Alexander Brudno

Alexander Lvovich Brudno was a Russian computer scientist born in 1918, best known for being the first to fully describe the alpha-beta pruning algorithm, which he published in Russian and English in 1963. The technique became a foundation of computer game-playing search and was used in programs including Kaissa, the 1974 world computer chess champion. Brudno also founded the first Russian school for young programmers in 1980 and served as scientific director of early Russian programming olympiads. He lived in Israel from 1991 until his death in 2009.