Alla Shulimovna Kushnir (; ; 11 August 1941 – 2 August 2013) was a Soviet-born Israeli

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

player. She was awarded the

FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( , ), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national chess federations and acts as the Spor ...

titles of

Woman International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

(WIM) in 1962 and Woman Grandmaster (WGM) in 1976. In 2017, she was inducted into the

World Chess Hall of Fame The World Chess Hall of Fame (WCHOF) is a nonprofit collecting institution in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1984, it features chess exhibits, engages in educational outreach, and maintains a ...

Biography

Alla Kushnir immigrated from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to Israel in 1974.

Chess career

Kushnir was thrice

Women's World Chess Championship The Women's World Chess Championship is a chess match played to determine the Women's World Chess Champion. It has been administered by FIDE since its inception in 1927, unlike the absolute World Chess Championship, which only came under FIDE's ...

Challenger consecutively. She lost matches for the title to

Nona Gaprindashvili Nona Gaprindashvili ( ka, ნონა გაფრინდაშვილი; born 3 May 1941) is a Georgian chess Grandmaster. Noted for her aggressive style of play, she was the women's world chess champion from 1962 to 1978, and in 1978 ...

: * +3 –7 =3 at Riga 1965; * +2 –6 =5 at Tbilisi–Moscow 1969; * +4 –5 =7 at Riga 1972. In tournaments, she took 1st-3rd at

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

Candidates Tournament (joint Milunka Lazarević and Tatiana Zatulovskaya) 1964, won at Beberjik 1967, won at Subotica (Candidates Tournament) 1967, 2nd at Belgrad 1968, tied for 1st-2nd (with Nikolau) at Sinaia 1969, tied for 2nd-3rd (with Vobralova, won by Ivánka) at

Wijk aan Zee Wijk aan Zee (; ) is a village on the coast of the North Sea in the municipality of Beverwijk, the province of North Holland of the Netherlands. The prestigious Tata Steel Chess Tournament (formerly called the Corus chess tournament or the Hoogove ...

1971, won at Belgrad 1971 (ahead Gaprindashvili), won at Moscow 1971, won at Vrnjačka Banja 1973, 3rd at

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

1973 (behind Zatulovskaya and Saunina), won at Roosendaal Interzonal 1976 (joint Akhmilovskaya). Kushnir was a three-time winner of the

Women's Chess Olympiad The Women's Chess Olympiad is an event held by FIDE (the International Chess Federation) since 1957 (every two years since 1972), where national women's teams compete at chess for gold, silver and bronze medals. Since 1976 the Women's Chess Olympia ...

: in 1969 and 1972 she won the tournament as a player in the Soviet team, both times showing the best result at the 2nd board, and in 1976 she won it as a player in the Israeli team, showing the best result at the 1st board. She ended 5th USSR Women's Champion in

Lipetsk Lipetsk (, ), also Romanization of Russian, romanized as Lipeck, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh (river), Voronezh River in the Do ...

(1959), 3rd-4th with Volpert USSR Women's Champion in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

(1961), 2nd-3rd with Volpert USSR Women's Champion in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

(1962), 3rd-4th with Koslovskaya USSR Women's Champion in Baku (1963) (then in the match playoff Kushnir beat Koslovskaya: 4–2), tied 1st place with Ranniku USSR Women's Champion in Beltsy (1970). Kushnir in the match playoff to beat - Ranniku at Moscow (February 1971).

Death

She died in 2013 in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, nine days before her 72nd birthday, from undisclosed causes.Alla Kushnir has passed away in Tel Aviv
, chess-news.ru, 11 August 2013.

References

External links

*
Jews in Sports bio

Obituary (WhyChess.com), with special photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushnir, Alla 1941 births 2013 deaths Chess Woman Grandmasters Israeli female chess players Soviet female chess players Soviet chess players Israeli chess players Jewish chess players Chess Olympiad competitors 20th-century Israeli Jews 20th-century Russian Jews Soviet emigrants to Israel Chess players from Moscow 20th-century Israeli sportswomen

Biography

Chess career

Death

See also

References

External links