Alexander gruzd what where when. Alexander Druz: biography, family and television career. A smarter approach to life
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Mind games
In the TV game "What? Where? When? ” first appeared in 1981, since then it has performed almost without interruption, which is a game record. In 1982, he became the first expert to be disqualified for hinting to players. He also holds records for the number of games played - 86 (as of October 24, 2016) and victories - 54.
In 2009, as a legionnaire, he played for the Nikita Mobile TeTe team at the championships of Uzbekistan in Brain Ring (1st place) and in What? Where? When?" (2nd place), then at the I Open Cup of Tashkent (1st place in "What? Where? When?" and "Brain Ring", as well as in the overall standings - 2nd place in the erudite quartet) and Connoisseur-2009 in Eilat (including 2nd place at the Olympic tournament in "What? Where? When?"). In the same year, he played for the Great Britain national team at the Nations Cup in the game “What? Where? When?" in Kirov.
In 2010, he also played several times for the Nikita Mobile TeTe team, which won the VII Uzbekistan Championship, and then the VIII World Championship in the city of Eilat (Israel). In 2011 and 2012, this team won the national championship without a Master, but at the IX and X World Championships of those years, he joined the NMTT team. In Odessa (2011), together with the team, he became a silver medalist, and in Saransk (2012) - gold (becoming the only three-time world champion in the game "What? Where? When?").
According to the IAC ChGK website, he is one of the 11 players who took part in all ten world championships in sports “What? Where? When?" .
Family
Both daughters studied at the Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 239, where Alexander Druz still trains youth teams of experts, and also holds games “What? Where? When?" in a modified format for the entire school.
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An excerpt characterizing Friends, Alexander Abramovich
"What is it? I'm falling? my legs give way, ”he thought, and fell on his back. He opened his eyes, hoping to see how the fight between the French and the artillerymen ended, and wishing to know whether the red-haired artilleryman had been killed or not, whether the guns had been taken or saved. But he didn't take anything. Above him there was nothing but the sky—a high sky, not clear, but still immeasurably high, with gray clouds quietly creeping across it. “How quiet, calm and solemn, not at all the way I ran,” thought Prince Andrei, “not the way we ran, shouted and fought; not in the same way as the Frenchman and the artilleryman dragged each other's bannik with angry and frightened faces - not at all like the clouds crawling across this high, endless sky. How could I not have seen this lofty sky before? And how happy I am that I finally got to know him. Yes! everything is empty, everything is a lie, except for this endless sky. Nothing, nothing but him. But even that is not even there, there is nothing but silence, calmness. And thank God!…"On the right flank at Bagration at 9 o'clock, the matter had not yet begun. Not wanting to agree to Dolgorukov's demand to start a business and wanting to deflect responsibility from himself, Prince Bagration suggested that Dolgorukov send the commander-in-chief to ask about it. Bagration knew that, at a distance of almost 10 miles, separating one flank from the other, if they did not kill the one who was sent (which was very likely), and if he even found the commander-in-chief, which was very difficult, the sent one would not have time to return earlier evenings.
Bagration glanced at his retinue with his large, expressionless, sleepy eyes, and Rostov's childish face, involuntarily dying with excitement and hope, was the first to catch his eye. He sent it.
- And if I meet his majesty before the commander-in-chief, your excellency? - said Rostov, holding his hand to the visor.
“You can pass it on to His Majesty,” said Dolgorukov hastily interrupting Bagration.
Having changed from the chain, Rostov managed to sleep a few hours before morning and felt cheerful, bold, resolute, with that elasticity of movements, confidence in his happiness and in that mood in which everything seems easy, fun and possible.
All his desires were fulfilled this morning; a general battle was given, he participated in it; moreover, he was an orderly under the bravest general; moreover, he went on an assignment to Kutuzov, and perhaps to the sovereign himself. The morning was clear, the horse under it was kind. His heart was full of joy and happiness. Having received the order, he started his horse and galloped along the line. At first he rode along the line of Bagration's troops, who had not yet entered into action and stood motionless; then he drove into the space occupied by Uvarov's cavalry and here he already noticed movements and signs of preparations for the case; having passed Uvarov's cavalry, he already clearly heard the sounds of cannon and cannon fire in front of him. The shooting intensified.
