Israeli Chess Championship

The Israel Chess Federation organizes the Israeli Chess Championship. The National Library of Israel catalog lists The Israel Chess Championship Bulletin as a periodical associated with the federation, documenting the existence of a publication devoted to the competition.[3]

Formats have varied by edition. The 2025 championship was a closed competition of 42 players — 32 men and 10 women — contested over nine Swiss-system rounds. Players received 90 minutes for the first 40 moves and another 30 minutes for the remainder of the game, with a 30-second increment from the first move.[1] The 2025 and 2026 blitz championships each consisted of 12 rounds.[7][8]

Host cities have rotated across Israel. Safed and Arad hosted for the first time in 2021 and 2022, respectively.[6][9] Acre first hosted the championship in 2024, while Eilat became a first-time host in 2025.[10][1] Organizers have partnered with municipalities, schools, and Mifal HaPayis on associated chess activities, and the planned prize fund for the 2025 edition exceeded NIS 100,000.[11][1]

The 2021 championship was held in Safed for the first time and drew 104 players, a participation record at the time. Top-ranked entrant Tamir Nabaty won the open title for the third time, while schools across the city hosted associated chess activities.[6]

In 2022, Arad hosted the championship for the first time, bringing together 42 of Israel’s leading players over nine days.[9] Ido Gorshtein, then 20, won the men’s title with 7.5 points from nine games and no losses. The result took his rating above 2,500 and earned him the grandmaster title.[9] Julia Shvayger scored 7.5 points to win the women’s competition, adding to titles earned in 2018 and 2021.[9]

The championship was held in Acre for the first time in 2024 and drew 132 players, reported as an all-time participation record.[10][2] Twelve players remained in contention before the final day. Grandmaster Ilya Smirin won the men’s title after a concluding contest described as lasting about four hours, followed by Eitan Rosen and defending champion Ido Gorshtein.[2] Marsel Efroimski won the women’s title ahead of Noga Orian and Ronit Levitin, while Nadav Tzemach won the under-18 competition.[2]

The 2025 championship took place at Eilat’s Isrotel Yam Suf hotel from January 19 through January 28. Its closed field included 42 players and 11 grandmasters.[1] Grandmaster Yair Parhov of Beersheba defeated Yeshayahu Tzidkiah in the final round and won with seven points. Yehli Sokolovsky, who had led for much of the tournament, finished second after drawing his final game, and Yinai Ben Ari placed third.[12] In the women’s competition, Marsel Efroimski of Rishon LeZion scored 8.5 points from nine games. Masha Klinova and Dana Kochavi each scored 5.5 points, placing second and third respectively.[12]

The 2026 championship returned to Acre with 142 players and NIS 90,000 in prizes.[13] Nineteen-year-old grandmaster Yehli Sokolovsky of Kiryat Ono won the men’s title unbeaten, recording six wins and three draws. Yeshayahu Tzidkiah finished second with five wins and four draws.[13] Marsel Efroimski won the women’s title.[13] It was her third consecutive championship victory, following her titles in 2024 and 2025.[2][12]

Recent championships have been accompanied by efforts to expand chess participation beyond the tournament field. During the 2021 Safed edition, organizers promoted chess in schools and educational institutions, while the 2022 event included activities at institutions around Arad.[11][9] The Jerusalem Post reported that institutions around Acre also hosted events during the 2024 championship to make chess more accessible to residents of the city and its surroundings.[14]

The 2024 Acre field included 132 players aged 9 to 78, among them children from the Druze villages of Beit Jann and Peki’in.[15] Chess coach Andrei Gurbanov had helped establish clubs in Peki’in, Yirka, and Beit Jann. A previous championship he organized in Peki’in attracted international players, including competitors from Jordan, and nearly 100 Druze players participated in national-championship tryouts there.[15]

Nine-year-old Israel Cohen was the youngest participant in the 2024 Acre championship. He had won the Israeli under-eight title the previous year and entered the tournament against players many decades older.[14] One game reportedly lasted five hours, from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m., before ending in a draw.[15] Gurbanov described the tournament’s wartime significance by saying, “Playing chess during the war shows that we continue to live.”[15]

A National Library of Israel archive entry for the 30 May 1976 issue of the Hebrew newspaper Davar carries the headline “נתן בירנבוים אלוף ישראל בשחמט” — “Nathan Birnbaum, Israeli chess champion.” The entry identifies Birnbaum as a titleholder at that time but provides no further championship details on its accessible catalog page.[4]

Moshe Czerniak (1910–1984), a Warsaw-born chess master who settled in Mandatory Palestine in 1934, was champion of Israel three times.[5] He also promoted chess in the country and represented Israel in international tournaments and chess Olympiads.[5]

Grandmaster Ilya Smirin won the standard Israeli Chess Championship in 1992, 2002, and 2023.[16]

The Israel Chess Federation also holds separate blitz and rapid competitions. The 2025 blitz championship, staged in Afula for the first time, drew 296 players, a record for the event.[7] Yinai Ben Ari won with 10.5 points from 12 rounds, half a point ahead of Ido Gorshtein and Avital Boruchovsky. Noga Orian won the women’s competition with eight points.[7]

Afula hosted the blitz championship again in 2026. Ilya Smirin scored 10 points from 12 rounds and won on tiebreak ahead of Avital Boruchovsky and Michael Klenburg, who also scored 10 points.[8] Noga Orian retained the women’s title with 8.5 points. Fourteen-year-old Eliran Shilon Rahav finished fifth overall with 9.5 points and won the under-18 title.[8] A separate report said an Israeli rapid championship was planned for Holon on September 3 and 4.[16]

The 2024 championship in Acre took place amid war and continuing security tensions in northern Israel.[10] Its opening ceremony included a moment of silence for those killed, a call for the hostages’ release, and an empty chair symbolically reserved for their return.[10]

Israel Chess Federation chair Zvika Barkai said that holding the championship in Acre was intended as a statement of presence in northern Israel.[2] Chess activities were also organized at institutions around Acre as part of an effort to involve the local community and make the game accessible to residents of the city and surrounding area.[14]