Famous Chess Players

Name
Birth
Classical World Champions:

Legall de Kermeur
Andr Danican Philidor
[Johann Baptist Allgaier
Verdoni
?
Jacob Henry Sarratt
Alexandre Deschapelles
Louis-Charles La Bourdonnais
Pierre Saint-Amant
Howard Staunton
Adolf Anderssen
Paul Morphy
Wilhelm Steinitz
Johannes Zukertort
1702 Paris, Kingdom of France

French
1726 Dreux, Kingdom of France
French1
2
1763 Schussenried, Duchy of Wrttemberg (Swabia) Austrian
?, Italy4
Italian/French5
1772 ?, United Kingdom (England)
British
1780 Paris, Kingdom of France
French
1795 La Runion, First French Republic
French
1800 Bordeaux, First French Republic
French
1810 London, UK (England)
British
6
1818 Breslau, Prussia (Poland)
Prussian/German (rep. Prussia)
1837 New Orleans, USA (LA)
American
1836 Prague, Austrian Empire (Bohemia)
Austrian/American (rep. America)
1842 Lublin, Prussian Empire (Poland)
Prussian/British (rep. Britain)
Official World Champions:

Wilhelm Steinitz
1836
Emanuel Lasker
1868
Jos Ral Capablanca
1888
Alexander Aljechin (Alekhine)10 1892
Max Euwe
1901
Mikhail Botvinnik
1911
Birthplace
Prague, Austrian Empire (Bohemia)

Berlinchen, Prussian Empire (Poland)
Havana, Spanish Empire (Cuba)
Moscow, Russian Empire (Russia)
Amsterdam, Netherlands (N Holland)
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia)
Adult Nationality
Ethnic Background
Championship Reign(s)
French
1730-1755
French
1755-1795
German-Swabian
1795-1815]3
Italian
1795-1804
English?
1805-1815
French
1815-1821
French
1821-1840
French
1840-1843
English
1843-1851
German
1851-1858; 1862-1866
European Continental 1858-18627
Jewish
1866-1878
Jewish
1878-18868

Polish-Prussian/German (rep. German Empire)
Cuban
Russian/Soviet/French (rep. France)
Dutch
Soviet
Jewish
Jewish
Hispanic
Russian
Dutch
Jewish
1886-1894
1894-19219
1921-1927
1927-1935; 1937-194611
1935-1937
1948-1957;12 1958-1960; 1961-1963
Played mostly in the UK.

Formerly in the Prussian Empire.
3
Allgaier is an alternate candidate for Classical World Champion during this period, though Verdoni and later Sarratt were universally recognized in the UK as the strongest chess players in the world.
4
Verdonis first name and place of birth are unknown. Obviously, nothing like the modern nation-state of Italy existed on the Italian Peninsula in the 1700s, but Verdoni seems to have been born somewhere among the northern Italian city states
and duchies that eventually came together to form the Italian nation-state.
5
Played mostly in the UK.
6
Now Wrocaw, Poland.
7
Morphy retired with the Title.
8
Zukertorts reign as Classical Champion is highly disputed. Steinitz essentially retired from international play between 1873 and 1882 (his only official match being a 7-0 win against Blackburne in 1876). When Steinitz returned to competitive
play, Zuckertort did finish ahead of Steinitz in the 1883 London Chess Tournament by three points. As a result of their strong showings in this tournament, Steinitz and Zuckertort were chosen to play in the first official World Championship
Chess match in 1886 (across several cities in the USA). Steinitz won handily (+10-5=10).
9
Technically Lasker resigned the Title in 1920 over failed match negotiations. However, he agreed to play Capablanca in Havana, Cuba in 1921 (so, technically, Lasker was the challenger). Lasker then resigned this 1921 World Championship
Match with Capablanca after 14 games, making Capablanca the undisputed World Chess Champion (Lasker already knew he was beat; Capablanca was clearly the superior player and was already winning +4-0=10).
10
Aljechin changed the transliteration of his name from Aljechin to Alekhine when he became a French citizen and began playing internationally for France in Chess Olympiads.
11
Alekhine died of alcoholism while still holding the Title; refused to play a rematch against Capablanca; and refused to play either Nimzowitsch or Rubenstein. Alekhine defended the Title twice against Efim Bogolyubov, the second defense
being a 10 city jaunt around Bogolyubovs (Ukrainian-born and bred) adopted homeland: Nazi Germany. Alekhine lost to Euwe in the 1935 WC match, but he regained the Title in the 1937 rematch with Euwe. Alekhine played no other World
Championship matches besides the one with Capablanca (to get the Title), the two matches with Euwe (one to lose and the other to regain the Title), and two with Bogolyubov (to duck Rubenstein and Nimzowitsch and still pretend to be a
champion). Also, Alekhine left Russia shortly after the Russian Revolution, emigrated to France, became a French citizen, and from then on represented France during international play (including during Alekhines entire Title reign). Euwe
competed in the 1948 World Championship Tournament that followed upon Alkehines death; Euwe won only one game (against Smyslov) and finished a very distant last (Euwe and Bogolyubov were not championship level players; only
Casablanca (Hispanic), Rubenstein (Jewish), and Nimzowitsch (Jewish) were championship level players and Alekhine refused to play any of them after he got his hands on the Title, despite clinging to the Title for approximately 17 years).
12
Alekhine died with the Title in 1947; Botvinnik won the 1948 WC Tournament to gain the Title.
2
Vasily Smyslov
Mikhail Misha Tal
Tigran Petrosian
Boris Spassky
Bobby Fischer (Nemenyi)
Anatoly Karpov
Garry Kasparov (Weinstein)
Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand
Magnus Carlsen
13
1921
1936
1929
1937
1943
1951
1963
1975
1969
1990
Moscow, USSR (Russia)

Riga, USSR (Latvia)
Tbilisi, USSR (Georgia)
St. Petersburg, USSR (Russia)
Chicago, USA (IL)
Zlatoust, USSR (Russia)
Baku, USSR (Azerbaijan)
Tuapse, USSR (Russia)
Mayiladuthurai, India
Tnsberg, Norway
Soviet
Soviet/Latvian15 (rep. USSR)
Soviet17
Soviet/French (rep. France since 1978)18
American/Icelandic (rep. USA) 20
Soviet/Russian (rep. USSR, Russia [FIDE])
Soviet/Russian23 & Croatian24
Soviet/Russian (rep. Russia)
Indian
Norwegian
Jewish/Russian13
Jewish
Armenian
Jewish?/Russian19
Jewish21
Russian
Jewish/Armenian25
Ukrainian/Russian26
Indian
Norwegian
1957-195814
1960-196116
1963-1969
1969-1972
1972-197522
1975-1985; (FIDE) 1993-1999
1985-2000
2000-2006
2007-2013; (FIDE) 2000-2002
2013-present
There is some small controversy surrounding whether or not Smyslovs mother was ethnically Jewish, but the vast consensus is that she was. Smyslovs father (Vasily Osipovich Smyslov) was ethnically Russian.
There are considerable accusations that Botvinniks second was leaking information to Smyslov (half Russian); Botvinnik (fully Jewish) played the final games of the 1966 WC match without a second and then blasted Smyslov in the rematch.
15
Tal died shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He chose Latvian citizenship just before his death, and he played in many Latvian only tournaments while Latvia was under Soviet control (i.e., in the Latvian SSR), but he did not play
internationally for an independent Latvia before he died.
16
Also the first Russian to face a bull in a bull-fighting arena in Spain (Palma de Mallorca, 1976).
17
Petrosian was born after Armenia (ethnic birth home) and Georgia (geographical birthplace) were annexed by the USSR and died before the dissolution of the USSR; thus, Petrosian was born in the USSR and was a Soviet citizen his whole
life long.
18
Spassky married a French woman: he played under the French flag in his 1992 rematch with Bobby Fischer, for example. Fischer played under the American flag, though, as many do not know, Fischer eventually tried to marry Miyoko Watai
and obtain Japanese citizenship in the 2000s, but he was denied the documentation necessary to do so by the US Federal Government (though a Finnish court ruled that they were common law married as of 2004 and, after considerable legal
battles, awarded Fischers estate to Watai after Fischers death).
19
There is considerable controversy surrounding whether or not Spasskys mother was ethnically Jewish. Some historians are adamant that she was of full Ashkenazic Jewish ethnic descent and that, as far as religion goes, she grew up in a fully
Orthodox Jewish home. There is absolutely no consensus on the matter of Spasskys moms ethnicity; however, as he became more famous, Spassy (maybe half Jewish), like Bobby Fischer (probably fully Jewish), became an increasingly
outspoken and unabashed anti-Semite and Holocaust denier.
20
See note Error: Reference source not found, above.
21
There is some controversy surrounding whether or not Fischers biological father was Jewish. On Fischers birth certificate, the German physicist Hans-Gerhardt Fischer was listed as the father; however, the overwhelming consensus is that
Fishers biological father was the Hungarian-born Ashkenazic Jewish fluid dynamicist Paul Nemenyi (who emigrated to the USA and worked on the Manhattan Project during WWII). Fischers mother (Regina Wender) was Jewish. More
evidence may accrue as Fischers remains have been exhumed to conduct a DNA test for the paternity of a child he purportedly fathered while he was in the Phillipines (see next note).
22
Fischer was stripped of the Title for being unable to agree to terms for the 1975 World Championship match with Karpov (to be held in Manila, Philippines) (Karpov and the Soviet-controlled FIDE demanded that Fischer play under rules that
would be favorable to the challenger!). Fischer then handily defeated Spassky (now representing France) in 1992 (Fed. Rep. Yugoslavia [Montenegro; Serbia]: Fischer +10-5=15) in an unofficial rematch of the original 1972 World
Championship Match (Iceland; Fischer +7-3=11). Due to United Nations sanctions (not American sanctions) against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (basically, against Serbia) at the time, Fischers participation in this rematch and his
receiving due compensation therefrom were declared crimes against the USA, and Fischer was then forced to flee the USA in order to avoid a sizeable seizure of his rightful assets and, as is likely, some form of incarceration (for playing chess!):
the US Department of the Treasury demanded that Fischer hand over all prize money from the match ($3,350,000), pay a $250,000 fine on top this seizure, and return to the US to face up to 10 years in prison. Fischer didnt simply go crazy in
1992 and flee the USA based on paranoia: the US Department of the Treasury, acting as an official representative of the Executive Branch of the US Federal Government under the control of then US President George H.W. Bush, explicitly
threatened him with massive financial penalties and long-term incarceration for . . . playing chess. Afterwards, Fischer lived in Hungary, Germany, the Philippines, Japan, and Iceland, and, reasonably enough, became increasingly anti-American
in his public statements. In retaliation for Fischers expressing his opinions of the USA, the USA illegally revoked his passport before he took a trip to Japan in 2004, whereupon he was incarcerated and only allowed to obtain some degree of
freedom (after more than eight months of incarceration) by requesting political asylum in Iceland, obtaining Icelandic citizenship, and then fleeing to Iceland in 2005; he died in Iceland shortly thereafter at age 64 in 2008 (again, all for . . .
playing chess). This sort of persecution is not unheard of in the chess world, of course: several chess players were murdered during riots in Essex, England, since chess-playing was considered by some to be immoral and sacrilegious (that was in
the 1200s, however).
23
Kasparov (Weinstein) became a citizen of the Russian Federation upon the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
24
Kasparov (Weinstein) obtained co-citizenship in Croatia (and thus the EU) while in self-imposed exile from the Russian Federation as a defensive means against possible politically motivated attempts on his life by then Russian President
Vladimir Putin.
25
Garry Kasparovs father was Jewish (Kim Moiseyevich Weinstein), and the Russification of his real name (the name on his birth certificate) was, therefore, Garri Vaynshteyn ( ). After his father passed away and in order to
try to minimize Soviet anti-Semitism, he switched to using his mothers Russian sounding surname (Kasparov) was to hide his Jewish ancestry. Kasparovs mother, however, was Armenian, not Russian, and her real was Klara Gasparian
(), which when Russified becomes Kasparov (). Obviously, Garrys real name in Armenian is Garik () not Garry. So, Garry Kasparov was born Garik Weinstein, was born in the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist
Republic, is half Jewish and half Armenian, held Soviet citizenship until the dissolution of the USSR, and then became a citizen of the Russian Federation upon the dissolution of the USSR (he currently resides outside of the Russian Federation
and will not visit due to disputes with Russian Premier Vladimir Putin). He now maintains a home in Croatia and obtained a Croatian passport by naturalization in 2/2014. [Garik Weinstein -> Garri Weinstein -> Garry Gasparian -> Garry
Kasparov]
26
Kramnik has a Ukrainian mother (Kramnik was born in Tuapse is on Black Sea nearly on Ukrainian-Russian border). Note that as of 2015, Russia was still annexing or attempting to annex parts of the Ukraine, which might lead to new
borders. But theres no denying that Kraminiks mother is ethnically Ukrainian, was born in the Ukraine, and grew up speaking Ukrainian as her mother tongue.
14
Notable ethnically Jewish or half Jewish players:

