Alex Sherzer

Sherzer was active during the late 1980s to early 1990s. He was the U.S. Junior Champion in 1991.

Sherzer became an International Master (IM) in 1989 and awarded the International Chess Grandmaster (GM) title in 1993. In 1986, he won the US Cadet Championship Under 16. He won the invitational US Junior Championship twice, in 1989 and 1991. Sherzer won 2nd place at the U-18 World Championship.

Alex Sherzer shared 2nd place with Boris Gulko behind Patrick Wolff at the United States Championship in 1992. He was ahead of Yasser Seirawan and many prestigious grandmasters at this championship.

Sherzer won against many grandmasters in his chess career including victory versus Viswanathan Anand in Philadelphia, 1987. Alex was famous for his heavy preparation of the Berlin Defence of the Ruy Lopez.[1]

Online in 2021, at the US Chess Center Dr. Sherzer talked about his chess experiences, including his friendship with the Polgar sisters and meeting Bobby Fischer.[2]

In the late 90s Sherzer pursued a medical degree at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary, where he had befriended the Polgar sisters (Susan, Sofia, and Judit), each of whom was a renowned chess player; Susan was Women's World Champion. The Polgar household was then a gathering place for famous chess players, including Viswanathan Anand and Bobby Fischer. Through the introduction of a family friend and notable Washington DC attorney Julius Kaplan, Sherzer became an unwitting participant in an hysterical effort to bring Bobby Fischer, then an emigre, legally back to the United States. Kaplan succeeded in brokering a potential deal with the US State Department, though Fischer's racism and erratic demands prevented its fruition. The episode is recounted in Julius Kaplan's memoir Secrets and Suspense, International Law Stories (Academica Press, 2018). The following year, Sherzer began attending UMBC on a chess scholarship, taking courses in emergency health science.[1]

In May 2003, while driving to Shreveport, Louisiana to begin a hospital internship, he was arrested in Mobile, Alabama for allegedly attempting to solicit sex from a 15-year-old-girl he met on the Internet.[3][4][5] Although the prosecution managed to suppress over ninety percent of the evidence in Dr. Sherzer's favor, the jury produced a full acquittal. The episode is also recounted in the Kaplan memoir.

Sherzer was a practicing medical doctor in Florida and an active volunteer with Doctors Without Borders until his death on December 4, 2022, at the age of 51.[6]

Dr. Alexander Sherzer, MD was an Internal Medicine Specialist in Bonita Springs, FL with over 23 years of experience in the medical field. In the late 90s Alex Sherzer pursued a medical degree at Semmelweis University in Budapest, Hungary. Later Dr. Sherzer completed his medical training at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in a three-year residency program at the affiliated Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in New Jersey. He then spent several years in one of the largest private practices in northern New Jersey, caring for a population of over 10,000 patients of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds in the Greater New York Metropolitan Area. In this practice, he honed successful methods of treating common and unusual medical conditions - bringing health, comfort, and hope to his loyal community of patients. Dr. Sherzer was a Board Certified in Internal Medicine by the American Board of Medical Specialties and rated as one of America's Top Physicians by the Consumers’ Research Council of America. In a medical mission to the Philippines, in September 2012, under the leadership of Mission Director Virginia Quiambao, and in cooperation with Filipino Congressman Mark Villar, the team with Dr. Alex Sherzer treated over 500 people in underserved areas of Las Piñas City, Manila, Philippines. Until his sudden death, Dr. Sherzer’s private practice, Advanced Florida Medical Care was a general medical practice, providing medical care to adults in southwest Florida. His mission was to promote health and well-being in the community. Personal Quote: "The practice of medicine is fulfilling because every day has challenges and rewards." Alex had a great sense of humor. At his medical website the Quality Guarantee page stated: “If you're not 100% satisfied, we give you back your illness.”[7]

Alex had a passion for challenges and languages, he was fluent in Hungarian and knew a number of other languages.

• Alex Sherzer player profile and games at Chessgames.com