Izaak Towbin was a Polish 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 and organizer.

Born in Korets, Ukraine (then Russian Empire) into a Jewish family, he entered a gymnasium

Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...

 in Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 (1910–1918) and then Kiev University. In the early 1920s, he moved to Warsaw where graduated in law from the university, and started his chess career.

Towbin was one of fifteen delegates from throughout the world who signed the proclamation act of the International Chess Federation (originally known as Fédération Internationale des Échecs in French) during 1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

1st unofficial Chess Olympiad

The first Team Chess Tournament had been held by coinciding the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, 12th - 20 July 1924, at Hotel Majestic. The core of the organizing committee were the Frenchmen Pierre Vincent and Alexander Alekhine. Fifty-four players representing 18 countries arrived to Paris...

 at Paris 1924.

He played in several tournaments in Warsaw, and tied for 5-7th in 1922 (the 1st Academic Chess Championship), shared 3rd in 1925 (Stanisław Kohn won), took 9th in 1926 (Abram Blass

Abram Blass

Abram Blass was a Polish-Israeli chess master.Born in Łomża , he moved to the USA, staying from 1911 to 1924. After returning to Poland, he lived in Warsaw. In 1924/25, Blass tied for 3rd-5th in Warsaw . In 1926, he tied for 1st with Paulin Frydman in Warsaw...

 and Paulin Frydman

Paulino Frydman

Paulino Frydman was a Polish chess master.-Biography:...

 won), tied for 8-9th in 1926/27 (Leon Kremer

Leon Kremer

Leon Kremer was a Polish chess master.He played several times in the Warsaw championships, and won in 1929. He also took 6th in 1925 , took 4th in 1926 , shared 1st with Kohn in 1927, tied for 6-8th in 1928 , and took 3rd in 1930 .He twice represented Warsaw in the Polish team championships at...

 and Kohn won), and took 4th in 1929. He also tied for 3rd-4th at Lodz

Lódz

Łódź is the third-largest city in Poland. Located in the central part of the country, it had a population of 742,387 in December 2009. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is approximately south-west of Warsaw...

 1927.

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 lived and died in Warsaw, a victim of the Holocaust.