Education of Chess Players

 

Danish-Scottish GM Jacob Aagaard studied languages at the University of Copenhagen and Cognitive Semiotics at the University of Aarhus in Denmark.

British Master Gerald Abrahams graduated from an English law school.

Woman GM Tatev Abrahamyan graduated in 2011 from California State University Long Beach, double majoring in psychology and political science.

Correspondence champion Edmund Adam graduated from a German medical school.

American FM Robby Adamson graduated from law school in California.

Azerbaijani GM Djakhangir Agaragimov studied at the Azerbaijan State University of Economics.

Norwegian GM Simen Agdestein has a master's degree from the Department of Political Science at the University of Oslo.

Swedish GM Evgeny Agrest graduated with a degree in Economics.

Scottish champion James Macrae Aitken received a PhD from Edinburgh University. His dissertation was on the topic of ‘The Trial of George Buchanan Before the Lisbon Inquisition.'

Ukrainian GM Yurij Ajrapetjan studied at Tavrida National V.I. Vernadsky University in Simferopol.

Russian master Semyon Alapin studied engineering at the St. Petersburg Engineering Institute and at Heidelberg University.

Romanian WGM Maria Albulet-Pogorevici graduated from a Romanian medical school.

Alexander Alekhine graduated from Polivanov Grammar School (which includes High School) in July, 1910. He then applied for admission to Moscow Imperial University to study law. Alekhine was accepted and he attended the Law Faculty of Moscow Imperial University through the early winter of 1911. In February 1911, he transferred to the St. Petersburg School of Jurisprudence and usually got the top grade possible. He received a degree in law in Saint Petersburg in May 1914, but never practiced. He studied at the Sorbonne Faculty of Law for a “Doctors of Laws” degree. His thesis was on the Chinese prison system, but never completed. His law degree was not considered a PhD where one had to write and defend a dissertation. Nevertheless, Alekhine claimed the title of “Dr. Alekhine.”

Canadian IM Bruce Murray Amos completed his doctoral studies in mathematics at Yale University.

Indian GM Viswanathan Anand was educated at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Chennai and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Loyola College in Chennai. Had he not chosen chess as a career, he would have gone into Fine Arts or Information Technology. He was bestowed with an honorary doctorate degree of Kala Praveen by Jawaharial Technological University, Hyderabad in 1988.

IM Frank Ross Anderson graduated from the University of Toronto, majoring in physics and mathematics.

Adolf Anderssen studied mathematics and philosophy. He graduated from Breslau University in 1847. He was given an honorary doctorate by the town of Breslau for his accomplishment in chess.

Romanian International Master in Correspondence Chess Aurel Anton graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

German chess master Oskar Antze graduated from medical school.

American FM Miles Ardaman received a medical degree from Baylor School of Medicine.

Icelandic GM Jon Loftur Arnason obtained a degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Iceland.

American GM Marc Tyler Arnold graduated from Indiana University.

Armenain GM Levon Aronian holds a diploma from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture.

Soviet IM Lev Aronin graduated with a degree in meteorology.

Kazakhstan GM Bolat Asanov has a PhD in history.

American GM Maurice Ashley graduated from the College of the City of New York (CCNY) with a B.A. in Creative Writing.

Hungarian-Yugoslav International Master Lajos Asztalos earned a PhD in Philosophy.

Turkish GM Suat Atalik studied Psychology at Bogazici University.

British IM Henry Ernest Atkins attended Cambridge University as a mathematics scholar.

American master Robin Ault earned a bachelor's degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in mathematics from Brandeis University.

American FM Boris Baczynskyj graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1967.

American master Charles L. Bagby graduated from law school.

American-Lithuanian WGM Camilla Baginskaite She has a master's degree in history of art.

Filipino GM Rosendo Balinas graduated from a Filipino law school.

Chess player and problemist Christoph Bandelow received a PhD in mathematics from Ruhr University, Germany in 1968.

Woman Correspondence GM Jill A. Barber has a PhD in Bio-organic Chemistry from the University of Cambridge.

Hungarian GM Gedeon Barcza had a PhD in mathematics.

Dutch IM Johan Teunis Barendregt studied psychology at the University of Amsterdam where he received his PhD.

Uzbekistani GM Alexei Barsov graduated from law school.

American IM John Bartholomew graduated from law school.

British master Harry Bateman received an M.A. in mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1906. He specialized in the integrals of the Euler-Laplace type dates.

American correspondence master Jack Straley Battell graduated from Yale.

German FM Fritz Baumbach earned a PhD in chemistry and graduated from law school.

English chess player and columnist John Beasley received an undergraduate degree in mathematics at Cambridge and a PhD in Management Science at Imperial College, London.

Polish IM Jacek Badnarski studied physics at Moscow State University.

WGM Anjelina Belakovskaia graduated from Odessa University of Agriculture with a Bachelor's in economics and accounting. In 2001, she earned a master's degree in Mathematics in Finance from New York University.

WGM Jana Bellin graduated from medical school.

Hungarian IM Miklos Bely graduated from the Budapest University of Applied Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine of the Peter University of Budapest.

American GM Joel Benjamin graduated from Yale University with a major in history in 1985.

Correspondence GM Volf Bergraser graduated from a French medical school.

American IM Hans Berliner earned a PhD in computer science from Carnegie-Mellon University. Berliner wrote a chess program as part of his Ph.D. dissertation at Carnegie-Mellon University.

Master Ossip Bernstein earned a doctorate in law at Heidelberg University.