Petrus Alphonsi27
~1050 Huesca, al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)
Andalucian
Jewish28 Disciplina Clericalis, first book to propose chess as part of knight training
Luis Ramrez de Lucena
1465 ?, Kingdom of Spain
Spanish
Jewish29
wrote the oldest surviving printed book on chess
Elias Stein
1748 Forbach, Austrian Netherlands (Lorraine)
Dutch
Jewish
known for: Dutch Defense
Aaron Herz Reinganum
1753 ?, Prussian Empire
Prussian
Jewish
known for: Benoni Defense30
Aaron Alexandre
1765 Hohenfeld, Franconia
Prussian/French/British
Jewish
invented modern algebraic chess notation
Wilhelm Schlumberger
1800 Mulhouse, Alsace, First French Republic
French/American
German?/French?/Swiss?/Jewish?
last and best operator of the Turk; teacher of Saint-Amant
Bernhard Horwitz
1807 Neustrelitz, Prussian Empire
Prussian/British
Jewish
lost Classical 1846 WC Match to Staunton
Johann Lwenthal
1810 Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
Austro-Hungarian/American/British
Jewish
Ernst Falkbeer
1819 Brnn, Austrian Empire (Moravia)31
Austrian/British
Jewish
Daniel Harrwitz
1823 Breslau, Prussian Empire32
Prussian
Jewish
Samuel Gold
1835 Kvg-rs, Kingdom of Hungary
Hungarian/American
Jewish
Adolf Schwarz
1836 Glszcs, Kingdom of Hungary33
Austro-Hungarian
Jewish
Wilhelm Steinitz
1836 Prague, Austrian Empire (Bohemia)
Jewish
Classical WC (1866-1878; 1886-1894)
Samuel Rosenthal
1837 Suwaki (), Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian/French
Jewish
Ignatz von Kolisch
1837 Pressburg, Austrian Empire (Austria)34
Austrian/Austro-Hungarian
Jewish
Szymon Winawer
1838 Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian/German?
Jewish
major teacher of Chigorin
Eugene Delmar
1841 New York, USA (NY)
American
Jewish
Jacob Ascher
1841 Plymouth, UK (England)
British/Canadian
Jewish
Johannes Zukertort
1842 Lublin, Prussian Empire (Poland)
Prussian/British (rep. Britain)
Jewish
Classical WC (1878-1886)
Leopold Hoffer
1842 Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary (Hungary)
Hungarian/British
Jewish
Issac Rice
1850 Wachenheim, Prussian Empire (Bavaria)American
Jewish
Emanuel Schiffers
1850 St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia)
Russian/German
Jewish
major teacher of Chigorin
35
Mikhail Chigorin
Russian
Russian? Jewish?
lost 1889 and 1892 WC matches to Lasker
Max Judkiewicz (Judd)
1851 Krakw, Austrian Empire (Poland)
American
Jewish
Berthold Englisch
1851 Osoblaha ()(, Austrian Emp. (Bohemia) Austro-Hungarian
Jewish
Isidor Gunsberg
1854 Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
Austro-Hungarian/British
Jewish
lost 1891 WC match to Steinitz
Semyon Alapin
Russian
Jewish
Miksa (Max) Weiss
1857 Szered, Kingdom of Hungary36
Austro-Hungarian
Jewish
Moritz Porges
1857 ?, Austrian Empire (Bohemia)
Austro-Hungarian
Jewish
Wilhelm Cohn
1859 Berlin, Prussian Empire
Prussian
Jewish
Nicolai Jasnogrodsky
1859 Lubny, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Russian/American
Jewish Jasnogrodsky Defense against the Rice Gambit
Gyula Makovetz
1860 Arad, Kingdom of Hungary
Austro-Hungarian
Jewish
Salomon Langleben
Polish-Russian/Polish/American
Jewish
27
Birth name Moses Sephardi.

Sephardic Jewish descent.
29
Sephardic Jewish descent; Catholic religion.
30
Ben-oni is Hebrew for child of my tears.
31
Now Brno, Czech Republic.
32
Now Wrocaw, Poland.
33
Now Seovce, Slovakia.
34
Now Bratislava, Slovakia.
35
Some historians suggest that Chigorin was of Jewish descent (ethnicity), though he was born into a Russian-Orthodox (religion) household (cf., The Jewish Forum, ed. Dr. S.T.H. Hurwitz, Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan. 1919, pg. 878).
36
Now Sere, Slovakia.
28
Siegbert Tarrasch
Gersz (George) Salwe
Samuel Lipschtz
Jacques Mieses
Emanuel Lasker
Dawid (David) Janowski
Chaim Janowski40
Paul Lipke
Rudolf Charousek
Oscar Chajes
Carl Schlechter
Victor Wahltuch
1875
Heinrich Wolf
Louis Eisenberg
Abram Rabinovich
Charles Jaff
Akiba Rubinstein
Dawid Przepirka
Julius Perlis
Alexander Flamberg
Mojesz owcki (Lowtzky)
Ossip Bernstein
Salomon Szapiro (Dr. Szeffer)
Rudolf Spielmann
Samuel (S.D.) Factor
Erich Cohn
Benjamin Blumenfeld
Edward Lasker
Aron Nimzowitsch
Dawid Daniuszewski
37
1862 Breslau, Prussian Empire37

German
Polish-Russian
1863 Ungvr, Austria-Hungary (Hungary) 38
American
1865 Leipzig, Prussian Empire
German/British
1868 Berlinchen, Prussian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Prussian/German (rep. German Empire)
1868 Wokowysk, Russian Empire (Poland)39
Polish-Russian/German/French
41
1868 Wokowysk, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian/German
1870 Erfurt, Prussian Empire
Prussian/German
1873 Prague, Austria-Hungary (Bohemia)
Austro-Hungarian
1873 Brody, Austria-Hungary (Galicia)42
Austro-Hungarian/American
1874 Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria)
Austro-Hungarian/Austrian
Manchester, UK (England)
British
Jewish
1875 ?, Austria-Hungary
Austro-Hungarian/Austrian/[Nazi]
1876 Odessa, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
American
1878 Vilnius, Russian Empire (Lithuania)
Lithuanian-Russian
1879 Dubrona, Russian Empire (Belarus)
American
1880 Stawiski, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian/Soviet/Belgian
Polish-Russian/Soviet
1880 Biaystok, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian/Austro-Hungarian
Polish-Russian/Polish
1881 Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Russian
1882 Zhytomy, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Russian/French46
1882 d, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian
1883 Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria)
Austrian
1883 d, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish-Russian/American
1884 Berlin, German Empire (Germany)
German
1885 Wokowysk, Russian Empire (Poland)47
Polish-Russian
1885 Kempen, German Empire (Poland)
German & American (rep. Germany)
1885 Riga, Russian Empire (Latvia)
Latvian-Russian/Soviet/Danish
1885 ?, Russian Empire (Poland)
Jewish
lost 1908 WC match to Lasker
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish Moved to Tokyo and died in a small Jewish colony in Yokohama
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish43
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish49
Jewish
Jewish
Died in the Holocaust in 1943; 2nded Lasker during 1908 WC

Starved to death during WWII (1943)
1914 WC match with Lasker cancelled due to WWI 44
Executed by the Nazis in Warsaw in 1940
Died in a mountaineering accident in 1913
Died at 46
Died in a Nazi a concentration camp in Poland in 194045
Died during WW II in the d Ghetto of Nazi occupied Poland
died as field medic at the front in WWI
Blumenfeld Gambit of the Benoni Defense48
denied Title shots by Capablanca50 and Alekhine
Died during WW II in the d Ghetto of Nazi occupied Poland
Now Wrocaw, Poland.

Now Uzhhorod, Ukraine.
39
Born in shtetl , now Vawkavysk, Belarus.
40
Younger brother of Dawid.
41
Born in shtetl , now Vawkavysk, Belarus.
42
Now in the Ukraine.
43
Schlechter was born into an assimilated Catholic family, but was of fully Jewish descent.
44
Also, Rubenstein could not obtain the $10,000 sum required to play Capablanca (see Note Error: Reference source not found, below). However, it does appear as though Capablanca was willing to take on Rubenstein after the WC match with
Alekhine in 1927, despite Rubensteins not being able to raise a sufficient purse, since Rubenstein lost his financial backers in Europe during WWI and was stripped of his tournament winnings in Europe by anti-Semitic Austrian officials
(Rubenstein himself came from an extremely poor household of Jewish scholars and rabbis). However, since Capablanca lost the Title to Alekhine in 1927, and since Alekhine refused to play a rematch against Capablanca, Rubenstein never had
a chance to play Capablanca for the Title. In addition, Alekhine refused ever to give Rubenstein a Title shot (see Note Error: Reference source not found, above).
45
He ended up in Poland while fleeing from Soviet pogroms after WWI and the Polish-Soviet War. He probably should have chosen another place to live (like as far away from European anti-Semitism as possible).
46
Fled the USSR for France after the October Revolution; lived in Fascist Spain (under Franco) while France was under Nazi control during WWII (he later returned to France and died there in 1962).
47
Now Vawkavysk, Belarus.
48
See Note Error: Reference source not found, above, on the Benoni Defense.
49
Lasker was the son of a Jewish German father and an American Jewish mother, held dual German-American citizenship, and competed internationally for Germany.
50
Nimzowitsch could not raise $10,000 sum needed to play Capablanca and was never offered a Title shot by the anti-Semitic Alekhine (see Note Error: Reference source not found, above).
38
Boris Kosti
Savielly Tartakower
Leon Schwartzman
Arnold Aurbach
Boris Verlinsky
Richard Rti
Grigory Levenfish
Gersz Rotlewi
Ilya Rabinovich
Abraham Kupchik
Lon Monosson
Kornl Havasi
Alexander Evenson
Gyula Breyer
Moshe Hirschbein
William Orbach
Samuil Vainshtein (Weinstein)
Stanisaw Kohn
Abram Model
Abram Gurvich
Istvn Fazekas
Vladimir Vukovi
Jakub Kolski
Izaak Towbin
Max Walter
Irving Chernev
Josef Cukierman
Leon Kremer
Imre Knig
Endre (Andreas) Steiner
Alexander Kevitz
Boruch Isral Dyner
Henryk Friedman
George Koltanowski
Salo Landau
Vitaly Halberstadt
Victor Buerger
Achilles Frydman
Izak Schchter Aloni
51
1887
1887
1887
1888
1888
1889
1889
1889
1891
1892
1892
1892
1892
1893
1894
1894
1894
1895
1896
1897
1898
1898
1899
1899
1899
1900
1900
1901
1901
1901
1902
1903
1903
1903
1903
1903
1904
1905
1905
Vra, Austria-Hungary (Serbia)

Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (Russia)
Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland)
Bakhmut, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Bsing, Austria-Hungary (Poland)
Piotrkw, Russian Empire (Poland)
Russian Empire (Poland)
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Brest, Russian Empire (Belarus)
Bobruisk, Russian Empire (Ukraine)52
?, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Budapest, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
d, Russian Empire (Poland)
Offenbach am Main, German Empire
?, Russian Empire (Russia?)
?, Russian Empire (Poland)
Daugavpils, Russian Empire (Latvia)
Baku, Russian Empire (Azerbaijan)
Storaljajhely, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
Zagreb, Austria-Hungary (Croatia)
Korets, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Pressburg, Austria-Hungary (Slovakia)54
Pryluky, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Bialystok, Russian Empire (Poland)
Gyula, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
New York, USA (NY)
Lww, Austria-Hungary (Poland)55
Antwerp, Belgium (South Holland)
Bochnia, Austria-Hungary (Galicia)
Odessa, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Nikolaev, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Buchach, Austria-Hungary (Galicia)
Austro-Hungarian/Yugoslavian
Polish-Russian/Austro-Hungarian/French
Ukrainian/Russian/Soviet
Polish-Austrian
Polish-Russian/Soviet
Polish-Russian
Russian
Russian/Soviet/American
Soviet/French53
Austro-Hungarian/Hungarian
Russian/Ukrainian/Soviet
Polish-Russian
German
Russian
Soviet
Soviet
Russian/Ukrainian
Austro-Hungarian/Czechoslovakian
American
Hungarian
American
Polish-Russian/Belgian/Israeli
Austro-Hungarian/Polish
Belgian/American
Austro-Hungarian/Dutch56
French
Soviet/Ukrainian/British
Austro-Hungarian/Israeli
Jewish51
Jewish
invented Catalan opening for 1929 tournament in Barcelona
Jewish
Died in a Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz in 1942
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
leading hypermodern who died of scarlet fever
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Starved to death during WWII while trying to escape Leningrad
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Died in a Nazi labor camp in Bruck an der Leitha, Austria in 1945
Jewish
Shot by the Whites during the Russian Revolution
Jewish
leading hypermodern who died at 28 of a heart attack
Jewish
Died during WWII in the d Ghetto of Nazi occupied Poland
Jewish
Jewish
Died in the Nazi Siege of Leningrad (1942)
Jewish
Died in the Holocaust in 1940
Jewish
early teacher of Botvinnik and Korchnoi
Jewish
Victim of anti-Semitic Soviet anti-cosmopolitan campaigns
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Starved to death during WWII in the Warsaw Ghetto
Jewish
Died in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1941
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Committed suicide in 1941 in order to avoid capture by the Nazis
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Died in a Nazi concentration camp near Budapest on 12/29/1944
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1942
Jewish
Jewish
Died in a Nazi concentration camp in Grditz on 11/5/1943
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish Died in a Nazi concentration camp in 1940 after being arrested in Warsaw
Jewish
Orthodox Christian religion; Jewish descent.

