2019 Fall Chess Classic

Alex is a Brazilian chess grandmaster, having attained the title in 2007. He won five gold medals at the Pan American Youth Chess Festival: in the U10 division in 1996 and 1997, U12 in 2000, U14 in 2002 and U18 in 2005. He also won the South American Junior Championship in 2006, 2008 and 2009. Fier won the Brazilian Chess Championship in 2005, and won the 65 Anos da Federação tournament in São Paulo in 2006.

Alex won the Open of Sants, Hostafrancs & La Bordeta in Barcelona in 2009 and 2014. He briefly appeared in the 2011 World Cup, but faced elimination after losing to GM Alexander Morozevich in the second round. Two months later, he won the 2nd Latin American Cup in Montevideo, edging out GM Diego Flores in a tiebreaker. He competed in the 2013 Chess World Cup, but was eliminated after his loss to GM Baskaran Adhiban.

Jorden learned to play chess from his father at the age of six, but he only began to play seriously three years later, at which time he began to make rapid progress. Within six years, he had attained the International Master title, subsequently earning all his Grandmaster norms at the age of sixteen. During his meteoric career, Jorden has won many prestigious tournaments, including the European Under-14 Championship in 2013. At the 2017 European European Team Chess Championship, Jorden scored 5/7, thereby earning a performance rating of 2723. Most recently, he shared first at the 2019 Dutch Championship with his younger brother, Grandmaster Lucas Van Foreest. 

Ilia was born in Belarus, where he was certified as a chess trainer by the Belarussian State Institute of Physical Culture. In 1994, having won the Belarussian Championship, he immigrated to Israel, subsequently representing that country in various Olympiads and other international competitions. His tournament successes include winning the First League of the USSR Championship in 1987 and 1989 as well as winning the Israeli Championship for three consecutive years (1992-1994). Known for his uncompromising, tactical play, Ilia attributes his sharp style to the influence of such players as Mikhail Tal and Leonid Stein. He reached his peak rating of 2702 FIDE in July 2001.

Ray was a chess prodigy in every sense of the term. He achieved the Grandmaster title at the young age of 14 years and 11 months and won seven national scholastic titles. He also finished in the top ten at each of the World Youth Chess Championships from 2004 to 2007 and tied for first place in the 2005 and 2006 Pan American Youth Chess Championships. On July 16, 2009, he won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship, becoming one of the youngest champions ever. Ray played in his first World Cup in November 2009 in Russia, competing again in 2011. He won the Webster University - SPICE Cup Open in St. Louis in 2012, and he finished second in the Millionaire Chess Open in Las Vegas in 2014, losing to Wesley So in the final round. Ray has competed in many of the major open tournaments in the United States, as well as numerous U.S. Championships. When he qualified for the 2007 U.S. Championship, it made him the youngest player in the history of the event to participate.

Hrant is a 30-year-old Armenian chess player who earned his Grandmaster title in 2008. He took 2nd at the 2006 World Youth Championship under 18  and the 2015 European Rapid Championship. Hrant also won the European Blitz Championship in 2011, the London Chess Classic in 2013 and 2017, and many other open tournaments. He often competes on the Armenian national team, earning a silver medal at the European Team Championship and a bronze medal at the World Team Championship in 2015.

Alex is a Grandmaster who resides in Brooklyn, New York. He coached the gold medal-winning American team at the 42nd Olympiad in Baku in 2016. Alex reached round 3 of the 2017 World Cup, beating 2700+ Pavel Eljanov and World Junior Champion Aryan Tari along the way. His chess achievements include numerous victories at major tournaments, such as the 2015 World Open, 2011 and 2017 US Opens, and the 2012 National Open. Additionally, Alex received an individual gold medal at the 2015 World Team Championship. He has plenty of experience playing in Saint Louis, having competed in multiple US Chess Championships.

Dariusz is the youngest Polish player of all time to qualify for the Grandmaster title, doing so in 2009, at the age of 14 . He won the 2011 World Junior Chess Championship at the age of 17 and is currently the only Polish chess player to have accomplished this title. The following year he also won the Under-18 World Championship. He now attends Saint Louis University where he competes on the chess team.

Alex was the 2012 World Junior Chess Champion and a two-time Turkish Chess Champion. In 2015, he won Turkey’s national championship with an impressive score of 12.5 out of 13. Alex represented Turkey at three Chess Olympiads in 2012, 2014, 2016; two European Team Championships in 2013 and 2015; and the World Team Championship in 2013. At the Baku World Chess Olympiad in September 2016, Alex helped the Turkish team finish in 6th place, an all-time team record, by defeating Georgian Grandmaster Mikheil Mchedlishvili in the final round after a tied score of 1.5 for each player. With this victory, Alex helped Turkey to qualify for the 2017 World Team Chess Championship. 

Vasif started his chess career in 1999. He received the International Master title in 2007 and the International Grandmaster title in 2010. His chess achievements include receiving second in the European Youth Chess Championship under 14 years old (Budva, Serbia) in 2006, winning the World Youth Chess Championship under 14 years old (Batumi, Georgia) the same year, and winning the European Youth Chess Championship under 18 years old (Batumi, Georgia) in 2010. Vasif joined the SPICE chess program at Webster University in 2014 and won three national titles with the team.

Olexandr is a Ukranian Grandmaster, having attained the title at the 2015 Vladimir Nabokov Memorial. In 2014, he won the under-18 category of the World Youth Chess Championship. A speed chess specialist, Olexandr reached the finals of Chess.com’s Bullet Chess Championship before losing to GM Hikaru Nakamura, the winner of the tournament. A professional chess coach and player, Olexandr currently  resides in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. His older brother, Mykola, is also a strong chess player, holding the title of International Master.