Lev Alburt
He was born in Orenburg, Russia, and became three-time Ukrainian Champion. After defecting to the United States in 1979, he became three-time U.S.
Also recorded as Lev Osipovich Alburt
Lev Alburt

GFHund · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Lev Alburt
- Birth Name
- Lev Osipovich Alburt
- Born
- 21 August 1945
- Birthplace
- Orenburg, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
- Nationality
- Soviet Union · United States
- Occupation
- chess player · writer · coach
- Fields
- chess
- Education
- Odesa University
- Languages
- English · Russian
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
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Documentary summary
He was born in Orenburg, Russia, and became three-time Ukrainian Champion. After defecting to the United States in 1979, he became three-time U.S.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
Lev Alburt (born 1945) is a Soviet and American chess player, coach and non-fiction writer, among other activities. The chess player was born in Orenburg.
Lev Alburt studied at Odesa University. The chess player is active in chess. Languages used include English and Russian.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q525884 · wikipedia · Lev Alburt
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Lev Alburt • Birth Name — Lev Osipovich Alburt • Country — Soviet Union (until 1979) United States (since 1979) • Born — 21 August 1945 • Birthplace — Orenburg, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union • Title — Grandmaster (1977) • Peak Ranking — No. 22 (January 1981) • Peak Rating — 2580 (July 1981) • Fide Id — 2000156
Chess career
Chess career
Alburt won the Ukrainian Chess Championship in 1972, 1973 and 1974. He earned the International Master title in 1976, and became a Grandmaster in 1977. He defected to the United States in 1979, while on a chess team trip (European Champions' Cup) to Germany and upon his arrival to the U.S., 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 team at Malta. Alburt won the U.S. Chess Championship in 1984, 1985 and 1990, and the U.S. Open Chess Championship in 1987 and 1989. In 1986, he drew an eight-game match with the British Chess Champion, Jonathan Speelman.
Notable games
Notable games
In a 1977 tournament in Czechoslovakia, Alburt defeated Vlastimil Hort, who was rated No. 6 in the world at the time, with the black pieces using the Benko Gambit: In the 1990 U.S. Championship en route to winning the championship a third time, Alburt defeated four-time U.S. champion Yasser Seirawan with the black pieces:
Identity
Identity
Lev Alburt is recorded as chess player, writer and coach.
![Collectie / Archief: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie: [onbekend] Beschrijving: Hoogovenschaaktoernooi te Wijk aan Zee. Sereiwan vs. Lev Alburt Datum: 24 januari 1980 Locatie: Noord-Holland, Wijk aan Zee Trefwoorden: schaken Instellingsnaam: Hoogovenschaaktoernooi Fotograaf: Pereira, Fernando / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort: Negatief (zwart/wit) Numm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Hoogovenschaaktoernooi_te_Wijk_aan_Zee%2C_Bestanddeelnr_930-6390.jpg/800px-Hoogovenschaaktoernooi_te_Wijk_aan_Zee%2C_Bestanddeelnr_930-6390.jpg)
Collectie / Archief: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie: [onbekend] Beschrijving: Hoogovenschaaktoernooi te Wijk aan Zee. Sereiwan vs. Lev Alburt Datum: 24 januari 1980 Locatie: Noord-Holland, Wijk aan Zee Trefwoorden: schaken Instellingsnaam: Hoogovenschaaktoernooi Fotograaf: Pereira, Fernando / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort: Negatief (zwart/wit) Numm
Fernando Pereira / Anefo
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1945
Lev Alburt was born in 1945 at Orenburg.
Books
* * * * * * * • This book won the 2018 Chess Journalists of America "Book of the Year" award.
Legacy
The Alburt Variation in Alekhine's Defence is named after him: 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.Nf3 g6.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Lev Alburt”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q525884: Lev Alburt
General reference · Wikidata
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Related work
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Evans, Larry. The Crazy World of Chess. Cardoza Publishing. 130. 2007. 978-1580422185.
- 2.Wall Street's Best-Kept Secret Is a 72-Year-Old Russian Chess Expert. Bloomberg.com. 2017-09-21.
- 3.https://2700chess.com/top50-for-any-month
- 4.ChessBase Magazine 132. ChessBase.
- 5.Hort vs. Alburt, Děčín 1977. Chessgames.com.
- 6.Seirawan vs. Alburt, U.S. (Ch) 1990. Chessgames.com.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Studied at
1- Odesa UniversityOrganisation
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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