Mark Tseitlin ( he, מארק צייטלין; russian: Марк Данилович Цейтлин, translit=Mark Danilovich Tseitlin; 23 September 1943 – 25 January 2022) was a Soviet-born Israeli chess player. He was awarded the title of

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 (chess), Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combinatio ...

in 1978 and that of Grandmaster in 1997. Tseitlin was a four-time European seniors champion.

Career

Tseitlin got acquainted with chess in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

's Pioneers Palace. He was self-taught, having studied without a coach. He was Leningrad champion in 1970, 1975, 1976, and jointly in 1978. During his playing career he defeated

Viktor Korchnoi Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ( rus, Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, p=vʲiktər lʲvovʲɪtɕ kɐrtɕˈnoj; 23 March 1931 – 6 June 2016) was a Soviet (before 1976) and Swiss (after 1980) chess grandmaster (GM) and chess writer. H ...

four times and beat many famous grandmasters. His best tournament achievements include first place at Polanica Zdroj 1978 (ahead of

Andersson Andersson (previously Andjersson) is a Swedish language surname, a form of the surname Anderson. ''Andersson'' is, if several spelling variants are included, the most common surname in Sweden.Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' (Trnava Region) and of an ''okres'' (Trnava ...

1979 (after Plachetka). Tseitlin was the many-time Beer-Sheva chess club champion. Tseitlin won the European Seniors Championship four times: in 2004 in Arvier, 2005 in Bad Homburg, 2008 in Dresden and 2013 in Plovdiv. In 2004 Tseitlin won the first World Senior Team Championship, held in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

, playing for team Israel together with Jacob Murey, Yair Kraidman and Yedael Stepak.

Trainer

There were many international grandmasters and masters among Tseitlin's apprentices. Among his pupils were such famous chess players as grandmasters Alexander Finkel, Boris Avrukh,

Ilya Smirin Ilya (or Ilia) Smirin ( he, איליה יוליביץ' סמירין; russian: Илья Юльевич Смирин, Ilya Yulievich Smirin; born January 21, 1968) is a Byelorussian SSR-born and an Israeli chess player. He was awarded the title of ...

Victor Mikhalevski Victor (Viktor) Mikhalevski ( he, ויקטור מיכלבסקי; born 8 July 1972) is an Israeli chess grandmaster who lives in Beersheba. his Elo rating was 2611, making him the #7 player in Israel and the 171st-highest rated player in the ...

and Dimitri Tyomkin. Mark Tseitlin assisted the rise of former world champion

Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov ( rus, links=no, Анато́лий Евге́ньевич Ка́рпов, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj jɪvˈɡʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈkarpəf; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian and former Soviet chess grandmaster, former World Che ...

, and strong Soviet grandmaster

Rafael Vaganian Rafael Artemovich Vaganian ( hy, Ռաֆայել Արտյոմի Վահանյան, Rrafayel Artyomi Vahanyan, russian: link=no, Рафаэль Артёмович Ваганян, ''Rafael Artemovich Vaganyan''; born 15 October 1951) is an Armenian ...

. He was known for his sharp tactical vision at the chessboard, and was an acknowledged expert in many chess openings, such as the Grunfeld Defence.

Personal life and death

Born in Leningrad, Tseitlin immigrated to Israel in 1990, and was a trainer at the

Beer-Sheva Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

Eliahu Levant chess club. Tseitlin died in

Beer Sheva Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

on 25 January 2022, at the age of 78. He had a daughter, Ira, and two granddaughters, who are living in Germany.

Notable chess games

The following game illustrates Tseitlin's sharp tactical style. Tseitlin - Vladimir Karasev Severodonetsk, 1982 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 h6 8. Be3 e6 9. O-O Nc5 10. Qf3 b5 11. b4!? bxc4 12. bxc5 dxc5 (diagram) 13. Nf5! Bb7 The following line illustrates dangers of Black's defence: 13. ... exf5 14. exf5 Ra7 15. Rfe1 Be7 16. Bxc5 Rd7 17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. Qc6+ Nd7 19. Nd5! Rxe1+ 20. Rxe1+ Kf8 21. Qd6+ Kg8 22. Ne7+ Kh7 23. Qg6+!! fxg6 24. fxg6 checkmate. 14. Rab1 Qc8 15. Ng3 Be7 16. Na4 Nd7 17. Nh5 Kf8 Black cannot castle because of 18.Qg4 18. Nb6 Nxb6 19. Rxb6 g6 20. Rfb1 Ra7 21. Nf4 Kg7 22. Bd2 Bf6 23. Qg3 Kh7 24. Rxe6 Bg5 25. Reb6 Bxe4 26. h4 Bd8 27. Rb8 Qf5 28. Bc3 Bf6? (diagram) In time trouble Vladimir Karasev fails to find best defence 28. ... Re8 29. Nh5!! -It is impossible to fend off such surprise even with enough time. If 29. ... gxh5 30. Rxh8+ Bxh8 then 31. Rb8 is winning. 29. ... Rxb8 30. Nxf6+ Qxf6 31. Rxb8 1-0

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tseitlin, Mark 1943 births 2022 deaths Chess grandmasters Soviet chess players Israeli chess players Jewish chess players Russian Jews Israeli Jews Chess coaches Israeli people of Soviet-Jewish descent Soviet emigrants to Israel Sportspeople from Bishkek