Raaphi Persitz
Encyclopedia
Raaphi Joseph Arie Persitz (26 July 1934 – 4 February 2009) was an English–Israeli–Swiss chess
master
, financial analyst, financial journalist, and chess writer. Persitz was Israeli Junior Champion
in 1951. He was born in Tel Aviv
, British Mandate of Palestine.
He studied at Balliol College, Oxford
, and represented Oxford University in the annual match against Cambridge University on three occasions (1954, 1955 and 1956). In 1954 he won his individual game in the Oxford-Cambridge match in the morning, playing very quickly in order to be able to travel by train to Swindon
(some 75 miles away) in time to play top board for his county (Oxfordshire
) against Gloucestershire
in the afternoon. He was paired against a former British champion, Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
, and managed to win this game as well.
Persitz played three times for England in the World Student Team Chess Championship.
He won the individual gold medal at Oslo 1954.
Persitz moved from the UK to Israel
, and then to Switzerland
. He played for Israel at fourth board in 14th Chess Olympiad
at Leipzig
1960 (+6 −4 =2).
In 1955/56, he tied for 6-7th in Hastings
(Viktor Korchnoi
and Friðrik Ólafsson
won). In 1958, he played in Haifa
/ Tel Aviv
(Samuel Reshevsky
won). In 1961, he tied for 7-8th in Netanya
(Moshe Czerniak
, Milan Matulović
and Petar Trifunović
won). In 1968/69, he tied for 8-10th in Hastings (Vasily Smyslov
and Svetozar Gligorić
won).
He was also a prolific and entertaining chess writer, contributing articles to a long-running column in British Chess Magazine
entitled The Student's Corner.
Hastings, 1968 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 b6 7.Bd3 a6 8.Qd2 c5 9.d5 e6 10.Nge2 exd5 11.exd5 Nbd7 12.0-0 Ne5 13.b3 Nxd3 14.Qxd3 b5 15.Rae1 Qa5 16.Ng3 Rb8 17.Bd2 Qb6 18.Nce4 Nxe4 19.fxe4 a5 20.Bc3 bxc4 21.bxc4 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Qb2 23.Qxa5 Qd4+ 24.Kh1 Rb2 25.e5 Qxc4 26.e6 Qb4 27.Qc7 Ba6 28.Qxf7+ 1-0
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
Chess master
A chess master is a chess player of such skill that he/she can usually beat chess experts, who themselves typically prevail against most amateurs. Among chess players, the term is often abbreviated to master, the meaning being clear from context....
, financial analyst, financial journalist, and chess writer. Persitz was Israeli Junior 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 1951. He was born in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, British Mandate of Palestine.
He studied at Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College, Oxford
Balliol College , founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England but founded by a family with strong Scottish connections....
, and represented Oxford University in the annual match against Cambridge University on three occasions (1954, 1955 and 1956). In 1954 he won his individual game in the Oxford-Cambridge match in the morning, playing very quickly in order to be able to travel by train to Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
(some 75 miles away) in time to play top board for his county (Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
) against Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
in the afternoon. He was paired against a former British champion, Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander
Conel Hugh O'Donel Alexander, CMG, CBE was an Irish-born British cryptanalyst, chess player, and chess writer. He worked on the German Enigma machine at Bletchley Park during World War II, and was later the head of the cryptanalysis division at GCHQ for over 20 years...
, and managed to win this game as well.
Persitz played three times for England in the World Student Team Chess Championship.
- In 1954, at second board in 1st WST-ch in OsloOsloOslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
(+6 −0 =3); - In 1956, at first board in 3rd WST-ch in UppsalaUppsala- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
(+3 −1 =6); - In 1957, at first board in 4th WST-ch in ReykjavikReykjavíkReykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
(+3 −6 =4).
He won the individual gold medal at Oslo 1954.
Persitz moved from the UK to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and then to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He played for Israel at fourth board in 14th Chess Olympiad
14th Chess Olympiad
The 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:...
at Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig 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...
1960 (+6 −4 =2).
In 1955/56, he tied for 6-7th in Hastings
Hastings International Chess Congress
The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess congress which takes place in Hastings, England, around the turn of the year. The main event is the Hastings Premier tournament, which was traditionally a 10 to 16 player round-robin tournament. In 2004/05 the tournament was played in the...
(Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...
and Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson
Friðrik Ólafsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE.Friðrik was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. A first-time winner of the Icelandic Championship in 1952 and of the Scandinavian Championship a year later, he rapidly became recognised as the strongest Icelandic player of his...
won). In 1958, he played in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
/ Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
(Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel Reshevsky
Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
won). In 1961, he tied for 7-8th in Netanya
Netanya
Netanya is a city in the Northern Centre District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is located north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa between the 'Poleg' stream and Wingate Institute in the south and the 'Avichail' stream in the north.Its of beaches have made the...
(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...
, 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...
and Petar Trifunović
Petar Trifunovic
Dr. Petar Trifunović was an International Grandmaster and Serbian Champion of chess...
won). In 1968/69, he tied for 8-10th in Hastings (Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Smyslov
Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
and 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).
He was also a prolific and entertaining chess writer, contributing articles to a long-running column in British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine
British Chess Magazine is the world's oldest chess magazine in continuous publication. First published in January 1881, it has appeared at monthly intervals ever since. It is frequently known in the chess world as BCM....
entitled The Student's Corner.
Notable chess games
Persitz, Raaphi - Hübner, RobertRobert Hübner
Robert Hübner is a respected German chess Grandmaster, chess writer, and papyrologist . At eighteen, he was joint winner of the West German Chess Championship...
Hastings, 1968 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Be3 b6 7.Bd3 a6 8.Qd2 c5 9.d5 e6 10.Nge2 exd5 11.exd5 Nbd7 12.0-0 Ne5 13.b3 Nxd3 14.Qxd3 b5 15.Rae1 Qa5 16.Ng3 Rb8 17.Bd2 Qb6 18.Nce4 Nxe4 19.fxe4 a5 20.Bc3 bxc4 21.bxc4 Bxc3 22.Qxc3 Qb2 23.Qxa5 Qd4+ 24.Kh1 Rb2 25.e5 Qxc4 26.e6 Qb4 27.Qc7 Ba6 28.Qxf7+ 1-0