Izak Aloni
Encyclopedia
Izak Aloni (Schächter) was an Israeli chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
master.
Biography
Aloni, born Schächter in BuchachBuchach
Buchach is a small city located on the Strypa River in the Ternopil Oblast of western Ukraine...
, Galicia (then Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
), was twice Lvov (Lemberg, Lwów, Lviv) champion (1936, 1939), and four-times Lvov sub-champion (1931, 1932, 1933, 1938). He played twice in Polish championships
Polish Chess Championship
Individual Polish Chess Championship is the most important Polish chess tournament, aiming at selecting the best chess players in Poland. Based on the results of the tournament , the Polish Chess Federation selects the national and subsequently the olympiad team.The first men's championship took...
. In 1935, he tied for 12-14th in Warsaw (3rd POL-ch; Savielly Tartakower
Savielly Tartakower
Ksawery Tartakower was a leading Polish and French chess Grandmaster. He was also a leading chess journalist of the 1920s and 30s...
won). In 1937, he took 19th in Jurata (4th POL-ch; Tartakower won). In 1938, he won in Kraków (POL-ch elim.).
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he played in Lviv; took 9th in March 1940 ("West Ukrainian" championship, Abram Khavin
Abram Khavin
Abram Leonidovich Khavin was a Ukrainian chess master.In 1937, he took 6th in Kiev .In 1938, he tied for 4-6th in Kiev ....
won), tied for 3rd-5th in August 1940 ("Spartak" Club, Edward Gerstenfeld
Edward Gerstenfeld
Edward Issakovich Gerstenfeld was a Polish chess master.Born into a Jewish family in Lviv, Galicia , he took 3rd, behind Henryk Friedman and Izaak Schächter, in the Lvov City championships in 1933, took 3rd at Lvov 1933 , took 7th in the Lvov City-ch, and won...
won), and tied for 4-5th in the Lviv City championship in March 1941 (Gerstenfeld won). In June 1941, when German-Soviet War was broke out, he as a former Soviet militiaman was sent to Kazakhstan. On September 15, 1941, he was recruited to the 13th Infantry Regiment of the 8th Infantry Division of the Polish Army (commander General Władysław Anders). In August 1942, Anders Army
Anders Army
The Anders Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the period 1941-1942, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders...
was evacuated to Iran. He served in the Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East
Polish Armed Forces in the East refers to military units composed of Poles created in the Soviet Union at the time when the territory of Poland was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in the Second World War....
(Iran, Iraq, Palestine) till January 25, 1945. Finally, he settled in Palestine.
After the war, he was Israeli champion
Israeli Chess Championship
The Israeli Chess Championship is a chess event held every year in Israel.-History:From 1951-1971, the men's and women's championships were held every two years, eventually becoming an annual event...
in 1945, 1961, and 1965. He also played several times in the Tel Aviv City championships. He took 2nd in 1951, and tied for 2nd-4th in 1952, both after Menachem Oren
Menachem Oren
Mieczysław Chwojnik, later known as Dr. Menachem Oren – 1 December 1962, Tel Aviv, Israel) was a Polish-born Israeli chess master and mathematician....
.
Aloni played for Israel in six Chess Olympiad
Chess Olympiad
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...
s.
- In 1952, on fourth board at the 10th Chess Olympiad10th Chess OlympiadThe 10th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 9 and August 31, 1952, in Helsinki, Finland.-References:* OlimpBase...
in HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
(+6 –3 =1). - In 1954, on fourth board at the 11th Chess Olympiad11th Chess OlympiadThe 11th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 4 and September 25, 1954, in Amsterdam, Netherlands...
in AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(+9 –3 =5). - In 1956, on third board at the 12th Chess Olympiad12th Chess OlympiadThe 12th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between August 31 and September 25, 1956, in Moscow, Soviet Union.-References:...
in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
(+8 –5 =4). - In 1958, on third board at the 13th Chess Olympiad13th Chess OlympiadThe 13th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 30 and October 23, 1958, in Munich, West Germany.-References:...
in MunichMunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(+6 –5 =4). - In 1960, on third board at the 14th Chess Olympiad14th Chess OlympiadThe 14th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between October 26 and November 9, 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany.-References:...
in LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
(+7 –4 =4). - In 1962, on second board at the 15th Chess Olympiad15th Chess OlympiadThe 15th Chess Olympiad, organized by the FIDE and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between September 15 and October 10, 1962, in Varna, Bulgaria.-References:* OlimpBase...
in VarnaVarnaVarna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
(+3 –6 =5).
In international tournaments, he tied for 4-5th at Haifa 1958 (Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
won), shared 2nd at Tel Aviv 1960, took 9th in Netanya 1961 (Milan Matulović
Milan Matulovic
Milan Matulović is a chess Grandmaster who was the second or third strongest Yugoslav player for much of the 1960s and 1970s behind Svetozar Gligorić and possibly Borislav Ivkov. He was primarily active before 1977, but has remained an occasional tournament competitor as recently as...
, Petar Trifunović
Petar Trifunovic
Dr. Petar Trifunović was an International Grandmaster and Serbian Champion of chess...
and Moshe Czerniak
Moshe Czerniak
-Biography:In 1930 Moshe Czerniak took ninth at Warsaw in an event won by Paulino Frydman. In 1934 Czerniak emigrated from Poland to Palestine . In April 1935, he tied for 7th–8th in Tel Aviv . He was Palestinian Champion in 1936 and 1938. In April 1939, he played in the First Lasker Chess Club...
won), tied for 6-8th at Tel Aviv 1964, took 10th at Netanya 1964, won at Tel Aviv 1965, tied for 11-14th in Tel Aviv 1966 (Svetozar Gligorić
Svetozar Gligoric
Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...
won), and tied for 12-13th in Netanya 1968 (Robert James Fischer won).
Notable chess games
- Gerhard Pfeiffer vs Izak Aloni, Munich 1958, 13th Olympiad, Semi-Slav Defense, Chigorin Variation, D46, 0-1
- Bogdan Śliwa vs Izak Aloni, Tel Aviv 1966, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation, A30, 0-1
- Izak Aloni vs Moshe Czerniak, ISR-ch 1967, Modern Defense, Averbakh System, A42, 1-0