American GM Vinay Bhat received a B.S. in Statistics and Political Economy from the University of California Berkeley in 2006.

American GM Arthur Bisguier graduated from Pace College in 1955.

Canadian GM Peter Biyiasas graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.

British master Max Black received a PhD in mathematics from the University of London. His dissertation was Theories of logical positivism.

American chess master Roy Turnbull Black graduated from law school.

Hungarian chess problemist Otto Titusz Blathy Hungary held a doctorate in mathematics from Budapest and Vienna universities.

German master Ludwig Erdmann Bledow had a PhD in mathematics.

German GM Matthias Bluebaum is studying physics and mathematics at Bielefeld University.

Russian master Benjamin Markovich Blumenfeld received a doctorate for a dissertation on the nature of blunders in chess.

Canadian GM Mark Bluvshtein graduated from York University in Toronto in 2010, majoring in Science and Technology Studies. He received MBA from Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in 2016.

Polish GM Piotr Bobras graduated from the Bialystok Technical University with a degree in computer science.

Russian-Soviet-Ukrainian-Canadian International Master Fedir Bohatyrchuk graduated from medical school in Kiev.

Soviet GM Isaac Boleslavsky earned a degree in philology at Sverdlovsk University.

Moldava GM Victor Viorel Bologan has a PhD in pedagogy from the Sport Academy, Moscow, awarded in 1996. His dissertation was entitled, "Structure of Special Preparation of High-Level Chess Players."

British IM George Steven Botterill earned a master's degree in Philosophy from Oxford.

Former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik wanted to study Electrical Technology at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute and passed the entrance examination. In 1928, he was admitted to Leningrad University's Mathematics Department. He later transferred to the Polytechnic's Electromechanical Department. In the late summer of 1931, Botvinnik graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering, after completing a practical assignment on temporary transmission lines at the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station. He stayed on at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute to study for a Candidate's degree. In December 1932, Botvinnik became a postgraduate in the Polytechnic's Electro-Mechanical Department. In June 1937, he received his Candidate's degree after finishing his thesis. In 1951, Botvinnik earned a PhD in Science and Technology. His dissertation was entitled “Regulation of Oscillating Current in Electrical Equipment.” In 1961, Botvinnik was awarded an honorary PhD in mathematics from the University of Ferrara for his work on computer chess.

Ukrainian WIM Olena Boytsun graduated summa cum laude with a master's degree in International Economics. Her thesis was entitled, "The influence of financial liberalization on economic growth."

American FM Curt Justin Brasket He graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in French and mathematics.

Correspondence GM Ian S. Brooks has a PhD in biochemistry.

American GM Walter Browne dropped out of Erasmus High School at the age of 16.

German-Venezuelan International Master Gerardo Budowski graduated in 1948 as an agricultural engineer from the Universidad Central in Caracas, Venezuela. He pursued a master's degree at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), located in Turrialba, Costa Rica. In 1962, he obtained his doctoral degree in Forestry from Yale University.

American IM Karl Burger graduated from Coumbia University and graduated from medical school.

English FM Graham K. Burgess graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in mathematics.

Correspondence GM Stephan Busemann has a PhD (1990) in computer science from the University of the Saarland.

Lithuanian GM Algimantas Butnorius studied journalism at Vilnius University, graduating in 1973.

American IM Donald Byrne majored in English.

American GM Robert Byrne graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, He graduated from Yale in 1952. He majored in philosophy.

Spanish IM Ricardo Calvo graduated from medical school.

Turkish GM Emre Can is a student of Information Technology at Kadir Has University in Istanbul.

Jose Capablanca went to school at the Instituto de Matanzas, 60 miles east of Havana from 1898 to 1904. In the summer of 1904, Jose went to a private school (Woodycliff Preparatory School) in South Orange, New Jersey to learn English and to prepare himself to enter Columbia University. He passed the entrance examinations with ease for Columbia University in 1905. He obtained the high mark of 99% in algebra and also had high marks in other scientific projects. In 1906, Capablanca attended Groff School in Manhattan, New York. He enrolled at Columbia's School of Mines, Engineering and Chemistry in September 1906 to study chemical engineering. Capablanca may have been at Columbia as late as 1908.

Magnus Carlsen, after finishing primary school, took a year off to participate in international chess tournaments. Carlsen lost interest in high school and dropped out of high school in his senior year to play chess.

Italian IM Vincenzio Castaldi graduated from dental college.

Croation GM Miso Cebalo studied languages at the University of Zagreb.

Canadian GM Pascal Charbonneau graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Finance at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2006.

Canadian chessplayer John Cherriman was a professor of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Toronto.

Scottish master John Cochrane graduated from law school.

Israeli International Solving Grandmaster Ofer Comay has a master's degree in mathematics from Tel Aviv University.

Scottish chess master Robert Forbes Combe graduated from law school.

American IM Kim Steven Commons had a bachelor's degree in physics from UCLA.

Irish chess master Arthur Cootes graduated from Cambridge University with a bachelor's and master's degree.

American master Robert R. “Bob” Coveyou graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with a master's degree in Mathematics.

Polish GM Pawel Czarnota earned a Master of Laws degree from the University of Silesia in Katowice in 2013.

Canadiam IM Lawrence Day has a degree in English Literature.

American GM Nicholas Ernest “Nick” de Firmian has a degree in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

American GM Arnold Denker graduated from New York University in 1936.

American IM Mark Diesen has a degree in Chemical Engineering.

