A Chess Grandmaster Makes a Bold Move toYU SEMYON LOMASOV
A Former IDF Soldier’s Next Mission: Improving Lives Through Biotech ALEX VOLCHEK ’22 Stern College for Women Software Engineer
’24 Yeshiva College Chess Grandmaster
tremendous amount and feel enormous satisfaction to have contributed to the State of Israel,” she said. After her service, Volchek came back to the United States and enrolled at Stern Col- lege, where her interest in technology and the world of startups was born. She ma- jored in computer science and over time developed a passion for biotech and health care startups. “I’m really excited to make the move to the digital health world so that I can use my skills to improve people’s lives,” Volchek said. While grateful to YU for the education, connections, extracur- ricular activities and friendships she devel-
oped there, she is, above all, appreciative of the emphasis YU puts on being a good per- son who creates impact. “I could have got- ten a degree at any university, but it is unique to YU to leave school as a better person who seeks opportunities to make a difference.” Whether she uses her technological expertise to fight enemy attacks or help improve people’s health and well-being, Volchek is definitely someone to keep on our radar.
A lex Volchek was not your typi- cal student at Stern College for Women. As a former Israeli soldier, she lived on a make- shift army base with arson balloons rain- ing down from Israel’s northern neighbor, Lebanon. Volchek is currently working as a soft- ware engineer at Reef Technology, a logis- tics tech company that acquired the startup she had joined. The Israeli-born Volchek moved to the United States with her family at a young age, living in such locations as North Carolina, New York, Atlanta and Seattle. Inspired by her passion for Israel and a determination to help its people, she enlisted as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). As a computer network administrator in the Israeli National Guard, she operated and maintained six different computer sys- tems and other back-end technologies at five emergency bases. She was also tasked with resolving complex IT issues for high-ranking officers and helped train new team members. Volchek climbed the ranks quickly, becoming her unit’s second in command. One of her more memorable experienc- es involved the balloons, which occurred during the winter of 2016 when Israel was experiencing a string of arson attacks, es- pecially in Haifa, where she was stationed. Volchek set up and operated the emergency bases, where she worked 24-hour days while subsisting on meals when there was time, living arrangements that “weren’t re- ally,” and heavy doses of fearlessness and determination. Think a technology version of the TV show M*A*S*H . And yet, as challenging as her military service has been, Volchek is grateful for the opportunity to have served. “I learned a
W alk around YU’s Wilf campus these days and you’ll run into college basketball stars, entrepre- neurs, esteemed rabbinical scholars and world- renowned researchers. You can now add to this impressive list a chess grandmaster by the name of Semyon Lomasov. The accomplishments of this well-spoken and down-to-earth YU undergraduate are simply too many to list, but here’s a sam- pling: winner, at age 7, of the Moscow championship for under-10- year-olds in 2009; European champion in rapid chess for under-10- year-olds in 2012; and world champion of under-14-year-olds in 2016. He also won the Moscow Open in 2018, equating his perfor- mance in that tournament to No. 7 in current world rankings. (That is not a misprint: No. 7!) Born in Moscow, Lomasov learned how to play chess from his father, beginning when he was just 4. At age 6, he began to train seriously at a chess school in Moscow, practicing three times a week for two hours a session, with a one-hour game on Sundays. His coach at the time told him he had a special talent for the game, and “he reviewed the games of the old champions with us— Emanuel Lasker, Alexander Alekhine, Jose Raul Capablanca,” re- called Lomasov. That same coach taught him and his fellow stu- dents the importance of good sportsmanship and proper behavior while playing chess, such as shaking hands before the game and always showing respect for one’s opponent. In 2019, Lomasov started college at National Research Universi- ty Higher School of Economics in Russia. Later that same year, Israel offered him the opportunity to represent the Jewish state in international chess competitions. Intrigued and flattered by the of- fer, Lomasov and his family moved there in early 2020, and he be- gan playing for the Israel Chess Federation. Soon after, in Septem- ber 2021, he achieved the title of grandmaster. Technological innovations are game changers in so many areas, and chess is no different. Lomasov has taken a great interest in arti- ficial intelligence (AI) because, “AI completely revolutionized chess when it emerged around 2018,” he said. “It revolutionized many positions, discovered new concepts and opened a lot of op- portunities for further analysis.” He said every professional player, including himself, has incorporated AI into their games and train- ing. “I find it absolutely fascinating and can talk about it for hours.” Lomasov transferred to YU in the fall of 2022 because of its strong academic reputation, and he appreciates the talented faculty as well as the broad array of subjects he is able to study. While he
isn’t sure what field he wishes to pursue, the mathematics major particularly enjoys research and hopes to enter a strong Ph.D. pro- gram in the future. Lomasov makes time outside of school and chess for other activities, such as spending time with friends and playing table tennis. So, the next time you see some students running to their next class on YU’s Wilf campus, one of them may be Lomasov. Strike up a conversation—he’s an incredibly friendly guy, and he knows a thing or two about chess.
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YU Today : Powered by Innovators, Guided by Values
YU Today : Powered by Innovators, Guided by Values
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