCF Grand Prix, scoring higher than all the grandmasters he competed against by playing and championing in smaller events, including WCL tournaments.

In 2009, he announced after completing his second year at Brooklyn College, he planned to end his studies there and become a professional chess player. He finished first in the 2009 Atlantic Open, in front of several other GMs. He also won the 2009 USCF Grand Prix and was a co-champion of the 2009 U.S. Open. Lenderman earned three Grandmaster norms in quick succession in the summer of 2009:

• He earned his first Grandmaster norm at the Copper State International tournament in Mesa AZ, May 29 to June 3, 2009 .
• A second GM norm was earned at the Philadelphia International Tournament, June 25-29, 2009 .
• He earned his third GM norm on July 5, 2009 at the World Open in Philadelphia.

In 2014 he won the 18th Open International Bavarian Chess Championship in Bad Wiessee on tiebreak over Robert Hovhannisyan and Ante Saric, after they all tied for first with a score of 7,5/9 points.

Lenderman played for USA team in the 2015 World Team Chess Championship in Tsaghkadzor and scored 5/7, winning the gold medal on the second board. He won the 2015 World Open after beating Rauf Mamedov in an armageddon playoff; the two had the best tiebreak among eight players who tied for first place with 7/9.

Lenderman plays on the Internet Chess Club under the handle 'manest' and gives free simuls periodically.