Monosson was actually born in the shtetl Schedrin just outside of Bobruisk.
53
Monosson tried to escape persecution by moving from the newly formed Soviet Union to France, not realizing that the French, just as quickly and easily as Eastern Europeans such as the Poles, would foist up all of their Jews to Hitler to be
gassed to death. Monosson probably should have moved some place further away from European anti-Semitism.
54
Now Pozony, Slovak Republic.
55
Now Lviv, Ukraine.
56
Until he was murdered by the Nazis, Landau was considered the number two Dutch chess player behind former World Champion Max Euwe.
52
Paulino (Paulin) Frydman

1905
Isaac Kashdan
1905
Herman Steiner
1905
Izaak Appel
1905
Gisela Kahn Gresser [fem]
1906
Arthur Dunkelblum
1906
Jacobo Bolbochn
1906
Paul Baender
1906
Isaias Pleci
1907
Ern Gereben
1907
Gerald Abrahams
1907
Israel Albert (I.A., Al) Horowitz 1907
Milton Hanauer
1908
Henryk Pogoriey
1908
Mona May Karff (Ratner) [fem] 1908
Salomon (Salo) Flohr
1908
Vitaly Chekhover
1908
Viacheslav Ragozin
1908
Ilya Abramovich Kan
1909
Emil Zinner
1909
Vladimir Bron
1909
Yosef Porath
1909
Aron Zabudowski
1909
Fred Reinfeld
1910
Miguel Najdorf
1910
Moshe Czerniak
1910
Ernest Klein
1910
Mikhail Botvinnik
1911
Andor (Andrei) Lilienthal
1911
Samuel Reshevsky
1911
Harry Golombek
1911
Mikhail Yudovich
1911
Mirko Brder
1911
Lev Abramov
1911
Jacqueline Piatigorsky [fem]
1911
57

Soviet/Argentinean57
New York, USA (NY)
American
Dunaszerdahely, Austria-Hungary (Hungary) 58 American
d?, Russian Empire (Poland)
Detroit, USA (MI)
American
Krakw, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish/Belgian
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Argentinean
Jewish
Rosdzhin, Russian Empire (Silesian Poland)59 Polish-Russian/Bolivian
?, Argentina
Argentinean
Sopron, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
Hungarian/Swiss
Liverpool, UK (England)
British
New York, USA (NY)
American
Harrison, USA (NY)
American
?, USSR (Bessarabia)
British Mandatory Palestinian/American
Horodenka, Austria-Hungary (Galacia)60
Austro-Hungarian/Czech/Soviet
Soviet/Russian?
Soviet
Kuibyshev, Russian Empire (Armenia)
Soviet
Brnn, Austria-Hungary (Moravia) 61
Czechoslovakian
Mykolaiv, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Soviet
Breslau, German Empire62
British-Palestinian/Israeli63
Biaystok, Russian Empire (Poland)
Polish
New York?, USA (NY)64
American
Polish/Argentinean
Soviet/British-Palestinian/Israeli
Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria)
Austrian/British
Soviet
Hungarian/Soviet
Ozorkw, Russian Empire (Poland)65
American
London, UK (England)
British
Roslavl, Russian Empire (Russia)
Soviet
Hungarian
?, Russian Empire (Russia?)
Soviet
?, France
French/American
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish?
Jewish
Killed by the Nazis in 1941
known for: Abrahams Defense of the Semi-Slav

Murdered at Pawiak Nazi Prison (Warsaw Ghetto)
Died in a Nazi concentration camp in Majdanek (KL Lublin) in 1942

Killed by the Nazi Einsatzgruppe in a synagogue in 1941
Alekhines second in the 1935 WC Match with Euwe

Classical WC (1948-1957; 1958-1960; 1961-1963)
Killed by the Nazis in 1943
Fled Nazi/Soviet Europe for Argentina along with Najdorf and Czerniak (other Jews) when WWII broke out during the 8th International Chess Olympiad in Buenos Aires, Argentina (See note Error: Reference source not found, below).
Now Dunajsk Streda, Slovakia.
59
Now Katowice, Poland.
60
Now in the Ukraine.
61
Now Brno, Czech Republic.
62
Now Wrocaw, Poland.
63
Yosef Porath was born Heinz Josef Foerder, fled Germany when the Nazis took over, moved to Latvia (then under Soviet control), and then was forced by joint Nazi and Soviet anti-Semitism to emigrate in 1934 to the British Mandate of
Palestine. He then took Israeli citizenship in 1948 after Israel obtained independence from Britain.
64
Reinfeld was born somewhere in New York State, but I cannot determine the city within New York that was his actual birthplace (I would guess one of the five boroughs of New York City, but I have no evidence for this).
65
Born Szmul Rzeszewski in shtetl , now near d, Poland.
58
Abraham Szpiro
Arnold Denker
Reuben Fine
Gyula Kluger
Edward Gerstenfeld
Lszl Szab
Isaac Boleslavsky
Semyon Furman
Lev Aronin
Julio Bolbochn
Vasily Smyslov
Arnold van den Hoek
Yuri Averbakh
Sergey Erenburg
Yakov Estrin
Leonid Shamkovich
Dawid (David) Bronstein
Efim Geller
Daniel Yanofsky
Nathan Divinsky
Efim Rukhlis
Mark Taimanov
Arthur Bisguier
Hans Berliner
Anatoly Lein
Nikita Plaksin
Viktor Korchnoi
66
1912
1914
1914
1914
1915
1917
1919
1920
1920
1920
1921
1921
1922
1923
1923
1923
1924
1925
1925
1925
1925
1926
1929
1929
1931
1931
1931
Stringenau, German Empire

Polish66
New York, USA (NY)
American
New York, USA (NY)
American
Storaljajhely, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
Hungarian
Lviv, Austria-Hungary (Galicia)68
Polish/[Soviet]
Hungarian
Zolotonosha, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet
Pinsk, USSR (Belarus)
Soviet
Kuibyshev, USSR (Russia)
Soviet69
Argentinean
Soviet
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dutch70
Kaluga, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian?
Soviet
Soviet
Rostov-on-Don, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Israeli & American
Bila Tserkva, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Russian
Odessa, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Ukrainian
72
Brody, Poland
Canadian
Winnigpeg, Canada
Canadian
Tashkent, Russian Empire (Uzbekistan)
Soviet/Russian?
Kharkiv, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Russian
New York, USA (NY)
American
Berlin, Weimar Republic
American73
Soviet/American
Soviet/Russian
Soviet/Stateless/Swiss
Jewish
Died in a Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz on 2/16/1943 67
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish Shot and dumped in a trench by Nazis outside of Rostov-on-Don in 1943
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish/Russian
Jewish
Died in a Nazi labor camp bear Braunschweig on 1/14/1945
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish made five International Correspondence Chess Championship Finals
Jewish
Jewish
lost (tie goes to WC) 1951 WC match to Botvinnik71
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon; built HiTech 74
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish75
lost 1978 and 1981 WC matches to Karpov
He moved with his family to d as a child; his family probably should have moved somewhere else (like as far away from European anti-Semitism as possible).
Szpiro was liquidated by the Nazis at Auschwitz after fabulous stays first in the d Ghetto and then in the Warsaw Ghetto.
68
Now in the Ukraine.
69
Aronin was only allowed by the USSR to play in one international tournament outside of the USSR.
70
Until he was murdered by the Nazis (he died in an allied bombing campaign on the labor camp where the Nazis were trying to work him to death), van den Hoek was considered the number three Dutch player behind former World Champion
Max Euwe and behind Salo Landau, the latter of whom was also murdered by the Nazis (See note Error: Reference source not found, above).
71
Bronstein survived an assassination attempt while playing Tartakower at the first Interzonal at Saltsjbaden, Sweden (1948). Bronstein won the Interzonal, the ensuing Candidates Tournament (after winning a playoff with Boleslavsky) before
facing and tying Botvinnik in the first FIDE sponsored International Chess Championship in Moscow (1951) [tie goes to the winner and Botvinnik remains Champion, though Bronstein was outright winning until game 23 of 24]. Also, Bronstein
was the youngest Grandmaster ever at the time of conferral (in 1950 at the age of 26). To date this record is held by Sergey Karjakin of the Ukraine who made Grandmaster in 2002 at the age of 12.
72
Now in the Ukraine.
73
Berliners family moved to the USA to escape rising Nazi persecution in Germany in the 1930s.
74
Berliner is an FIDE IM of traditional chess and one of the best GMs of international correspondence chess in the world.
75
Korchois ancestry was mostly Jewish but partly Slavic, though, due to his Slavic connections to Poland, he was baptized as Catholic: his Jewish ancestry and Catholic faith did not do much to endear him to the Russo-Soviet authorities.
Korchnois father was Jewish, but he died in 1941 trying to defend St. Petersburg from the Nazis as part of a volunteer Soviet military defense corps. Korchnoi was a main figure in the Soviet chess scene until he criticized Karpov after their
1975 Candidates Match Final (the winner of which [ultimately, Karpov] was supposed to face Fischer for the Title, but ended up receiving the Title by default when Fischer flaked on the 1975 WC Match). For his audacity, Korchnoi was
punished by having his stipend taken away, by being banned from the Soviet National Chess Olympiad Team, and by being prevented from playing in international tournaments in locations outside of the USSR for a year. At the next
international tournament outside of the USSR in which the Soviets allowed him to play (in the Netherlands), Korchnoi asked for political asylum and was allowed to stay in Western Europe after the rest of the Soviet returned to the USSR.
Korchnoi then officially defected from the USSR, changed his citizenship status to Stateless (living in the Netherlands and then West Germany) and later to Swiss citizenship due to (as he reasonably claimed) rampant anti-Semitism and
Russian-favoritism in the Soviet chess establishment (Korchnoi was the first major adult Jewish Soviet Chess Grandmaster to defect from the USSR; Reshevskys parents moved to the USA in 11/1920 shortly after the October Revolution). After
fleeing the USSR, Korchnois wife and son were stuck in the USSR; so, before his first WC Title Match with Karpov, Korchnoi wrote an open letter to Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev (7/1978), begging him to release Korchois family, but to
67
Larry Evans
Yair Kraidman
Israel Zilber
Lev Polugaevsky
Leonid Stein
Tatiana Zatulovskaya [fem]
Ernest Pogosyants
Lev Aptekar
Eduard Gufel
Mikhail Misha Tal
Samuel Schweber
Yoel Aloni
Vladimir Liberzon
Boris Spassky
Raymond Weinstein
Alla Kushnir [fem]
Vitaly Zaltsman
Jacob Murey
Bobby Fischer (Nemenyi)
Mark Tseitlin
Roman Dzindzichashvili
Lev Alburt
Lev Gutman
Vladimir Tukmakov
Lszl Polgr
Nukhim Rashkovsky
Mikhail Tseitlin
William Hartston
1932
1932
1933
1934
1934
1935
1935
1936
1936
1936
1936
1937
1937
1937
1941
1941
1941
1941
1943
1943
1944
1945
1945
1946
1946
1946
1947
1947
New York, USA (NY)

Tel Aviv-Yafo, British Mandate of Palestine
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
Mogilev, USSR (Belarus)
Kamyanets-Podilsky, USSR (Ukraine)
Chuhuiv, USSR (Ukraine)
Kiev, USSR (Ukraine)
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
?, Argentina
?, ?
New York, USA (NY)
Dnepropetrovsk, USSR (Ukraine)
Chicago, USA (IL)
Orenburg, USSR (Russia)
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
Gyngys, Hungary (Soviet-controlled)
Sverdlovsk, USSR (Russia)
Babruysk, USSR (Belarus)
American
Israeli
Soviet/Latvian/Israeli & American
Soviet/Belarusian
Soviet
Soviet/Russian/Israeli
Soviet
Soviet/New Zealander
Soviet/American
Soviet/Latvian (rep. USSR)
Argentinean
Israeli
Soviet/Israeli
Soviet/French (rep. France since 1978)
American
Soviet/Israeli
Soviet/American
Soviet/Israeli
American/Icelandic (rep. USA)
Soviet/Israeli
Soviet/Israeli
Soviet/American
Soviet/Israeli & German
Soviet/Ukrainian
Hungarian
Soviet/Russian
Soviet/Belarusian/German
British
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
known for: Searching for Bobby Fischer76
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish?/Russian
Jewish?
has been committed to a mental hospital since 1964 for murder
Jewish
Jewish
Jeff Sarwers coach in Searching for Bobby Fischer
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
completely self-taught
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Frequent second for Viktor Korchnoi after his defection
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
no avail. However, the USSR did agree to let his son leave the USSR, if his son surrendered his Soviet passport. Upon surrendering his Soviet passport, his son was drafted into the Soviet Red Army, and when his son refused to serve in the
Soviet Red Army, his son was sentenced to two and half years imprisonment with hard labor for evading Red Army Service (11/15/1979), a sentence that his son fulfilled in its entirety (his son was still not allowed to leave the USSR until
several years after his sons release from Soviet imprisonment). These events just happened to be spread out over a period from 1978 to 1983, i.e., during Korchnois 1978 and 1981 WC matches with Karpov. Breshnevs deception and the
subsequent imprisonment of Korchnois son are generally seen as the main reasons for Korchnois poor performance in the 1981 WC match (the so-called Massacre in Merano; played in Kurhaus, Merano). Korchnoi (1931-present) is
generally considered to be the best modern chess player never to become champion pace David Bronstein (1924-2006) who was a full Jew from the USSR and whose chess career was ended by the USSR simply because Bronstein, unlike 30
other Soviet Chess Grandmasters, refused to sign an open letter to Brezhnev denouncing Korchnoi for defecting from the USSR (before this event, Bronstein was also the only Soviet player who dared in any way to assist Korchnoi during
Korchnois WC Match with Karpov in 1978). Korchnoi also won a 1984 Candidates Match semi-Final against Kasparov by default (the match was supposed to be in Pasadena, CA, USA, but the USSR would not let Kasparov travel to the USA
due to fears that Kasparov would defect), but Korchnoi graciously agreed to play Kasparov in London, England, UK for the right to face Smyslov in the 1984 Candidates Final (which was meaningless, as either Korchnoi or Kasparov would
clearly have gone on the beat Smyslov and thus to challenge Karpov for the Title in 1984). Then, in the UK, Korchnoi lost to Kasparov, who, after defeating Smyslov, was then allowed to challenge Karpov in the 1984 WC Match for the Title,
which WC match was aborted after 40 drawn games. In the early modern period, the contenders for the title of best never to hold the World Championship were Nimzowitsch (1886-1935) who was a full Jew who defected from the USSR to
Denmark due to anti-Semitism (and who never got a Title shot from Alekhine due to Alekhines cowardice and due to anti-Semitism) and A. Rubenstein (1880-1961) who was a full Jew who defected from the USSR to Belgium (via Sweden and
then Germany) due to anti-Semitism (and who then faced further problems with anti-Semitism during WWII in Nazi occupied Belgium 44% of the Jewish population was exterminated by the Belgians and the Nazis during the Holocaust).
Rubenstein also never had a Title shot, though Lasker (fully Jewish) arranged one in 1914 that was cancelled due to WWI, and Capablanca (Hispanic) agreed to play him for the Title if only Rubenstein could raise $10,000 before Alekhine
(which Rubenstein could not do) or if Rubenstein would wait until after the Capablanca-Alekhine match to play Capablanca; but after Capablanca lost the Title to Alekhine, Rubenstein could not play Capablanca for the Title, and Alekhine then
refused to play Rubenstein for the Title (due, of course, to Alekhines cowardice and due to anti-Semitism) or to give Capablanca a rematch. Korchnoi continued to be punished for defecting from the USSR until the dissolution of the USSR in
1991, as the Soviets threatened to boycott any significant international tournaments that admitted Korchnoi.
76
Zilbers character is the homeless Russian-sounding man (the Sherriff) who beats Josh at speed chess in Washington Square Park, when Josh is first starting out (in the movie, the real Josh can be seen playing adjacent to the actors
portraying Zilber and Josh). The real Zilbers date and cause of death are unknown; he probably froze to death on the streets and alleys of New York City.
Boris Gulko
Mark Dvoretsky
Alexander Shneider
Anatoly Vaisser
Valeri Beim
Konstantin Lerner
Julio Kaplan
Semon (Sam) Palatnik
Valentin Arbakov
Yochanan Afek
Miron Sher
James Tarjan
Josif Dorfman
Alexander Beliavsky
Michael Stean
Kenneth Rogoff
Zvulon (Leonid) Gofshtein
Gennadi Sosonko
Jeremy Silman
Ester Epstein [fem]
Irina Levitina [fem]
Avigdor Bykhovsky
Jon Speelman
Yehuda Grnfeld
Vereslav Eingorn
Dmitry Gurevich
Anna Akhsharumova [fem]
Jonathan Mestel
Gennadi Zaichik
Semyon Dvoiris
Lev Psakhis
Sergey Kudrin
Gregory Kaidanov
Leonid Yudasin
Michael Rohde
Eliahu Shvidler
Alexander Huzman
77
1947
1947
1948
1949
1950
1950
1950
1950
1952
1952
1952
1952
1952
1953
1953
1953
1953
1953
1954
1954
1954
1955
1956
1956
1956
1956
1957
1957
1957
1958
1958
1959
1959
1959
1959
1959
1962
Erfurt, East Germany (Soviet-controlled)

