(1958–Present)
U.S. Chess
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2012
Born in Leningrad, Alex “Yermo” Yermolinsky immigrated to the United States in 1990 and became a grandmaster in 1992. He went on to share the title of U.S. Chess Champion with Alexander Shabalov in 1993 and was the sole champion in 1996. His other chess awards include winning the 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2000 U.S. Opens, as well as the 1993, 1995, and 1996 World Opens. Yermo was a member of the U.S. Olympiad teams in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2001 and a member of the U.S. Team in the World Team Championships in 1993 and 1997. He was the Grandmaster-in-Residence at the Mechanics Chess Club in San Francisco from 1999-2007.
Besides being a skilled player, Alex is also an accomplished chess writer and instructor. He has authored two books: The Road to Chess Improvement in 2000, winner of the Cramer Award for best instructional chess book and the British Chess Federation’s Book of the Year award, and Chess Explained: The Classical Sicilian in 2006. He broadcasts on the Internet Chess Club website and has developed the website ChessKid.com to teach the game to children in a fun, safe, and secure online environment. Alex and his wife, WGM Camilla Baginskaite, live with their two children in South Dakota, where he works with the South Dakota Chess Association as an instructor, lecturer, and tournament director.
