List of Jewish chess players

Jewish players and game theoreticians have long been involved in the game of chess and have significantly contributed to the development of chess, which has been described as the "Jewish National game".

Judit Polgar

Mikhail Tal 1961

Mikhail Botvinnik

Emanuel Lasker

Wilhelm Steinitz

Siegbert Tarrasch

Aron Nimzowitsch

Akiba Rubinstein

Viktor Korchnoi

Savielly Tartakower

Bobby Fischer

Boris Gelfand

Although making up less than 0.2% of the world's population, of the first 13 undisputed world champions, over 50% were Jewish, including the first two. The Modern school of chess espoused by Wilhelm Steinitz and Siegbert Tarrasch; the Hypermodernism influenced by Aron Nimzowitsch and Richard Réti; and the Soviet Chess School promoted by Mikhail Botvinnik were all strongly influenced by Jewish players. Other influential Jewish chess theoreticians, writers and players include Zukertort, Tartakower, Lasker, Rubinstein, Breyer, Spielmann, Reshevsky, Fine, Bronstein, Najdorf, Tal, Fischer, and Polgár.[1][2][3] Professor Arpad Elo, the inventor of the scientific rating system employed by the FIDE analysed some 476 major tournament players from the nineteenth century onward and of the fifty-one highest ranked players, approximately one-half were Jewish.[4] One of the strongest ever players was the half Jewish Garry Kasparov, who was world No. 1 from 1985 until his retirement in 2005; however Kasparov has described himself as a "self-appointed Christian"[5] preferring to follow his mother's faith. The strongest female chess player in history by far is the Jewish Judit Polgár.[6] There is currently a strong Jewish presence among the world's best players. Currently, the world number fourteen, Levon Aronian from Armenia, is half-Jewish. Beersheba in Israel is the city with the most chess grandmasters per capita in the world.[7] Israel has also won one silver and one bronze medal at Chess Olympiads.[8]

The topic of Jewish participation in chess is discussed extensively in academic and popular literature. One such book devoted to the topic is The Great Jewish Chess Champions by Harold U. Ribalow and Meir Z. Ribalow, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-87052-305-8. Others include Chess, Jews, and history, by Victor Keats, 1994, Oxford Academia Publishers, ISBN 1-899237-00-3, Chess Among the Jews: A Translation and Explanation of the Work of Moritz Steinschneider, by Victor Keats, 1995, ISBN 1-899237-02-X, Chess in Jewish history and Hebrew literature, by Victor Keats, 1995, Magnes Press, ISBN 965-223-915-1, and Can I Play Chess on Shabbas, by Joe Bobker, 2008, ISBN 965-229-422-5. See also Jewish chess masters on stamps, by Felix Berkovich and N. J. Divinsky, McFarland, 2000, ISBN 0-7864-0683-6. H.G. Wells, himself a chessplayer, discusses the eminence of the Jewish race in chess, in his History of the World. The Museum of Jewish Heritage is developing a special gallery relating to Jews in sports and chess, which will recognize "major Jewish chess players such as Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Tal, and Judith Polgar".[9]

List

The list refers to chess players who are Jews and have attained outstanding achievements in chess.