Chinese GM Ding Liren attends Law School at Peking University.

Canadian master Nathan Divinksy received a B.S. from the University of Manitoba. Divinksy received an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Chicago.

American IM John Donaldson has a BA in history from the University of Washington.

American master Leroy W. Dubeck has a Ph.D. in Physics from Rutgers University.

Azerbaijani GM Vasif Durarbayli graduated from Azerbaijan State of Physical Culture and Sports Academy in Baku with a degree in sports instruction. He currently studies Economics at Webster University in St. Louis.

American chess composer Vincent Lanius Eaton graduated, cum laude, from Harvard at the age of 18.

Estonian-American GM Jaan Ehlvest studied and graduated from Tartu State University with a degree in Psychology in 1987.

Ukrainian GM Pavel Eljanov graduated fromn the National University in Ukraine.

American Grandmaster for Chess Solving Noam Elkies graduated from Columbia University as class valedictorian at age 18, majoring in mathematics and music. He earned his PhD from Harvard in mathematics at age 20.

American chess master Arpad Elo had a PhD in Physics.

Swedish GM Thomas Ernst earned a PhD in mathematics from Uppsala University in 2002. His dissertation was on q-calculus.

Dutch master Jan F. Esser graduated from medical school.

Soviet IM Yakov Borisovich Estrin graduated from law school.

Former world champion Max Euwe was awarded his abitur (high school certificate) after attending a six-form high school in Amsterdam at the age of 18. He studied mathematics at the University of Amsterdam and was awarded an Honors Degree (cum laude) in 1923. He earned his doctorate in 1926 from the University of Amsterdam. The title of his dissertation was “Differentiaalinvarianten van twee covariantie-vectorvelden met vier veranderlijken” (Differential variants of two co-variant vector fields with four variables).

Larry Evans (1932-2010) received a bachelor's degree in 1954 from what is now City University of New York.

Scottish master Willaim Fairhurst had a degree in Civil Engineering.

Hungarian GM Ivan Farago has a degree in economics.

American master Robert "Bob" Ferguson graduated from law school.

Czech GM Mirosav Filip had a doctorate in jurisprudence and graduated from law school.

American GM Reuben Fine earned a bachelor's degree from City College of New York (CCNY) in 1932. After World War II, he earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of Southern California. His dissertation was entitled “The Personailty of the Asthmatic Child.”

Robert Fischer dropped out of Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn at the age of 16 in 1959 to play chess. He had a score of 97% in geometry and 90% in Spanish in the New York State Regents examinations in 1959.

Chilean GM Mauricio Flores Rios studied at the University of Texas at Brownsville.

American IM Edward William Formanek received a PhD in mathematics from Rice University in 1970. His dissertation was on Matrix Techniques in Polycyclic Groups.

Philipino GM Janelle Mae Frayna graduated cum laude and class valedictorian. She earned a BS is Psychology.

American IM Victor Frias studied architecture at the University of Chile.

Yugoslav GM Andrija Fuderer earned a PhD in chemistry from the University of Zagreb.

Correspondence chess master Joseph Ganem earned a PhD in mathematics from Washington University in Saint Louis. He is currently a professor at Loyola University in Maryland.

Uzbeki-American GM Timur Gareyev has a B.A. degree in Business marketing from the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Ukrainian GM Efim Geller graduated from Odessa University with a degree in political economy in 1948. He earned a doctorate in physical education.

Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami holds a Bachelor of Laws and is currently studying sports management at the University of Tehran.

Scottish master William Gibson graduated from law school.

American IM Mark Ginsburg earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University (Biology) and did graduate work at NYU, culminating in a PhD in Information Systems.

Dutch GM Anish Giri (1994- ) finished his high school at Grotius College in Delft. His favorite subjects included physics, mathematics, geography and history.

German GM Igor Glek earned an engineering/economics degree from the University of Moscow in 1983.

British IM Harry Golombek studied philology at King's College in London but did not get a degree.

Cuban chess master Juan Carlos Gonzalez graduated from medical school.

English-American IM David Simon Charles Goodman has a BA and honorary MA from Oxford in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

American WIM Gisela Kahn Gresser won a prestigious Charles Elliott Norton fellowship, which she used to continue her studies at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece. In 1937, she won a fellowship at Harvard for Greek archeological research.

IM Anna Gulko eared a BS degree in computer science at Moscow University. She earned an MBA in finace from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Australian master Gunnar Gundersen had a degree in mathematics.

American GM Ilya Mark Gurevich received a B.S. degree in finance from New York University.

Georgian GM Bukhuti Gurgenidze graduated with a degree in geology.

British chess player and chess composer Richard Kenneth Guy received an M.A. in mathematics from Cambridge in 1941.

American WIM Anna Hahn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in finance and computer science.

Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess Tunc Hamarat has a master's degree in Physics Engineering.

Norwegian GM Jon Ludvig Hammer attended the Norwegian College of Elite Sport. He later studied economics, then switched to journalism in 2012.

American chess master Milton Loeb Hanauer graduated from law school, but never practiced law. He had a PhD in French Literature.

Danish GM Lars Bo Hansen has a PhD in Strategic Sport Management.

Danish GM Sune Beg Hansen holds a cand. polit. from the University of Copenhagen.

Irish master Tim Harding has a PhD in history. His 2009 PhD thesis was on the history of correspondence chess in Britain and Ireland from 1824 to 1914.

American chess master James Harkins, Jr graduated from Case Western Reserve Law School and The Hague Netherlands Academy of International Law.

