Yosef Porath was a German-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...

 player.

Biography

Yosef Porath was born Heinz Josef Foerder in Germany. He took the name Yosef Porath in Israel. In 1933, he lost his job after the Nazis assumed power in Germany, and moved to Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

. In 1934 he emigrated to Palestine. In April 1935, he tied for 3rd-5th 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...

 (the 2nd Maccabiah Games

1935 Maccabiah Games

The 1935 Maccabiah Games was the second Maccabiah held. These games were held despite official opposition by the British Mandatory government. A total of 28 countries were represented by 1,350 athletes. Delegations from Italy, Belgium, Holland, Turkey, France and South Africa arrived for the first...

, 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...

 won).

Chess career

Yosef Porath competed in the Chess Olympiads twelve times. In 1928, Foerder was a member of the German team at the 2nd Olympiad

2nd Chess Olympiad

The 2nd Chess Olympiad, organized by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs and comprising an open and women's tournament, as well as several events designed to promote the game of chess, took place between July 21 and August 6, 1928 in The Hague, Netherlands.The final results were as...

 in The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. He played several times in Silesian Chess Congress

Silesian Chess Congress

The first Silesian Chess Congress was held in 1922. When the German Chess Federation started in 1877, there were not many regional chess federations. On 19 September 1877 the Breslau Chess Association was founded by amongst others Theodor von Scheve. In 1895 Görlitz and 1899 Liegnitz were...

: shared 1st with Ludwig Schmitt

Ludwig Schmitt

Ludwig Schmitt was a German chess master.Schmitt was born in Augsburg and later lived in Breslau, Prussian Silesia. He won the Silesian Chess Congress in 1927, 1933 and 1934, took 6th in 1930 , and 5th place in 1939 in these events...

 at Gleiwitz 1927; took 2nd, behind Gottlieb Machate

Gottlieb Machate

Gottlieb Machate was a German chess master.He participated several times in Silesian Chess Congresses. In 1926 roku he took 2nd, behind Fritz Sämisch , in Bad Altheide , and won the Silesian Champion title...

, at Reichenbach 1928; and won at Breslau 1930, shared 1st at Bad Salzbrunn 1931, and again won at Ratibor 1932. He also won, ahead of Salo Flohr

Salo Flohr

Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr was a leading Czech and later Soviet chess grandmaster of the mid-20th century, who became a national hero in Czechoslovakia during the 1930s. His name was used to sell many of the luxury products of the time, including Salo Flohr cigarettes, slippers and eau-de-cologne...

, at Bilina 1930.

Porath represented the Palestine team at first board in the 6th Olympiad

6th Chess Olympiad

The 6th 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 16 and August 31, 1935, in Warsaw, Poland...

 at Warsaw 1935, and at second board in the 8th Olympiad

8th Chess Olympiad

The 8th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , comprised an 'open' tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest...

 at Buenos Aires 1939

8th Chess Olympiad

The 8th Chess Olympiad, organised by the Fédération Internationale des Échecs , comprised an 'open' tournament, as well as a Women's World Championship contest...

. He won an individual gold medal (+9 −1 =4) in the last pre-war Olympiad. After World War II, Porath played for the Israeli team in nine consecutive Olympiads from 1952 through 1968. He won the Palestine Championship in 1937 and 1940 (after a play-off), and the Israeli Championship

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 1953, 1957, 1959, and 1963. In 1963, he won the Ulan Bator (zonal tournament). In 1964, he took 21st in Amsterdam (interzonal).

Porath was awarded, along with 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...

, the International Master (IM) title in 1952.

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