• Aaron (Albert) Alexandre (c. 1765–1850), German-born French-English[10]
• Simon Alapin (1856–1923), Lithuanian[11][12]
• Lev Alburt (born 1945), Russian/American[13]
• Izaak Appel (1905–1941), Polish
• Lev Aronin (1920–1982), Russian/Soviet[13]
• Levon Aronian (born 1982), Armenian grandmaster, World Cup champion[14]
• Arnold Aurbach (c. 1888–1952), Polish-born French
• Yuri Averbakh (born 1922), Russian grandmaster, 2445[15]
• Anjelina Belakovskaia (born 1969), Ukrainian-born US woman grandmaster
• Alexander Beliavsky (born 1953), Ukrainian-born Soviet/Slovenian grandmaster[13]
• Joel Benjamin (born 1964), American grandmaster
• Ossip Bernstein (born 1882), Ukrainian-born French grandmaster[11]
• Arthur Bisguier (1929–2017), US grandmaster, 2455[16]
• Abram Blass (1896–1971), Polish
• Isaac Boleslavsky (1919–1977), Ukrainian-born Soviet grandmaster[17]
• Mikhail Botvinnik (1911–1995), Russian/Soviet grandmaster & World champion[16]
• David Bronstein (1924–2006), Ukrainian-born Soviet grandmaster, 2590[11]
• Oscar Chajes (1873–1928), Ukrainian/Polish/Austrian-born US[18]
• Vitaly Chekhover (1908–1965), Russian
• Erich Cohn (1884–1918), German[19]
• Wilhelm Cohn (1859–1913), German[20]
• Moshe Czerniak (1910–1984), Polish-born Israeli[21]
• Arnold Denker (1914–2005), US grandmaster, 2293[22]
• Daniil Dubov (born 1996), Russian grandmaster[16]
• Arthur Dunkelblum (1906–1979), Polish-born Belgian[23]
• Roman Dzindzichashvili (born 1944), Georgian-born Israeli American grandmaster, 2550
• Berthold Englisch (1851–1897), Austrian[24]
• Larry Evans (1932–2010), US grandmaster, 2530[16]
• Rafał Feinmesser (1895–?), Polish
• Reuben Fine (1914–1993), US grandmaster[25]
• Bobby Fischer (1943–2008), US grandmaster & World champion[16]
• Alexander Flamberg (1880–1926), Polish[26]
• Salo Flohr (1908–1983), Ukrainian-born Czech & Soviet grandmaster[27]
• Henryk Friedman (1903–1942), Polish
• Paulino Frydman (1905–1982), Polish-born Argentine[11]
• Boris Gelfand (born 1968), Belarusian-born Israeli grandmaster, World Cup champion[13]
• Efim Geller (1925–1998), Ukrainian-born Soviet grandmaster[16]
• Harry Golombek (1911–1995), English[16]
• Eduard Gufeld (1936–2002), Ukrainian grandmaster, 2565[28]
• Boris Gulko (born 1947), German-born Russian US grandmaster, 2644[29]
• Isidor Gunsberg (1854–1930), Hungarian-born English[16]
• Ilya Gurevich (born 1972), Russian-born US grandmaster & junior World champion, 2575[30]
• Mikhail Gurevich (born 1959), Ukrainian-born Russian Turkish grandmaster, 2694[13]
• Lev Gutman (born 1945), Latvian-born Israeli German grandmaster, 2547[31]
• Daniel Harrwitz (1821–1884), Prussian/Polish/German-born English French[32]
• Israel Horowitz (1907–1973), US[16]
• Bernhard Horwitz (1807–1885), German-born English[16]
• Dawid Janowski (1868–1927), Belarusian/Polish-born French grandmaster[27]
• Max Judd (1851–1906), US[16]
• Gregory Kaidanov (born 1959), Ukrainian-born Russian US grandmaster, 2695[33]
• Julio Kaplan (born 1950), Argentine-born Puerto Rican US grandmaster & World junior champion[11]
• Mona May Karff (1908–1998), Moldovan-born US woman master[16]
• Isaac Kashdan (1905–1985), US grandmaster[11]

