Lev Psakhis: Twice Champion of the Soviet Union
To win the championship of the Soviet Union in chess was, for much of the twentieth century, arguably harder than winning a world title — the field was that deep. Lev Psakhis did it twice. A grandmaster who shared the USSR crown in 1980 and again in 1981, then emigrated to Israel and became the trainer of the greatest female player in history, Psakhis lived several of the most coveted lives the game has to offer.
The Hardest Title in Chess
Lev Psakhis was born on 29 November 1958 in Krasnoyarsk, in Siberia, far from the traditional centres of Soviet chess — which makes his rise all the more remarkable. In the USSR Championship, a player faced a field that often included the reigning World Champion and a dozen of the strongest grandmasters alive. To win it once was extraordinary; Psakhis shared first place in 1980 and then did it again in 1981, announcing himself as one of the finest players in a country overflowing with them.
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Like so many of his generation, Psakhis emigrated to Israel, where he continued to compete and to represent his new country. But his second great contribution to chess came not as a player but as a trainer. He became the longtime coach of Judit Polgár — the Hungarian prodigy who became, by a wide margin, the strongest female chess player in history and one of the world's top ten players overall, male or female.
To train a talent of Polgár's magnitude is its own form of greatness; it requires a coach who can challenge and develop a genius. Psakhis, a two-time Soviet champion, had exactly the depth to do it, and his work helped shape one of the most important careers in modern chess.
The Author
Psakhis also became a respected chess author, producing well-regarded books on the openings and on his own games, passing his deep understanding to the wider chess public. His writing reflected the same qualities as his play: rigorous, honest, and grounded in hard practical experience at the highest level.
Why This Matters
Psakhis matters first for the sheer scale of his achievement as a player. Two shares of the Soviet Championship place him among the strongest competitors of one of the deepest eras the game has known — a credential few players anywhere can match.
He matters, too, for what he gave to others. By training Judit Polgár, Psakhis helped bring to fruition the career that did more than any other to shatter the assumption that women could not compete with men at the top of chess. The Siberian boy who became a double Soviet champion and an Israeli grandmaster also became the coach behind a revolution — a reminder that a great player's influence can extend far beyond his own games.
Achievements
- Shared the USSR Championship in 1980 and again in 1981
- Grandmaster of the elite Soviet generation
- Emigrated to Israel and represented it internationally
- Longtime trainer of the legendary Judit Polgár
- Respected chess author and theoretician