Soviet/American77
Soviet/Russian
?, USSR
Soviet/Ukrainian
Almaty, USSR (Kazakhstan)
Soviet/Kazakh?
?, USSR
Soviet/Austrian
Soviet/Ukrainian/Israeli
Puerto Rican-American
Soviet/American
?, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Tel Aviv, Israel
Israeli
?, USSR (?)
Soviet/American
Pomona, USA (CA)
American
Zhitomir, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/French
Lviv, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Slovenian
British
Rochester, USA (NY)
American
?, USSR
Soviet/Israeli
Troitsk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Dutch
Del Rio, USA (TX)
American
?, USSR
Soviet/American
Soviet/American
?, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
British
Dzieroniw, Poland (Soviet-controlled)
Israeli
Soviet/Ukrainian
Soviet/American
Soviet/Israeli
British
?, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet/Georgian/American
?, USSR
Soviet/?
Krasnoyarsk, USSR (Siberia [Asian Russia])
Soviet/Israeli
Novosibirsk, USSR (Siberia [Asian Russia])
Soviet/American (since 1978)
Berdychiv, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/American
Soviet/Israeli (lives in America)
?, USA (NY)
American
?, Israel
Israeli
Zhytomyr, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Israeli (since 1992)
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
married Akhsharumova
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish/Russian78
Speed chess79
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
gave up pro chess in 1984 to become a librarian
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
married to Alexander Ivanov
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
completely deaf
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
married Gulko
Jewish also a professor of Applied Mathematics at Imperial College, London
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Gulko (outspoken Jewish critic of Soviet anti-Semitism) won the Soviet Championship in 1977 and then was mysteriously jailed for mysterious political reasons in 1978; he rotted in prison until he escaped to the USA in 1986. A clandestine
meeting between the Waitzkins and Gulko takes place in Moscow in 1984 in the book version of Searching for Bobby Fischer.
78
Jewish mother; Russian father.
79
In the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer, Bruce Pandolfinis character tells Josh that speed chess ruined Arbakov and itll ruin you too. In the book version (which came first), Fred Waitzkin (Joshs father and author of the book Searching
for Bobby Fischer) relates an incident in which he and Josh traveled to Sokolniki Park in Moscow in 1984 to play speed games with Arbakov. Arbakov was known for having supposedly squandered his chess talent by playing too much speed
chess and by alcoholism (he was frequently to be found to be playing speed chess in Sokolniki Park, though he was rarely found to be sober). Note that the book version is purportedly biographical, while the movie version has been dramatized
at key points (Pandolfini is not nearly so strict as the character portrayed in the movie by Sir Ben Kingsley; after the first couple of training sessions, there were no huge fights between Josh and Pandolfini about speed chess and about Josh
brining out his queen out too early; the game Josh wins at the end of the movie was actually a draw; etc.). In the book version, it is Arbakov himself who makes the comment about himself: But speed chess isnt good for [Josh]. It ruined me. I
never became a grandmaster (SFBF, Penguin, 1993, p. 67). Arbakov did, in fact, become a grandmaster in 1994 (the events in the book took place during the Karpov-Kasparov WC Match in Moscow in 1984).
Boris Kantsler
Michael Wilder
Garry Kasparov (Weinstein)
Eduardas Rozentalis
Joel Benjamin
Alon Greenfeld
Alexander Goldin
Ram Soffer
Alexander Khalifman
Maxim Dlugy
Alexander Shabalov
Gad Rechlis
Gabriel Schwartzman
Patrick Gideon Wolff
Ilya Smirin
Boris Gelfand
Ronen Lev
Susan Polgr [fem]
Gregory Serper
Boris Alterman
Yona Kosashvili
Vitali Golod
Vadim Milov
Victor Mikhalevski
Ilya Gurevich
80
1962
1962
1963
1963
1964
1964
1964
1964
1966
1966
1967
1967
1967
1968
1968
1968
1968
1969
1969
1970
1970
1971
1972
1972
1972
Frunze, USSR (Tajikistan)

Philadelphia, USA (PA)
Vilnius, USSR (Lithuania)
New York, USA (NY)
New York, USA (NY)
?, USSR
?
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
?, Israel
Bucharest, Romania (Soviet-controlled)
?, USA
Vitebsk, USSR (Belarus)
Minsk, USSR (Belarus)
?, Israel
Budapest, Hungary (Soviet-controlled)
Tashenkt, USSR (Uzbekistan)
Ufa, USSR (Russia)
Gomel, USSR (Belarus)
Soviet/Israeli
American
Soviet/Russian & Croatian
Soviet/Lithuanian
American
American & Israeli
Soviet/American
Israeli
Soviet/Russian
American
Soviet/Latvian/American
Israeli
Romanian/American
American
Soviet/Israeli (since 1992)
Soviet/Russian/Belarusian/Israeli
Israeli
Hungarian/American
Soviet/Uzbek/American
Soviet/Ukrainian?/Israeli
Israeli
Soviet/Ukrainian/Israeli
Soviet/Swiss
Israeli
American
Jewish
Jewish
now a practicing attorney
Jewish/Armenian80
Jewish
Jewish
At the time, the youngest ever US GM (beating Fischers record)
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
1999 FIDE World Champion
Jewish
Latvian? or Jewish?
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
lost 2012 WC match to Anand81
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
2nded Kasparov during Kasparov v. World
Jewish
now an MD; married to Sofia Polgr
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
See Notes Error: Reference source not found and Error: Reference source not found, above.
Gelfand (fully Jewish, born in the Belarusian SSR, USSR, now represents Israel), the winner of 2011 FIDE Candidates Tournament in Kazan, Tartarstan, Russian Federation, was banned from playing in the 2004 FIDE WC Tournament in
Tripoli, Libya due to Libyas policy of not allowing Israeli citizens into Libya under any circumstances. Other top contenders such as Emil Sutovsky and Ilya Smirin (both fully Jewish, both born in the USSR, both represent Israel) were also
banned from the tournament. Peter Svidler (fully Jewish, born in the USSR, represents the Russian Federation) boycotted the tournament due this shameless act of international anti-Semitism. Aronian and Radjabov (both half-Jewish, both born
in the USSR) competed for Armenia and Azerbaijan, respectively. Yury Shulman (fully Jewish, born in the USSR, represents the USA) competed for the USA. In other words, Aronian, Radjabov, and Shulman displayed absolutely no solidarity
with their Jewish brethren; while Libya, in a misguided attempted to show solidarity with their Arab brethren in the Palestinian Territories, banned Israeli citizens from entering their country, even though Libya was not at war with Israel and
Egypt as well as Jordan had already signed peace accords with Israel (in 1979 and 1994, respectively) and had already begun to allow Israelis to travel to their esteemed and hospitable countries. As of 2015, Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh,
Brunei, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, North Sudan, Syria, the UAE, and Yemen still do not accept Israeli passports (Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are apparently ungrateful that Israel, in an act of
solidarity with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the USA, allowed Saddam Hussein to rain scud missiles upon Israeli residential areas during the 1991 Gulf War without facing any Israeli retaliation that might upset the Arab Gulf State-USA coalition
against Iraq). In addition, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, North Sudan, Syria, and Yemen do not accept passports from any person from any country, if that passport shows any evidence that that person has ever visited or intends
to visit the State of Israel. This all happened despite the fact that Libya and the FIDE had assured Israeli chess players before the tournament that they would receive Libyan visas: a minor Israeli GM (Vadim Milov) sued the FIDE, lost, and
wrote an open letter to the FIDE in response. Nobody knows for sure why the FIDE held the tournament in Tripoli, though Libya offered the largest sum for the hosting the event ($2.2 million, approximately $1.0 million of which went directly
to the FIDE); the 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2001 events had no sponsor and the FIDE received no money. One might surmise from these facts that in 2003, the FIDE dumped its Israeli players from the WC Tournament for a million dollar payout
from Muammar Gaddafi, especially since the FIDE originally announced that the Israeli players could play by having the tournament split between Malta (Sutovsky completed an entry form to play in Malta) and Tripoli (before Gaddafi
demanded the complete exclusion of all Israelis). Compare this situation to the situation with FIFA: as soon as Libya announced an intention not to allow the Israeli soccer team into the country for the 2010 World Cup Soccer Championship,
FIFA removed Libya from consideration without any prejudice regarding the amount of money Libya might have paid FIFA to exclude the Israelis. But the FIDE obviously does not have the same sense of fair play and competition as FIFA:
international soccer is far more fair than international chess; otherwise, a variety of chess players would never have become chess world champions. Vidim was not officially denied entry to the tournament, though his application came after
the deadline for submission (note that Vidim is a co-Swiss-Israeli citizen who plays internationally for Switzerland!). American Grandmasters Boris Gulko (co-Israeli citizen), Alexander Shabalov, and Alexander Onischuck eventually withdrew
from the tournament. This debacle is usually seen as the main reason why the reunification match with Kasparov (half-Jewish) did not happen in 2004: the winner of the 2004 FIDE championship (Rustam Kasimdzhanov), with all due respect,
had absolutely no business playing for the WC Title and is generally seen as a paper champion who won only because so many Jews were excluded or did not participate and because the time controls for the tournament were absolutely absurd
(even by Kasimdzhanovs own reckoning); but the FIDE got to keep its million bucks (minus expenses).
81
Sofia Polgr [fem]

Artur Kogan
Dan Zoler
Michael Oratovsky
Josh Waitzkin
Yury Shulman
Alexander Finkel
Eran Liss
Judit Polgr [fem]
Peter Svidler
Ronen Har-Zvi
Dov Zifroni
Dimitri Tyomkin
Emil Sutovsky
Boris Avrukh
Tal Shaked
Alik Gershon
Evgeny Postny
Levon Aronian
Michael Roiz
Sergey Erenburg
Ilan Manor
Teimour Radjabov (Sheinin)
Mark Bluvshtein
Maxim Rodshtein
Aleksandr Lenderman
Ian Nepomniachtchi
Sam Shankland
Tamir Nabaty
Daniel Naroditsky
Daniil Dubov
1974
1974
1974
1974
1975
1975
1975
1975
1976
1976
1976
1976
1977
1977
1978
1978
1980
1981
1982
1983
1983
1985
1987
1988
1989
1989
1990
1991
1991
1995
1996
Budapest Hungary (Soviet-controlled)

Chernivtsi, USSR (Ukraine)
?, Israel
?, USSR (Russia?)
New York, USA (NY)
Minsk, USSR (Belarus)
?
?, Israel
?, Israel
?, Israel
?, Canada
Karaganda, USSR (Kazakhstan)
Albuquerque, USA (NM)
Dnipropetrovsk, USSR (Ukraine)
Novosibirsk, USSR (Russia)
Yerevan, USSR (Armenia)
?, USSR (Russia)
?, USSR (Russia)
?, Israel
Yaroslavl, USSR (Russia)
Bryansk, USSR (Russia)
San Francisco, USA (CA)
Ness Ziona, Israel
San Mateo, USA (CA)
Moscow, Russian Federation
Notable ethnically non-Jewish players:

Alfonso X of Castile
1221 Toledo, Kingdom of Spain (Castile)
Jacobus de Cessolis
~1250 Cessole, North Italy
Khajah Ali Shatrangi (Aladdin) ~1350 ?, China
William Caxton
~1422 ?, Kingdom of England
Francesc Vicent
1450 Valencia, Kingdom of Aragon
82
Hungarian/Israeli and Canadian82