American chess master Dan Harrington graduated from law school.

British IM William Roland Hartston studied mathematics and was a PhD student at Cambridge but did not complete his PhD on number theory.

English GM Stewart Haslinger earned a PhD degree in mathematics from Liverpool University in 2014.

Turkish GM Kivanc Haznedaroglu studied Hydrogeology at Hacettepe University in Ankara.

American master Eliot Sanford Hearst earned a PhD in psychology from Columbia University in 1956.

Swedish master Moritz Henneberger earned a PhD in mathematics.

American senior master Matthew Herman graduated from the State University at Abany at age 15. At age 17, he has a master's degree in mathematics from Brown University.

Polish WIM Roza Herman graduated from medical school.

American GM Robert Hess graduated with a BA degree in History from Yale University in 2015.

Vietnamese-born Hungarian GM graduated in Economics fro the Gabor Denes College.

Canadian master Walter Holowach graduated from the Vienna Conservatory with a Doctorate in violin/viola.

American GM Conrad Holt is studing Physics at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Chinese GM Yifan Hou will attend Oxford Univeristy as a Rhodes Scholar, studying for a MSc in Education. She completed her studies in International Relations at Peking University.

Canadian master Henry Aspinwall Howe had a Doctor of Law degree.

English GM David Howell studied mathematics at Eastbourne College.

German GM Robert Huebner earned a PhD in classical philology in 1973.

English IM and WGM Harriet Hunt has a PhD in archaeology from Cambridge.

American master M. Lee Hyder earned a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

Turkish GM Alexander Ipatov received a bachelor's degree from the National University in Kharkov.

Soviet-American GM Igor Ivanov studied mathematics at Leningrade State University, but left before completing his degree.

Finnish and Russian chess player Carl Friedrich Andreyevich Jaenisch was first educated in Moscow, and then attended the Institute of the Corps of Railroad Engineers in St Petersburg, Russia.

Czech GM Vlastimil Jansa majored in sports sciences from the Charles University in Prague.

Polish GM Radoslaw Jedynak graduated from the Faculty of Journalism and Political Science at the University of Warsaw in 2005.

Norwegian GM Leif Erlend Johannessen graduated from law school.

American FM Stephen L. Jones has a Ph.D. in mathematics and a law degree.

Latvian-Canadian chess master Miervaldis Jursevskis studied architecture.

German woman chess master Gabriele Just obtained a doctorate in 1965 at the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig.

American IM Charles Kalme earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from New York University in 1967.

Polish GM Marcin Kaminski graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

Gata Kamsky graduated from Brooklyn College in 1999 with a pre-med degree in chemistry. He attended medical school for a year. He then attended and graduated from law school at Touro Law Center in New York.

Ukraine-Russian GM Sergey Alexandrovich Karjakin graduated with a degree in social pedagogy from the Russian State Social University in 2013.

Former world champion Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov entered the Mechanics and Mathematics Faculty of the Moscow State University to study mathematics in 1968. In 1969, Karpov transferred to the Economics Faculty of the Leningrad State University, eventually graduating from there in economics. His thesis was on leisure in a socialist society. He also graduated as a reserve officer trained as an artillery officer and studied English and Spanish. He has a PhD in Economics.

Isaac Kashdan graduated from City College of New York (CCNY) in 1926.

Former world champion Garry Kasparov entered the Azerbaijan Teaching Institute of Foreign Languages in 1982. He graduated from there in 1986.

Austrian woman chess master Ingeborg Kattinger had a doctorate in psychology.

American GM Larry Kaufman graduated from M.I.T. with a degree in Economics.

Viennese chess master Arthur Kaufmann earned a PhD in 1896 in Philosophy and graduated from law school.

Czech-American GM Lubomir Kavalek studied communication and journalism at Charles University in Prague.

American chessplayer and chess composer Palmer Gunkel Keeney graduated from medical school.

Swiss IM Dieter Keller graduated from law school.

Estonian GM Paul Keres studied mathematics at the University of Tartu from 1937 to 1941.

American master Alexander Kevitz graduated from Cornell University in 1923. He later earned degrees in law and pharmacy from Brooklyn College of Pharmacy.

Russian GM Ildar Khairullin studied at the Saratov State Social-Economic University. He later transferred to the State University of Economics and Finance in St. Petersburg.

Russian GM Denis Khismatullin studied at the Ufa Oil University.

Georgian GM Bela Khotenashvili graduated from Tbilisi State University and then went on to study at Georgian Technical University.

German-Austrian GM Stefan Emanuel Sylvester Kindermann has a master's degree in Neuro-linguistic programming.

Latvian master Janis Klavins earned a PhD in physics from the Latvian Academy of Sciences.

German GM Rainer Fritz Albert Knaak has a degree in Mathematics.

Russian master Viktor Carl Knorre earned a PhD in astronomy from Humboldt University in Berlin in 1867.

American IM Danny Kopec graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1975. He held a PhD in Machine Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh.

Soviet GM Viktor Korchnoi He graduated from Leningrad University with a degree in history. He was given an honorary PhD.

Indian GM Akshayraj Kore has a master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Pune.

Ukrainian GM Anton Korobov graduated from the University of Kharkiv.

Israeli GM Yona Kosashvili graduated from medical school.

Russian GM Tatiana Kosintseva studied law at Pomor University.

Ukrainian-born Canadian GM Anton Kovalyov is pursuing a master's degree in Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas.

