Lev Gutman (, ; born 26 September 1945 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 ...

) is a

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 ...

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 ...

i, and German chess grandmaster.

Chess career

At the beginning of his career, Gutman tied for 11–12th at Riga 1967 (LAT-ch;

Jānis Klovāns Jānis Klovāns (April 9, 1935 – October 5, 2010) was a Latvian chess player who held the FIDE title of Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster and the ICCF title of Correspondence Chess Grandmaster. He was a career Officer (armed forces), officer in ...

won), which was the first of many appearances in the Latvian championship; he tied for 5–7th place in 1969, tied for 4–5th in 1971, won in 1972, tied for 7–8th in 1973, took 3rd in 1974, took 4th in 1975, took 2nd in 1976, tied for 2nd–3rd in 1977, tied for 7–9th in 1978, tied for 4–5th in 1979. In 1972 he won, equal with

Alvis Vītoliņš Alvis Vītoliņš (sometimes anglicised as Alvis Vitolins or Vitolinsh; 15 June 1946, in Sigulda – 16 February 1997) was a Latvian chess master. Awarded the International Master title in 1980, he was Latvian Champion in 1973 (jointly), 1976, ...

and Šmits, the

Chess Championship. In 1974, he tied for 6–7th in

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

. In 1975, he tied for 6–8th in Riga. In 1976, he tied for 7–9th in Riga. In 1977, he tied for 6–7th in

Homel Gomel (, ) or Homyel (, ) is a city in south-eastern Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Gomel Region and Gomel District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it is the second-largest city in ...

. In 1978, he tied for 4–7th in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

. In 1978, he won in

Haapsalu Haapsalu () is a seaside resort town located on the west coast of Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Lääne County, and on 1 January 2020 it had a population of 9,375. History The name ''Haapsalu'' derives from the Estonian words ' ...

. Gutman emigrated 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 1980, later moving to Germany. A former second to

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (, ; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. He is considered one of the strongest players never to have become World Chess Champion. Bor ...

, he is known as an expert on opening theory. He played for Israel in two

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in FIDE Onli ...

s. * In 1982, at third board in the

25th Chess Olympiad The 25th Chess Olympiad (), organized by Fédération Internationale des Échecs, FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, a ...

in Lucerne (+4 –4 =2); * In 1984, at third board in the

26th Chess Olympiad The 26th Chess Olympiad (, ''I 26i Skakistikí Olympiáda''), organized by FIDE and comprising an openAlthough commonly referred to as the ''men's division'', this section is open to both male and female players. and a women's tournament, as well a ...

in Thessaloniki (+4 –3 =3). In 1984, he won in Grindavik. In 1985, he won in

Beer Sheva Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most po ...

. In 1986, he won in

Wuppertal Wuppertal (; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, with a population of 355,000. Wuppertal is the seventh-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and List of cities in Germany by population, 17th-largest in Germany. It ...

. In 1986, he tied for 1st–4th with Viktor Korchnoi (winner on tie-break),

Nigel Short Nigel David Short (born 1 June 1965) is an English Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, columnist, coach and commentator who has been the FIDE Director for Chess Development since September 2022. Short earned the title of grandmaster at the ...

, and

James Plaskett Harold James Plaskett (born 18 March 1960) is a British chess grandmaster and writer. Biography Early life and personal life Plaskett was born in Dhekelia, Cyprus, on 18 March 1960 and was educated at Bedford Modern School, England. In the ...

in the strong

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

Open. In 1987, Gutman was clear first at the traditional

Biel Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

Open. He also lost to Judit Polgar in Brussels in that year, making him the first GM she beat. He was awarded the Grandmaster title in 1986. In September 2015, on the occasion of the 70st birthday of Lev Gutman, the chessclub ''Schachverein Lingen 1959'' organised a tournament, the ''Lev Gutman 70 GM-Turnier'' in

Lingen Lingen (), officially Lingen (Ems), is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. In 2024, its population was 59,896 with 2,262 people who had registered the city as their secondary residence. Lingen, specifically "Lingen (Ems)" is located on the river Ems ...

. The winner was GM Stelios Halkias (6 pt./9). Gutman himself became 8th with 3.5 pt./9.Schachverein Lingen 1959
access-date 15 April 2017

Books

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutman, Lev 1945 births Living people Chess players from Riga Chess Grandmasters Chess Olympiad competitors Latvian Jews Jewish chess players Latvian chess players Latvian chess writers Israeli chess players German chess players German chess writers Israeli emigrants to Germany German male non-fiction writers

Chess career

Books

See also

References

External links