Maxim Novik is a renowned Russian-American chess grandmaster who was born in 1977 in the Soviet Union, before moving to Saint Petersburg at a young age. He earned his chess grandmaster title in 2002, making him the 282nd person to hold this prestigious title from the United States.
Following an impressive start to his chess career in Russia, Novik moved to Berkeley, California, where he studied computer science at the University of California. While there, he won the Pan American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship.
Notably, Novik has been a resident in online chess communities for more than a quarter of a century, including the Internet Chess Club, where he served as a chess professional for many years.
Novik has also disentangled from the professional chess scene to some extent, embarking on a career in software engineering. He’s been working for various companies in Silicon Valley and he has also disclosed that he uses his chess skill in his professional life. He claims that chess provides him the ability to think three steps ahead in his development projects.
Overall, Novik has had a successful chess career and now thrives in the software industry. He, however, remains active in the online chess community, constantly sharing and developing his skills.