American GM Jesse Kraai received his B.A. from Shimer College in 1994, his M.A. in philosophy from the University of Jena, Germany in 1996, and his PhD in philosophy from the University of Heidelberg in 2001. His dissertation examined the influence of Georg Joachim Rheticus on the development of Copernican theory.

Russian GM Vladimir Kramnik said that he tried to receive higher education, but it was too difficult for him to combine chess with serious studies. He dropped out of college after becoming world chess champion. In 1996 he entered the University of Novgorod to study foreign languages. He later transferred to the department of philosophy, but never got a diploma.

Polish GM Michal Krasenkow has a master's degree in applied mathematics.

Correspondence GM Martin Kreuzer did his graduate studies in Mathematics at the University of Regensburg. After spending one year in the United States as a foreign exchange student at Brandeis University in Boston, he finished his PhD in Mathematics in Regensburg in 1986. Next came a post-doctoral fellowship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, from 1989 to 1991, working in algebraic geometry.

Georgian Grandmaster of Chess Compositions Josif Krikheli graduated from medical school.

Slovenian WGM Jana Krivec has a PhD in psychology from the University of Ljubljana.

Soviet GM Nikolai Vladimirovich Krogius has a doctorate in psychology.

Ukrainian-born American GM Irina Krush graduated from New York University with a degree in International Relations in 2006.

Ukrainian GM Yuriy Kryvoruchko graduated with a dgree in Mathematics and Mechanical Engineering from Lviv University in 2008.

American GM Sergey Kudrin has a B.A. in computer science and an M.B.A. in finance.

English GM Dharshan Kumaran has a degree in neuroscience.

Yugoslav (Bosnia and Herzegovina) GM Bojan Kurajica studied Italian and English at the Faculty of Philisophy in Zagreb, graduating in 1972.

Romanain WGM and IM Alini l'Ami graduated cum laude in Psychology from the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University.

Latvian GM Zigurds Lanka graduated from the Latvian University, majoring in journalism.

Danish GM Bent Larsen studied Civil Engineering in Copenhagen but did not graduate.

German master Baron Tassilo von Heydebrand und der Lasa studied law in Bonn and Berlin.

German master Berthold Lasker graduated from medical school.

American IM Edward Lasker had degrees (but no PhD) in mechanical and electrical engineering.

Former world champion Emanuel Lasker was sent to Berlin at the age of 11 to study mathematics. Lasker displayed unusual mathematical abilities and wanted to become a mathematician. He also studied the Talmud with his father and grandfather, a rabbi. Lasker was accepted into one of Berlin's best high schools and was advanced two class years ahead of his peers after scoring very high on all his exams. Lasker was spending so much time studying and playing chess that is parents told Berthold to find another school for Emanuel. Berthold did find a new school for Emanuel, in the small town of Landsberg an der Warthe (now Gorzow Wielkopolski, Poland) in Prussia. Lasker gained his abitur (high school graduation certificate) at Landsberg. Lasker then studied mathematics and philosophy at the universities in Berlin, Gottingen and Heidelberg. In 1897, Lasker entered Heidelberg University, and then transferred to Erlangen University, 150 miles east of Heidelberg. Lasker registered for doctoral studies at Erlangen in 1900. In 1901 he presented his doctoral thesis Uber Reihen auf der Convergenzgrenze (On Series at Convergence Boundaries) at Erlangen. He was awarded a doctorate in mathematics in 1902.

Chess biographer David Lawson had a degree in Civil Engineering from New York University.

Czech GM Viktor Laznicka studied Business Administration at the Charles University in Prague.

Vietnamese GM Le Quang Liem has a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Management from Webster University. He graduated summa cum laude.

Aleksandr Lendermann attended Brooklyn College for 2 years before leaving to become a professional chess player.

Russian GM Grigory Levenfish had a degree in chemical engineering from St. Petersburg State University.

American master Jacob Levin graduated from law school.

Scottish IM David Levy earned a PhD in artificial intelligence from Maastrich University in 2007. His dissertation was entitled, "Intimate Relationships with Artificial Partners" (sex with robots).

German female chess master Ursula Liebert had a degree in mathematics.

Singapore master Kok Ann Lim graduated from medical school.

German master Paul Lipke graduated from law school.

German GM Eric Lobron graduated from law school.

English chessplayer and author Charles Dealtry Locock graduated from Oxford.

American GM William Lombardy held a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy, a master's degree in ethics, and a master's degree in divinity, all of which he obtained at St. Joseph's Seminary College in Yonkers, New York. He also attended CUNY and studied Educational Psychology at Saint Louis University. He was ordained a priest in 1967.

German GM Thomas Luther has an MBA from the University of Hagen. Scottish master Ronald Cadell MacDonald graduated from medical school.

Hungarian-born Canadian chess master Elod Macskay had a PhD in mathematics.

Indian GM Magesh Chandran Panchanathan completed both undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Iranian GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami graduated from lw school.

Russian GM Vladimir Malakhov graduated with a degree in physics.

German GM Burkhard Georg Josef Malich received a PhD in History in 1971.

Czech IM Arthur Mandler graduated frm law school.

USCF Life Master Erich Watkinson Marchand attended Harvard. He had a PhD in mathematics.

Filipino GM Nelson Mariano II was educated at the Universityy of the East in Manila.

Serbian Woman GM Alisa Maric has a PhD in Economics.

Serbian Woman GM Mirjana Maric has a degree in mathematics from Belgrade University.

Hungarian GM Geza Maroczy studied engineering at Zurich Polytecnic in the 1890s but did not complete his engineering degree.