Israeli
Israeli
Israeli
American
Belarusian/American
Israeli
Israeli
Hungarian
Soviet/Russian (since 1992)
Israeli & American84
Israeli
Israeli & Canadian
Israeli
Israeli
American
Israeli
Russian/Israeli (since 1995)
German (2003)/Armenian (since 2004)
Israeli
Israeli & American
Israeli
Azerbaijani
Israeli & Canadian
Israeli
American
Russian
American
Israeli
American
Russian
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish/Armenian85
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish/Azerbaijani86
Jewish
Jewish
Russian? Jewish?
Jewish
Jewish?87
Jewish
Jewish
Jewish
Spanish (Castilian)
Italian
Arabic?
English
Aragonese/Spanish (unified)
Spanish
Italian
Chinese
English
Catalonian
married to Yona Kosashvili
main character in Searching for Bobby Fischer
strongest female chess player ever83
wrote first manuscript mentioning pawns two square move
Sofia married an Israeli man (Yona Kosashvili), then the family moved to Canada, before recently returning to Israel.
Polgr never held the Womens Title since she played on the mens circuit; there is no controversy, however, surrounding her status as the strongest female player ever to play the game (she is the only woman ever to compete on a high level on
the mens circuit).
84
Har-Zvis wife Heather is American; they and their son Aaron live in New York State, USA.
85
Like Kasparov, Aronian has a Jewish father (Grigory Aronov) and an Armenian mother. Unlike Kasparov, Aronian did not change his surname. His surname was Russified as Aronov while Armenia was part of the USSR; however, following
Armenias exit from the USSR and his becoming an Armenian citizen, he changed it back to its Armenian form (Aronian).
86
Radjabovs father (Boris Sheinin) is Jewish.
87
I cant find any information about Shanklands ethnic or religious background, but he went to Brandeis University (so, you do the math).
83
Pedro Damiano
Atahualpa
Paulo Boi
Ruy Lpez de Segura
Giovanni Leonardo Di Bona
Giulio Cesare Polerio
Alessandro Salvio
Gioachino Greco
B. Asperling
Alexander Cunningham
Giambattista Lolli
Legall de Kermeur
Philipp Stamma
Benjamin Franklin
Carlo Cozio
Ercole del Rio
Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani
Andr Danican Philidor
Johann Baptist Allgaier
Verdoni
?
Jacob Henry Sarratt
Alexandre Deschapelles
William Lewis
Julius Mendheim
Captain William Evans
Alexander Petrov
Edward Lwe
Louis-Charles La Bourdonnais
Ludwig Bledow
John Cochrane
Alexander McDonnell
Pierre Saint-Amant
Vincent Grimm
George Walker
Karl Schorn
Jzsef Szn
Lionel Kieseritzky
Augustus Mondredien
Elijah Williams
Hugh Alexander Kennedy
Howard Staunton
Carl Mayet
Wilhelm Hanstein
88
89
1480
1500
1528
1530
1542
1550
1570
1600
~1650
1655
1698
1702
1705
1706
1715
1718
1719
1726
1763
?, Italy
1772
1780
1787
1788
1790
1794
1794
1795
1795
1798
1798
1800
1800
1803
1803
1805
1806
1807
1809
1809
1810
1810
1811
?, Kingdom of Portugal
Portuguese
?, Incan Empire (Peru)
Incan
Syracuse, Spanish Sicily
Spanish-Napolitano
Badajoz, Kingdom of Spain (Spain)
Spanish
Cutro, Spanish Naples
Spanish-Napolitano
Lanciano, Spanish Naples [Kingdom of Sicily] Spanish-Napolitano
?, Spanish Naples
Spanish-Napolitano
Celico, Spanish Naples
Spanish-Napolitano
?, Switzerland (?)
Swiss
Cummok, Commonwealth of Scotland
Scottish/British
Nonantola, Duchy of Modena (Holy Roman)
Modenesi
Paris, Kingdom of France
French
Aleppo, Ottoman Syria
Syrian-Ottoman88
Boston, British America
British-American/American
Casle Monferrato, Kingdom of Sardinia (HR) Sardinian (mainland)
Guiglia, Duchy of Modena (Holy Roman)
Modenesi
Duchy of Modena in the Holy Roman Empire Modenesi
Dreux, Kingdom of France
French
Schussenried, Duchy of Wrttemberg (Swabia) Austrian
Italian/French
?, United Kingdom (England)
British
Paris, Kingdom of France
French
Birmingham, UK (England)
British
Berlin?, Prussia
Prussian
St. Dogwells, UK (Wales)
British
Pskov, Russian Empire (Russia-Latvia border) Russian
Prague, Austrian Empire (Bohemia)
Austrian/British
La Runion, First French Republic
French
Berlin, Prussia
Prussian
?, UK
British
Belfast, UK (Ireland)
British
Bordeaux, First French Republic
French
Vienna, Austrian Empire (Austria)
British
Dsseldorf, Prussia (Germany)
Prussian/German
Budapest (Pest), Kingdom of Hungary
Hungarian/Austro-Hungarian
89
Dorpat, Russian Empire (Latvia)
Russian/French
British
British
Madras, British India
British
British
Berlin, Prussia (Germany)
Prussian/German
Prussian/German
Played heavily in France and the UK; published in French.

Now Tartu, Estonia.
Portuguese
Incan
Italian
Spanish
popularized the Ruy Lpez opening (also called the Spanish Game)
Italian
Italian
Polerio Gambit
Italian
Greek
?
wrote the last book that allows for a King jump
Scottish
Italian
French
Syrian
English
Italian
Italian
Italian
French
Classical WC (1755-1795); also a major French composer
German-Swabian
Classical WC, alternate (1795-1815)
Italian
English?
French
English
first true grandmaster; first operator of the Turk
German
Welch
known for: Evans Gambit
Russian
known for: Petrovs Defense (the Russian Game)
German? Czech?
French
German
Scottish
known for: Cochrane Defense
Irish
French
Austrian
converted to Islam and moved to Ottoman Syria for a time
English
Celebrated Analysis of A D Philidor
German?
Hungarian
leading founder of the Hungarian Defense
Baltic German
French
English
died in 1854 Broad Street Cholera Outbreak
British? Irish?
English
German?
German?
Josef Kling
Carl Jaenisch
Paul Rudolf von Bilguer
Marmaduke Wyvill
Serafino Dubois
Adolf Schliemann
Adolf Anderssen
Tassilo v. Heydebrand u.d. Lasa
Charles Henry Stanley
Marcus Kann
Luigi Centurini
Paul Journoud
Preston Ware, Jr.
Henry Thomas Buckle
Thomas Wilson Barnes
Samuel Boden
Charles Ranken
Wilfried Paulsen
Frederick Deacon
Henry Edward Bird
Jules Arnous de Rivire
Max Lange
Louis Paulsen
Carl Ahlhausen
Paul Morphy
George Henry Mackenzie
Gustav Neumann
Sam Loyd
Joseph Henry Blackburne
Andreas Ascharin
Johann Berger
Henry Charlick
Alexander Solovtsov
Adolf Albin
Amos Burn
James Mason
Mikhail Chigorin
John Washington Baird
90
1811
1813
1815
1815
1817
1817
1818
1818
1819
1820
1820
1821
1821
1821
1825
1826
1828
1828
1829
1830
1830
1832
1833
1835
1837
1837
1838
1841
1841
1843
1845
1845
1847
1848
1848
1849
1850
1852
Mainz, Prussia (Germany)

Vyborg, Russian Empire (Finland)
Ludwigslust, Prussia (Germany)
Constable Burton, UK (England)
Rome, Papal States
Mlln, Prussia (Germany)
Breslau, Prussia (Poland)90
Brighton, UK (England)
Republic of Genoa
Lyon, Kingdom of France
Wrentham, USA (MA)
Lee, UK (England)
?, UK (England)
?, UK (England)
Brislington, UK (England)
?, Prussia (Germany)
?, UK (England)
Portsea, UK (England)
Nantes, Kingdom of France
Magdeburg, Prussia (Germany)
Blomberg, Prussia (Germany)
Berlin?, Prussia (Germany)
New Orleans, USA (LA)
North Kessock, UK (Scotland)
Gleiwitz, Prussia (Silesia, now in Poland)
Manchester, UK (England)
Prnu, Prussia (now in Estonia)
Graz, Austrian Empire
Kazan, Russian Empire (Tartarstan)
Zhitomir, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Kingston upon Hull, UK (England)
Kilkenny, UK (Ireland)
?, USA
Prussian/German/British
Russian
Prussian
British
Italian
Prussian/German
Prussian/German (rep. Prussia)
Prussian/German
British/American
Genoese
French
American
British
British
British
British
Prussian/German
British
British
French
German
Prussian/German
Prussian/German
American
British/American
Prussian
American
British
German
Austro-Hungarian
British/Australian
Russian
Romanian
British
American/British93
Russian
American
German
Finnish/Russian
German
English
known for: the Wyvill (pawn) formation
Italian?/French?
German
German
Classical WC (1851-1858; 1862-1866)
German
English
first American Champion
Austrian
popularized Caro-Kann defense along with Horatio Caro
Italian
French
English?
known for: Ware Opening, Stonewall Attack
English
also an historian; died of typhoid
English
dieted, losing 130 pounds in 10 months, resulting in his death at 49 91
English?
Bodens Mate
English
German?
Englsih?
English
French
German
German?
German?
European Continental Classical WC (1858-1862)
Scottish
German
?
English
Baltic German/Russian
Austrian
English
Russian? Tartar?
German
published first chess book in Romanian92
English
Irish
Russian? Jewish?94
lost 1889 and 1892 WC matches to Lasker
?
Now Wrocaw, Poland.

Barnes is also known for the Barnes Opening (1.f4) and Barnes Defense (1.e4 f6), which both seem to be and are horrible openings. However, the Barnes Defense unsettled many players of Barnes day: while playing the Barnes Defense as
Black, of course, he actually beat Paul Morphy in an official game in London in 1858. This was no fluke: Barnes beat Morphy again in an official game in London later in 1858 while playing the Kings Gambit Declined as Black. Barnes was a
very unstable player with absolutely no tournament successes, but he was well known for being the only player who was both interesting to and could compete with Paul Morphy: for example, during Morphys tour of the UK in 1858, in
unofficial games, he beat Morphy eight times and lost to Morphy nineteen times: not a great showing, but by far the best showing by any Brit against Morphy during Morphys tour.
92
Aldof Albin is also known for the Albin Countergambit in the Queens Gambit.
93
Mason was born in Northern Ireland (then and still in the UK), moved to America as a child, then held American citizenship as an adult, before emigrating back to the UK. later in adulthood.
94
See note Error: Reference source not found, above.
91
Franz Gutmayer
William H. K. Pollock
Charles Moehle
Emil Kemny
Curt von Bardeleben
Albert Hodges
Jackson Showalter
Horatio Caro
Georg Marco
Constant Ferdinand Burille
Krlis Bti
Richard Teichmann
Herman Helms
Gza Marczy
Fritz Carl Anton Englund
Carl August Walbrodt
Henry Ernest Atkins
Isak Collijn
Harry Pillsbury
Frank Marshall
Ludvig Collijn
Ehrhardt Post
Anton Olson
Sir George Thomas, 7th Baronet
Fedor Duz-Khotimirsky
Peter Romanovsky
Kenneth S. Howard
Oldich Duras
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky
Victor Soultanbeieff
Milan Vidmar
Karel (Mokr) Treybal
Max Blmich
Paul Johner
Marcel Duchamp
Karel Hromdka
95
1857
1859
1859
1860
1861
1861
1862
1862
1863
1866
1867
1868
1870
1870
1871
1871
1872
1875
1875
1877
1878
1881
1881
1881
1881
1882
1882
1882
1884
1885
1885
1885
1886
1887
1887
1887
Vienna?, Austria-Hungary (Austria)