In the fresh, morning air there were already heard, not as before at unequal intervals, two or three shots, and then one or two cannon shots, and along the slopes of the mountains, in front of Pracen, the rifts of rifle fire were heard, interrupted by such frequent shots from guns that sometimes several cannon shots no longer separated from each other, but merged into one common roar.
One could see how the smoke of the guns seemed to be running along the slopes, chasing each other, and how the smoke of the guns swirled, blurred and merged one with the other. One could see, by the gleam of bayonets between the smoke, moving masses of infantry and narrow bands of artillery with green boxes.
Rostov, on a hillock, stopped his horse for a moment to examine what was being done; but no matter how he strained his attention, he could neither understand nor make out anything of what was being done: some people were moving there in the smoke, some canvases of troops were moving in front and behind; but why? who? where? could not be understood. This sight and these sounds not only did not arouse in him any dull or timid feeling, but, on the contrary, gave him energy and determination.
“Well, more, give me more!” - he turned mentally to these sounds and again started galloping along the line, penetrating further and further into the area of \u200b\u200bthe troops that had already entered into action.
“I don’t know how it will be there, but everything will be fine!” thought Rostov.
Having passed some kind of Austrian troops, Rostov noticed that the next part of the line (it was the guard) had already entered into action.
"All the better! I'll take a closer look, he thought.
He went almost to the front line. Several riders galloped towards him. These were our Life Lancers, who were returning from the attack in disordered ranks. Rostov passed them, noticed involuntarily one of them in the blood and galloped on.
"I don't care about that!" he thought. Before he had gone a few hundred paces after that, to the left of him, in front of him, appeared throughout the field a huge mass of cavalrymen on black horses, in shiny white uniforms, who trotted straight at him. Rostov set his horse at full gallop in order to get out of the way from these cavalrymen, and he would have left them if they were still walking at the same gait, but they kept gaining speed, so that some horses were already galloping. Rostov became more and more audible to their clatter and rattling of their weapons, and their horses, figures and even faces became more visible. These were our cavalry guards attacking the French cavalry advancing towards them.
The cavalry guards galloped, but still holding the horses. Rostov had already seen their faces and heard the command: "March, march!" uttered by an officer who released his blood horse at full swing. Rostov, fearing to be crushed or lured into an attack on the French, galloped along the front, which was the urine of his horse, and still did not have time to pass them.
The extreme cavalry guard, a huge, pockmarked man, frowned angrily when he saw Rostov in front of him, with whom he would inevitably collide. This cavalry guard would certainly have knocked down Rostov with his Bedouin (Rostov himself seemed so small and weak in comparison with these huge people and horses), if he had not guessed to wave a whip in the eyes of a cavalry guard horse. The black, heavy, five-inch horse shied away, laying its ears; but the pockmarked cavalry guard drove huge spurs into her flanks, and the horse, waving its tail and stretching out its neck, rushed even faster. As soon as the cavalry guards passed Rostov, he heard their cry: "Hurrah!" and looking around, he saw that their front ranks were mixed with strangers, probably French, cavalrymen in red epaulettes. It was impossible to see anything further, because immediately after that, cannons began to shoot from somewhere, and everything was covered with smoke.
At that moment, as the cavalry guards, passing him, disappeared into the smoke, Rostov hesitated whether to gallop after them or go where he needed to. It was that brilliant attack of the cavalry guards, which surprised the French themselves. Rostov was terrified to hear later that out of all this mass of huge handsome people, out of all these brilliant, on thousands of horses, rich young men, officers and cadets who galloped past him, only eighteen people remained after the attack.
“What should I envy, mine will not leave, and now, perhaps, I will see the sovereign!” thought Rostov and galloped on.
As he drew level with the guards infantry, he noticed that cannonballs were flying through and around her, not so much because he heard the sound of cannonballs, but because he saw anxiety on the faces of the soldiers and on the faces of the officers - an unnatural, militant solemnity.
Driving behind one of the lines of infantry guards regiments, he heard a voice calling him by name.
- Rostov!
- What? he replied, not recognizing Boris.
– What is it? hit the first line! Our regiment went on the attack! - said Boris, smiling with that happy smile that young people have when they have been in a fire for the first time.