Slovakian GM Jan Markos graduated in Philosophy and Evangelical theology.

Croatian GM Drazen Marovic has a degree in Literature.

American IM William Martz received his bachelor's and his master's degree in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin. He graduated from Marquette Law School in 1970, but never practiced.

English IM in Chess Compositions Robin Charles Oliver Matthews graduated with a degree in Economics.

US master Edgar Thomas McCormick had a mathematics degree from Princeton (class of 1935).

American master Neil McKelvie has a PhD in chemistry.

Scottish GM Colin McNab has a PhD in Mathematics from Oxford.

English GM Luke McShane attended Westminster Under School and then City of London School before enterins Oxford University in 2003. He studied mathematics and philosophy.

American chess master Charles Dillingham Mead graduated from law school.

GM Edmar Mednis majored in chemical engineering at New York University.

American WIM and FM Alisa Melekhina graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School at the age of 22.

American chess master Ariel Mengarini graduated from medical school.

English GM Andrew Jonathan Mestel obtained his Ph.D. with the thesis "Magnetic Levitation of Liquid Metals" at University of Cambridge.

Ukrainian GM Adrian Mikhalchishin graduated with a physics degree from Lviv University in 1976.

Tony Miles was a mathematics undergraduate of the University of Sheffield. He did not complete his studies and became a professional chess player. In 1975, he was awarded an MA by the University of Sheffield for his chess achievements.

Correspondence GM Peter Millican has a PhD in Philosophy.

Bulgarian-American International Master Nikolay Minev graduated from medical school.

Polish GM Aleksander Mista studied physics at the Gdansk University of Technology.

American GM Mackenzie “Mac” Molner has a Bachelor of Arts degree from New York University in Romance Languages.

American master Jordy Mont-Reynaud graduated from Stanford with a BS in Symbolic Systems.

Iranian-American GM Elshan Moradi-Abadi has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. He received an MBA degree from Rawls College of Business.

Paul Morphy entered law school at the University of Louisiana and earned his law degree at age 20. He practiced law in New Orleans.

Austrian WGM Eva Moser has a degree in Business Administration.

American master Eric Moskow graduated from medical school.

American chess master Kenneth Ormsby Mott-Smith graduated from Harvard Law School.

Scottish GM Paul Motwani studied mathematics and physics in at the University of Dundee.

German GM Karsten Mueller earned a PhD in mathematics from the University of Hamburg in 2002.

Bangladesh GM Niaz Murshed has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

American GM Daniel Naroditsky is now attending Stanford University as a member of the Class of 2019.

Czech GM David Navara has a university degree in mathematics.

Serbian IM Srecko Nedeljkovic graduated from medical school.

Indian GM Parimarjan Negi graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Mathematics. He is a PhD student in computer science at MIT.

Russian GM Ian Nepomniachtchi graduated from the Russian State Social University.

Dutch IM for Chess Compositions Meindert Niemeijer graduated from law school.

Croatian GM Juraj Nikolac has a degree in Physics.

English-Andorra GM David Norwood graduated with a history degree from Keble College, Oxford University in 1988.

English GM John Nunn, at the age of 15, went to Oriel college, Oxford to study mathematics. At the time, he was Oxford's youngest undergraduate since Cardinal Wolsey in 1520. He graduated in 1973, specializing in algebraic topology, which has links with atomic physics. He gained a doctorate in 1978 with a dissertation on finite H-spaces.

Icelandic GM Fridrik Olafsson graduated from law school.

Dutch master Adolf George Olland graduated from medical school.

Dutch master Gerard Oskam graduated from law school.

Bulgarian GM Nikola Bochev Padevsky graduated from law school.

Ukrainian GM Sam Palatnik graduated with a diploma in Engineering Science (equivalent to MS) from Odessa Polytechnic University. He is working on a PhD in Economics.

Correspondence GM Victor Palciauskas earned a PhD in Theoretical Physics in 1969.

American senior master Max Pavey graduated from medical school.

American master Fred Payne earned a PhD in aeronautical engineering from Penn State in 1966 and is also graduated from medical school.

British GM Jonathan Penrose has a PhD in psychology.

American GM Eugene Perelshteyn graduated with a degree in computer science from the University of Maryland, Baltmore County in 2002.

Viennese master Julius Perlis graduated from law school.

Italian Woman FM Barbara Pernici has a doctorate degree in computer science from Stanford University.

English GM Nicholas Pert graduated with a degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Warwick Univesity.

Bulgarian GM Petko Andonov Petkov graduated in Law Sciences in Sofia.

Armenian GM Tigran Petrosian received a Master of Philosophical Science from Erevan State University in 1968. His thesis was entitled, 'Chess Logic. Some Problems of the Logic of Chess Thought.'

International Solving Grandmaster Michael Pfannkuche has a PhD in mathematics.

German GM Helmut Pfleger graduated from medical school. He received his doctorate in medicne at the University of Munich in 1971.

English chess composer Charles Planck graduated from law school.

American chess master Joseph Platz graduated from medical school.

Hungarian chess master Jozsef Pogats graduated from law school.

Ukrainian-American chess master Stepan Popel he earned a master's degree in French and Latin language and literature from the University at Lviv in 1931.

American FM Orest Popovych earned a PhD in Chemistry from MIT.

Canadian GM Razvan Preotu is currently studying computer science at The University of Texas at Dallas.

American IM Stuart Rachels earned a PhD in Philosophy.