Alexander Khalifman

• Alexander Khalifman (born 1966), Russian grandmaster & World champion, 2702[34]
• Stanisław Kohn (1895–1940), Polish
• Ignatz von Kolisch (1837–1889), Hungarian/Slovakian-born Austrian grandmaster[16]
• George Koltanowski (1903–2000), Belgian-born US grandmaster[16]
• Viktor Korchnoi (1931–2016), Russian-born grandmaster
• Yair Kraidman (born 1932), Israeli grandmaster, 2455[35]
• Leon Kremer (1901–1941), Polish
• Abraham Kupchik (1892–1970), Belarusian/Polish-born US[16]
• Alla Kushnir (1941–2013), Russian Israeli woman grandmaster, 2430[16]
• Salo Landau (1903–1944), Polish-born Dutch, killed by the Nazis[36]
• Berthold Lasker (1860-1928), Prussian/German/Polish-born master, elder brother of Emanuel Lasker
• Edward Lasker (1885–1981), Polish/German-born US[37]
• Emanuel Lasker (1868–1941), Prussian/German/Polish-born US grandmaster & World champion[16]
• Anatoly Lein (1931–2018), Russian/Soviet/American grandmaster[13]
• Konstantin Lerner (1950–2011), Ukrainian/Israeli grandmaster
• Grigory Levenfish (1889–1961), Polish/Russian-born grandmaster[38]
• Irina Levitina (born 1954), Russian-born US woman grandmaster[16]
• Vladimir Liberzon (1937–1996), Russian-born Israeli grandmaster[39]
• Andor Lilienthal (1911–2010), Russian-born Hungarian/Soviet grandmaster[40]
• Samuel Lipschütz (1863–1905), Austria-Hungary/American[13]
• Johann Löwenthal (1810–1876), Hungarian-born US English[16]
• Moishe Lowtzky (1881–1940), Ukrainian-born Polish, killed by Nazis
• Gyula Makovetz (1860–1903), Hungarian
• Jonathan Mestel (born 1957), British grandmaster & World U-16 champion, 2540
• Houshang Mashian (born 1938), Iranian-Israeli chess master.
• Jacques Mieses (1865–1954), German-born English grandmaster[16]
• Miguel Najdorf (1910–1997), Polish-born Polish/Argentine grandmaster[16]
• Ian Nepomniachtchi (born 1990), Russian grandmaster[40]
• Aron Nimzowitsch (1886–1935), Latvian-born Danish[27]
• Isaias Pleci (1907–1979), Argentine[41]
• Judit Polgár (born 1976), Hungarian grandmaster, 2735[16]
• Susan Polgár (born 1969), Hungarian-born US grandmaster & World champion, 2577[42]
• Zsófia Polgár (born 1974), Hungarian-born Israeli international master, 2500[16]
• Lajos Portisch (born 1937), Hungarian grandmaster"/>
• Lev Polugaevsky (1934–1995), Belarusian/Soviet grandmaster, 2640[43]
• Dawid Przepiórka (1880–1940), Polish, killed by Nazis[11]
• Lev Psakhis (born 1958), Russian/Soviet/Israeli grandmaster[13]
• Abram Rabinovich (1878–1943), Lithuanian/Russian[13]
• Ilya Rabinovich (1891–1942), Russian[13]
• Teimour Radjabov (born 1987), Azerbaijani grandmaster[13]
• Nukhim Rashkovsky (born 1946), Russian grandmaster[13]
• Éloi Relange (born 1976), French grandmaster[13]
• Samuel Reshevsky (1911–1992), Polish-born US grandmaster[44]
• Richard Réti (1889–1929), Slovakian/Hungarian-born Czech[27]
• Maxim Rodshtein (born 1989), Israeli U-16 World champion
• Kenneth Rogoff (born 1953), US grandmaster
• Samuel Rosenthal (1837–1902), Polish-born French[20]
• Eduardas Rozentalis (born 1963), Lithuanian grandmaster[13] s
• Akiba Rubinstein (1880–1961), Polish grandmaster[44]
• Gersz Salwe (1862–1920), Polish grandmaster[11]
• Leonid Shamkovich (1923–2005), Soviet.Israeli/Canadian/American grandmaster
• Yury Shulman (born 1975), Belarussian/Soviet/American grandmaster
• Gennady Sosonko (born 1943), Russian-born Dutch grandmaster[45]
• Jon Speelman (born 1956), English grandmaster[11]
• Rudolf Spielmann (1883–1942), Austrian-born Swedish[27]
• Leonid Stein (1934–1973), Ukrainian-born Russian grandmaster[46]
• Endre Steiner (1901–1944), Hungarian
• Herman Steiner (1905–1955), Slovakian/Hungarian-born US[47]
• Lajos Steiner (1903–1975), Romanian/Hungarian-born Australian[48]
• Wilhelm Steinitz (1836–1900), Czech-born Austrian & US grandmaster & World champion[11]
• Emil Sutovsky (born 1977), Israeli grandmaster, 2697[49]
• Peter Svidler (born 1976), Russian grandmaster, World Cup champion[13]
• László Szabó (1917–1998), Hungarian grandmaster[50]
• Mark Taimanov (1926–2016), Soviet/Russian grandmaster[51]
• Mikhail Tal (1936–1992), Soviet/Latvian grandmaster & World champion, 2645[11]
• Siegbert Tarrasch (1862–1934), Polish/German grandmaster & Senior World champion[52]
• Savielly Tartakower (1887–1956), Russian-born Austrian/Polish/French grandmaster[44]
• Anna Ushenina (born 1985), Ukraine-born Women's World Champion[53]
• Anatoly Vaisser (born 1949), Kazakh-born Soviet/French grandmaster[13]
• Joshua Waitzkin (born 1976), American Junior Champion and martial arts champion
• Max Weiss (1857–1927), Slovakian/Hungarian-born Austrian[16]
• Simon Winawer (1838–1919), Polish[16]
• Leonid Yudasin (born 1959), Russian-born Israeli grandmaster, 2692[54]
• Tatiana Zatulovskaya (1935–2017), Azerbaijani-born Russian Israeli woman grandmaster[11]
• Johannes Zukertort (1842–1888), Polish-born German English[16]

See also

• List of Jewish American sportspeople
• List of Jewish sports commissioners, managers and coaches, officials, owners, promoters, and sportscasters
• List of Jews in sports
• Jewish Sports Review
• International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, Netanya, Israel
• US National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Commack, New York