Rostov stopped.
– That's how! - he said. - Well?
- Repulsed! - Boris said animatedly, becoming chatty. - You can imagine?
And Boris began to tell how the guards, having taken their place and seeing the troops in front of them, mistook them for the Austrians and suddenly learned from the cannonballs fired from these troops that they were in the first line, and unexpectedly had to enter into action. Rostov, without listening to Boris, touched his horse.
Alexander Abramovich Druz (born May 10, 1955) is one of the most famous players in What? Where? When?" throughout the history of the program. An erudite who has a huge number of achievements in various intellectual projects.
Childhood
Alexander was born into an intelligent Leningrad family. From childhood he was surrounded by books. Moreover, it was not pulp fiction, but the creations of the best masters. And the boy began to study them, barely having mastered the skills of reading. He devoured both fiction and voluminous encyclopedias with equal interest. Hence the amazing variety of information that the adult Druz uses so masterfully.
Alexander turned the acquisition of knowledge into his main goal of life. He always enjoyed studying completely different areas. While still at school, the boy began to take part in all the intellectual competitions that he could find in the Northern capital. He received his first prize, barely reaching the age of nine. Needless to say, it was a book - the most valuable thing created by man.
Having taken the first step, Alexander could no longer stop. Of course, he did not always win victories, but he invariably drew attention to himself. However, at his school he became the star of every competition. Once he became the best in a citywide quiz dedicated to the history of Leningrad.
To questions about why he attended all these competitions with such persistence, Druz invariably answers with a smile that he was never afraid to look stupid. And at the same time, he had to somehow apply the acquired knowledge, communicate with people like himself.
Takeoff
Having received an engineering diploma in his hands, Druz quickly found a job and proved himself excellently. However, soon his real passion was the game “What? Where? When?".
It should be noted that in 1980, when Druz applied for participation in the project, hundreds more applicants did the same. Alexander was among those lucky few who formed the basis of the "newborn" intellectual club. His first game was in 1981.
Among the many subsequent achievements of Friends, there is one small anti-record. It was he who once became the first person who was removed from the hall for violating the rules of the club. The fact is that Alexander tried to give tips to his colleagues at the round table, for which he paid the price.
However, after many years, this "achievement" no longer seems something shameful. On the contrary, it causes a smile and adds cute human hooligan features to the portrait of an avid intellectual.
If you set a goal, then all the awards received by the Friend in the club can be quite calculated. Suffice it to say that he won 46 fights, was repeatedly recognized as the best player of the year. In 1995, he became the first of all experts to receive the title of Master of Intellectual Casino.
Project "What? Where? When?" did not become the only one that Alexander Druz adorned with his participation. He was noted in the "Brain Ring", "Own game", various foreign games. Repeatedly he himself organized competitions, mainly for children and youth.
Business
For a long time, participation in the games of the intellectual club did not bring material income, but soon wealthy sponsors became interested in a successful program. As a result, players began to receive very solid income. Naturally, Friends became one of those whose financial well-being became possible precisely thanks to a remarkable mind.
Very soon he realized that it was necessary to organize some kind of business. The Stroy-Azhio and Trans-Azhio companies founded by him quickly began to generate income and took important places in the construction market. The intellectual had to get rid of them after the crisis that broke out in 2012.
However, no crisis could prevent Alexander Druz from doing what he loved. He continues to take part in all the games of the club, which has become his home. In addition, Druz successfully manages the St. Petersburg representative office of the project.
Personal life
Regular viewers of the program “What? Where? When?" repeatedly asked questions about the personal life of its most famous participant. However, it has always remained a mystery. Alexander did not like and does not like to talk about his family.
For many years, Druz has been married to a woman named Elena. She is a doctor and does not appear on television. But both daughters of the master managed to try their hand at their father's favorite project. And very successfully.
Alexandra Druz can definitely be called one of the most charismatic and even odious personalities of the elite club of connoisseurs, an erudite, a living legend and a true leader. He received the "Crystal Owl" six times, once became the owner of the "Diamond Owl" as part of the intellectual TV game "What? Where? When? ”, Three times became the world champion in the sports version of the ChGK.