Bulgarian GM Ivan Radulov graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering.

Bangladesh GM Ziaur Rahman graduated from the University of Dhaka.

Costa Rican-born American GM Alejandro Ramirez graduated from the University of Texas in Dallas with a master's degree in Arts & Technology/Design and Production of Videogames.

American master Benjamin I. Raphael graduated from medical school.

Latvian WGM Olita Rause has a Master of Philology degree.

American chess master Tim Redman earned a PhD in comparative studies in literature from the University of Chicago.

Dutch GM Hans Ree was a student of mathematics and philosophy at Amsterdam University, but gave it up to be a full-time chess professional.

American IM Kenneth Regan won a Marshall scholarship and earned his Ph.D. in mathematics at Oxford.

American GM Samuel Reshevsky first enrolled at the University of Detroit to study accounting. After two years, he transferred to the University of Chicago School Of Business. In 1934 he graduated with a degree in accounting.

Spanish master Ramon Rey-Ardid graduated from medical school.

American IM Bruce Rind earned a PhD in psychology from Temple University.

American master William “Bill” Gerrard Robertie graduated from Harvard.

German IM Ludwig Roedl graduated from law school.

Australian GM Ian Rogers has a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from the University of Melbourne.

American GM Ken Rogoff received a BA and MA from Yales University summa cum laude in 1975. He earned a PhD in Economics from MIT in 1980.

American GM Michael Rohde graduated from law school.

American WIM Alexey Wilhelmina Root earned a PhD in education from UCLA in 1999.

Austrian master Jakob Rosanes earned a PhD in Mathematics.

Canadian-English chess player Herbert Rose attended Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

American WIM Christine Rosenfeld graduated from medical school.

Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson went to Keble College, Oxford University where he earned a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. He then attended Harvard University. He earned a PhD in Philosophu at Bristol University. His dissertation was on Wisdom.

American chess master Bela Rozsa had a doctorate in Composition and Psychology of Music.

Soviet master Evgeny Ruban had a degree in philosophy.

American chess master Sol Isaac Rubinow earned a doctorate in Mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Irish master Porterfield Rynd graduated from law school.

American IM Anthony Saidy graduated from medical school.

American chess master Anthony E. Santasiere graduated from college at age 19.

Croation GM Ivan Saric graduated with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science from the Univesity of Split in 2013.

New Zealand FM Jonathan Sarfati has a PhD in chemistry.

Croatian GM Ivan Saric has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

Russian GM Boris Savchenko studied at the Russian State University for the Humanities.

USCF national master Eric Schiller earned a PhD in linguistics from the University of Chicago in 1991, specializing in Khmer (Cambodian) languages. His dissertation was entitled, "An Autolexical Account of Subordinating Serial Verb Constructions."

German master Karl Wilhelm Adolph Schliemann graduated from law school.

Estonian IM Paul Felix Schmidt studied at Heidelberg University and gained a PhD in chemistry.

Argentinian master Aron Schvartzman graduated from medical school.

Romanian-born American GM Gabriel Schwartzman has a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Florida and an MBA as Palmer Scholar from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ukrainian-Italian WGM Elena Sedina graduated from the University of Kiev with a degree in Economics.

Russian-Armenian GM Narek Seferjan graduated from Russian State University of Physical Culture and Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

U.S. Senior Master Herbert Seidman earned an MBA.

American WGM Jennifer Shahade has a degree in comparative literature at New York University.

American GM Tal Shaked entered college at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County on a full chess scholarship. He later transferred and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in computer science in 2002. In 2004, he received a master's degree in computer science from the University of Washington.

American GM Sam Shankland graduated with a degree on Economics from Bradeis University in 2014.

American IM James Sherwin graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Officer Candidate School in 1956.

American GM Alex Sherzer attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He graduated from medical school in Hungary in 2002.

American IM Walter Shipman graduated from law school.

English GM Nigel Short left school at age 17 to become a professional chess player.

Armenian-born American GM Yuri Shulman completed undergraduate studies from the State Academy of Sports in Belarus. He has a bachelor's degree in Computer Science and an MBA specializing in Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Icelandic GM Gudmundur Sigurjonsson graduated from law school.

Zambian GM Amon Simutowe holds a B.S. in Economics and Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas and a M.S. in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford.

Dutch GM Jan Smeets was a student of Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

Australian GM David Smerdon has a PhD in economics from the University of Amsterdam. His dissertation was, "Eerybody's doing it: Essays on trust, social norms and integration."

Canadian-English chess master Stephen Francis Smith graduated from medical school.

Soviet GM Vasily Smyslov was a student at the Moscow Institute of Aviation from 1938 to 1940 and studied aviation science.

American-Philipino GM Wesley So spent two-and-a-half-years at Webster University in St. Louis, but left before graduating.

American chess master Elmer Ernest Southard graduated from medical school.

Soviet GM Boris Spassky graduated from high school with honors and attended Leningrad State University and studied journalism, graduating in 1959. His studies were in the history-philology department, but the subject for his diploma thesis was chess in the central press.

English GM Jonathan Speelman earned a PhD in mathematics at Worcester College, Oxford.

Canadian GM Kevin Spraggett attended McGill University, studying engineering. However, he left school before completing his degree to become a chess professional.

German GM Jan Michael Sprenger earned a PhD in philosophy from Tilburg University.

English GM Michael Stean attended Cambridge University.

American master Leo Stefurak has a PhD in cognitive neuro psychology.

