GMJaan Ehlvest

Jaan Ehlvest was born in Tallinn and studied psychology at Tartu State University. He won the Soviet junior championship in 1980 and the European junior title in 1983, followed by the Estonian championship in 1986. A grandmaster from 1987, he rose into the world's top ten around the turn of the 1990s. He was named Estonia's Athlete of the Year in both 1987 and 1989. His later tournament victories included the 1994 New York Open, the 2003 World Open and the 2008 American Continental Championship. He began representing the United States in 2006. His autobiography, The Story of a Chess Player, appeared in 2004.