Canadian Chess Biographies
Researched, compiled, written and copyright 2000-17 by David Cohen. Last updated: 2019.6.12.
Main web site & contact: Canadian Chess.
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Index - Y
(1925-2000)
Photo: 1951 Canadian Championship, Vancouver.
- City councillor, chairman finance committee, Winnipeg, Manitoba
- City councillor, mayor of West Kildonan, Manitoba
- Lawyer
- 2000 Canadian Chess Hall of Fame
- Holds record for longest time from first to last appearance in the Canadian Championship: 49 years (1937-86)
- Holds record for most consecutive decades appearing in a Canadian Championship: 6 (1930s-1980s)
- 1979 Canadian Open Champion
- 1977 International Arbiter
- 1972 Officer of the Order of Canada; cited as "Canadian Chess champion and Grandmaster"
- 1964 First Grandmaster who grew up and learned to play chess in the British Commonwealth
- 1964 International Grandmaster
- 1956-59 Editor, Canadian Chess Chat
- 1954-81 Chess columnist Winnipeg Free Press
- Top rated Canadian at Year-end 16 times (1954, 1956-66, 1968, 1970-2)
- Author of Chess the Hard Way, 1953; How to Win End-games, 1957; 100 Years of Chess in Canada, 1967
- 1953 First place, Hastings, England
- 1953 British Champion, setting new record for highest score
- 1953 Law degree, Oxford University
- 1952 14th Hoogovens, Beverwijk, Netherlands =3rd 5/9
- Represented Canada at World Championship Interzonal (1948, 1962)
- 1947 Second place, U.S. Open Championship
- 1947 First place, Reykjavik, Iceland
- Two times won Canadian Championship with perfect score of 11/11 (1943, 1959)
- 1942 U.S. Open Champion
- 1942 First place, Ventnor City, USA
- 1941 Canadian Champion at age 16
- Record eight times Canadian Champion (1941, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1953, 1959, 1963, 1965)
- 1939 Highest percentage score on Board 2 at Olympiad Finals (+9 =1)
- Represented Canada at Olympiads (1939, 1954, 1958, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1980)
- 1937 Manitoba Champion
- 1936 Canadian Major Open Champion
- 1936 Canadian Senior Boys Champion
- Learned to play chess at age 8
- 1925 Arrived in Canada (born Brody, Poland)
Defeated future World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, which he later described as "the greatest sense of achievement in life":
D. Abraham Yanofsky - Mikhail Botvinnik
Groningen, Netherlands, Round 15, 1946
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6
8.c3 0-0 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4 13.cd4 Nc6
14.d5 Nb4 15.Bb1 a5 16.Nf1 Bd7 17.Bd2 Rfc8 18.Bxb4 axb4 19.Bd3 Bd8 20.Qd2 Qa5
21.Ne3 b3 22.a3 Qa4 23.Nd1 b4 24.Ne3 bxa3 25.Rxa3 Nxe4 26.Qd1 Qb4
27.Rxb3 Qa4 28.Bc2 Nc5 29.Rc3 Qb4 30.Qb1 g6 31.Rc4 Qb7 32.b4 Na6
33.Rxc8 Rxc8 34.Bd3 Nxb4 35.Re2 Ba5 36.Rb2 Rb8 37.Nd2 Qa7 38.Ndc4 Qc5
39.Nxa5 Qxa5 40.Nc2 Nxd3 41.Rxb8+ Kg7 42.Ne3 Qd2 43.Qf1 Nc5 44.Qd1 Qc3
45.Rb6 Ba4 46.Qf3 Qe1+ 47.Kh2 f5 48.Rxd6 f4 49.Nf5+ Kf7 50.Qg4 Ne4
51.Qh4 gxf5 52.Qxh7+ Ke8 53.Qg8+ 1-0
Drew future World Champion Robert Fischer:
Robert Fischer - D. Abraham Yanofsky
Nethanya, Israel, Round 12, 1968
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Qb3 Bg7 7. cxd5 O-O
8. Be2 Na6 9. Bg5 Qb6 10. Qxb6 axb6 11. a3 Rd8 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Rd1 Bf5
14. Bc4 Rac8 15. Bb3 b5 16. Nf3 b4 17. axb4 Nxb4 18. Ke2 Bc2 19. Bxc2 Nxc2
20. Kd3 Nb4+ 21. Ke4 Rd6 22. Ne5 Bg7 23. g4 f5+ 24. gxf5 gxf5+ 25. Kf4 Rf8
26. Rhg1 Nxd5+ 27. Nxd5 Rxd5 28. Nf3 Kh8 29. Rge1 Bf6 30. Ne5 e6 31. h4 Rc8
32. Nf7+ Kg7 33. Ng5 Bxg5+ 34. Kxg5 Rc6 35. Re5 Rcd6 36. Rxd5 Rxd5 37. f4 Rb5
38. Rd2 Rb3 39. d5 h6+ 40. Kh5 exd5 41. Rxd5 Rxb2 42. Rd7+ Kf6
