GM Alexander Anatolyevich Shabalov was born in Riga, Latvia. Like his fellow Latvians Alexei Shirov and mentor Mikhail Tal, he has a creative and aggressive style, inviting complicated positions. He won his IM title in 1989 and his GM title in 1991. In 1992, Shabalov emigrated to the US and eventually settled in Pittsburgh, PA, where he has been a staple in the US chess community since then. He played in the 1992 Olympiad for Latvia, and four times for the US after that, helping the US team to a silver medal in 1998. His most important tournament victories include United States Chess Championship (1993, 2000, 2003, 2007), U.S. Open Chess Championship (1993, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016), Aeroflot Open (2002), American Continental Chess Championship (2009), US Senior Championship (2019) etc. In 2015 he was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.

Bryan was on the national champion UMBC chess team from 1999 to 2001, and earned his grandmaster title from FIDE in 2013. He is the first-ever GM from Alaska! Bryan took 1st place in the 2008/2009/2017 National Chess Congress, 2010 Philadelphia International, 2013 Ohio Chess Congress, 2013 Eastern Open, 2017/2018/2019 Pittsburgh Open, and 2021 Golden Triangle Open.

Competitive chess player and chess teacher from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, ranked 5th in the state of Pennsylvania.

Intermediate Instructor, 2021 PCC Champion

Intermediate instructor

Class C – 1400-1599
Beginner Instructor

Class B – rated 1600-1799
Beginner Instructor

Class B – rated 1600-1799
Beginner Instructor