Cheltenham, UK (England)
?, USA
Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary
Nashville, USA (TN)
Minvera, USA (KY)
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK (England)
Chernivtsi, Austria-Hungary (Bukovina)96
Paris, Second French Empire
Brzmuia, Russian Empire (Latvia)
Lehnitzsch bei Altenburg, Prussia
New York, USA (NY)
Szeged, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
?, Sweden-Norway (Sweden)
Leicester, UK (England)
Stockholm, Sweden-Norway (Sweden)
Somerville, USA (MA)
New York, USA (NY)
Cottbus, German Empire (Germany-Poland)
?, Sweden-Norway (Sweden)
Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (Turkey)
Chernihiv, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
LeRoy, USA (NY)
Pchery, Austria-Hungary (Bohemia)
Yekaterinoslav, Russian Empire (Ukraine)99
Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary (Slovenia)
Kotopeky, Austria-Hungary (Bohemia)
Falkenberg-Elster, German Empire
Zrich, Switzerland (Zrich)
Blainville-Crevon, France
Groweikersdorf, Austria-Hungary
Austro-Hungarian/Austrian/Nazi
British
American
Austro-Hungarian/American
Prussian
American
American
British
Austro-Hungarian/Austrian
American
Russian/Soviet
Prussian
American
Swedish
German
British
Swedish
American
American
Swedish
German/Nazi/German
Swedish
British
Soviet
American
Russian/French
Russian/Belgian
German/Nazi
Swiss
French/American
Austrian
popular German language chess writer and outspoken anti-Semite
English
?
an operator of Ajeeb, successor to the Turk
Hungarian
German
jumped out of a window, dying at age 6295
?
an operator of Ajeeb, successor to the Turk
?
English
popularized Caro-Kann defense along with Marcus Kann
Romanian
French
a great operator of Ajeeb, successor to the Turk
Latvian
German
had only one eye
German/?
Hungarian
Swedish
German
English
known as the little Steiniz; won UK Title 9 times
Swedish
English?
English?
lost 1907 WC match to Lasker97
Swedish
German
official chess organizer of the Reich98
Swedish
English
Ukrainian
Russian
?
contributions to the theory of chess problem construction and solving
Czech
Russian
Russian
Slovene
Czech
German
official chess book editor of the Reich100
Swiss
French
Czech
Also the basis for the main character in the novel The Defense (1930, novel by Vladimir Nabakov) and thus the movie The Luzhin Defense (2000, screenplay by Peter Berry).
Now in the Ukraine.
97
Marshall was eligible to play Lasker in 1904 but not able to raise the sum needed to play Lasker until 1907 (See notes Error: Reference source not found and Error: Reference source not found, above). Obviously, however, Marshall was not
even close to the player that Lasker was: Lasker won +7-0=7.
98
Conspired with Alekhine to keep Title out of Jewish hands.
99
Now Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
100
In other words, it was Blmichs job to delete all references to Jews in existing chess books and to re-write the history of chess so as to eliminate the greatest Jewish chessmasters from history: the best Jewish chessmasters were to be replaced
with purportedly-Aryan chess midgets (e.g., Anderssen, L. Paulsen, Smisch, Lange, and E. Grnfeld). For example, Blmich edited (redacted) Dufresnes Lehrbuch des Schachspiels in such a way as to eliminate all references to Jews (e.g.,
Kolisch, Zukertort, Steinitz, Lasker, Rubinstein) in the historical section; in addition, he deleted every game analysis in which a Jew beat a non-Jew (the only games involving Jews that Blmich allowed to remain in the book were ones in which
Jews lost).
96
Newell W. Banks
1887
Jos Ral Capablanca
1888
Efim Bogolyubov
1889
Norman T. Whitaker
1890
Alexander Aljechin (Alekhine) 1892
Karel Opoensk
1892
Ernst Grnfeld
1893
Hans Kmoch
1894
Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky
1894
Andr Chron
1895
Friedrich Smisch
1896
Comins Mansfield
1896
Albert Becker
1897
Edgard Colle
1897
Octvio Trompowsky
1897
Marcel Engelmann
1899
Jos Joaqun Araiza
1900
Weaver W. Adams
1901
Kazimierz Makarczyk
1901
Max Euwe
1901
Arpad Elo
1903
Erik Lundin
1904
Gsta Stoltz
1904
Henri Grob
1904
Carlos Torre
1904
Vladimir Makogonov
1904
Erik Andersen
1904
Vera Menchik [fem]
1906
Vasja Pirc
1907
Jan Foltys
1908
Alexey Sokolsky
1908
Emil Diemer
1908
Gideon Sthlberg
1908
James Macrae Aitken
1908
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander 1909
101
?, USA
Havana, Spanish Empire (Cuba)
Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Most, Austria-Hungary (Bohemia)
?, France
Berlin, German Empire
Tiverton, UK (Wales)
Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria)
Ghent, Belgium (Flanders)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
?, Belgium
Mexico City, Mexico
Dedham, USA (MA)
Amsterdam, Netherlands (N Holland)
Egyhzaskesz, Austria-Hungary (Hungary)
Braunau, Switzerland (Thurgau)
Mrida, Mexico
Nakhchivan, Russian Empire (Azerbaijan)
Gentofte, Denmark
Idrija, Austria-Hungary (Slovenia)
Svinov, Austria-Hungary (Moravia)
?, Russian Empire (Belarus)
Radolfzell, German Empire
Gothenburg, Sweden
Calderbank, UK (Scotland)
Cork, UK (Ireland)
American
Cuban
Russian/German/Nazi/W? German
American
Russian/Soviet/French (rep. France)
Austro-Hungarian/Austrian/Nazi/Austrian
Austro-Hungarian/Austrian/Dutch102/American
Russian/Soviet
French
German/Nazi/W? German
British
Austrian/Nazi/Argentinean
Belgian
Brazilian
Belgian
Mexican
American
Dutch
American
Swedish
Swedish
Swiss
Mexican
Soviet
Danish
Russian/British
Soviet
German/Nazi/German
Swedish
British
British
?
Hispanic
Ukrainian
lost 1929 and 1934 WC matches to Alekhine101
?
Russian
Classical WC (1927-1935; 1937-1946)
Czech
Silesian German
known for: Grnfeld Defense
Austrian 2nded Alekhines 2nd WC Match with Euwe and both with Bogoljubov
Russian
purged by Stalin
French
German
?
German
led the Nazi team in the 8th Chess Olympiad103
Flemish
invented Colle System; died at 34 of gastric ulcer
Brazilian
invented Trompowsky Attack
Flemish
Hispanic
?
open homosexual
Polish
Dutch
Hungarian
invented Elo Ratings System
Swedish
Swedish
Swiss
popularized Grobs Attack
Hispanic
invented Torre Attack, Mexican Defense
Azerbaijani
Danish
English/Russian
killed by the Nazis in a bombing raid on London (1944)
Slovenian
popularized Pirc Defense
Czech
Ukrainian
popularized Sokolsky Opening104
German
official chess reporter of the Reich105
Swedish
Scottish
Irish
Died of a heart attack during a simultaneous exhibition against other amateurs in the Black Forest.
Married a Dutch Jew and lived in the Netherlands from 1932-1947 before emigrating to the USA.
103
This Olympiad took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1939 (Austria played with Germany under the Nazi flag; the finals were held on 9/1/1939, the same day that Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west (the Soviets invaded Poland
from the east on 9/17/1939); Hungary and the USA boycotted the Olympiad, while the UK team had to head to back to Europe to prepare for WWII before they could participate in the finals. Becker (Austrian Nazi) chose to stay in Argentina
after the Olympiad, just like many other top chess players, such as Miguel Najdorf , who was on the Polish team, and Moshe Czerniak, who was on the British Mandatory Palestinian team (both Polish Jews, both much better chess players than
Becker, See note Error: Reference source not found, above). Needless to say, the Nazi team ended up winning this kangaroo Olympiad (the Nazis had already tried to win a kangaroo Olympiad by holding the 3 rd unofficial chess Olympiad
in Munich, Nazi Germany in 1936; however, the Nazi team was badly beaten by Hungary [who had a young Lszl Szab (full Jew) playing for them] and Poland [who had a young Mieczysaw (a.k.a. Miguel) Najdorf (full Jew) playing for
them). Note that Nazi Germany would almost certainly have lost the finals to France, had an anti-Semitic Alekhine (who played for France, remember) decided to play in the final (with the excuse that France and Germany were now at war, so it
would not be sporting for him to play for France against Germany in a chess competition).
104
Also called the Orangutan Opening and the Polish Opening.
105
Diemer also joined the Nazi party in 1931, long before the Nazis came to power in Germany.
102
enk Kottnauer
Eero Bk
Alexander Tolush
Arthur Dake (Darkowski)
Nicolas Rossolimo
Petar Trifunovi
1910
Alexander Konstantinopolsky
Albric O'Kelly de Galway
Jaromir Florian
Gedeon Barcza
Rashid Nezhmetdinov
Alexander Kotov
Igor Bondarevsky
Erich Eliskases
Albert Simonson
Paul Keres
Miguel Cullar
Vladimir Simagin
Mijo Udovi
Ed Edmondson
Robert Wade
Rudolf Teschner
Svetozar Gligori
Ludk Pachman
Ortvin Sarapu
Ratmir Kholmov
Wolfgang Unzicker
Alexey Suetin
Jan Hein Donner
Mato Damjanovi
Eleazar Jimnez
Robert Byrne
Pal Benko
Miroslav Filip
Karl Robatsch
Tigran V. Petrosian
Mario Bertok
Vladimir Antoshin
Donald Byrne
Nikolai Krogius
Aleksandar Matanovi
Iivo Nei
106
1910 Prague, Austria-Hungary (Bohemia)

Czechoslovakian/British
Czech
1910 Helsinki, Finland
Finnish
Finnish
1910 St. Petersburg, USSR (Russia)
Soviet
Russian
Grandmaster and major coach and mentor of Boris Spassky
1910 Portland, USA (OR)
American
Polish
1910 Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
French/American
Greek/Ukrainian
Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (Croatia)
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Trifunovic Variation of the Alekhine Defense
1910 Zhytomir, Russian Empire (Ukraine)
Russian
1911 Brussels, Belgium
Belgian
Belgian/?
1911 ?, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakian
Czech
1911 Kisjszlls, Austro-Hungarian (Hungary)
Hungarian
Hungarian
1912 Aktubinsk, Russian Empire (Tartarstan)106
Soviet
Tartar allowed to participate in only one chess tournament outside of the USSR 107
1913 Tula, Russian Empire (Russia)
Soviet
Russian
1913 Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (Russia)
Soviet
Russian
1913 Innsbruck, Austria-Hungary (Austria)
Austro-Hungarian/Nazi/Argentinean
Austrian
American
?
1916 Narva, Russian Empire (Estonia)
Soviet
Estonian
1916 ?, Columbia
Columbian
Columbian
1919 Moscow, USSR (Russia)
Soviet
Russian
1920 Stara Joava, Yugoslavia (Croatia)
Yugoslavian
Croatian
1920 Rochester, USA (NY)
American
?
1921 Dunedin, New Zealand
New Zealander/British
?
1922 Potsdam, Weimer Republic
Nazi/E. German/W. German/German (unified) German
1923 Belgrade, Kingdom of Serbia
Yugoslavian/Serbia
Serbian
1924 Bl pod Bezdzem, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakian/West German
Czech
emigrated to W. Germany after being tortured by USSR
1924 Narva, USSR (Estonia)
Soviet/New Zealander
Estonian
1925 Shenkursk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet
Russian?/Belarusian?
1925 Pirmasens, Weimar Republic (Rhineland)
German/West German/German
German
last great follower of Steiniz and Tarrasch
1926 Kirovohrad, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Russian
Ukrainian?/Russian?
1927 The Hague, Netherlands
Dutch
Dutch
basis for main character in The Discovery of Heaven
1927 eletovci, Yugoslavia (Croatia)
Yugoslavian/Croatian
Croatian
1928 ?, Cuba
Cuban
Cuban
American
Irish?/?
1928 Amiens, France
Hungarian/American
Hungarian?
1928 Prague, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakian/Czech
Czech
1929 Klagenfurt, Austria
Austrian
Austrian
popularized Modern Defense
1929 Tbilisi, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet
Armenian
1929 Zagreb, Yugoslavia (Croatia)
Croatian
Soviet/Russian
Russian
American
?
1930 Saratpv, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Russian
Chess Grandmaster and trained psychologist108
1930 Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
1931 Tartu, USSR (Estonia)
Soviet/Estonian
Estonian
Now Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

This was despite his having won the Russian Championship an unprecedented 5 times.
108
Karpov claims that Krogius tried to provide both chess support and psychological support to Spassky for Spasskys 1972 WC Match with Fischer (Interview with Irwin Fisk, Chicago, 2008).
107
Andrija Fuderer
1931
Milko Bobotsov
1931
Istvn Bilek
1932
Evgeni Vasiukov
1933
Boidar uraevi
1933
Borislav Ivkov
1933
Bukhuti Gurgenidze
1933
William Grady Addison
1933
Milan Matulovi
1935
Bent Larsen
1935
Alexander Zaitsev
1935
Fririk lafsson
1935
Dragoljub iri
1935
Wolfgang Uhlmann
1935
Oscar Panno
1935
Manuel Aaron
1935
Lszl Brczay
1936
Dragoljub Mini
1936
Aivars Gipslis
1937
Boris Spassky
1937
Lajos Portisch
1937
William Lombardy
1937
Edmrs Mednis
1937
Milan Vukcevich
1937
Lkhamsrengiin Myagmarsren 1938
Rentao Naranja
1940
Istvn Csom
1940
Victor Palciauskas
1941
Nona Gaprindashvili [fem]
1941
Bruno Parma
1941
Rosendo Balinas Jr.
1941
Vlatko Kovaevi
1942
Dragoljub Velimirovi
1942
Lubomir Kavalek
1943
Helmut Pfleger
1943
Florin Gheorghiu
1944
Vitaly Tseshkovsky
1944
Vlastimil Hort
1944
Albin Planinc
1944
Duncan Settles
1945
David Levy
1945
Gennady Kuzmin
1946
John Grefe
1947
109
110
Now Podgorica, Montenegro.

Now Teplice, Czech Republic.
Subotica, Yugoslavia (Serbia)

Yugoslavian/Belgian
Serbian
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Bulgarian
Bulgarian
Budapest, Hungary
Hungarian
Hungarian
Soviet/Russian
Russian
?, Yugoslavia (Serbia?)
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Surami, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet/Georgian
Georgian
Baton Rouge, USA (LA)
American
English? Considered the best Go (Wei-chi) player among Western chess masters
Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Thisted, Denmark
Danish & Argentinean
Danish
Vladivostok, USSR (Russia)
Soviet
Russian
Reykjavik, Iceland
Icelandic
Icelandic
Novi Sad, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Dresden, Nazi Germany
East German/German (reunified)
German
Argentinean
Spanish? Italian?
Toungoo, British India (Colonial Burma)
Indian
Indian
Miskolc, Hungary
Hungarian
Hungarian
Titograd, Yugoslavia (Montenegro)109
Yugoslavian/Serbian?
Serbian? Montenegrin?
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
Soviet/Latvian
Latvian
Soviet/French (rep. France since 1978)
Jewish?/Russian
Zalaegerszeg, Hungary
Hungarian
Hungarian
New York, USA (NY)
American
?
one early teacher of Bobby Fischer
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
American
Latvian
Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
Yugoslavian/American
Serbian
?, Mongolia
Mongolian
Mongolian
?, American Philippines
Filipino
Filipino
Storaljajhely, Hungary (Axis-controlled)
Hungarian
Hungarian
Kaunas, Lithuania (Axis-controlled)
Soviet/American
Lithuanian
Zugdidi, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet/Georgian?
Georgian
Ljubljana, Yugoslavia (Slovenia)
Yugoslavian/Slovenian
Slovenian
Manilla, American Philippines
Filipino
Filipino
Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia (Axis-controlled)
Croatian
Valjevo, Yugoslavia (Axis-controlled Serbia)
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Prague, Czechoslovakia (Axis-controlled)
Czechoslovakia (Soviet-controlled)/American Czech
Teplice-anov, Bohemia (Axis-controlled)110
West German/German (reunified)
German
Bucharest, Romania (Axis-controlled)
Romanian (Soviet-controlled)
Romanian
Omsk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Russian
Kladno, Czechoslovakia (Axis-controlled)
Czechoslovakian/West German/German (reunif) Czech
Brie, Yugoslavia (Axis-controlled Slovenia)
Yugoslavian/Slovenian
Slovenian
San Francisco, USA (CA)
American & Canadian
?
British (Scottish)
Scottish
?, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Ukrainian
Ukrainian
Hoboken, USA (NJ)
American
?
Mihai Suba
Gumundur Sigurjnsson
Bruce Pandolfini
Andrew Soltis
William Hartston
Jana Bellin112 [fem]
Mikhail Podgaets
Raymond Keene
Robert Hbner
Nana Alexandria [fem]
Walter Browne
Yuri Balashov
Evgeny Sveshnikov
Ljubomir Ljubojevi
Peter Biyiasas
Andrs Adorjn
Ulf Andersson
Anatoly Karpov
Jan Timman
Eugenio Torre
Gyula Sax
Rafael Vaganian
Zoltn Ribli
Miron Sher
Oleg Romanishin
Robert Bellin
Henrique Mecking
Kevin Spraggett
Georgy Agzamov
Tony Miles
John Nunn
Alexander Ivanov
Larry Christiansen
Victor Frias
Vladimir Malaniuk
Nick de Firmian
Philip Corbin
ubomr Ftnik
John Fedorowicz
Alex Yermolinsky
Sergey Dolmatov
111
1947
1947
1947
1947
1947
1947
1947
1948
1948
1949
1949
1949
1950
1950
1950
1950
1951
1951
1951
1951
1951
1951
1951
1952
1952
1952
1952
1954
1954
1955
1955
1956
1956
1956
1957
1957
1957
1957
1958
1958
1959
Bucharest, Romania (Soviet-controlled)

