Zherebukh started playing chess at the age of 7. He became an IM in 2007 and a GM with effect from October 2008 at the age of 15 years and 2 months and 18 days. Zherebukh started competing in FIDE rated tournaments in 2004 at the age of 10, including the 2004 Ukrainian Championship, and immediately immersed himself in tournaments both in Ukraine and in Europe. He became Ukraine’s U12 champion in 2005, and Ukraine's U14 champion in 2006 and 2007.

In 2006, he scored 5.5/8 at Ukrainian Championships, placed =2nd with 7/9 at the European Youth Championships U14, =3rd at the Cup of Chervonograd-2 in Ukraine and =1st alongside Andrey Vovk, Yuri Vovk, Vladimir Onischuk and Andrey Grekh at the Ukrainian Boys U20 Championship (Semi final), although he finished behind these players on count back. In 2007, he was =2nd at the Femida tournament in Kharkiv behind Sanan Sjugirov. He won his third IM norm, thereby gaining the IM title, at the European Individual Championships (2007) in Dresden. In 2008, he was =1st at the 4th Effim Geller Memorial held in Odessa, =2nd at the Podillya GM tournament in Khmelnitsky, Ukraine, outright first at the Vasylyshyn Memorial in L’viv and =1st at the 6th V.Somov's Memorial - World Youth Stars, coming second on count back to Aleksandr Shimanov. Also in 2008, Zherebukh gained his three GM norms: at the Moscow Open (2008) where he scored 5.5/9, the Voronezh Open (5.5/9) and at the Transcarparthian Cup in Mukachevo where he scored 7.5/11 to come second behind Darmen Sadvakasov.

In 2009 he won the First Saturday GM Aug 2009 in Budapest, and the Mukachevo Open. In 2010, he won the Cappelle la Grande (2010) , come second on count back behind Anton Kovalyov at the Open International de l'Ouest Toulousain - A in France, won the 8th V. Somov's Memorial - World Youth Stars in Russia and the 18th International Open Tournament "Honour to National Resistance" Group A, came second to Valentin Iotov in the University of Twente Young Masters held in the Netherlands and won the 18th Nikaia International Open Chess Tournament "Honour to National Resistance" 2010 Group A in Greece with 9/9. In 2011 so far he has scored 8/11 in the 9th International Open in New Delhi (1 point behind the leaders, albeit unplaced) and 7.5/11 in the 3rd Chennai International Open, 2 points from the lead. A strong showing with 7.5/11 (TPR 2712) in the 12th European Individual Championship (2011) placed him 20th on tiebreak and qualified him for his inaugural participation in the World Championship cycle, namely the right to play in the World Cup (2011), where he has been the dark horse of the contest, beating his countryman, GM Pavel Eljanov, Argentine GM Ruben Felgaer and most unexpectedly, Azeri super-GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov in the first three rounds to make it through to the Round of Sixteen to face David Navara, who eliminated him from the event with a convincing victory in the classical games 2-0. Zherebukh also competed in the Ukrainian Club Championships which finished in May 2011, scoring 5.5/6 and in the Turkish Clubs Championships which finished in July 2011, scoring 6/9. There followed an excellent result in the European Club Cup (2011) where he scored 5/6 and then placed =4th in the 15th Unive Open (2011), scoring 6.5/9, a half point behind the three co-winners. He finished 2011 strongly with 6.5/9 at Groningen (+4 =5), placing =3rd behind compatriot GM Alexander Kovchan and US GM Robert Lee Hess, and alongside Dutch GM Sergei Tiviakov.

Zherebukh started 2012 auspiciously with an outright first place at the Category 13 RSSU Student Grandmaster Cup (men) held in Moscow in conjunction with the Moscow Open, scoring 7/9 (+6 -1 =2), winning his six games in a consecutive sequence through to the last round. Following this, he placed =2nd at Groningen with 6.5/9, and then won Moscow Open 2012 D with 7/9. After this he competed at the Aeroflot Open (2012), scoring an excellent 5.5/9 (+3 -1 =5; TPR 2749) placing =9th (15th on tiebreak) after facing 9 other GMs, including 3 over 2700 against whom he also had a positive score of +1 =2, defeating Francisco Vallejo Pons. This excellent start to the bimonthly rating period to 1 March 2012 added 48 points to his rating and he was knocking on the door of the top 100. Since then, he scored 9/13 in the World Junior Championship (2012), a point off the lead, and won the BDO Chess Tournament 2012 - Premier held in August in the Netherlands, with 7/9. He also played in the Bundesliga for four rounds, scoring 3/4, defeating David Navara and Anish Giri and drawing with Andrei Volokitin and Laurent Fressinet.

In June 2014, he placed =1st alongside Ni Hua at the XXII Open Internacional Ciutat de Montcada. Grupo A held in Spain. In August 2014, he placed =2nd at the 3rd Annual Washington International with 6/9, a point behind the outright winner Sergei Azarov. The following month month he was sole 2nd at the 2014 US Masters held in Greenboro, North Carolina.

Zherebukh is currently playing for Texas Tech(1) and the USA.

Zherebukh's highest standard rating to date was 2641, reached in March 2012.

Homepage: http://yarozherebukh.com/ * RSSU Student Grandmaster Cup (men) (1) https://www.depts.ttu.edu/ttuchess/...

Wikipedia article: Yaroslav Zherebukh