And Sasha was born on May 10, 1955 in an intelligent Jewish family in Leningrad. The education of the parents played a role. Sasha early became interested in reading books that filled the apartment. I read with interest both weighty encyclopedias and works of art. True, this did not prevent him from being a cocky boy, playing football, swimming in the pond and violating the prohibitions of adults.
He studied well at school, but he was not an excellent student. Alexander had an excellent memory, he could easily learn a long poem or a prose passage. Took part in intellectual competitions. He received his first award at the age of 9 at an evening of entertaining questions. After school, he studied at a technical school, and then at the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers, graduating with honors. True, he was given one B in the political economy of socialism because of his personal conflict with the leadership of the department. After graduation, he briefly worked as an engineer.
His life changed dramatically after a truly fateful invitation to participate in the TV program “What? Where? When?" in 1981. It didn't happen right away. Prior to this, Alexander applied several times to participate in this project. And he got on “What? Where? When?" thanks to his amazing knowledge in various fields, having successfully passed tests and trials. The host of the intellectual show, Vladimir Voroshilov, managed to discern in him an intelligent, comprehensively developed, integral personality.
The friend showed himself as a gambler. He argued with the host, other experts. He was even expelled for abrupt behavior and tips from the club, but was returned back at the request of the audience. The first time this happened in 1983, when Alexander, along with two participants, left the program for a year. However, he was nevertheless returned to the club based on the results of the audience vote. Three times after that, he "flew out" of the project and returned to it. Since the end of 1992, Friends has been a regular participant in the intellectual show “What? Where? When?".
It must be said that this project is not the only one in which Alexander Abramovich took part.
In 1990 he was invited to the intellectual show "Brain Ring". The chance was not missed. Druz defeated all rivals and received the Golden Brain award.
Since 1995, he has been a regular participant in the program “Own Game”, where he won in 22 games out of 35. He did not take the first prize in a foreign-assembled passenger car, because he had nothing to pay the tax with. The award was given to him in money, for which he purchased domestic Zhiguli. In the entire history of the program, it was Druz who received two maximum wins in one game.
In 2009 and 2015, for the second time, together with bard Alexander Rosenbaum, he participated in the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
In 2011, he tried his hand and quite successfully as the host of the informative historical program "The Hour of Truth" on the "365 Days TV" channel.
Alexander Druz, thanks to his outstanding intellect, deep knowledge in various fields, charisma, is a frequent guest in other TV shows: Guess the Melody, While Everyone is Home, Evening Urgant, etc.
Since 1991, he has been preparing school students for club games “What? Where? When?”, holds school, interregional and even international tournaments, for which he has a medal “In memory of the tercentenary of St. Petersburg”. Currently, at the Presidential Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 239, where, by the way, his daughters studied, Alexander Abramovich is studying with youth teams of experts, holding school games of the ChGK in a slightly modified format.
But still, they know Alexander Druz precisely as one of the most successful players in the What? Where? When? ”, On account of which (at the end of June 2017) 55 winning games. They also set a record for the number of participations in games - 88. Alexander Abramovich was the first in the club to receive the title of Master. Since 2009, the eminent player has been playing in the Nikita Mobile TeTe team from time to time, playing in the sports analogue of mind games. He, acting as a debutant at the Brain Ring Championship in Uzbekistan, immediately won. Then he continued his participation in the team in Israel, Great Britain, and Ukraine.
The intellectual show brought him not only fame and fame, but also certain incomes. Although Friends himself admitted that the game does not feed, therefore he connected his life with television not only through this intellectual show.
In 2002, an expert in one of the interviews called TV a permanent job. At that time, he directed the programs of the Golden Calf television company in St. Petersburg, which supplied content for the projects "Fatherland and Fate" of the TC "Culture" and "Agency" REN-TV.
In 2007, Druz became the founder of the Stroy-Azhio construction company, which was engaged in the wholesale trade in building materials, in 2007, another company called Trans-Azhio, which specialized in freight transportation. But a year later, he sold his entire business, not having time to develop it and due to the economic crisis. So, by and large, it was the intellect, colossal knowledge in various fields that became the factors that ensured financial income in the life of Alexander Druz.
