Josif Israel Zilber (, ; born June 25, 1933) is a Latvian chess player who won the

Latvian Chess Championship The Latvian Chess Championship () is the annual national chess tournament of Latvia among men and women players, which was established in 1924. It is organized by the Latvian Chess Federation (), previously - Latvian Chess Union (). Histor ...

in 1958.

Latvia chess player

Zilber was born 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 ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. He achieved excellent results during the period 1950 to 1973 when he lived in Soviet-occupied Latvia. He represented the Latvian SSR in Soviet Team juniors chess championships in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 1951 at first board (5½/9). He played in

finals in: * 1950 (6th place) * 1951 (8th place) * 1952 (4th place) * 1953 (9th place) * 1954 (7th place) * 1955 (6th place) * 1956 (2nd place) * 1957 (4th place) * 1958 (1st place, ahead

Aivars Gipslis Aivars Gipslis (February 8, 1937 – April 13, 2000) was a Latvian chess player, writer, editor and coach, who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster and the ICCF title of Correspondence Chess Grandmaster. Chess biography Born in Riga, he was ch ...

and

Mikhail Tal Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely regarded as Comparison of top chess players throughout history, one ...

) * 1961 (4th place) * 1962 (2nd place) * 1963 (5th place) * 1964 (3rd place) * 1972 (2nd place) * 1973 (9th place) He was

champion in 1962 and 1974, and "Daugava" champion in 1962 and won second place in 1965. In the Championship of the USSR he reached semifinals in 1956, 1957, 1958, and 1962. Zilber also represented the Latvian SSR in Soviet Team chess championships in 1953 (second place at seventh board: +4−1=2), 1955 (at fourth board: +2−2=5), 1958 (at first board: +1−5=1), 1960 (at fifth board: 2½/7), 1962 (second place at fourth board: +4−1=3), and 1963 (at fourth board: 6/9). Zilber played in the Soviet Team chess cup for team "Daugava" at fifth board in 1961 (+0−3=3) and 1964 (+0−1=0).

US career

After 1974, Zilber immigrated first to

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and then to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. In 1979, he played in

Hastings International Chess Congress The Hastings International Chess Congress is an annual chess tournament 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 t ...

; in 1980 Zilber won the Masters Open tournament in Biel and a year later he won

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

tournament. His name can also be found among the participants of

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Benedictine in 1980. However, his life in the United States became fraught with hardship. Zilber would end up homeless on the streets of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

through most of the 1980s and played chess with strangers in

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. The park is operated by the New York City Department o ...

. This setting was the story about the park in the 1993 film ''

Searching for Bobby Fischer ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', released in the United Kingdom as ''Innocent Moves'', is a 1993 American drama film written and directed by Steven Zaillian in his directorial debut. Starring Max Pomeranc in his film debut, Joe Mantegna, Joa ...

''. According to Fred Waitzkin's book ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', IM Zilber was considered the best player in Washington Square Park with the exception of GM

Roman Dzindzichashvili Roman Yakovlevich Dzindzichashvili ( ka, რომან იაკობის-ძე ჯინჯიხაშვილი; pronounced ''jin-jee-khash-VEE-lee''; born May 5, 1944) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American chess player. He was awarded t ...

, and would leave the park whenever Dzindzichashvili would arrive there. Details of Zilber's later years are inconclusive – an unconfirmed story states that during a harsh winter he froze to death. A different theory claims that he is not listed in the

Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) was a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File until 2014. Since 2014, public access to the updated Death Master File has been via the Limit ...

and could still be alive.

Notable games

vs. Zilber, URS 1952. First victory over young Mikhail Tal. *Zilber vs. Mikhail Tal, URS 1958. The deciding battle in the 1958 Latvian Chess Championship. *Zilber vs.

Yasser Seirawan Yasser Seirawan (; born March 24, 1960) is a Syrian-born American chess grandmaster and four-time United States Chess Championship, United States champion. He won the World Junior Chess Championship in 1979. Seirawan is also a published chess au ...

, Hastings 1979/80. A notable match with Yasser Seirawan.

References

External links

* * * *
Israel Zilber
player profile at ChessMetrics.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Zilber, Israel 1933 births Possibly living people Chess players from Riga Latvian Jews Soviet emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Latvian-Jewish descent American people of Latvian-Jewish descent Latvian chess players Soviet chess players Israeli chess players American chess players Jewish chess players