GMOlexandr Bortnyk

Olexandr Bortnyk learned chess at three in Oleksandrivka, in southern Ukraine, and began competing two years later. From 2002 he trained with Roman Khayetskyi. After secondary school he studied at Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding. He won world under-18 silver in 2013 and the title in Durban in 2014. He became a grandmaster in 2015. After moving to the United States with his family in 2018, he established the Bortnik School of Chess. His older brother Mykola is an international master. Olexandr also built an audience through online bullet and blitz play, livestreams and instructional videos. He reached the final of the 2019 Chess.com Bullet Championship, losing to Hikaru Nakamura. In 2023 he won the Charlotte Open on tiebreak. He joined the esports organization Natus Vincere's chess division in 2025.