I learned to play chess at age 9 or so.
Taught me a friend from the neighborhood of my house in Riga, Latvia who was older than me by three years. And I remember the first game I played with him I won.
Later I sometimes played with my uncle Misha, who was rated player in Latvia.
I really liked the game, the depth at which the challenge to find the best move in every game.
So at age 12 I signed up for the chess club which was placed near ice hockey stadium (which is very popular sport in Riga) and my progress was rapid,
So I got the first rank after year (chess players started then with 4-th or 5-th rank) . At 13 we immigrated with my family to Israel - Beer Sheva and here we met Eliyahu Levant -
Chess motivated organizator, who just opened chess circle in Beer Sheva.
I started playing with Beer Sheva team - I played on the first board, Alon Greenfeld on the second and there were also number of other young players, as Rami Tal, Amir Harel.
Then we started to catch first places in all national youth competitions - it was the first step in the club's future reputation over the world.
Games against Abir Har-Even (Robert Hershko former) shortly after I came to Israel. I'm a 14-15 in the picture.
Chess was my main hobby and even beyond that time high school studies to military service.
I was studying by myself out in the literature - the club would not have Coach, who could Contribute me something and did not have computer programs that can learn from them.
Then at the age of 16-17 I achieved the highest levels - including winning the national youth chess championship in 1977, when I was in those years without any question
Leading player in the Israeli youth.
My main competitor was Nir Grinberg, who was two years older than me and won the World Championship U-17!
Despite everything I beat him in the - battle six games after a tough fight and I got the right to represent Israel in the World Championships and European Junior
championship.
After Nir Grinberg past the age of 20 (considered age youth) - I still have not actually competing, the leader of which was Alon Greenfeld, who had 100 rating points less of me.
But later , after I almost completely left the chess , he continued to advance and become one of the top players in the country as soon earned the title Champion of Israel .
An article published in the newspaper "Yediot Aharonot" after winning the youth championship of the country.
I played a number of world youth championships, European championships.
My achievements were not bad (around places 7-13), but my best achievements were always "at home" -
and played with less success away from home.
Playing in Israel, I continued to achieve great results, like playing youth league games for adults (some years I got there though the result of 10 out of 10 - national league - an achievement which may not come again to this day.
Ranked among the first players in Israel Open Championship for adults - including the win against the champion - Nathan Birenboim.
I had good results and 2 medals at the Maccabiah games in which I participated as part of Israel's youth team - medals for team and personal results, when among other wins the most memorable is against Yitzhak Radashkovich -
the member of National team these days.
All these gave me also Israel rating of 2400+points.
Who claims the title game against the World - Viktor Korchnoi exiled from the Soviet Union to Switzerland - shortly before his fateful battle of World championship against Anatoly Karpov .
Generally I had better results in team competitions, such as adults and youth leagues, Maccabiah Games, Students Olympics games, all these competitions had very good results.
I used to spend a long time studying chess, even though it came somewhat at the expense of my grades in school,
but of course did not give up my studies and I had the knowledge that with all my wishness to succeed in chess,
My future is the study and obtaining profession.
Viktor Korchnoi gives the gift - book written by him - to Prime Minister Menachem Begin, the latter organized a reception for the International Chess Festival Beer - Sheva.
On the right - I and the Father.
Unlike other chess players I did not participate in many competitions, but only necessary competitions - such as world and European championships, international competitions organized by Eliyahu Levant in Beer - Sheva and league games.
I always loved the house and therefore the life of a professional chess, traveling nonstop to international competitions abroad , did not attract me.
I play junior world championship. Flowers for my birthday on August 5.
World Junior Championship game against the Russian Yusupov - the candidate to win the competition.
I agreed to a draw after the game was postponed without proceed.
But Mark Dvoretsky, Yusupov's coach showed me a plan that I had a forced win if I would continue the game.
With recruited into the IDF at 18, my progress was stopped to some extent.
Also a lack of time to continue to invest (I received no benefits and consideration of my need to continue to move forward in chess by the military),
Needless to say, so much the athlete's important period in general and in particular is a chess player during his military service at the age of 18-21.
I had to represent the state as a representative of togetherness in world championships and European youth is very important, not actually to have any support for it.
I'm not talking about financial support, I had no expectation of it, but at least support a coach or even the possibility for self practice.
The good side that is that at least the relevant factors learned from the experience and now this situation is not repeated and there is support and consideration in all sports during military service
Press coverage of the championship - a newspaper clipping from "Ma'ariv" - world championship games against the German Lau - my opponent in a difficult position.
I beat this game in a nice way - after only 25 moves forced opponents to surrender.
Towards the end of the military I became interested in computers and software, and I took several courses from the Open University and later with the release from the army immediately enrolled for graduate studies in mathematics and computer science at Ben Gurion University.
Still I continued to play chess "on the back burner," my achievements were still pretty good, but my progress was stopped,
because chess player who wants to advance these levels must invest all his energy and power in practice, study Theory and play many competitions.
Who does not have time for all that likely to stop in certain levels.
And this level for me was the level of senior master (or International - FIDE Master), I got it.
Playing with Samuel Reshevsky - American , who was also vice-world champion in the past.
The game ended in a draw.
At the end of my studies I started working at the Department of Information Systems in "Makhteshim", where I worked for seven years as "head of infrastructure and communications" and later completed the study MBA in information systems management decided to open a private business.
And then I completely left Chess and I didn't touch it until 2000, a year after I closed the private business.
After 10 years of "abstinence" chess I decided that this game somewhere missing.
For a month or two I picked up the chessboard and went on openness and basic things I forgot already.
So I got the surprise of many of my first competition in Petah Tikva Chess active (active chess game is relatively short when every player gets 25 minutes per game, compared with about two hours in a regular game).
There are players knew me from the past, but there were also many players who did not know me at all - especially new emmigrants.
In the Competition also played a number of grandmasters and to everyone's surprise first competition returning after so long I got to do to win and a draw with multiple grandmasters and eventually win third place!
Well, after all I still had a small fire that is not easy to combine the game with a job in computers, which requires a lot of work and learning new technologies continuously from home.
After many years - again meeting with Viktor Korchnoi, despite his advanced age still power the waist ... and head.
Today I continue this method of "playing on the back burner" when I had a number of achievements, including an excellent result National League games on Sunday,
Increases in the finals of the country and the best result was a convincing first place in an international competition in Beer - Sheva in 2005.
These years I also got the three grades required for international master degree.
In FIDE
Congress that held in
October 2013
in Estonia, I received an
official international master
degree.
In 2017 I decided to participate again in the Maccabiah - the 20th Maccabiah held in Jerusalem after I last participated in the Maccabiah 40 years ago and won two medals there.
And this time too - it was a very successful performance and I won a gold medal !
Pictures from Maccabiah 2017.
Pictures from Maccabiah 2017.
With gold medal from Maccabiah 2017.
In 2019 I composed my first etude for publishing (my first composed problem was when I was young, but it was not published).
I liked it very much , so during 2019 I continued to compose many etudes. Some of them got high ranking and even first prizes in
some important international tournaments! I continue to compose studies till now.
You can see my published studies from 2019 here : 2019 studies
And my published studies from 2020 here : 2020 studies
My published studies from 2021 here : 2021 studies
My published studies from 2022 here : 2022 studies
In 2022 I reached my biggest achievement so far - winning the World Cup for chess composition of studies.
