Yosef Porat (; 7 June 1909, Breslau, Germany Passengers of the Piriápolis
/ref> – 18 May 1996,

Ramot HaShavim Ramot HaShavim () is a Jewish village in central Israel. Located between Hod HaSharon and Ra'anana and covering around 2,300 dunams, it falls under the jurisdiction of Drom HaSharon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History Ramot Ha ...

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 ...

) was a German-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.

Biography

Yosef Porat was born ''Heinz Josef Foerder'' in Germany. He took the name ''Yosef Porat'' in Israel. In 1933, he lost his job after the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

assumed power in Germany, and moved to

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 ...

. In 1934 he emigrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. In April 1935, he tied for 3rd-5th 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 ...

(the 2nd

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

Abram Blass Moshe Aba Blass (; born 1896, Łomża, Poland - 1971, Tel-Aviv, Israel) was a Polish-Israeli chess master. Born in Łomża (then Russian Empire), he moved to the US, staying from 1911 to 1924. After returning to Poland, he lived in Warsaw. In 192 ...

won).

Chess career

Yosef Porath competed in the

Chess Olympiads 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 2020 and ...

twelve times. In 1928, Foerder was a member of the German team at the 2nd Olympiad in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

.Porath, Yosef
at olimpbase.org He played several times in

Silesian Chess Congress The Silesian Chess Congress was a German chess tournament held from 1922 until 1939. On 19 September 1877 the Breslau Chess Association (''Breslauer Schachverein'') was founded by Theodor von Scheve. In 1895 Görlitz and 1899 Liegnitz were meeting ...

: shared 1st with Ludwig Schmitt at

Gleiwitz Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

1927; took 2nd, behind

Gottlieb Machate Gottlieb Machate (20 November 1904, in Breslau – 27 May 1974, in Stuttgart) was a German chess master. He participated several times in Silesian Chess Congresses. In 1926 roku he took 2nd, behind Fritz Sämisch (off contest), in Altheide Ba ...

, at Reichenbach 1928; and won at Breslau 1930, shared 1st at Bad Salzbrunn 1931, and again won at Ratibor 1932. He also won, ahead of

Salo Flohr Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr (November 21, 1908 – July 18, 1983) was a Czechoslovak and Soviet chess player and writer. He was among the first recipients of the title International Grandmaster from FIDE in 1950. Flohr dominated many tournam ...

, at Bilina 1930, and took 2nd, behind Gottlieb Machate, at Breslau 1933. Porath represented the Palestine team at first board in the 6th Olympiad at Warsaw 1935, and at second board in the 8th Olympiad at Buenos Aires 1939. After World War II, Porath played for the Israeli team in nine consecutive Olympiads from 1952 through 1968. He won the Palestine Championship in 1937 and 1940 (after a play-off), and the Israeli Championship in 1953, 1957, 1959, and 1963. In 1963, he won in

Ulan Bator Ulaanbaatar is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipality is located in north central Mongolia at an ...

(zonal tournament). In 1964, he took 21st in Amsterdam (interzonal).World Chess Championship : 1964-66 cycle : 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal
/ref> Porat was awarded, along with

Moshe Czerniak Moshe Czerniak (born Moizes Czerniak, also knowns as Miguel Czerniak; ; 3 February 1910 – 31 August 1984) was a Polish-Israeli chess player. He was awarded the title of International Master (IM) by FIDE in 1952. Biography In 1930 Moshe Czern ...

, the

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 ...

(IM) title in 1952.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porat, Yosef 1909 births 1996 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine German chess players Israeli chess players Jewish chess players Chess International Masters Chess Olympiad competitors People from the Province of Silesia Chess players from Wrocław 20th-century German chess players