Dutch GM Daniel Stellwagen is earned his PhD in organic chemistry from Utrecht University. His dissertation was "Solid acid catalysts for transesterification and esterification."

American master Llewellyn Walter Stephens he earned a Master's degree in education from Columbia University in 1915.

Polish GM Jacek Stopa has a master's degree in Quantitative Finance.

American chess master Harold Sussman graduated from dental school.

Canadian GM Duncan Suttles attened the University of British Columbia. He earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics. He started doctoral-level studies in mathematics, but did not complete his PhD.

Swedish master Ludvig Oskar Svenonius graduated from medical school.

Polish chess master Salomon Szapiro graduated from medical school.

Mikhail Tal finished high school at age 15 and applied to law school, but later entered the Philological Faculty at Riga University because he loved literature more than law, and the sciences would interfere with chess. He started university studies (Russian language and literature) at the age of 15. In the spring of 1957, Tal graduated in history and literature from the Philology Department at the University of Latvia, writing his thesis on Russian humorists (the satirical works of Ilf and Petrov and Mikhail Bulgakov). His thesis was entitled, 'Satire in the novel Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov.'

Chines GM Tan Zhongi graduated from Shanghai University with a degree in Finance and Economics in 2013.

American GM James Tarjan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and received a master's in library science (MLS) degree from UCLA.

Siegbert Tarrasch graduated from medical school.

Polish-French GM Savielly Tartakower graduated from the law faculties on universities in Geneva and Vienna. He became a doctor of law in 1909.

Richard Teichmann was a student of modern languages and studied in Berlin.

Life chess master Peter Thiel went to the Stanford Law School and received his J.D. in 1992.

Iranian GM Homayoon Toufighi holds a Bachelor of Sports Science degree.

Chess player Alan N. Trefler holds a degree in Economics and Computer Science from Dartmouth College.

Czech chess master Karel Treybal graduated from law school with a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree.

Yugoslav Grandmaster Petar Trifunovic obtained a Law degree in 1933, followed by a Doctorate.

American chess player Evan Turtel received a B.S. in Computer Science at Cornell University.

British master Theodore Henry Tylor graduated from law school.

Yugoslav GM Mijo Udovcic graduated from law school.

Russian WGM Irina Mikhailova Umanskayal has a PhD in pedagogy. Her dissertation was "Developing of advanced junior chess-players with the help of chess software and Internet resources."

German GM Wolfgang Unzicker graduated from law school in 1953.

French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.

Argentine GM Diego Valerga graduated from medical school.

Yugoslav GM Milan Vidmar, Sr. graduated in 1907 at the University of Vienna. He earned a PhD in electrical engineering in 1911 from the Technical faculty in Vienna.

Swiss master Erwin Voellmy had a PhD in Mathematics.

Canadian IM Zvonko Vranesic has a PhD in Electrical Engineering.

American IM Milan Vukcevich had a PhD in chemistry from MIT.

American chess master Saul Philip Wachs received a PhD in Education and Jewish history from Ohio State University.

Chinese GM Wang Yue was a Communications Studies student at the College of Liberal Arts of Nankai University in Tianjin.

American IM John L. Watson has a BS in electrical engineering.

English GM William Watson graduated from law school.

IM Norman Stephen Weinstein attended MIT and went to graduate school at Brandeis, majoring in computer science.

Hungarian-born Austrian chess master Max Ignaz Weiss studied mathematics and physics at the University of Vienna.

Dutch GM Jan Werle studied law at Groningen University.

American chess master Siegfried Werthhammer graduated from medical school.

American IM Norman Tweed Whitaker graduated from Georgetown University Law School.

American chess master Michael Wierzbicki earned a PhD in psychology from Indiana University in 1980.

American GM Michael Wilder graduated from law school at the Univeristy of Michigan.

American GM Patrick Wolff attended Yale and graduated from Harvard in 1996 with a B.A. degree in philosophy.

American chess master Philip Woliston graduated from California Institute of Technology with an Electrical Engineering degree.

Singaporean GM Wong Meng Kong graduated from medical school at the National University of Singapore.

Chinese GM Xie Jun has a doctorate in psychology ftom Beijing Normal University.

Chinese GM Xu Yuhua graduated from law school.

Canadian GM David Yanofsky entered the University of Manitoba in 1941, earning a degree in science in 1944. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Manitoba in 1951. He pursued legal studites at Oxford University from 1851 through 1953.

Armenian GM Arsen Yegiazarian graduated from the Armenian State Institute of Physical Culture in 1992.

Chinese GM Yu Yangyi studied Sports Economics at Beijing Sports University.

Latvian-American GM Elmars Zemgalis obtained a degree from the Institute of Teacher's Training in Jelgava, Latvia. He studied Medicine at the University of Riga. He received a BS in Mathematics from Seattle University. He receive an MA in Mathematics from the University of Washington.

Australian GM Zhao Zong-Yuan is a pharmacy graduate and completed a degree in Medicine at the University of Sydney.

English IM Yang-Fan Zhou attends Cambridge University, majoring in chemical engineering.

GM Zhu Chen studied for a master's degree at Tsinghua University.

American GM Steven Zierk graduated from MIT with a degree in Computer Science.

Russian GM Vadim Zvjaginsev graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Moscow State University in 1996.

Korean NM (U.S.) Christopher Hayoung Wong graduated from St. John's University in New York in 2015. His doctoral dissertation focused on the history of Roman Catholic Christianity in Korea from the 1500s to 1784. He attended Dartmouth college for his undergraduate work.