Romanian
Romanian
Rekyjavik, Iceland
Icelandic
Icelandic
New York, USA (NY)111
American
Italian?/?
Hazleton, USA (PA)
American
Polish?; Hungarian? Czech?/?
British
English
first wife was Jana Bellin (ne Malypetrov)
Prague, Czechoslovakia (Soviet-controlled)
Czech/British
Czech
1st husband was Hartston; 2nd was Miles; 3rd was Bellin
Soviet/Ukrainian
Ukrainian
British
English
Cologne, West Germany
West German/German (reunified)
German
Poti, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet/Georgian
Georgian
Sydney, Australia
American113
English?
Shadrinsk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Russian
Chelyabinsk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Latvian
Latvian? Russian?
Titovo Uice, Yugoslavia
Yugoslavian/Serbian
Serbian
Athens, Greece
Canadian
Greek
Hungarian
Hungarian
Vsters, Sweden
Swedish
Swedish
Zlatoust, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian (rep. USSR, Russia [FIDE])
Russian
Classical WC (1975-1985); 1993-1999 FIDE WC
Dutch
Dutch
lost 1993 FIDE WC match to Karpov
?, Philippines
Philippine
Filipino
Hungarian
Hungarian
Soviet/Armenian
Armenian
Mohcs, Hungary (Soviet-controlled)
Hungarian
Hungarian
Kaliningrad, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian/American
Russian?
Soviet/Ukrainian
Ukrainian
Great Yarmouth, UK (England)
British
English
married to Jana Bellin (ne Malypetrov)
Santa Cruz do Sul, Brazil
Brazil
Brazilian
a.k.a. Mequinho
Montreal, Canada
Canadian
French?
Tashkent, USSR (Uzbekistan)
Soviet
Uzbekistani also a philologist; died hiking in the Crimea while taking a shortcut
Birmingham, UK (England)
British
English first wife was Jana Bellin (ne Malypetrov); died at 46 from diabetes
British
English?
Omsk, USSR (Siberia)
Soviet/American
Russian
married to Ester Epstein
Riverside, USA (CA)
American
?
Santiago, Chile
Chilean/American114
Hispanic
Arkhangelsk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Ukrainian
Ukrainian
Fresno, USA (CA)
American
?
?, Barbados
Barbadian
Barbadian (Black)
Batislava, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakian/Slovakian
Slovakian
New York, USA (NY)
American
Polish? Jewish?
Soviet/American
Russian
Kiselevsk, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Russian
Im not certain that Pandolfini was born in New York City, but he lists Brooklyn as his hometown (Every Move Must Have a Purpose: Strategies from Chess for Business and Life, Hyperion, New York, 2003, p. 92).
Ne Malypetrov.
113
Browne had an American father and an Australian mother; he was born in Australia, but he moved to USA at age three and represented the USA internationally.
114
Married an American (Zoe Tilton) and moved to New York in 1981.
112
Mikhail Gurevich
Stefan Kindermann
Marcel Sisniega Campbell
Yasser Seirawan
Ian Rogers
Ye Jiangchuan
Predrag Nikoli
Eric Lobron
Artur Yusupov
Harold van der Heijden
Maia Chiburdanidze [fem]
Sergey Ivanov
Aloyzas Kveinys
Jaan Ehlvest
Igor Novikov
Eduardas Rozentalis
Luc Winants
Gary Lne
Valery Salov
Curt Hansen
Vasilios Kotronias
Suat Atalk
Nigel Short
Utut Adianto
Maurice Ashley
Evgeny Bareev
Lus Galego
Dennis Monokroussos
Alexander Shabalov
Simen Agdestein
Ildar Ibragimov
Anatoly Lutikov
Ivan (Lubanja) Sokolov
Juan-Carlos Gonzlez Zamora
Stuart Rachels
Alexey Dreev
Vassily Ivanchuk
Viswanathan Anand
Vladimir Chuchelov
Gilberto Hernndez Guerrero
Xie Jun
Vladimir Akopian
Michael Adams
Victor Bologan
1959
1959
1959
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1960
1961
1961
1962
1962
1962
1963
1963
1964
1964
1964
1964
1964
1965
1965
1966
1966
1966
1966
1967
1967
1967
1967
1968
1968
1969
1969
1969
1969
1969
1970
1970
1971
1971
1971

Soviet/Belgian/Turkish (since 2005)
Vienna, Austria (Austrian)
Austrian
Cuernavaca, Mexico
Mexican
Damascus, Syria
American
Hobart, Australia
Australian
Wuxi, China
Chinese
amac, Yugoslavia (Bosnia)
Yugoslavian/Bosnian
Germantown, USA (PA)
American & West German/German
Soviet/German
Veghel, Netherlands (North Brabant)
Dutch
Kutaisi, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet/Georgian
Soviet/Russian
?, USSR (Lithuania)
Soviet/Lithuanian
Tallinn, USSR (Estonia)
Soviet/Estonian/American
?, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Ukrainian/American
Vilnius, USSR (Lithuania)
Soviet/Lithuanian
Watermael-Boitsfor (Brussels), Belgium
Belgian
?, United Kingdom
British/Australian
Wrocaw, Poland (Soviet-controlled)
Polish
Bov, Denmark
Danish
Athens, Greece
Greek
?, Turkey
Turkish/Bosnian
Leigh (Greater Manchester), UK (England)
British
Jakarta, Indonesia
Indonesian
St. Andrew, Jamaica
American
Yemanzhelinsk, USSR (Russia/Kazakhstan)
?, Portugal
Portuguese
New York, USA (NY)
American
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
Soviet/Latvian/American
Asker, Norway
Norwegian
Kazan, USSR (Tartarstan)
Soviet/Russian/American
St. Petersburg, USSR (Russian)
Soviet
Jajce, Yugoslavia (Bosnia)
Yugoslavian/Bosnian/Dutch
?, Cuba
Mexico
Birmingham, USA (AL)
American
Stavropol, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Kopychyntsi, USSR (Ukraine)
Soviet/Ukrainian
Mayiladuthurai, India
Indian
?, USSR
Soviet/Belgian
bano, Mexico
Mexican
Baoding, China
Chinese
Baku, USSR (Armenia)
Soviet/Armenian
Truro, UK (Cornwall)
British
Chiinu, USSR (Moldova)
Soviet/Moldovan (since 1992)
Russian?
Austrian
Mexican/?
Syrian/English
English?
Chinese
Bosnian
German
known for: grandmaster who tries to hustle Vinnie in SFBF
Russian
Dutch
Georgian
Russian?
Lithuanian
Estonian
Ukrainian`````
Lithuanian
Belgian? Flemish?
?
Polish
Danish
Greek
Bosnian
English
lost 1993 Classical WC match to Kasparov
Indonesian
first Indonesian Grandmaster
Jamaican (Black)
first Black Grandmaster
Russian
Portuguese
Greek?/?
Latvian? or Jewish?
Norwegian
FIDE IGM of Chess and former pro. soccer player
Russian? Tartar?
Moldovan
Bosnian
Hispanic
?
Russian
Ukrainian
lost 2002 FIDE WC match to Ponomariov
Indian
Classical WC (2007-2013); (FIDE) 2000-2002
Russian
Hispanic
Chinese
Armenian
lost 1999 FIDE WC match to Khalifman
English?/Welch?
lost 2004 FIDE WC match to Kasimdzhanov
Moldovan
Alexei Shirov
Loek van Wely
arnas ulskis
Samir Mohammad
Kangugi wa Karanja (K.K.)
Peter Heine Nielsen
Julio Becerra Rivero
Gata Kamsky
Sergei Rublevsky
Alexander Onischuk
Veselin Topalov
1975
Vladimir Kramnik
Zoltn Almsi
Ioannis Papaioannou
Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu
Vadim Zvjaginsev
Alexander Morozevich
Jeff Sarwer
Hristos Banikas
Sergei Movsesian
Peter Leko
Rustam Kasimdzhanov
Erald Dervishi
Vladimir Malakhov
Dragan olak
Bator Sambuev
Krishnan Sasikiran (Sasi)
Pter cs
Diego Flores
Lzaro Bruzn (Batista)
Francisco Vallejo Pons
Robert Gwaze
Dimitrios Mastrovasilis
tienne Bacrot
Viktorija milyt [fem]
Ruslan Ponomariov
Alexander Grischuk
115
1972 Riga, USSR (Latvia)

Soviet/Latvian & Spanish115
Latvian? or Jewish?
lost 2000 FIDE WC match
1972 Heesch, Netherlands
Dutch
Dutch
1972 Kdainiai, USSR (Lithuania)
Soviet/Lithuanian
Lithuanian
1973 ?, Syria
Syrian
Syrian
American & Kenyan (rep. USA) 116
Kenyan (Black)117
1973 Holstebro, Denmark
Danish
Danish
1973 ?, Cuba
Cuban/American
Cuban
1974 Novokuznetsk, USSR (Russia)
American (since 1989)
Tartar
lost 1996 FIDE WC match to Karpov
1974 Kurgan, USSR (Russia)
Russian
1975 Sevastopol, USSR (Crimea)
Ukrainian (92-02)/American (since 2002)
Ukrainian?
Rousse, Bulgaria (Soviet-controlled)
Bulgarian
Bulgarian
2005-2006 FIDE World Champion
1975 Tuapse, USSR (Russia)
Ukrainian/Russian
1976 Budapest, Hungary (Soviet-controlled)
Hungarian
Hungarian
1976 ?, Greece
Greek
Greek
1976 Braov, Romania (Soviet-controlled)
Romanian/German
Romanian
1976 Moscow, USSR (Russia )
Russian
Russian
Russian
Russian
1978 Kinston, Canada
Canadian & Finnish
?
known for: Joshs nemesis in Searching for Bobby Fischer
1978 Salonica, Greece
Greek
Greek
1978 Tbilisi, USSR (Georgia)
Soviet/Georgian/Armenian/Czech/Slovak118
Armenian
1979 Subotica, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
Hungarian
Croatian?/?
lost 2004 Classical WC match to Kramnik
1979 Tashkent, USSR (Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistani
Uzbek
2004-2005 FIDE World Champion119
1979 Durrs, Albania
Albanian
Albanian
1980 Ivanovo, USSR (Russia)
Soviet/Russian
Russian
1980 ?, Yugoslavia (Serbia)
Yugoslavian/Turkish (since 2011)
Serbian? Turkish?
1980 ?, USSR (Russia)
Canadian
Russian
1981 Chennai, India
Indian
Indian
1981 Eger, Hungary
Hungarian
Hungarian
1982 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Spanish/Argentinean
Spanish
1982 Las Tunas, Cuba
Cuban
Hispanic
1982 Es Castell, Spain (Minorca)
Spanish
Spanish
1982 Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwean
Zimbabwean (Black)
1983 ?, Greece
Greek
Greek
1983 Lille, France
French
French?
1983 iauliai, USSR (Lithuania)
Soviet/Lithuanian
Lithuanian
1983 Horlivka (Gorlovka), USSR (Ukraine)
Ukrainian
Ukrainian
2002-2004 FIDE World Champion
Russian
Russian
Shirov obtained Latvian citizenship upon the dissolution of the USSR, then he obtained dual Latvian-Spanish citizenship when he married his first wife, who was a Spanish citizen. Internationally he represented the USSR until 1991, Latvia
from 1992-1993, Spain from 1994-2010, and then he went back again to representing Latvia from 2011-present.
116
Karanja represented the USA until 1990, when he quit competitive chess. He now resides in Kenya. Both of his parents were born in Kenya, were of full Kenyan descent, and were Kenyan diplomats.
117
Due to racism, Karanja was initially not selected to represent the USA at the 1986 Under-14 World Championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico (despite Karanjas obviously being the best American player under 14 at the time); however, GM Lev
Alburt (fully Jewish, born in the USSR, defected to the USA) interceded, agreed to coach Karanja, and saw to it that Karanja was selected to represent the USA. In 1986, Jol Lautier from France went on to win the Boys Under-14 tournament
and a young Sofia Polgr from Soviet-controlled Hungary won the Girls Under-14 Tournament.
118
Movesian took Georgian citizenship upon the dissolution of the USSR (1992), but then switched citizenship to his ethnic homeland of Armenia (1995). He played for the Czech Republic from 1996-2001, but then switched to playing for the
Slovak Republic in 2002 due to the poor playing situation in the Czech Republic. However, as of 2010-present, he has again been playing for Armenia.
119
See Note Error: Reference source not found, above.
Leinier Domnguez Prez