43. Rd6+ Kf7 44. Rxh6 Rg2 45. Rb6 Rg4 46. Rxb7+ Kf6
1/2-1/2
D. Abraham Yanofsky's most famous game, and the most famous game played
by a Canadian:
D. Abraham Yanofsky (Canada) - A. I. Dulanto (Peru)
Olympiad, Board 1, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Preliminary Round 7, 1939.08.30
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nf3 Be7
7. Nxf6+ Nxf6 8. Bd3 c5 9. dxc5 Qa5+ 10. c3 Qxc5 11. O-O O-O
12. Re1 Rd8 13. Ne5 b6 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. Bxh7+ Kf8 16. Qh5 Bxe5
17. Rxe5 Qc7 18. Be4 Bb7 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. Qh8+ Ke7 21. Qxg7 Rg8
22. Rxe6+ Kxe6 23. Re1+ Kd6 24. Qf6+ Kc5 25. Re5+ Kc4 26. b3+ Kd3
27. Qd6+ Kc2 28. Re2+ 1-0
Sources: family of Frank Anderson (photo); Chess Federation of Canada holdings by Library and Archives Canada;
The Games of D.A. Yanofsky by David J. Ross, 1985; En Passant 59, 1983.03-04;
Governor General of Canada.
Research note: The first Grandmaster in the British Commonwealth was Jacques Mieses, who became a British citizen late in life, then received the title in 1950.
- U.S. Inter-collegiate Champion 1946
(1918-99)
- 2019 Elected to Canadian Chess Hall of Fame
- 1951 8th place Canadian Championship
- 1947 4th place Canadian Championship
- 1945 Canadian Champion
- 1945 Canadian Correspondence Champion
- 1943 Canadian Correspondence Champion
- 1941 7th place Canadian Championship
- 1941 Canadian Correspondence Champion
- 1940 4th place Canadian Championship
- 1940 Canadian Correspondence Champion
- 1939 Canadian Correspondence Champion
- 1938 Canadian Correspondence Chess Association Champion
- Many times champion of Regina and of Saskatchewan
- Wrote chess column in the Saskatchewan Farmer for many years
Contributor: Knut Neven
Photo: 2004 Canadian Championship, Toronto. Copyright 2004 by the photographer David Cohen.
- FIDE Master 2003
- Represented Canada at Olympiad 2000
- Board 1, University of Minnesota, Pan-American Intercollegiate Team
Champions 1992
Contributor (biography): Jack Yoos.
Photo: copyright 2014 by Yuanling Yuan.
- 2017 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2016 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2016 Represented Canada at Women's Olympiad; 8.5/10 was most points and highest percentage of all players on Board 2
- 2014 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2014 Represented Canada at Women's Olympiad
- 2013 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2012 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2012 Ontario Volunteer Service Award (Youth)
- 2011 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2010 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2010 Represented Canada at Women's Olympiad
- 2010 Highest rated female Canadian ever with CFC rating of 2382
- 2009 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2009 Founded 'Chess in the Library' program
- 2009 Awarded Woman International Master title
- 2008 Top rated female Canadian at Year-end
- 2008 Represented Canada at Women's Olympiad
- 2008 Awarded Woman FIDE Master title
- 2008 Woman International Master Norm, 12th North American FIDE Invitational, Chicago, USA
- 2008 2nd place, Pan-American Women's Championship; Woman International Master Norm
- 2008 Qualified Canadian National Master title; at age 13, youngest female to qualify
- 2007 Toronto Junior Champion
- 2007 Ontario High School Champion (while in Grade 7)
- 2007 Toronto High School Champion (while in Grade 7)
- 2003 Represented Canada at World Girls Under-10 Championship, 10th place
- 2003 Canadian Girls Under-10 Champion
Contributor (photo): William Yuan.