Schwartzman Gabriel (23.10.1976)

US Grandmaster born in Romania. His affair with chess started at the early age of 2. When he was 4 years old, he played in his first tournament. At the age of 7, he held his first simultaneous exhibition, playing against seven children who were twice his age and defeated every one of them. In 1988, he became Vice-World Champion at the Under 12 section, and in 1990, he won the bronze medal at the Youth World Championship in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. At the age of 19, he won the US Open, being the second youngest player (next to Bobby Fischer) to ever win it. He obtained the FIDE Master title when he was 12 years old, and just three years later, became an International Master. In November 1993, in the FIDE Congress in Curitiba, Brazil awarded him the International Grandmaster title, making him one of the youngest Grandmasters in the world at that time. He has also been very active in teaching chess, including a TV show he produced and hosted for the Romanian National Televsion, which aired for eight seasons. Schwartzman played his last tournament in 2001.