Varuzhan Akobian
Dmitry Jakovenko
Pavel Eljanov
Ni Hua
Baadur Jobava
Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami
Tigran L. Petrosian
Luke McShane
Evgeny Alekseev
Farai Mandizha
Bu Xiangzhi
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
David Navara
Zahar Efimenko
Arkadij Naiditsch
Anton Korobov
Andrei Volokitin
Pendyala Harikrishna
Vugar Gashimov
Alexey Kim
Sandro Mareco
Susanto Megaranto
Hikaru Nakamura
Nikita Vitiugov
Evgeny Tomashevsky
Humpy Koneru [fem]
Wang Yue
Radosaw Wojtaszek
Alexandr Fier
Yuri Vovk
Markus Ragger
Bassem Amin
Wang Hao
Li Chao
Aleksandr Lenderman
Kenny Solomon
Ali Syed Ahmad
Yuriy Kuzubov
Magnus Carlsen
Jon Ludvig Hammer
Maxime Vachier-Lagrave
David Wei Liang Howell
Dmitry Andreikin
Sergey Karjakin
Nguyn Ngc Trng Sn
1983
1983
1983
1983
1983
1983
1983
1984
1984
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1985
1986
1986
1986
1986
1987
1987
1987
1987
1987
1987
1987
1987
1988
1988
1988
1988
1989
1989
1989
1989
1990
1990
1990
1990
1990
1990
1990
1990
1990
Havana, Cuba
Omsk, USSR (Russia)
Khakiv, USSR (Ukraine)
Shanhai area?, China
Gali, USSR (Georgia)
Tehran, Iran
London, England
?, Zimbabwe
Qingdao, China
Sumgayit, USSR (Azerbaijan)
Prague, Czecheslovakia (Soviet-controlled)
Makiivka, USSR (Ukraine)
Riga, USSR (Latvia)
Kemerovo, USSR (Russia)
Guntur, India
?, USSR (Uzbekistan)
?, Argentina
Indramayu, Indonesia
Osaka, Japan
Saratov, USSR (Russia)
Gudivada, India
Taiyuan, China
Elblg, Poland
Joinville, Brazil
Klagenfurt, Austria
?, Egypt
Harbin, China
Taiyuan, China
Mitchells Plain, South Africa
?, Pakistan
?, USSR (Ukraine)
Tnsberg, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Nogent-sur-Marne, France
Eastbourne, UK (England)
Ryazan, USSR (Russia)
Simferopol, USSR (Ukraine)
Rch Gi, Vietnam
Cuban
Armenia/America (rep. USA since 2003)
Soviet/Russian
Soviet/Ukrainian
Chinese
Georgian
Iranian
Soviet/Armenian
British
Russian
Zimbabwean/American?
Chinese
Azerbaijani
Czech
Ukrainian
Latvian/German (since 1997)/Azerbaijani
Ukrainian
Ukrainian
Indian
Azerbaijani
Uzbekistani/South Korean
Argentinean
Indonesian
American
Russian
Indian
Chinese
Polish
Brazilian
Ukrainian
Austrian
Egyptian
Chinese
Chinese
American
South African
Pakistani
Ukrainian
Norwegian
Norwegian
French
British
Russian
Ukrainian/Russian (since 2009)
Vietnamese
Hispanic
Armenian
Russian
Ukrainian
Chinese
Georgian
Iranian
Armenian
Irish?/Scottish?/English?
Russian
Zimbabwean (Black)
Chinese
Azerbaijani
Czech
Ukrainian
Latvian? German?
Ukrainian
Ukrainian
Indian
Azerbaijani
died in Germany at the age of 27 due to a brain tumor
Korean
Hispanic
Indonesian
Japanese
Russian
Russian
Indian
Chinese
Polish
Brazilian
Ukrainian
Austrian
Egyptian
Chinese? Manchu?
Chinese
Russian? Jewish?
South African (Black)
Pakistani
Ukrainian
Norwegian
Classical WC (2013-present)
Norwegian
2nded Carlsen during the 2013 WC Match
French
Singaporean/English
Russian
Ukrainian
Vietnamese
Wang Puchen
L Quang Lim
Robert Hess
Ding Liren
Baskaran Adhiban
Fabiano Caruana
Mustafa Ylmaz
Anton Kovalyov
Sanan Sjugirov
Phiona Mutesi [fem]
A.R. Saleh Salem
Nils Grandelius
Wesley So
Parimarjan Negi
Alexander Ipatov
Dariusz wiercz
Anish Giri
Ray Robson
Yu Yangyi
Hou Yifan [fem]
Vidit Santosh Gujrathi
Ringoir Tanguy
Jorge Cori
David Antn Guijarro
Ivan Bukavshin
Lu Shanglei
Pouya Idani
Richrd Rapport
Jan-Krzysztof Duda
Wei Yi
Jei-Chen Ho
Samuel Sevian
1990
1991
1991
1992
1992
1992
1992
1992
1993
1993
1993
1993
1993
1993
1993
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1994
1995
1995
1995
1995
1995
1996
1998
1999
2000
2000
?, China
Si Gn, Vietnam
New York, USA (NY)
Wenzhou, China
?, India
Miami, USA (FL)
Kastamonu, Turkey
Kharkiv, Ukraine
Elista, Russian Federation
Katwe, Uganda
?, United Arab Emirates (resides in Abu Dhabi)
Lund, Sweden
Bacoor, Philippines
Uttarakhand, India
Lviv, Ukraine
Tarnowskie Gry, Poland (Silesian Poland)
St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Guam, USA (later, St. Petersburg, FL, USA)
Huangshi, China
Xinghua, China
Nashik, India
Wetteren, Belgium (Flanders)
?, Peru
?, Spain (Murcia)
Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation
Shenyang, China
?, Iran
Szombathely, Hungary
Krakw, Poland
Wuxi, China
?, Taiwan
Coming, USA (NY)
New Zealander
Vietnamese
American
Chinese
Indian
Italian & American (rep. USA since 2015)
Turkish
Ukrainian/Canadian
Russian
Ugandan
Emirati
Swedish
Filipino & American (rep. USA since 2014)
Indian
Ukrainian/Spanish/Turkish
Polish
Dutch (since 2008)
American
Chinese
Chinese
Indian
Belgian
Peruvian
Spanish
Russian
Chinese
Iranian
Hungarian
Polish
Chinese
Taiwanese
American
Chinese
Vietnamese
?
Chinese
Indian
Italian
Turkish
Ukrainian
?
Ugandan (Black)
known for: The Queen of Katwe by Tim Crothers
Arabian
Swedish
Filipino
Indian
Ukrainian
Polish
Nepalese/Russian
Pacific Islander/Russian
Chinese
Chinese
Indian
Dutch? Belgian?
Hispanic
Spanish
Russian
Chinese? Manchu?
Iranian
Hungarian
Polish
Chinese
Chinese (Taipei)
Armenian
Fully Russian Chess Greats:

Chigorin
Might have been of Jewish descent; never held any kind of title; lost 2 WC matches to Lasker (fully Jewish)
Alekhine
Played for France (left Russia due to Russian Revolution); only got to play Capablanca in 1920 for the Title because Rubenstein (fully Jewish) and Nimzowitsch (fully Jewish) were unable to raise the
$10,000 sum needed for Capablanca to agree to the match; never defended against Capablanca; completely ducked Nimzowitsch, Rubenstein, and then Flohr (fully Jewish)!;
played Title matches only against Euwe (he lost one of two matches) and Efim Bogolyubov (a former Ukrainian citizen of the Russian Empire turned citizen of the Nazi Empire); played the second match
(second and last defense of the Title) with Bogolyubov in a 10 city jaunt across Nazi Germany; was anti-Semitic and wrote several vicious hate articles denouncing the Jews while France was under Nazi
control such as his essay on Aryan and Jewish Chess (which, despite his lies to the contrary, were later found written in his own hand upon his death due to alcoholism: he chocked on a piece of meat
while drunk); nevertheless, his last and only long-term wife was fully Jewish
[Spassky]
Mother reportedly Jewish; won Title from Petrosian (fully Armenian); lost Title on next cycle to Fischer (fully Jewish)
Karpov
Never played Fischer (fully Jewish) for Title; received Title by default instead of Korchnoi (mostly Jewish) due to a disputed one point victory over Korchnoi in the Final of the 1974 Candidates
Tournament; defended Title twice against an ailing Korchnoi (mostly Jewish) who, due to anti-Semitism, had to flee to the Netherlands and later obtain Swiss citizenship just to get Title shots and who was
then too old to beat Karpov in either of their World Championship matches while suffering psychologically under the weight of his illegally imprisoned son; lost Title as well as 3 rematches to Weinstein
[Kasparov] (half Jewish)
Grischuk
Never held any kind of Title; lost 2009 Candidates Final to Boris Gelfand (fully Jewish Israeli citizen)
Jewish or half Jewish Chess Greats:
Steinitz
Zuckertort
Lasker
Tarrasch
Rubinstein
Tartakower
Nimzowitsch
Flohr
Bronstein
Botvinnik
Smyslov [half Russian]
Tal
Taimanov
Polugaevsky
Korchnoi
[Spassky] [possibly half Jewish]
Fischer
J. Pulgar [best female ever]
Kasparov (Weinstein) [half Armenian]
Khalifman
Gelfand
Aronian [half Armenian]
Radjabov (Sheinin) [half Azerbaijani]
Armenian or Half Armenian Chess Masters:
Petrosian [born in SSR of Georgia; of full Armenian descent; competed in (SSR) Armenian championships as well as Soviet championships; competed internationally for the Soviet Union]
Kasparov (Weinstein) [half Jewish]
Aronian [half Jewish]
Vladimir Hakobyan (Akopian)
Sergei Movsesian [born in SSR of Georgia; of full Armenian descent; now competes for Armenia]
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov
Samuel Sevian [born in and competes for USA; both parents were born in SSR of Armenia and are of Armenian descent]
Semitic: Ashkenazic Jews and Sephardic Jews from Europe, BMP, Israel; UAE; Syria
South and East Asian: Pakistan, India, Nepal; Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam; China, Taiwan; Mongolia, Korea, Japan; Pacific Islands
Turkic: Turkey; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, [Tartarstan]
Caucasian: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan
Germanic: Netherlands; Austria, Germany; Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland; [Flanders]
Frankish: France, Belgium
Romanian: Romania, Moldova
Celtic and Anglo-Saxon: Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand
Iberian, Italic, and Greek (N Mediterranean): Catalonia, Spain, Portugal; Naples, N Italy; Greece
Hispanic: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Mexico; Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Columbia
Slavic: Czech Rep., Slovak Rep., Poland; Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Bulgaria; Lithuania, Latvia; Russia, Belarus, Ukraine
Uralic: Finland, Estonia; Hungary
N African: Egypt
Black: Kenya/USA, Jamaica/USA, Barbados, Zimbabwe, Uganda
Female: Gisela Kahn Gresser; Mona May Kariff; Irina Levitina; 3 Polgar Sisters; Alla Kushnir; Anna Akhsharumova; Ester Epstein; Nana Alexandria; Vera Menchik; Nona Gaprindashvili; Jana Bellin; Maia Chiburdanidze;
Viktorija milyt; Humpy Koneru; Hou Yifan; Tatiana Zatulovskaya; Phiona Mutesi; Xie Jun; Jacqueline Piatigorsky; [Miyoko Watai]
Jewish/Islamic: BMP
Jewish: Israel
Islamic: Bosnia, Albania; Turkey; Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, [Tartarstan]; [India], Pakistan; Indonesia; Azerbaijan (Shiite), Iran (Shiite); Egypt; UAE; Syria; [Kenya], [Uganda]
Buddhist, etc.: Nepal, [China], [Korea]
Shinto: Japan
Hindu, etc.: India
Catholic Christian: Italy, Austria, Poland, Ireland, etc. . .; Mexico, etc. . .; the Philippines
Protestant Christian: Germany, etc. . .; UK, etc . . .; USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc.
Anamist?: Kenya?, South Africa?
Atheist?: USSR?, China?
N African: Egypt
SS Africa: [Kenya], South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda
North American and Caribbean: Canada, USA, Mexico; Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico
South American: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Columbia
W European: Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium
C European: Italy, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic
Scandinavian: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland
E European: Romania, Moldova; Slovakia, Poland, Belarus, the Ukraine, Russia
Baltic: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia
Balkan: Greece; Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Bulgaria
Caucasian: Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan
W Asian: UAE, Israel, Syria, Turkey
C Asian: Iran, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, [Tartarstan], [Siberia]
S Asian: Pakistan, India, Nepal
SE Asian: Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore
E Asian: Mongolia, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea
Oceania: Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands

Famous Chess Players

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Famous Chess Players

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Name

Classical World Champions:

1702 Paris, Kingdom of France

Official World Champions:

Prague, Austrian Empire (Bohemia)

Austrian/American (rep. America)

Played mostly in the UK.

Moscow, USSR (Russia)

Notable ethnically Jewish or half Jewish players:

Birth name Moses Sephardi.

1862 Breslau, Prussian Empire37

Died in the Holocaust in 1943; 2nded Lasker during 1908 WC

Now Wrocaw, Poland.

Vra, Austria-Hungary (Serbia)

Orthodox Christian religion; Jewish descent.

Paulino (Paulin) Frydman

Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland)

Killed by the Nazis in 1941

known for: Abrahams Defense of the Semi-Slav

Died in a Nazi concentration camp in Majdanek (KL Lublin) in 1942

Alekhines second in the 1935 WC Match with Euwe

Killed by the Nazis in 1943

Stringenau, German Empire

New York, USA (NY)

Erfurt, East Germany (Soviet-controlled)

Frunze, USSR (Tajikistan)

Sofia Polgr [fem]

Budapest Hungary (Soviet-controlled)

Notable ethnically non-Jewish players:

Hungarian/Israeli and Canadian82

married to Yona Kosashvili

main character in Searching for Bobby Fischer

strongest female chess player ever83

wrote first manuscript mentioning pawns two square move

Played heavily in France and the UK; published in French.

Mainz, Prussia (Germany)

Now Wrocaw, Poland.

Vienna?, Austria-Hungary (Austria)

1910 Prague, Austria-Hungary (Bohemia)

Now Aktobe, Kazakhstan.

Now Podgorica, Montenegro.

Subotica, Yugoslavia (Serbia)

Bucharest, Romania (Soviet-controlled)

Kharkiv, USSR (Ukraine)

1972 Riga, USSR (Latvia)

Leinier Domnguez Prez

Fully Russian Chess Greats:

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