A connoisseur-intellectual is happy in his personal life. From a young age, he thought about getting married once and for all. And so it happened. After all, Alexander met his future wife in the first grade. Then fate pulled them apart. Teenagers met after 7 years. At first, they were just friends, walked together, visited museums. And in the tenth grade, the friendship between Alexander and Elena turned into love and romance, which led to the wedding in 1978. A year later, Inna was born to the spouses, and in 1982 - Marina. The father actively participated in the upbringing of his daughters. From the age of three months, he read cognitive literature to them, instilling a thirst for knowledge and developing intellect. The daughters did not disappoint their father. Over the years, they took part in the intellectual show “What? Where? When?". Both were awarded "Crystal Owls".
The couple of Friends have been together for almost forty years. Their daughters gave them three granddaughters. And now Alexander combines the work of the head of the gaming programs department at the St. Petersburg TV channel STO with the training of Alice, Alina and Ansley.
In 1972 he graduated from the Leningrad secondary school No. 47 named after. K. D. Ushinsky.
He graduated from the Industrial and Pedagogical College of Vocational Education in 1975 and the Leningrad Institute of Railway Engineers. Academician V. N. Obraztsov with a degree in computers in 1980. Interested in bonistics.
In the TV program "What? Where? When?" first appeared in 1981, has performed non-stop ever since, a game record. In 1982, he became the first expert to be disqualified for giving tips to players. He also holds records for the number of games played - 73 (as of January 15, 2013) and victories - 46.
He was awarded the Crystal Owl six times as the best player of the intellectual club (1990, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2006, 2012). Winner of the "Diamond Owl" (prize of the best player according to the results of 2011). In 1995, he was elected the first master in the history of the TV game, later this title was also received by Maxim Potashov, Viktor Sidnev and Andrey Kozlov.
Captain of the team "Transsfera" in sports ChGK, which under the name "Troyard" won the 1st World Championship (2002). 9 times in a row the team won the Cup of the Governor of St. Petersburg in ChGK.
Champion of the television version of "Brain Ring" in 1990, 1991, 1994. In the television "Own Game" he won "Linear Games" (1995), "Super Bowl" (2003), was the captain of the team that won the III Challenge Cup (2002), set an absolute performance record for one game - 120,001 rubles.
In 2009, as a legionnaire, he played for the team Nikita Mobile TeTe at the championships of Uzbekistan in brain ring (1st place) and in ChGK (2nd place), then at the I Open Cup of Tashkent (1st place in ChGK and brain -ring, as well as in the overall standings, 2nd place in the erudite quartet) and at the Znatokiade-2009 in Eilat (including 2nd place at the Olympic Tournament in ChGK). In the same year, he played for the Great Britain national team at the ChGK Nations Cup in Kirov.
In 2010, he also played several times for the Nikita Mobile TeTe team, which won the VII Championship of Uzbekistan, and then the VIII World Championship in the city of Eilat (Israel). In 2011 and 2012 this team won the national championship without a master, but at the IX and X World Championships of those years he joined the NMTT. In Odessa (2011), together with the team, he became a silver medalist, and in Saransk (2012) - gold (becoming the only three-time world champion in sports ChGK).
He is one of 11 players who took part in all ten world championships in sports “What? Where? When?".
If the correct answers to tricky questions were not the basis of intellectual shows, but a way to earn money, Alexander Druz would be listed in a kind of list of rich people who made a fortune in this way. For the ability to find a way out of hopeless situations, he was awarded the "Diamond Owl" and six "Crystal Owls", the main prizes of the game. Druz is one of the first "immortal" players of the club and the first owner of the master's title.
Childhood and youth
Alexander was born on May 10, 1955 in Leningrad into a Jewish family. His father served on a submarine, later taught, his mother is a nurse. Parents instilled in their son a love of books - he re-read everything that was in the house, from weighty encyclopedias to works of art. But this did not stop the boy from fighting, playing football, breaking taboos and swimming in ponds.
Alexander's favorite leisure activity is reading. He himself wrote a children's book about the adventures of a cat and a girl "Enya, Thomas and others" and a guide to St. Petersburg.
Alexander Druz now
Legend "What? Where? When?" does not deny himself the pleasure of participating in other intellectual projects. In 2018, the show became such. Alexander came to the studio in the company of a master. The program, in the final of which the experts lost, was successfully aired, and in February 2019.