GM Lev Alburt

GM Lev Alburt is an American grandmaster who defected to the U.S from the Soviet Union in 1979. He was the Ukrainian and American chess champion three times each and won the U.S. Open twice. Alburt's last major event was the 1996 U.S. Championship, and in the years since he has become a coach and FIDE-certified senior trainer.

Alburt was a 1.d4 player as White and had a rather unique opening repertoire as Black. Against 1.e4, he played Alekhine's Defense (1...Nf6) more often than almost any other top player, and against 1.d4 he was one of the world's leading authorities on the Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5).