References

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2. "Greatest Chess Players". Chessgame.com.
3. Berkovich, Felix (2000). Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. pp. Chapter 5.
4. Elo, Arpad (1978). The Rating of Chess Players, Past and Present. New York: ARCO.
5. Garry Kasparov
6. "World Top Chess players". FIDE.
7. Rabinowitz, Gavin (2005-01-30). "Beersheba Masters Kings, Knights, Pawns". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 30, 2005.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2013-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Sports & Chess". The National Museum of Jewish Heritage. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
10. Isidore Singer, Cyrus Adler (1964). The Jewish encyclopedia: a descriptive record of the history, religion, literature, and customs of the Jewish people from the earliest times. 4. KTAV. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
11. Felix Berkovich, N. J. Divinsky (2000). Jewish Chess Masters on Stamps. McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0683-6. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
12. S. Tinsley (1892). The Dresden Tournament: A Review. The British Chess Magazine. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
13. "Jewish Chess Players". JInfo.org. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
14. "Chairman of the board". Haaretz.
15. David Spanier (1984). Total chess. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-24302-X. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
16. Peter S. Horvitz (2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN 978-1-56171-907-5. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
17. Hearst, Eliot; Knott, John (2009-04-03). Blindfold Chess: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games. ISBN 9780786452927. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
18. Adler, Cyrus; Szold, Henrietta (December 3, 2007). American Jewish year book. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
19. Seidler, Fritz (October 23, 2006). The bloodless pogrom. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
20. Chess, JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved on 2010-06-21.
21. Bermant, Chaim (January 23, 1995). The Jews. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
22. Postal, Bernard; Silver, Jesse; Silver, Roy (October 9, 2008). Encyclopedia of Jews in sports. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
23. Greenberg, Martin Harry (November 1979). The Jewish lists: physicists and ... Retrieved June 3, 2010.
24. The Chess player's chronicle. May 14, 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2010.
25. . The Jewish Record https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wu4iAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ecoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2604,167937&dq=jewish+chess&hl=en |url= missing title (help). Retrieved March 28, 2011.
26. Hooper, David; Whyld, Kenneth (September 10, 2009). The Oxford companion to chess. ISBN 9780192800497. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
27. Yaffe, Charles D. (2010-06-28). Alekhine's Anguish: A Novel of the Chess World. ISBN 9780786482290. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
28. Greenberg, Martin Harry (November 1979). The Jewish lists: physicists and ... Retrieved June 4, 2010.
29. Gilbert, Martin (February 16, 2007). The Jews of hope. ISBN 9780670803774. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
30. Branover, Herman; Berlin, Isaiah; Wagner, Zeev (August 28, 2008). The Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry: Biographies, A-I. ISBN 9780765799814. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
31. Branover, Herman; Berlin, Isaiah; Wagner, Zeev (August 28, 2008). The Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry: Biographies, A-I. ISBN 9780765799814. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
32. The British chess magazine. May 22, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
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Books

• Jews and the Sporting Life, Vol. 23 of Studies in Contemporary Jewry, Ezra Mendelsohn, Oxford University Press US, 2009, ISBN 0-19-538291-9
• The Big Book of Jewish Athletes: Two Centuries of Jews in Sports – a Visual History, Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz, S P I Books, 2007, ISBN 1-56171-927-7
• The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and The 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars, Peter S. Horvitz, SP Books, 2007, ISBN 1-56171-907-2
• Jews, Sports, and the Rites of Citizenship, Jack Kugelmass, University of Illinois Press, 2007, ISBN 0-252-07324-X
• Emancipation through Muscles: Jews and Sports in Europe, Michael Brenner, Gideon Reuveni, translated by Brenner, Reuveni, U of Nebraska Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8032-1355-7
• Judaism's Encounter with American Sports, Jeffrey S. Gurock, Indiana University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-253-34700-9
• Great Jews in Sports, Robert Slater, Jonathan David Publishers, 2004, ISBN 0-8246-0453-9
• Jewish Sports Legends: the International Jewish Hall of Fame, 3rd Ed, Joseph Siegman, Brassey's, 2000, ISBN 1-57488-284-8
• Sports and the American Jew, Steven A. Riess, Syracuse University Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8156-2754-8
• Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience, Peter Levine, Oxford University Press US, 1993, ISBN 0-19-508555-8
• The Jewish Athletes Hall of Fame, B. P. Robert Stephen Silverman, Shapolsky Publishers, 1989, ISBN 0-944007-04-X
• The Great Jewish Chess Champions, Harold U. Ribalow, Meir Z. Ribalow, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-87052-305-8
• From the Ghetto to the Games: Jewish Athletes in Hungary, Andrew Handler, East European Monographs, 1985, ISBN 0-88033-085-6
• The Jew in American Sports, Harold Uriel Ribalow, Meir Z. Ribalow, Edition 4, Hippocrene Books, 1985, ISBN 0-88254-995-2
• The Jewish Athlete: A Nostalgic View, Leible Hershfield, s.n., 1980
• Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports, Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver, Bloch Pub. Co., 1965