In the last list of the top Grandmasters in each country series, we went over the best Greek Chess players. Now in this article, we’re going through the ten best Israeli Chess players from Israel. We’re going in order from the tenth highest FIDE rated player to the number one spot.
10) Evgeny Postny
Full name: Postny, Evgeny
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2002
International Master (IM) 2000
Born: 1981
Federation: Israel
World Ranking: 422
Rapid: 2461
Blitz: 2521
Classical (Std): 2552
Profiles
At the age of five, Postny’s father taught him chess. He began competing at the age of eight and achieved success quickly. As a junior, he won the under 14 championship as well as medals in international events such as the World and European youth championships; he also earned three medals throughout his early career. In 2001, the 18-year-old Postny won Israel’s under-20 (junior) title and became a grandmaster after making his first grandmaster norm.
9) Viktor Mikhalevski
Full name: Mikhalevski, Victor
Title: N/A
Born: 1972
Federation: Israel
World Ranking: 389
Rapid: 2369
Blitz: 2577
Classical (Std): 2559
Profiles
Victor Mikhalevski was born in Belarus but now lives in Israel. He won the Israeli championship at the ages of 20 and 21 in 1991 and 1992. In 1996, he was dubbed GM. In 2002, he won first prize at the 1st International tournament in El Salvador with 7.5 out of 9 points. In 2007, he took home first place in the Calvia International Open tournament and, in 2010, the Calgary International Chess Classic.
8) Boris Avrukh
Full name: Avrukh, Boris
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1997
International Master (IM) 1993
Born: 1978
Federation: Israel
World Ranking:413
Rapid: 2552
Blitz: 2625
Classical (Std): 2567
Profiles
Boris Leonidovich Avrukh, who was raised in Kazakhstan, was the world under-12 champion in 1990. Since 1998, he has played for Israel at every Olympiad and won the Israeli Championship twice (2000, 2008). Avrukh is a Grandmaster and a FIDE Senior Trainer. He is one of several former Soviet players who have represented Israel in the highest international levels of chess. He now resides in the Chicago area. In 2012, he placed second at the Reykjavik Open (2012).
7) Michael Roiz
Full name: Roiz, MichaelTitle: Grandmaster (GM) 2003
International Master (IM) 2000
Born: 1983
Federation: Israel
World Ranking:286
Rapid: 2544
Blitz: 2593
Classical (Std): 2581
Profiles
Russia is where Michael Roiz was born. He was seven years old when he first learned chess, and in 1995 his family fled to Israel, where he still resides. He was promoted to GM in 2003, and in 1999 he earned the IM title. He has been a member of the Israeli national team since 2004. During the European Team Championships in 2007, he won an individual silver medal for board three with a 2855 score.
6) Maxim Rodshtein
Full name: Rodshtein, Maxim
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2007
International Master (IM) 2005
Born: 1989
Federation: Israel
World Ranking:263
Rapid: 2624
Blitz: 2555
Classical (Std): 2591
Profiles
Rodshtein was an Israeli Air Force veteran. He is a Grandmaster. He is a former Israeli U-16 world champion (2004), Israel’s 2006 champion, and tiebreaker loser in 2008. In 2010, he finished second in the Politiken Cup. At the Olympiad (2008) in Dresden, he won team bronze for Israel at the Chess Olympiad (2010). He finished fourth at the Aeroflot Open (2012). 2013 was his breakthrough year as a professional chess player when he won at Unive Open (2013).
5) Boris Alterman
Full name: Alterman, Boris
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1992
International Master (IM) 1991
Born: 1970
Federation: Israel
World Ranking:203
Rapid: 2601
Blitz: Not rated
Classical (Std): 2608
Profiles
From the age of 7, he began playing chess. His most significant career accomplishments include being awarded the IM title in 1991 and the GM title in 1992. At the age of 15, he won the Ukrainian under 18 Junior Chess Championship in 1985. In 1987 he shared first place in the Soviet Junior Chess Championship, regarded as the best. He is a part of Deep Junior’s chess program advisory board. Garry Kasparov’s runner-up in his internet duel against the world (Kasparov vs. The World, 1999).
4) Ilia Smirin
Full name: Smirin, Ilia
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1990
International Master (IM) 1989
Born: 1968
Federation: Israel
World Ranking: 187
Rapid: 2678
Blitz: 2499
Classical (Std): 2616
Profiles
Smirin was born in Belarus. He was conferred with the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1990. He began his chess career during the existence of the Soviet Union. Still, he moved to Israel in 1992 and has been one of the Israeli team’s most prominent members at Olympiads and other international competitions since then. Smirin qualified for the World Cup by winning the European Individual Championships (2014) with a score of 7.5/11, where he bested Romain Edouard in the first round but lost to Teimour Radjabov in the second.
3) Emil Sutovsky
Full name: Sutovsky, Emil
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1996
International Master (IM) 1993
Born: 1977
Federation: Israel
World Ranking: 154
Rapid: 2598
Blitz: 2516
Classical (Std): 2628
Profiles
At the age of four, Sutovsky began learning chess. In 1996, he was granted the title Grandmaster by FIDE. From 1996 to 2014, Sutovsky served as Israel’s representative in nine Chess Olympiads. In the 2010 Chess Olympiad, he won the gold medal for the most exemplary performance on board two with a TPR of 2895 among all participants.
2) Tamir Nabaty
Full name: Nabaty, Tamir
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 2011
International Master (IM) 2010
Born: 1991
Federation: Israel
World Ranking: 98
Rapid: 2636
Blitz: 2627
Classical (Std): 2648
Profiles
Tamir holds the record for most chess retirements. If you add up all of Tamir’s years of activity without considering his retirement intervals, he has never played chess. This makes him the swiftest player to reach GM in history. His first retirement came in 1997, and since then, he’s been quitting every three months. In 2013, Tamir became the Israeli Chess Champion for the first time in Acre, Israel. 2016 allowed him to take home the title again in Tiberias.
1) Boris Gelfand
Full name: Gelfand, Boris
Title: Grandmaster (GM) 1989
International Master (IM) 1987
Born: 1968
Federation: Israel
World Ranking: 55
Rapid: 2648
Blitz: 2650
Classical (Std): 2680
Profiles
Boris Gelfand is widely recognized for his longevity as a player and his ability to maintain his level of play. He’s one of the most seasoned professional chess players globally, having been a contender for the World Championship since he was a kid. He was born in Minsk, Belarus (then part of the Soviet Union), and immigrated to Israel in 1998, where he now lives. Since his surprise main-event in 1991 and culminating with his close, if unsuccessful, the challenge for the world title at the age of 44 in 2012, he has contested every single one of the challenges.
That concludes the list of the ten best Israel Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Indian Chess players or the best Canadian Chess players.
